The Kurvinen system outputs data via an RS232 serial cable. In order to get that data into the Zone4 timing software the serial data must be converted to IP web posts. This is accomplished by a small desktop application called Zone4 Serial.
Download the Zone4 Serial application from here: https://zone4.ca/download/zone4serialsetup.exe
Install the application on a windows PC that will be running during the race. It can be any PC that is on the timing network. The application gets installed into C:\Program Files (x86)\Zone4 Serial\ folder. To get the latest executable, download the latest EXE from here:
https://zone4.ca/download/kurvinen.exe Replace the Kurvinen.exe file found in the application folder with the latest executable.
Open the application from your Start menu -> Zone4 Serial -> Zone4 Serial It opens as the small utility pictured here.
Setup
The first step is to ensure your configuration is correct so click Config to open the settings panel. The first 2 settings deal with getting serial data from Kurvinen.
COM Port – this is the USB port on the PC that you have connected the USB to serial adapter from the Kurvinen system to. Click the Device Manager and expand the “Port” section in the Device Manager to see what COM port number was assigned to your USB adapter. Enter that COM port number here. Hitting ‘Test” opens the COM port to see if it can be opened. If it can’t be opened it may be in use by another application or your may have the wrong COM port #.
BAUD rate is set to 19200 for Kurvinen
The next 4 config settings have to do with communicating with the Zone4 server.
Post URL: If you are on a local server box (most likely) enter the URL at: http://10.23.33.254
If you are on the live server, set the URL to: https://zone4.ca Note the difference of https (SSL) on the live server, and the http on the local server.
API key is for authenticating this installation as having the rights to post data to your club’s account. The API Key can be found by logging into your live account, and in your Club Overview page, click the More button then click Legacy System Races
At the top you will see a “Licence key for windows software.” Copy that value into this API Key field.
Device # For the purposes of Kurvinen data at the Nordic Centre, enter 1 for the Device #1. It’s important that if you had to install this executable application on another PC, that you use the same device number so that duplicate devices aren’t created.
Device Name, enter “Kurvinen”.
Operation
When you hit the “Test” button, the app sends a bib 999 with 5 misses to the specified server. If received and processed properly, you should see that record in the “Recorded Times” list on the server. This is useful to check and make sure data is flowing long before the race.
All of the Config settings save automatically so you should only ever have to set the above settings once and you’ll be good forever. Click the X to close the Config, or click “Log” to switch to the log screen. The log screen keeps track of all the messages and actions of the app which could be useful for debugging. During normal operation through, the application can be in it’s minimized form.
Once ready to start accepting data from Kurvinen, click Start which opens the COM port and starts accepting data. You should see a Kurvinen connection test every 5 seconds which is like a heart-beat from Kurvinen to ensure everything is connected and communicating.
Kurvinen Data File
The Kurvinen system produces a report after the race with exact shooting time stamps and hits and misses. This report is used as extra analysis by the coaches. In order for that report to have racer name and team info, a specially formatted text file (with very specific rules on spacing) must be uploaded into the Kurvinen PC. The legacy Zone4 PC application produced this file format so the easiest way to generate that file currently is to download the startlist into the legacy Zone4 and produce the text file from there. It only takes a few minutes following this procedure:
- Firstly , ensure you have the latest version of the Zone4 legacy application which you can download here:
- https://zone4.ca/download/setup.exe (full install 40mb for new PC.)
- https://zone4.ca/download/upgrade.exe (smaller install if you have previously installed Zone4 on that PC.)
- https://zone4.ca/download/zone4.exe (if you just want the executable to replace your local version stored in C:\Program Fils (x86)\Zone4\.
- Login to the live Zone4 server (it’s not possible to download .rac files on the local serverbox which is why you have to login to your live Zone4.ca account.
- View the startlist and from the Download button at the top, select Download .rac file.
7. Open this .rac file on your PC. It should open in the legacy Zone4 timing app.
8. Click 1. Set Option -> Main Options tab, then check the box for “Run this as Biathlon Race” then click OK.
9. Click 6. Commit Setup and confirm the “Are you sure” question.
10. Click Time Entry -> Biathlon Range Data. In the resulting Biathlon Range Data Setup dialog, select “Use Electronic Range Data Entry” and then click “Export Kurvinen Data”. Enter a file name in the save dialog and that is now the text file you need to put on a USB key and give to Eric to load into the Kurvinen PC.
