Great discussion!
On the issue of wind etc, this race will not have marshals in exposed positions but in valley floors with vehicles they can sit in. So weatherproof factors not critical.
I need 5 handsets to make this work.
Sat looks like it may be cheaper and easier and perhaps more reliable in a valley?
http://danmunro2014.blogspot.co.uk/
May be interesting for you to follow for a while and see how well these trackers do update/cope with mountain conditions. Seems to be working very well thus far; 2 and a half days, which is hopefully longer than the bunny bluff will take ;-)
Looking at the inaccuracies so far (assuming they are inaccuracies..) of missing the 902 summit on Buchaille etive mor and more significantly around stob coire nan lochan, it is still far better than being wished well by a summit/valley marshal and not turning up at the next one!
Timings seem to have updated every 5minutes so far today. I wonder how it copes in some of the more remote areas.
Also, good work to the runner!
MeanderthalThe tracker Dan is carrying is updating every 90 seconds - with that interval it lasts in excess of 30 hours moving time. With what Wheeze has planned, its not a problem to increase this interval quite considerably. Not only does it improve quality of the track but also the number of times it calls for a signal.
The errors on Dans track last night we have not seen for a while, could either be where he has located the tracker. We have seen a tracker struggle to lock on when placed in a loose top pocket (OMM sacks specifically - which has massive pockets). Its just gets chucked around when running downhill. The other potential issue is just struggling to lock on with the steep sided valleys.
On shorter events where we can increase the interval this would unlikely be a problem. On Dans tracker (and any we send out for BG's) it shuts down the GPS to save battery and opens it up 5 seconds before it needs it. Anything less than a 60 second interval and the GPS is on all the time (and hence uses battery quicker).
http://maps.opentracking.co.uk/vo2max.cfm?n=1
Buffered / live / which network / time etc can be found on this map
http://maps.opentracking.co.uk/vo2ma...=1&buffer=true
James
Last edited by howfast; 16-04-2014 at 12:32 PM.
That's great! I was saying how impressed I was with it, especially with regards to a shorter course - but that's even better news!
Have we talked about SPOT devices yet? If you could reassign the SOS button to send a message to a race organisor rather than emergency services then you can track someone and know where they were when they hit the panic button or just stopped moving? 160 euros, rented out at 10 euros a race, paid for after 16 races? Not sure what the additional subscription fees are?
http://www.findmespot.eu/en/
Yuk - read some of my earlier posts.Originally Posted by dominion
Boys ! Boys !
All this technological mumbo jumbo . . . .
Wheeze has come up with a good gnarly course . . . .but we need to get him to 'free up' the route choice. At the moment everything is as 'tight' as a duck's . . . .due to all the checkpoints bolting people to the same route.
Save for a few locally reccied sheep trods, everyone's going the same way.
Wheeze's excellent 'back to our roots' idea means I should be out there, stripped to the waist, stiff nippled in the wind, soggy photocopied map in hand, wondering which is the quickest way . . . down and up . . .or all the way around.
Why bother tracking everyone, when at the moment they can hold hands all the way around.
He's got a gem of an idea . . . .now get him to let us loose !
Litigation Andy, litigation. When I am PM litigation will be illegal. You sign up for a race and cross the start line, you accept possible death. What ever happens, what ever goes wrong, death is an acceptable risk. The organiser doesn't set out to kill. When someone doesn't come home it's an accident - there is such a thing.
Me, you Andy, race off.... winner is the one not dead by the finish :-)
Grubby, you are missing the point.
At present, you would NOT be allowed to compete FRA/WFRA/SHR AL races in the attire you so alluringly describe.
In my race you will.
I cannot think of any other AL race where you do not follow check points in order, so I don't see why my race is different. Now, if you would take the trouble to go and recce the route, you will find that there are some EPIC route choices to be made.
e.g. Descent into Capel Y Ffin. Follow the zig zag path or kamikaze it straight down the nose?
e.g. Climb up to Blacksmiths Anvil. Lots of opportunity to take some straight lines away from the course.
e.g. The climb up Pen Y Gadair....which sheep trod through the bracken will you choose?
e.g. the long slog out and in from Hay to the Bluff.....follow the ODP or pick a devious route using other byways?
Need I go on??
BUT...much more importantly. I have started a FAQ page on the website. So please ask your questions here and I will use them to populate the page.
Off to test a Sat phone tomorrow after the Cribyn race....Such Fun!!!
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