GliderTimer (mini): automatic F5J competition management

The world's first automated contest management assistant for personal training and small F5J contests.

A timekeeping device and portable display in a small form factor, with an outdoor-readable colourful TFT display and easy menu buttons. It stores 9 competitions of a single group of up to 6 pilots or rounds. One tool to manage your friendship contests.

Easy operation

GliderTimer will manage your rounds and will "beep" you the countdowns for your mini contest.

When landing, bring your GliderKeeper into communication mode — over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth: just take note of your landing distance and move the plane's fuselage into vertical (nose down). If the GliderKeeper is loaded with firmware 1.23 or later, during the scanning phase it will detect the presence of GliderTimer and automatically transfer the flight data to it.

GliderTimer will then compare the timing for launch and landing to be within the working time. Via the buttons you input the landing distance and save the data, and GliderTimer calculates the current score table automatically. Repeat for all the planes in the contest.

Realtime results, online and on screen

Using the same philosophy as GliderKeeper, there is easy access for visualisation of results and for downloading them over Wi-Fi. And on the device screen itself you get easy and convenient access to all the contest info: each pilot's flight ticket and the final score.

GliderThrow's perfect companion

GliderTimer will also interface with GliderThrow and GliderThrowQuad, a convenient gadget for the airfield — quick and easy. This functionality is available in firmware 4.06. And more accessories and functionalities will be added.

GliderTimer-PRO: full size F5J competition

The world's first automated contest management assistant for full size F5J contests. GliderTimer-PRO is closing the loop: a leap step from GliderTimer (mini) in number of pilots and rounds.

GliderTimer-PRO will manage the full size F5J competition from the control desk. GliderTimer (mini) and GliderKeeper do the timekeeping and upload the results. No more transcription errors, delays or distracted timekeepers. No dedicated timekeepers needed any more. The definitive help for contest organisers.

And you see the scores in GliderScore© as you were doing before.

How it works

Physically, GliderTimer-PRO is an expansion dongle of a GliderTimer (mini). It features an MP3 player with a mini-jack output for the audio and wiring to drive the annunciator panel, plus a bigger battery and a DC power supply conditioner.

  1. Prepare your competition in GliderScore, with the competitors' GliderKeeper IDs.
  2. Generate the eScore competition files.
  3. Upload those files into the GliderTimers you are expecting to use.
  4. Connect GliderTimer-PRO at the control desk, plugged to the audio and timer panel inputs.
  5. Run the competition.
  6. Collect flight data automatically with the help of a GliderTimer.
  7. At the end of each round, via an Internet-enabled router (your mobile can do), upload the results to the eScore competition of GliderScore.
  8. Publish or print the scores from GliderScore.

Designed for easy installation

  1. I2C port
  2. Serial communication: field panel terminals
  3. USB charge
  4. Power/reset button
  5. Master power switch
  6. DC input Hx10 (3S battery balance)
  7. Micro SD card
  8. Local 3 W speaker out terminal
  9. DC input jack 5.5 / 2 mm, outer pin ground
  10. 3.5 mm stereo minijack output for the P.A. system
  11. Control buttons

Terminal connectors are pluggable for your convenience. Serial, speaker and DC input jack loose mating connectors are supplied with the unit.

Everything on UTC time

All involved units — the GliderKeepers, thanks to GKSync+, and the GliderTimers — run exactly at UTC time. GliderTimer-PRO makes all announcements of the launching and landing events; those times (epochs in computer jargon) are known by the ancillary GliderTimers, which can then judge the appropriate timing for the landing transmitted to them from the on-board GliderKeepers.

Specifications — GliderTimer (mini)

  • Dimensions: 54 x 54 x 24 mm
  • Weight: 75 g
  • Speaker: 1 W
  • Screen: 320x240 RGB TFT
  • Power supply: 5 V USB charger, type C connector
  • Current consumption: approx. 200 mA
  • Battery: 110 + 750 mAh 1S2P LiPo
  • Memory storage: 9 competitions and 15 pilots
  • Wi-Fi: 802.11 b/g/n WPA/2

GliderTimer is a customisation of an M5Stack Core unit (https://m5stack.com/).

Specifications — GliderTimer-PRO

  • Dimensions: 54 x 135 x 228 mm
  • Weight: 155 g
  • Power supply: 5.2–40 V DC (both inputs) plus 5 V USB charger, type C
  • Current consumption: approx. 200 mA
  • Battery: 1,000 mAh 1S LiPo
  • Speaker: 3 W (external, not supplied)
  • Screen: 320x240 RGB TFT
  • Memory storage: one classification and one flyoff (PRO mode) competitions. 16 GB microSD card supplied for speech and background sound
  • Panels supported: direct I2C, TTL serial 9600/19200 baud, standard or extended protocol*
  • Wi-Fi: 802.11 b/g/n WPA/2

Mating connectors: panel 15EDG 2.54 mm x 4 pin · speaker 15EDG 2.54 mm x 2 pin · top DC in XHB 2.54 mm x 4 pin · side DC in 5.5 x 2.1 mm jack, outer pin ground · P.A. out 3.5 mm stereo minijack.

* Extended ability driver supported — please contact us for details of your panel before ordering.

GliderScore© Copyright Gerry Carter. We want to acknowledge and sincerely thank the support received from GliderScore for this implementation.