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.
If you do not see the Legacy System Races button, or the licence key, contact Zone4 Staff
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.
