B e s t B E T

B e s t B E T 

Version MAR06 All Rights Reserved

BestBET HANDBOOK 

Table of Contents 

A) Getting Started 

1. System components ……………….…………..………..A-1 

2. Computer requirements 

3. Copying the software 

4. Installing BestBET 

• Timing program 

• Demonstration program 

• Single Board Computer (SBC) 

5. Starting BestBET …………………………………. A-2 

6. Licensing agreement …………………………………. A-4 

Figure 1a/1b – BestBET Hardware Schematics 

Figures 2a/2b – Setting the PC’s IP Address in WXP/W98 

Figures 3a/3b – BestBET Main Screen – Manually Arm/Automatically Arm Modes 

Figure 4 – Main Screen – Demonstration Program 

Figure 5 – MeetSetup Screen 

Figure 6 - Print Results, Find Earlier Races, Load a Previous Meet 

Figure 7 – Scoring Program Menu 

Figure 8 – Score Board Menu 

Figure 9 – Run vs. Test Mode 

Figure 10 – Creating an Events’ Description File 

Figures 11a/b/c – Configuring a Router (networking with a scoring program) 

Figure 12 – ‘Sharing’ and ‘Mapping’ a Network Folder (networking with a scoring 

program) 

B) Using BestBET 

1. Basic description of BestBET …………….……….…….….. B-1 

• Hardware 

• Software 

2. “Do’s” ………………………………….……… B-3 

3. Ways to Use BestBET ………………………….…...… B-4 

• Without a computerized scoring program. 

• Integrating a scoring program with BestBET 

C) Detailed Operating Instructions 

1. Meet Name …………………….……. C-1 

2. Setup (before races begin) 

• Lanes not used the entire meet 

• Timer buttons used per lane (2 or 3) 

• Automatically print results 

• Official time rules (USS or BestBET) 

• Lane order (low-to-high or vice-versa) 

• Delay before Re-arming 

• File with meet events’ descriptions 

• Heat sequencing 

3. Race Results – Printing and Finding .…………………...…….. C-3 

• Preview and Page Setup 

• Finding prior race results 

• Loading a previous meet 


D) Glossary 


Table of Contents 

4. Scoring program ……………………….……… C-4 

5. ScoreBoard 

6. Run or Test Mode ……………..….…………….. C-5 

7. 'Arming ' BestBET - manual vs. automatic mode 

8. Event number, description, distance 

9. Heat number 

10. Race number 

11. Date, time …..………… C-6 

12. Starting a new race (including the 1 st race) 

13. A race starts but BestBET didn't 

14. False start – what to do 

15. Empty lane – what to do 

16. Somebody doesn’t press a button – what to do …..…….…….C-7 

17. You made a mistake about an empty lane – what to do 

18. Timer(s) press push button(s) prematurely 

19. Manually entering an official time (over-riding the official time) 

• If no buttons were pressed 

• If only 1 button was pressed (and you are using BestBET rules) 

• Judges over-rule the places as determined by the push-button times 

20. Displaying results …………………….…C-8 

21. Saving and/or printing results 

22. Power outage 

E) Technical information 

F) Appendix – Networking with a Scoring Program 



Section A – GETTING STARTED 

1. System components 

The BestBET timing system consists of 6 

major components. Four are supplied by 

BestBET – a set of push-button switches with 

cable and phone plugs, a central cable which 

connects the push-buttons to a timing 

computer, a Single Board Computer (SBC, 

the timing computer) which connects to the 

central cable and to a personal computer via 

an Ethernet cable, and the program which 

manages all this equipment and the collecting 

and storing of race times. The other 2 

components, the personal computer (PC) on 

which the program runs, and the electronic 

starter (optional), are supplied by the user. 

Figure 1a and 1b show schematics of the 

system. BestBET also supplies an extra pushbutton 

for your (human) starter to use in case 

the electronic starter fails or your team just 

doesn’t use one. 

3-button systems have a red-, white-, and 

blue-handled electrical switch (push-button, 

or just button for short) for each lane. 2- 

button systems only have the red- and whitehandled 

buttons. A 2-button system can be 

easily upgraded to a 3-button system with the 

addition of the blue buttons and change of 

software (program). 

BestBET 'talks' to computer scoring 

programs so the scorekeeper doesn’t have to 

re-key or write times. This saves time and 

errors. 

2. Computer requirements 

The minimum computer CPU required to run 

BestBET is an Intel Pentium class or 

equivalent. The computer needs to be using 

either Windows 95, 98, Me, NT 3.51 or 

higher, W2000, or XP operating system. The 

minimum RAM required is 64 MB. Hard 

disk space needed is approximately 1 MB 

plus 0.1 – 0.5 MB for each meet stored on 

the hard drive, depending on the meet size. 

The computer needs to have a Network 

Interface Card (NIC). 

3. Copying the software 

Using your favorite file manager (Windows 

Explorer, DOS commands, etc.), copy the 

bestbet.exe file from the BestBET floppy 

disk/CD to a folder (directory) of your choice 

on your hard drive or memory stick. Store 

the floppy disk/CD in a safe place. 

A dedicated USB memory stick is a good 

choice because it will not wear out and data 

access is fast enough to run the software. A 

256MB stick can store the software and 

results from several hundred meets. 

4. Installing BestBET 

• Timing program (actual or 

demonstration) 

An optional component of the BestBET 

timing system is an LED scoreboard. The 

scoreboard connects to one of the computers 

serial ports. It displays the race’s elapsed 

time until a finish occurs then displays the 

lane, place, and finish times as they occur. A 

1-line scoreboard cycles through the finish 

times, displaying each one for 2-10 seconds 

(the user selects). Multi-line scoreboards 

display the elapsed time on each line until a 

finish occurs then that lane’s race time is 

shown. 

