meshO Manager tip 07: a start clock on any screen

Every start needs a clock that beeps, and most clubs have one box that does it, carried to every event and plugged in at the line. meshO Manager already knows the event’s time to the second, so any screen that can open a web page can be the start clock: a tablet on a table at the line, a spare laptop at the call-up boxes, a TV in the start tent.

How it works

• Open /info on the device: it’s listed as Info screens under Settings → Server → Access links, with a QR code to scan. Tap Start clock, choose what it shows, and press Show.
• Event time is the clock at the line. By default it counts down with four short beeps and gives the long beep exactly on the start; you can make it two or three, and add a lower warning beep ten seconds ahead.
• Pre-start −1 … −9 is the clock for a call-up box. It shows the start time of the runners standing in front of it, with a big badge naming the box, and changes when the boxes move up. It doesn’t count down, so nobody hears a false start.
• Starters under the clock puts up to three boxes of upcoming starters beneath it, so a lane with one screen gets the clock and the start list together.
• Appearance is dark or light: dark for a tent, light for a screen in the sun.
• The device remembers its settings, and the link carries no event, so a tablet set up this weekend picks up the next event on its own. To change it, press and hold the cog in the corner for two seconds; a stray tap won’t take it off the screen.
• A browser won’t play sound until the page has been touched, so after a reload the clock asks for one tap. Check the beeps before the first start.

Getting it

It’s in the current version of meshO Manager. The info screens page of the Manager docs covers the start clock, its beeps, and the other screens: starters, radio controls, pending downloads and video.