1. Which controls get a radio
Start with the finish and the control before it. Add pivot controls and one or two mid-way through the longer courses. Aim for some coverage on every course.
- Cluster radios rather than spread them: neighbours make a stronger network.
- More radios are better than fewer — a stronger network, and more choice about what reaches the screens and the commentary.
- In relays, show only the controls every team passes through, so the screens never show a misleading order.
2. Range
Range depends on vegetation, topography and distance. No one can predict it exactly; these are rules of thumb between two radios (see the range diagram):
| Unobstructed line of sight | more than 3 km |
| Sparse vegetation | about 1 km |
| Dense vegetation | 150–300 m |
Behind a hill, or a long way out? Add an intermediate radio at a rough midpoint, or a radio on a tall antenna pole. On the day, signal strength between radios is monitored and gaps are closed.
3. Cards and SI units
meshO Controls receive SportIdent short-range radio (SRR) punches from SIAC cards and from BSF8-SRR units. Any SportIdent unit in beacon (AIR+) mode can be used — a BSF7, BSF8, BSF9 or a BS11 for MTBO and SkiO — because it is the SIAC that sends the punch by radio. Which units work, and how to set them →
- Use your usual controls and rely on competitors’ SIACs — that should cover 80–90% of the field.
- At the finish, a BSF8-SRR unit captures both SIAC air punches and manual punches. With Comprehensive event services we supply two at the finish with a sawhorse, two at the start and one for the master check.
- Set the SI unit at each radio control to send last record in SportIdent Config+ (a BSF8-SRR also needs AutoSend) (“Send the last punch” under AIR+ radio in meshO Manager). Setting it on every control lets you add a radio anywhere on the day — at almost no cost to SIAC batteries.
4. Mounting
One meshO Bracket goes on each radio control’s stand before the event. The adaptor fits square and round stands of different sizes with the supplied ties; the bracket screws to it. Stands with a flat face can take a bracket permanently. On the day, the radio clips in.
5. Placing radios on the day
Turn meshO Prime on first — it creates the network. Then place radios from the closest to the furthest, switching each on with a swipe of the magnet as you go.
Reading the lights. A searching sequence means the radio is looking for the network — anywhere from a moment to a minute. A single light blinking once a second means it has joined. If the search never ends, it needs another radio between it and the rest.
Batteries run for at least 24 hours continuously; charge overnight between days.
6. What radio controls cannot do
- Only SIAC air punches are captured, unless the control has a BSF8-SRR unit. Punches with older SI-Cards are read at download (compatibility chart).
- Some punches are never sent or received by the SportIdent hardware.
- If a radio loses the network — a stand knocked over — meshO tries to recover and resend, but a punch can still be missed.
- Every missing punch is filled in when the competitor downloads.
7. The software
Radio punches, results screens, commentary and live results all run from meshO Manager. meshO Prime plugs into the computer running it.
Timing with MeOS, SI Timing or OE? Keep timing in your software. We import your entries into meshO Manager and run the radios, screens and commentary from it alongside.
8. Timeline
| When | To do |
|---|---|
| 3 weeks out | Send us an address for the brackets, if your stands don’t have them already |
| 2 weeks out | Choose the radio controls · Set their SI units to send last record · Send us the courses and entries for a test load |
| 1 week out | Choose the spot for the results trailer |
| 2 days out | Tell us when the controls go into the field |
| Race day | Place the controls, switching the radios on as you go · Show us where the screens and trailer go |
9. Support
Email sales@mesho.live. On event days, the meshO crew is in the arena.