Page A- 1 of 4 

Version MAR06 All Rights Reserved 

All the timing program components are 

contained in the bestbet.exe compressed file 

which you copied to your hard drive or memory 

stick. To install them, simply double-click on 

bestbet.exe. The following files will appear in 

the folder: timer.exe, HiSchool.txt, and 

Summerec.txt. timer.exe is the BestBET 

timing system program. The .txt files are 

examples of meet description files (explained 

later).



• Demonstration program 

The BestBET demonstration program does 

not require any hardware other than the 

computer. The demo program allows the 

prospective customer to check out the 

system. You can do most everything with 

the demo that the actual program does. But 

since there are no push-buttons, you 

obviously cannot press them. Finishes are 

simulated by pressing the number of the lane 

on the keyboard, or point-and-clicking on the 

number of the lane on the “Finishes” keypad 

on the screen. See Figure 4 for the screen 

layout of the demonstration program. The 

demonstration program is installed the same 

way as the actual timing program, described 

below. Skip the next section – Single Board 

Computer – if you are testing the 

demonstration program. 

• Single Board Computer (SBC) 

Monitoring of the starting system and pushbuttons 

is done by a stand-alone single board 

computer (SBC, or timing computer). The 

SBC keeps track of the time between a start 

and finish. The central cable connects to the 

SBC and the SBC connects to the BestBET 

PC either directly or via a router. The SBC 

has enough battery backup to operate for 

over 24 hours without being plugged in. 

Before starting the BestBET timer.exe 

program on the PC, you’ll also need to 

connect the SBC and PC in one of 2 ways: 

• If you are connecting the PC directly 

to the SBC, connect the network 

cross-over cable - supplied by 

BestBET - to the SBC and PC, set 

your PC’s IP address , then turn on 

the SBC. How to set your PC’s IP 

address is diagrammed in Fig 2a for 

WXP and Fig. 2b for W98. Different 

operating systems (Me, W2000, …) 

will be slightly different but similar. 

BestBET recommends this technique 

rather than using a router unless you 

also want to network with a scoring 

program. In that case you have to use 

a router. 

• If you are connecting the PC and 

SBC via a router, configure your 

router, connect straight-through 

Ethernet cables to the router and the 

SBC/PC, then turn on the SBC. You 

will need to use a router if you are 

using a scoring program and 

networking, either wired or wireless, 

with it. Networking with a scoring 

program requires that you configure 

your router and set certain directories 

(folders) for ‘sharing’. BestBET 

recommends using WXP if you want to 

network with a scoring program. How 

to configure example routers and share 

files is described in the Appendix and 

shown in Figs. 11a-c and 12. 

If you start timer.exe before connecting to the 

SBC, it will give you a message that it and the 

SBC are not communicating. 

5. Starting BestBET 

• Timing Program 

Start the BestBET timing program by doubleclicking 

on the timer.exe file. A window which 

looks like Figure 3a/b (actual programs) or 

Figure 4 (demonstration) should appear. If this 

is not the first time you have run BestBET, a 

message will be displayed that “previous 

settings are being loaded”. This saves the user 

from having to specify settings each time if the 

settings are the same as when BestBET was 

used previously (the likely case). The settings 

include all the items on the “MeetSetup”, 

“Scoring Program”, and “ScoreBoard” menus. 

Just click OK. You can change the settings at 

any time after the program starts. 

If you are testing the actual program, not the 

demonstration program, and have not started 

and connected the SBC, you will also get a 





message that ‘no data is coming from the 

SBC…’ Turn on the SBC, wait a few seconds, 

then click that message’s OK button. 

You may need to maximize the window by 

clicking on the box icon in the upper right hand 

corner of the window. If BestBET still doesn’t 

cover the entire screen or you still only see part 

of the BestBET screen, set your display to 

800X600 pixels. Do this from the Start | 

Settings | Control Panel | Display | Settings 

menu of Windows. If this does not look good 

on your monitor – on monitors with native 

1024X768 or higher pixels it won’t – try using 

‘large font’. This is the same menu path as 

above then |Advanced/DPI Setting: Large Size. 

Enter a meet name (required), then click on the 

Next Race button. The place designations, all 

“first”, should clear and the race and heat 

numbers will increase from 0 to 1 and the 

Elapsed Time cell will go from NOT RDY to 

RDY. If you are using the demo program, press 

the Start button and the elapsed time will start 

clocking. Finish times will appear when you 

press a keypad number or select a number from 

the “Finishes” section on the screen. The times 

are purposely randomized to simulate the real 

world. Press the False Start button and the race 

and heat will go back to 0. 

You have probably noticed that the 'FalseStart' 

button switches back and forth (toggles) 

between 'StartTimer' and 'FalseStart'. Before 

BestBET is 'armed' the button allows you to 

start the timer if a race began but you weren't 

ready. This is described fully later. 

• Entire System 

The actual BestBET system can be further 

tested with or without a starting system. Hook 

the components together as shown in Figures 

1a and 1b. Depending on the system you have 

purchased, there will either be 2 or 3 buttons 

per lane, and either 6 or 8 lanes of buttons to 

connect. To properly test the system, all 

buttons in all lanes, for your system, should be 

connected. The phone jacks on the central 

cable connector boxes are color-coded to help 



make sure the push buttons are plugged into the 

correct spot. 

If you have access to a starting system, connect 

it to the starter connection – the smaller cable 

coming from the 37-pin connector. If not, 

connect the extra push-button, supplied with 

BestBET, to the starter cable. [If you are 

testing the demo program, no hardware needs 

to be connected]. 

Start the timing program as described above 

after connecting and starting the SBC timing 

computer as described in the Single Board 

Computer section. Select the Setup menu and 

choose USSwimming Official time rules (see 

Fig. 5). Click the Next Race button. The Race 

Number and Heat Number display should 

increase from 0 to 1 and the Elapsed Time cell 

will go from NOT RDY to RDY. Nothing else 

will happen yet. 

