Overview | Hardware | "DZ TV" | Setup Notes | OmniTrainer
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

OmniSkore! Technical and Setup Notes

Technical Notes

CLICK HERE to see a system diagram in a new window.

Networking

OmniSkore! utilizes Windows NetBEUI networking protocol on an Ethernet (10-base-2) or Twisted Pair (10-base-T) Local Area Network (LAN). The networking environment allows the use of more than one scoring processor, and thus the use of as many judges (and judging stations) as desired. Printers can be set up with dedicated CPU's outside of the judging area; official results can be instantly printed to any computer on the network.

Scoring Panels

The scoring panels used by OmniSkore! are custom-made, easy-to-use ergonomic panels. The panels feature a 20X4 Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), six individually configurable buttons, and a three-color Light Emitting Diode (LED). Any combination of 1 to 8 panels can be used with each scoring processor; any combination of panels can be used as "Official" of "Unofficial" (for training judges). The panels interface with the scoring processor via standard 25-pin parallel cables to a digital acquisition (DA) board inside the scoring processor.

OmniConfig!

OmniConfig is the primary software tool for configuring OmniSkore! to use with various skydiving events and rules. Virtually EVERY aspect of the scoring system can be customized, and absolutely NO PROGRAMMING EXPERIENCE is required. Everything is point-and-click, intuitive, and easy to use. The program is accessed from the Tools menu in the OmniSkore! user interface.

Graphics Overlay

An OmniSkore! exclusive, the graphics overlay feature uses a video genlock (graphics overlay) card in the scoring processor to overlay computer images on top of the video in real time. These images are the familiar formations, clock, score, team name, and flag as seen on the live "DZ TV" feeds. The graphics overlay function is also optional for the judges, and can be used at any level of transparency.

Timing Accuracy

At the heart of OmniSkore!'s accuracy is the Intel 8253 timer chip, programmed to a sampling rate of one millesecond (ten times more accureate than the IPC requirement) and accurate to 1/19200000 of a second (and that's very, very fast).

Printing Utilities

OmniSkore! uses automatic printing of score sheets as soon as a score is logged as "official". Optional to this feature is a variety of printouts, including Detailed score sheets and Scoring Summaries. Also included is a feature called OmniView! (the Chief Judge's Interface), a comprehensive printing and score management utility that can be used to print standings at any round.

 OmniSkore! Setup Notes

Setting up OmniSkore! is actually quite simple. The hard part is unpacking all of the hardware!

To setup OmniSkore!, use the following steps:

  • Make sure you have installed Microsoft Networking on your Windows 95 interface computer. (Ethernet cards and network setup instructions are readily available and easy to install.)
  • Connect your VCR output to the Time Base Corrector (TBC) Video Input on the back of the scoring processor
  • Connect the Video Ouput of the TBC to your judges' monitor(s)
  • Connect the scoring panels to the scoring processor using standard 25-pin parallel cables provided
  • Connect the interface computer to the scoring processor using the provided Ethernet cable and connectors
  • If "DZ TV" is to be featured, connect the Video Output of the graphics overlay card (on the back of the scoring processor) to the input of your public display system

OmniSkore! is now ready to use!