FIS homologation: https://www.fis-ski.com/DB/information/homologated-timing-equipment.html states that the Summit SRT2000 timer must be used ‘with external printer’.
So in order to be FIS compliant, each of the 4 timers will need to be paired with a thermal printer which will have to reside in a case at each Summit location. Serial interface thermal printers are increasingly hard to find with retail prices starting around $200, and adding the requirement to be battery powered makes for a very hard to meet requirement. Some clubs may have the older Seiko DPU 414 printers which are known to work and we have documented the pinout for that below. Zone4 has spent several months testing various products and has settled on low cost model pictured above. We have tested this printer and in initial testing it has run on battery for 15+ hours at -17C printing over 3000 times. We are in the process of acquiring stock of this printer and we have published pricing for the printer and custom cable here: https://zone4.ca/about/pricing/ca/ The price will be a straight pass through from the manufacturer so the printer would be sold as-is unsupported. We are reselling them as a convenience to Summit customers to save on shipping costs from overseas.
Cases
Cases are included with our rental printers but if you are purchasing a printer, you will have to house your printer to protect it from the elements. Here is the setup that Zone4 is going to try this year.
We took these Snaplock 1.3 L containers: ($10 https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/snaplock-clear-container-1-3-l-1425089p.html?loc=plp ) and filed a small groove in the corner edge.
This makes a relatively weatherproof container that is large enough to hold the printer, accessory cables and charger as well as an extra roll of paper. The clear plastic case makes it a bit easier to see what is going on inside although once the paper roll starts folding back on itself you won’t be able to see the flashing LED when the printer is out of paper. If the printer does run out of paper, it’s not a concern as the Summit keeps track of what records have been printed and when more paper is loaded, the backlog of times will be printed.
BPA Free Thermal Paper
We would highly recommend using BPA free receipt paper. Zone4 has tested this 2 1/4″ paper https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07533L9SH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Note typical printers print 100 records per 15″ and these rolls are 12ft so a role would record close to 1000 times. Zone4 will have stock of printers, paper and cases for rental by the time the season starts.
Seiko DPU-414
These dinosaurs have a new lease on life thanks to the new FIS requirements so if you have any kicking around your closet, feel free to dig them out.
These require a custom cable to go from the 3.5mm stereo jack on the top of the Summit to the 9 Pin D-Sub port on the back of the Seiko printer. The easiest way to make such a cable is to cut a serial cable and a 3.5mm stereo cable and splice them together as follows. You will need a voltmeter to map out which pin/barrel-ring corresponds to what color cable on each cable.