If BestBET is connected to a starting system, 

press that system’s “start” button. Otherwise, 

press the starter’s button supplied with 

BestBET. The elapsed time display should 

start clocking. 

After you have waited a few seconds or 

minutes, depending on your patience and 

schedule, press all the timer buttons. As the 

buttons are pressed, you should see the time 

since the start of the “race” displayed in the 

appropriate window along with the swimmers’ 

place. 

If times appear when the push-buttons are 

pressed but official times are 88:88.88 and 

places do not appear after all the lane’s buttons 

are pressed, you probably are using BestBET 

timing rules. Switch to USSwimming timing 

rules (MeetSetup menu) and try again. 

Differences in how these rules calculate official 

times are described in Section (C). 

Use the RaceResult | Preview command to see 

what the printout will look like. If necessary, 

use the RaceResult | Print Setup to change the 

page layout to “Landscape”. Print the race 

results to test printer operation.



If you have purchased a scoreboard, plug it into 

one of the computer’s serial ports. From the 

ScoreBoard menu, select the communications 

port that you are using. Plug in the 

scoreboard’s power and make sure the colon 

and last zero are lit. 

Nothing is displayed until a race starts. Then 

the elapsed time since the start of the race 

will display, minutes:seconds format, until 

there is a finish. The finishes will then be 

displayed, minutes:seconds:hundredths 

format, as they occur. You can also show the 

finishes after the race is over by pressing the 

Display Results on Scoreboard button or 

pressing “D” on the keyboard. If another race 

starts during the display cycle, the new race’s 

elapsed time shows. 

If you plan on using a scoring program, 

connect the two computers using either 

• a null-modem cable (serial ports) or 

• 2) Ethernet cables/wireless adapters 

through a router (LAN). See the 

Appendix and Figures 11a-c and 12 

for instructions on setting up a LAN 

and ‘mapping’ a network drive. 

BestBET recommends using WXP 

on both the BestBET and scoring 

program computers if you want to 

network them, 

6. Licensing agreement 

This is a license agreement and not an 

agreement for sale. A BestBET timing 

system can be used by any person for any 

team at any meet. 

But the timing program can only be installed 

on one computer at a time. However, it may 

be removed from one computer, installed on 

another, removed from that one, and reinstalled 

on the original computer. 

This document contains proprietary 

information of BestBET. Receipt of 

possession of this document does not convey 

any rights to reproduce, disclose, 

manufacture, use, or sell anything it 

describes. 

From the BestBET ScoringProgram menu, 

select the correct communications port 

(serial) or LAN, and scoring program. 

Test communications using the scoring 

program, 



Figure 1a – BestBET Hardware Schematic 

Connecting the SBC and PC Directly 

to scoreboard 

optional 

Scoring 

program 

computer 

Serial Port 

serial 

ports 

central cable 

with phone 

jacks 

detail 

to starting 

system 

Timing 

Computer (SBC) 

Cross-over 

EEthernet cable 

Network 

Interface 

Card (NIC) 

Router 

phone 

jacks 

Personal Computer 

button switches 

for 1 lane

Figure 1b – BestBET Hardware Schematic 

Using a Router 

to scoreboard 

optional 

Scoring 

program 

computer 

NIC 

to router 

serial 

ports 

central cable 

with phone 

jacks 

detail 

to starting 

system 

Timing 

Computer (SBC) 

Network 

Interface 

Card (NIC) 

phone 

jacks 

Router 

(Cable OR 

Wireless, 

see text) 

Personal Computer 

button switches 

for 1 lane

Figure 2a – Setting the PC’s IP Address in WXP 

• See Figures 11a&b if you are connecting the SBC and PC via a router. These directions are for connecting the SBC and PC directly 

(BestBET recommends this unless you want to network with the scoring program). 

• Click Start | Settings | Connections. 

• Highlight the connection, then right click and select Properties. 

• Double click on the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). 

• Select Alternate Configuration | User Configured and enter the values shown. 

• HEADS UP – if communications prove to be unreliable, return to this menu and select the ‘General’ tab and enter the same values.

Figure 2b – Setting the PC’s IP Address in W98 

• See Figures 11a&b if you are connecting the SBC and PC via a router. These directions are for connecting the SBC and PC 

directly(BestBET recommends this unless you want to network with the scoring program). 

• Click Start | Settings | Control Panel. Double click on the Network icon in the control panel. 

• Select the TCP/IP Ethernet adapter then click on properties. 

• Select the ‘IP Address’ tab, select ‘Specify an IP address’, then set the values to those shown.

Figure 3a – BestBET Main Screen 'Manually Arm' Mode

Figure 3b – BestBET Main Screen 

'Automatically Arm' Mode

Figure 4 – Main Screen (Demonstration Program)

Figure 5 – MeetSetup Screen

Figure 6 – Print Results, Find Earlier Races, Load a Previous Meet

Figure 7 – Scoring Program Menu

Figure 8 – ScoreBoard Menu

Figure 9 – Run vs. Test Mode

Figure 10 – Creating the Events’ Description File 

USING A WORD PROCESSOR: 

space or tab 

1 25 6U Female 25yd Freestyle 

2 25 6U Male 25yd Freestyle 

3 25 7-8 Female 25yd Freestyle 

4 25 7-8 Male Freestyle 

event description. can be any length and 

contain any numbers, letters, or characters. 

only 1 event per line 

event number and distance. no letters allowed. 

USING A SPREADSHEET PROGRAM: 

• Whichever program you use, save the file as text, extension .txt, format (e.g., HiSchool.txt or RecSummr.txt). 

• Save it to the same folder where timer.exe is located.

Figure 11a – Configuring a Router 

• The following only needs to be done if you are using a router to communicate with the SBC or scoring program computer. Also see Fig. 

