RaceTracker software

RaceTracker is the successor to VerifyGPS 3.2 (still available here). RaceTracker is now written in Java which means it will run on all platforms that run Java. However, you have to make sure you have a Java runtime environment installed and the RXTX java serial communications library installed. Installation instructions are provided below.

All Platforms

RaceTracker.jar (last updated 15th January 2007) - This is the main program used to download and verify track logs - install location is not important but usually install in the directory where you want to save the track logs (eg C:\RaceTracks (Windows), ~/RaceTracks (Mac OS X, Linux, Unix)). Run by double-clicking or typing java -jar RaceTracker.jar from the command line.

Internet Explorer users: If you insist on using Internet Explorer you will encounter a bug in IE6 and IE7 where it renames the file to RaceTracker.zip after downloading. Who knows why! You will have to rename the file back to RaceTracker.jar . Easier would be to just use firefox or, really, any other browser. Maybe it is because Microsoft lost a court case to Sun (the authors of java) and this is Microsoft's childish attempt at retaliation.

Java runtime version 1.4 or later. Java SDK will of course also work as it includes the runtime. To check whether java is already installed go to the command line and type java -version. On my Windows 98 computer I get

java version "1.5.0_03"
Java(TM) 2 Runtime Environment, Standard Edition (build 1.5.0_03-b07)
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 1.5.0_03-b07, mixed mode)

Mac OS X

RXTX_Jag.pkg - RXTX java serial library installer for Mac OS X 10.2 or later. Double click to install.

Windows

RXTXComm.jar - RXTX java serial library jar file - save to Java ext directory - eg C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.5.0_06\lib\ext

rxtxSerial.dll - RXTX java serial library dll file - save to Java bin directory - eg C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.5.0_06\bin

Internet Explorer users: remember to rename any downloaded jar files back to their original name eg RXTXComm.jar, not RXTXComm.zip. See note above

Linux

RXTXComm.jar - RXTX java serial library jar file - save to Java ext directory - eg /usr/local/java/jre/lib/ext

librxtxSerial-2.1-7pre16.so - RXTX java serial library native file - save to Java lib directory - eg /usr/local/java/jre/lib/i386

Last updated 14th April 2004 - Contact D Tim Cummings for comments.

RaceTracker source code is released under GPL and can be downloaded here [download version 1657]

1. Take a backup copy of your existing oz gap file
   cp "c:\Program Files\Race\RCFormulaOzGap.dll" "c:\My Documents\RCFormulaOzGap2000.dll"
2. Download RCFormulaOzGap.dll for OzGap 2005 into c:\Program Files\Race\, overwriting existing file. Do not have two OzGap dll's in the Race folder.
3. Register the new dll
   regsvr32 "c:\Program Files\Race\RCFormulaOzGap.dll"
4. Start Race and select OzGap 2000 (menu doesn't show 2005)
5. Check it is working by scoring a task and ensuring departure points are always 0

If you would like to try Fixed Total Validity on any Race.exe based competition, download HGFA_FTV_Comp_10.zip (requires Microsoft Access 2000 or 2003).

Instructions

1. Unzip HGFA_Ftv_Comp_10.zip in your Race data folder(eg c:\Program Files\Race\Data\HGFA_Ftv_Comp_10.mdb)
2. Create a folder called Ftv, also in this folder (eg c:\Program Files\Race\Ftv)
3. Delete all files in Ftv folder. The first time you do this there should be none.
4. After each task, copy your Race data file into the Ftv folder. For example, from the command prompt type
   copy "c:\Program Files\Race\Data\Canungra2005.mdb" "c:\Program Files\Race\Data\Ftv\Canungra2005.mdb"
5. Run HGFA_Ftv_Comp_10.mdb by opening from MS Access 2000 or MS Access 2003, or double click if your computer is setup to run Access automatically
6. Click "Link to Comp". Correct competition name should now show.
7. Ensure the FTV% (to reject), Arrival point ratio, and Departure point ratio are correct. I would recommend 20%, 0.25 and 0 for OzGap2005. For most others I would recommend 20%, 0.125 and 0.175. If the FTV Report (described later) shows the incorrect task totals then you have the wrong values for Arrival and Departure ratios.
8. Click "FTV it". A report should be generated in the Ftv folder in HTML format. Click "Report" if you want to view it in MSAccess format. If you accidentally press "FTV it" twice then the penalties will be doubled up. Click on "Clear all penalties" if you have clicked twice accidentally AND no other penalties or bonuses have been added in the competition. Otherwise you will need to start these instructions again (from copying data file into Ftv directory).
9. To see the total scores for the competition, go back into Race and close your main copy of the competition data file and open the one in the Ftv folder. Producing a total report should automatically recalculate all tasks. All total scores should come from the mdb file in Ftv folder. All task scores should come from the Race mdb file in the Data folder.
10. NOTE: NEVER TRY TO CHANGE TASK RESULTS IN THE mdb FILE IN THE Ftv FOLDER. Make all changes in the main data file in the Data folder. Otherwise you will get very confiused as to what is contained in each data file, especially if there are other penalties that have been added.
11. RECOPY THE mdb DATA FILE INTO THE Ftv FOLDER AFTER EACH ROUND OR CHANGE IN TASK RESULTS.