12 and the Appendix if networking with the scoring program. Unless you want to network with a scoring program, BestBET 

recommends connecting the SBC and PC with a cross-over cable and using a serial port to connect to the scoring program. 

• See Figure 2a or 2b to set your PC’s IP address, BUT SELECT “Automatic Private IP address” (WXP) or “Obtain an IP address 

automatically” (W98). 

• Make sure your browser does not connect to the Internet via a ‘Proxy server’. For WXP, select Tools | Internet Options | Connections tab 

| LAN Settings then un-check the “Use proxy server”option. An example for WXP is shown below on the left; W98 is very similar. 

• Connect your PC and Router with a straight-through ethernet cable. 

• Start your web browser and type in the Router’s IP, which you can find in its setup manual. It will be 4 numbers, each separated by a dot. 

Linksys currently uses 192.168.1.1; NetGear uses 192.168.0.1. To continue, see Figure 11b.

Figure 11b – Configuring a Router (cont.) 

• A screen like one below will appear. The one on the left is a Linksys router while the one on the right is a Netgear. (The examples 

have already changed the router’s address to 10.10.6.10, which you will soon do.) 

• Follow the router’s instruction manual for the correct User name and Password. Both Linksys and Netgear currently use admin for 

the user name. Linksys leaves the password blank while Netgear uses password. Click on OK and continue to Figure 11c. 

admin

Figure 11c – Configuring a Router (cont.) 

• Follow your router’s instructions on setting its configuration. 

• Below left is an example for one type of Linksyst router. Set the LAN IP (Device IP) address to 10.10.6.10. Set the Subnet Mask to 

255.255.255.0. Click ‘Apply’. 

• Below right is an example for one of Netgear’s routers. Click on the ADVANCED | LAN IP Setup (left-hand column) then the screen 

shown will appear. In addition to setting the IP Address and Subnet Mask, you also have to check the ‘Use router as DHCP server’ and 

tell it the Starting and Ending IP addresses. Use the values shown in the example. Click ‘Apply’.

Figure 12 – ‘Sharing’ and ‘Mapping’ a Folder 

• The following only needs to be done if the computers running the BestBET and scoring programs are communicating via a network. If 

you want to do this, BestBET recommends using WXP. Setting up a LAN is no easy task even in WXP; in W98 it is even harder. 

• THE SCORING PROGRAM COMPUTER MUST SET THE FOLDER WHERE THE RACE RESULTS ARE TO BE STORED AS 

‘SHARED’. This is done by right-clicking on the desired folder, selecting ‘Sharing and Security, selecting the ‘Share’ tab, then selecting 

‘Share this folder’. See the screen picture on the left, below. In this example, the folder on the scoring computer where races are stored 

in named races. The folder is now ready to be ‘mapped’ from the PC which is running the BestBET program (timer.exe). 

• Connect the 2 computers running timer.exe and the scoring program to the router and turn on these devices. 

• On the computer running the BestBET program, right-click on ‘My Computer’ and select ‘Map Network Drive…’ 

• A screen like the one on the right, below, will appear. From the drop-down list, select the Drive letter that you want to use. This is also 

the letter that BetBET will ask for when you set up the ScoringProgram menu as ‘LAN’ (see Fig. 7). 

• Enter the path to the folder where race results will be sent, either manually by following the Example or with the ‘Browse…’ button. The 

format for manually entering the Folder is \ \computer name\ drive letter\folder\sub-folder… You can find the name of the scoring 

program computer by right-clicking on MyComputer, select Properties, then choose the Computer Name tab. If the drive letter is C (most 

common for the hard drive) enter just C, not C: (you may have to enter C$). Check ‘Reconnect at logon’ to avoid having to do this again. 

If the BestBET computer cannot ‘see’ the folder on the scoring program 

computer, shut down and re-start the computers and router. Click 

‘Finish’.


Section B – USING BestBET 

1) Basic Description of BestBET 

BestBET is an electronic timing system 

which is considerably more accurate than 

stop-watch timing. BestBET, like other 

electronic timing systems, also simplifies the 

matching of times and competitors. 

Running a dual or triangle meet or 

invitational is much easier and requires less 

labor than hand timing and scoring, 

especially when integrated with a 

computerized scoring system. 

Like other electronic timing systems, 

BestBET connects to a starting system and 

senses when the starter begins the race. The 

people timing in each lane only have to 

press their push-buttons when the 

competitors finish. This eliminates the 

greatest inaccuracy in manual timing – the 

unavoidable delay between the actual start 

and when timers can start their watches. 

Also, starts are not missed since timers only 

determine the finish. 

If your team does not use an electronic 

starting system, or if it fails, BestBET 

supplies an extra push-button for the 

(human) starter to use. Lane timers still 

only have to signify the end of a race. 

BestBET can send lapsed time and race 

results to a scoreboard. This is a useful 

enhancement which lets competitors and 

spectators know the official time and place 

immediately. It is also useful to the 

competitors as a pace clock. Options 

include a 1-line scoreboard which cycles 

through the finishes as they occur, up to 8- 

line scoreboards which display all the 

finishes. All scoreboards show the race’s 

elapsed time until a finish occurs. 

Hardware 

The BestBET system consists of pushbuttons, 

a central cable with phone jack 

boxes to connect the buttons to a given lane, 

a single board computer (SBC) which 

connects to the central cable and to the 

personal computer running the BestBET 

software, an optional scoreboard, and a 

personal computer (supplied by the user). 

An electronic starting system is optional 

since BestBET supplies an extra push-button 

which can be used by the human starter. 

There is also a cable which connects the 

starting system (if you are using one) to 

BestBET. How this hardware connects was 

described in Section A and diagrammed in 

Fig. 1a & 1b. 

BestBET recommends that you 'suspend' the 

central cable/connector boxes. Use the 

human shade cover framework or whatever 

is available. As a minimum string the cable 

under the timers' chairs and away from the 

pool and swimmer traffic. If you must put 

the cable at the edge of the pool its life will 

be significantly shortened because of foot 

traffic and very corrosive pool water. 

The button switches are color-coded red, 

white, and blue. If you purchased a 2-button 

system, you will not have the blue buttons. 

BestBET color-codes the buttons because it 

is important that the same person be 

pressing the same button for each race. If 

there is a problem with a person’s technique, 

it will be uncovered faster and can be 

corrected if they always use the same button. 

Color coding helps assure this. 

If you have purchased a 3-button system, 

you can use it as a 2-button system by 

specifying so from the BestBET MeetSetup | 

Buttons per Lane menu. This may be 

necessary if there is a shortage of meet 

workers. How you connect the 2 buttons 

depends on the lane order. If the lane order 

is low to high when moving away from 

BestBET, connect to the jacks for the red 

and white buttons. Connect to the jacks for 

the white and blue buttons if the lane order 

is high to low. 

Page B- 1 of 4 




Software 

The BestBET program - timer.exe - is 

completely “menu-driven”. There are no 

commands to remember or type. If fact, the 

main program is one large screen which 

looks like a timing console. See Figures 

3a/b and 4. Most of the activities that you 

will need to perform are handled from this 

main screen. A few setup activities are 

handled at the main menu (at the top of the 

timing console screen). 

BestBET behaves like any Windows 

program. You can select an activity by 

moving the mouse pointer to it and then 

clicking. Or, if a selection has an underlined 

letter or number, you can activate it by 

simply pressing the key of the underlined 

alphanumeric. From the main screen the 

BestBET operator can: 

• Enter the meet name/description 

(required) 

• Select the 'arming' mode to be 

manual or automatic 

• Select events and heats 

(optional) 

• Start monitoring for the Next 

Race (if in the 'Manual Arm' 

mode) 

• Print results of the last race 

• Re-set a race if a false start 

occurs 

• Start the SBC's clock if a race 

started and you were not ready 

(in the manual arm mode) 

• Turn off vacant lanes 

• Press finish buttons which 

should have been but weren’t 

• Re-set buttons if they are 

mistakenly pressed 

• Edit official times if there is a 

question or discrepancy with the 

button times 

• Edit event, heat, or race 

numbers 

The MeetSetup, RaceResults, 

ScoringProgram, ScoreBoard, and 

Run_TestMode menus are not on the main 

screen because these are choices that will 

typically be made once at the beginning of 

the meet and then not changed. From the 

MeetSetup menu (see Figure 5) the BestBET 

operator can: 

• “permanently” turn off lane(s) that will 

not be used most or all of the race. This 

saves the operator from having to designate 

the lane “vacant” from the main screen each 

race. Also, this feature allows an 8-lane 

BestBET system to be easily used in a 6– 

lane pool. The unused lane(s) can be turned 

back on from the main screen for any single 

race. 

• Choose to use only 2 of the 3 buttons if 

you have a 3-button system. This is not 

recommended, but sometimes there is just 

not enough help to be able to use all three. 

BestBET does not allow 3 buttons to be used 

in some lanes and 2 in others. 

• Choose to automatically print race 

results. BestBET’s default is to only print 

results when the operator wants them. But if 

you plan on printing results for each race 

anyway, choose to automatically print them. 

That way you won’t forget. 

• Choose the rules to be used when 

calculating official times - USS rules or 

BestBET rules. The main difference is 

when 3 button times are available (normal 

situation). USS rules would use the middle 

time. BestBET will average the times, 

unless there is too large a spread in which 

case the middle time will be used. Also, if 

there is a clear “outlier”, BestBET will 

average the 2 “good” times. If there is 

absolutely no agreement among the 3 times, 

BestBET will not calculate an official time 

and therefore force the BestBET operator to 

consult the stop watch backup time. This is 

explained in detail in Section C. 





• Select whether the lanes order is low-tohigh 

or high-to-low (counting as you move 

away from the timing system). This will 

depend on how your pool is configured and 

where the timing system is placed. 

• Choose a meet description file. This is 

optional, but helps the BestBET operator 

keep track of events and heats. This 

information is included on the race results 

printout from BestBET. 

• Tell BestBET if your meet’s heat 

sequencing is descending. If you select this 

option, you will then select the “normal” 

maximum heat number from which 

BestBET counts down. This value is easily 

changed from the main screen so don’t 

worry that some events have 8 heats and 

some only 1. 

Also not on the main screen is the Race 

Results menu. This menu is used mainly for 

the printer page setup, previewing race 

results, retrieving results from previous 

races, or loading a previous (unfinished) 

meet. See Figure 6. 

The ScoringProgram menu allows you to set 

communication properties with the computer 

running the scoring program. Changeable 

settings are the communication “port” 

(COM1, 2, 3, or 4) for serial 

communications or “LAN” for network 

communications (wireless or cable) and the 

scoring program that you are using. You 

will need to select one of each before 

sending race results. See Fig. 7. 

Three scoring programs have interfaces for 

BestBET. EasyMeet®, HyPoint®, or Hy- 

Tek® protocols can be selected from the 

ScoringProgram menu. BestBET can send 

the next, previous, and current race results 

and send results by race number or by event 

& heat number. Your scoring program may 

or may not have all these options. 

The ScoreBoard menu is where you tell 

BestBET which serial port is connected to 

your scoreboard (if you are using one) and if 

you are using a multi-line scoreboard. If 

you are not using a scoreboard, don’t worry 

about this menu. See Figure8. 

Although not typically done, any of these 

choices can be changed at any time during 

the meet. 

The Run_TestMode selection is also on the 

main menu. During a meet BestBET will be 

in run mode. Test mode allows you to test 

connections, push-buttons, starter operation, 

… during setup and at any time during the 

meet without affecting the race results data. 

BE CAREFUL not to start a meet in Test 

mode or else race results will not be saved. 

2) “Do’s” 

The BestBET program, timer.exe, is only 

monitoring the SBC and responding to 

operator commands. It is not monitoring 

starts and finishes – that is done by the SBC. 

So if the BestBET operator wishes, they can 

put timer.exe in ‘Automatically arm’ and do 

their taxes between races ☺. Just be sure to 

set vacant lanes before any finish occurs and 

also be sure all buttons have been pressed at 

the end of the race or the timer will never 

get re-armed. 

Also, Before starting the BestBET 

timer.exe program on the PC, you’ll need 

to do one of 2 things: 

• connect the network cross-over 

cable to the SBC and PC and turn 

on the SBC, and set the PC’s IP 

address (figures 2a/2b). BestBET 

recommends this method unless 

you want to communicate with a 

scoring program via a network. 

• configure a router, connect both 

the SBC and PC to it via straightthrough 

Ethernet cables, and turn 





on the SBC and router. 

Configuring some routers is not 

straight-forward so unless you will 

network with a scoring program, 

BestBET recommends that you 

connect to the SBC directly using a 

cross-over cable. 

If you start timer.exe first it will give you a 

message that it and the SBC are not 

communicating. If that happens, just start 

the SBC and connect it to the PC before 

acknowledging the communication error. 

3) Ways to Use BestBET 

• If you are not using a 

computerized scoring program 

BestBET saves the most time and effort if it 

is used with a computerized scoring 

program. However, BestBET also saves 

significant timer/ scorekeeping effort and 

still increases race times’ accuracy without 

computerized scoring. 

If you are score-keeping manually, you will 

HAVE to print the results of each race. 

Give these results, along with a “recorders” 

slip from each lane, to the scorekeeper. The 

computer printout, along with the 

contestant’s stop-watch backup time and 

name on the recorder slip, will allow the 

scorekeeper to accurately place and score 

the meet. 

Note that we recommend using a back-up 

stop watch. Even with a 3-button system, it 

is good practice to have 1 stop-watch time in 

each lane. No timing system is infallible, 

and as much redundancy as practical is a 

good idea. 

• Integrating with a Scoring 

Program 

Using BestBET with a computerized scorekeeping 

program greatly increases the utility 

of both systems. BestBET eliminates the 

need to key times into the program and the 

program eliminates the need to sort 

BestBET times and then assign them to the 

correct contestant. 

To use a scoring program, simply connect 

the two computers, one running BestBET 

and the other running the scoring program, 

in one of 2 ways: 

• with a “null-modem” cable via the 

computers’ serial ports. Select a Comm 

port and your scoring program (see 

Figure 7). BestBET supports Comm 

ports 1-4 but most computers don’t have 

port 3 or 4. If you choose a port that 

does not exist on your computer or that 

is already in use, BestBET will tell you 

so. If this happens simply choose a 

different port until you don’t get an error 

message. 

• with a local area network (LAN) via a 

router. The connection can be cable or 

wireless. See figures 11a-c, 12, and the 

Appendix for instructions on setting up 

a LAN and ‘mapping’ a network drive 

so that BestBET knows where to send 

race results. 

It is not absolutely necessary to print race 

results from BestBET when using a scoring 

program since all results can be printed in 

finish order from it. However, it is still 

good practice to print BestBET results both 

as a back-up and so the scorekeeper can 

verify empty lanes and scratches 




Section C – DETAILED OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS 

Be sure to connect the SBC and PC first, 

either directly with a crossover cable or 

through a router with straight-through 

cables, and turn on the SBC (and router) 

before starting the timer.exe on the PC. If 

you start timer.exe first it will give you an 

error message that it and the SBC are not 

communicating. If you still get the 

communication error message, you probably 

have not set the PC’s IP address correctly 

(or configured the router correctly). See 

figures 2a/b or 11a-c. 

1. Meet Name 

After starting the timer.exe program, the 

very first thing you need to do is enter a 

Meet Name. BestBET uses this name to 

create a file on your hard disk and 

automatically store race results in this file. 

This is useful if you lose some results or 

haven’t sent some results to the scoring 

program (assuming you are using one) and a 

power outage occurs. 

Any meet name which is an acceptable file 

name is OK. Press the “tab” key after 

entering the name. If the name is not 

acceptable, BestBET will tell you so and 

advise you to simplify it. 

2. MeetSetup (before races begin) 

Refer to figure 5 for the next 9 items. 

BestBET uses default values for all of the 

items on the Setup menu the first time you 

use it. If these default values are OK, then 

you don’t need to use this menu to change 

them. BestBET also remembers your 

settings if you change them and loads the 

same settings the next time you use 

BestBET. If you do need to change the 

settings, the rest of this section explains 

how. 

• Lanes not used the entire meet 

If a lane will be vacant all or even most of a 

meet, designate it as not used from the Setup 

menu. This will save you the nuisance from 

continually having to mark it as vacant from 

the main screen. The “not used” designation 

can be over-ridden as needed from the main 

screen by un-marking the appropriate 

“Vacant Lanes” check box. 

• Number of timer buttons used per 

lane (2 or 3) 

The default choice for a 3-button system is 3 

buttons per lane. If you have a 3-button 

system but will only be using 2 buttons per 

lane, tell BestBET so from the Setup menu. 

Select Setup, then select “2” in the “Buttons 

per lane” box. 

If you have a 2-button system, your only 

“choice” will be 2 buttons per lane (set 

automatically at program startup). There is 

not an option to use only 1 button per lane. 

• Automatically Print Race Results 

BestBET does not normally print race 

results unless the operator asks for a printout 

(by clicking the PrintRaceResults button or 

the p key). But if you plan to print results 

from each race anyway, choose “Yes” for 

this menu item. Results will then be 

automatically printed as soon as each race 

finishes. 

• Rules used to calculate official time 

(USS or BestBET) 

The BestBET operator has their choice of 

which logic is used to calculate the official 

time from the 3 button times. Either straight 

USS Rules can be used or somewhat fairer 

BestBET rules. The main difference is how 

official times are calculated when there are 3 

button times available. 

Page C- 1 of 9 




USS Rules normally use the middle (median) 

time. This is not unreasonable, but BestBET 

takes advantage of modern computer 

capabilities to make the calculation fairer, 

although more complicated. 

lane correspondence depending upon the 

lane order selection. 

• Delay before Re-arming (if in 

‘automatically arm’ mode) 

If the 3 button times are all within 0.3 

seconds of each other, BestBET timing rules 

average the 3 times. If one button time is 

different by 0.3 seconds or more from the 

other 2 but the other 2 are close (0.3 seconds 

or better), BestBET averages only the 2 good 

times. If the difference between the fastest 

and slowest button is 0.3 seconds or greater 

but neither the fastest or slowest time is the 

clear “bad” time, BestBET, like USS, uses 

the median time. 

If the 3 push-button times are in total 

disagreement, BestBET rules will not 

calculate an official time. Instead, that lane 

will be given an “8888.88” time. The 

operator should refer to the stop watch backup 

time and then manually enter an official 

time. 

The only other difference in the two sets of 

rules is what happens when there is only 1 

button time. USS Rules will use this button 

time. BestBET requires the operator to enter 

the official time in such a case. The intent is 

that the operator verify the 1 button time and 

stopwatch time are in reasonable agreement 

before setting an official time. 

• Lane order 

If the lanes are numbered low-to-high (1 to 

last lane) as they move away from the 

timing system, select “low to high” from the 

Lane order menu (default choice). If you 

are using 2 buttons per lane, the jacks for the 

red and white buttons should be used. 

Alternately, if the lanes are numbered high 

to low moving away from the scoring 

system, select “high to low”. Connect to the 

jacks for the white and blue buttons if you 

are using 2 buttons per lane and this 

configuration. BestBET sets the button and 



Values between 2-9 seconds are allowed. 

BestBET recommends 1 second per lane, or 

6 seconds for a 6 lane timing system and 8 

seconds for an 8-lane system. This allows 

enough time to inspect results and switch to 

‘manual re-arm’ if necessary to make 

adjustments. 

• File with Meet Events’ Descriptions 

To help the BestBET operator keep track of 

what event is occurring, a file containing the 

event numbers, distances, and descriptions 

can be imported. Figure 10 shows an 

example of such a file, and the following 

describes how to create the file. 

If you decide to use such a file, you will 

have to select events from that file – 

manually altering or adding events during 

the meet is then not allowed. If you don’t 

use a file, you can manually enter the event 

description, number, and distance for each 

event. These values show on the race results 

printout, just as events selected from a list 

do. 

Any number of meet event description files 

can be created and then the correct one 

imported at the particular meet you are 

timing. Importing another events’ 

description file replaces any description file 

currently being used by BestBET. The 

event numbers, descriptions, and distances 

will appear in their respective places on the 

main screen. There are 2 basic ways to 

create a file. 

Using a word processing program: 

1. Using any text editor (NotePad, 

WordPad, WordPerfect, Word,…), type



a list of events with one event number, 

distance, and description per row. 

2. The number-distance have be separated 

by a space or tab, as does the distancedescription. 

Type only 1 event per line. 

3. Save the file as a “text” file (.txt 

extension). All text editors have this 

option. Save the file to the same folder 

as the timer.exe program. 

Using a spreadsheet program: 

1. In the first 3 columns of the first row of 

a new worksheet, enter the event#, 

distance, and event description, 

respectively, of the 1 st event. 

2. In the 2 nd row, enter the event#, 

distance, and description of the 2 nd 

event, respectively in the 1 st 3 columns. 

Continue adding events, 1 event to a 

row, until finished. 

3. Save the worksheet as a Tab-delimited 

text file (NOT as a spreadsheet (xls or 

wk4 or…) file). 

You do not have to create or select any meet 

file if you choose not to use this feature. 

3. Race Results 

From the race results menu the printed 

output is formatted, previewed, and if 

desired, printed. Also, results from prior 

races can be retrieved. Refer to Fig. 6 for 

the next 3 items. 

• Preview and Page Setup 

These menu items are related so will be 

discussed together. Before you print results 

the first time, use the Preview menu item to 

see what the printout will look like. You 

may have to select Setup | Landscape (vs. 

Portrait) to get all the race results on one 

page. 

After printing is Setup and the print results 

look as you desire them, you can print from 

the RaceResults menu but it is easier to 

simply press the Print Race Results button 

from the main screen or “P” on the 

keyboard. But it is even easier to choose 

'Automatically Print' race results from the 

Setup menu. 

• Heat Sequencing 

If your meet starts with the highest heat 

number for each event and ends with heat 1, 

choose the “Descending” sequence option. 

For each new event the heat numbers will 

then start high and count down. Otherwise 

BestBET will by default start with heat 1 for 

each event and increase the heat number 

each race. 

If you change the default to “Descending”, 

you will then be asked to select the “normal” 

maximum heat number. Values from 1 to 

100 are allowed. BestBET sets the heat 

number to this value at the beginning of 

each event. If the beginning heat number is 

different, and it often will be, just change it 

to the correct value at the main screen once 

that event starts (and after choosing 

NextEventandRace if in the manual arm 

mode). 



• Finding prior Race results 

If you need to retrieve results from a 

previous race (forgot to print results or they 

got lost or …), you can do it from the 

RaceResults | Find Previous Race Results | 

by Event/heat# or by Race# menu. You’ll 

need to switch to Manually arming and look 

for old results between races. 

If you are finding the results by 

Event/heat#, enter that Event# and Heat# in 

the correct places on the screen then select 


by Event/heat#. If you're finding results by 

Race#, enter that Race# then select 


by Race#. Those results will then be 

displayed and can be (re)printed.



Don’t forget to re-enter the last race number 

when you are done. But if you don’t 

BestBET will warn you. If you choose to 

ignore the warning, results stored to the hard 

disk file will have duplicate race numbers. 

Also, some results stored in RAM will be 

destroyed (overwritten) and a scoring 

program may not be able to find the correct 

race results. And if you are networking with 

a scoring program computer, some if it’s 

files will be overwritten. 

• Loading a previous Meet 

This command can be used to load the 

contents of a previous meet. This is useful if 

there is a power outage and all results have 

not been sent to the scoring program or 

printed. It is also useful if you are timing a 

meet lasting more than a day and you need 

to turn the computer off overnight. Just 

click on the command and BestBET will 

show you a list of previous Meets (the Meet 

names will have the extension .bbt 

appended). Select the Meet you want and 

click the OK button. The Meet will then be 

loaded into memory and the last race from 

that Meet displayed. You can then retrieve 

previous race results as described in the 

previous section or simply continue the 

Meet. 

4. Scoring program 

The COM port or LAN and the scoring 

program are selected from ScoringProgram. 

Refer to Fig. 7. Also refer to Fig. 11a-c, 

Fig. 12, and the Appendix if using a LAN 

for scoring program communications. 

5. ScoreBoard 

If you have purchased a scoreboard with 

your BestBET system, you need to tell 

BestBET which serial port is connected to 

the scoreboard. Do this from the 

ScoreBoard menu. See Figure 8. You must 

select a different serial port than you are 

using for other tasks, such as a mouse or the 

scoring program computer. If the computer 

displays the message “Port already open or 

non-existent…” when you try to select a 

comm port, it is already being used so select 

a different one. If your computer does not 

have an available serial port, ports can be 

added via expansion cards or USB ports. 

BestBET can supply this hardware at 

additional cost. 

If you are using a multi-line scoreboard, you 

need to tell BestBET from the ScoreBoard 

menu. Also, if you want to change the 

finish display time on a single-line scoreboard, 

do so at the ScoreBoard menu. The 

default time is 4 seconds until the next finish 

is displayed or the scoreboard reverts to the 

elapsed time (if there is not yet another 

finish to display). 

BestBET automatically sends race results to 

the scoring program. You only need to 

connect the BestBET computer to the 

computer running the scoring program with 

either 

• a null modem cable (serial port 

connection) and pick a COM port. 

Be sure to use a null modem cable, 

aka data transfer cable, and not a 

straight-through cable, aka mouse 

extension cable. 

• An Ethernet cable or wireless card. 

. 



The elapsed time and finish times are 

displayed on the scoreboard during the race. 

After the last finish occurs the results are 

displayed again until the next race starts. 

Usually the next race starts before the 2nd 

round of finish times ends. 

If you want to show results again on a 

single-line scoreboard, e.g., you have edited 

a finish time(s), press the “Display Results 

on Scoreboard” button on the screen or the 

“D” key on the keyboard. If the next race



starts during this last cycle, the elapsed time 

for the next race will be displayed. 

6. Run or Test Mode 

Refer to Figure 9. When running the meet 

you will be in ‘Run’ mode and the screen 

color will be teal. The ‘Test’ mode allows 

you to check operation of the system 

without storing any results and therefore 

without affecting any data in RAM or the 

files stored to the hard drive. You have to 

be in ‘Manually’ arming mode before 

selecting ‘Test’. The screen will turn red to 

remind you that you are in this mode and to 

go back to ‘Run’ mode before actually 

starting the meet. 

7. 'Arming' BestBET - Manual vs. 

Auto mode 

This option is selected from the main screen. 

The BestBET operator can choose to press 

the NextRace or NextEvent… button before 

each race. This is the default mode and the 

mode to which BestBET is set when first 

started. 

Alternatively, the operator can select the 

'Automatically Arm' mode. BestBET will 

automatically reset and arm itself 2 - 9 

seconds after the race is finished – the 

BestBET operator chooses the reset delay 

from the ‘Meet Setup’ menu as previously 

discussed. Some features of BestBET, such 

as finding previous races or changing race 

numbers manually, are not available when in 

the 'Automatically Arm' mode so you'll have 

to switch back to 'Manually Arm' to use 

them. The operator can switch between 

automatic and manual arm as often as 

needed. 

When in the automatic arm mode you'll still 

have to keep track of events and manually 

change events (if you are using this feature - 

see the next section). 

8. Event description and number 

The Event number and description can be 

selected from a drop-down list (if you have 

chosen an event description file from the Setup 

menu), entered manually, or left blank. 

Whenever the event changes at poolside, you 

will need to update the Event if you are keeping 

track of them. 

If you are operating in 'Manually Arm' 

mode, the easiest way to do this is to use the 

“Next Event AND Race” button. This is 

described in Section 10. Alternatively, you 

can select either the new event description 

or number. Selecting either of these 

2 event items automatically updates the 

other 2. 

9. Heat numbers 

BestBET increments (or decrements if heat 

sequence is descending) the Heat number 

every time it re-arms itself (auto arm mode) 

or you press the Next Race button (manual 

arm mode). BestBET automatically resets 

the Heat number if you change the event 

manually. 

Event and heat numbers can be used to 

retrieve previous race results. See the 

discussion in topic 3. 

10. Race number 

You will not normally need to enter or 

change a race number. BestBET 

automatically increments the race number 

every time it re-arms itself (auto arm mode) 

or you press the Next Race button (manual 

arm mode). It also decreases the race 





number if there is a false start and you press 

the False Start button. 

11. Date, time 

The date and time are automatically set by 

BestBET using your computer’s clock. The 

operator cannot edit this data. The date and 

time are updated every time BestBET rearms 

itself (auto arm mode) or you press the 

Next Race button (manual arm mode). This 

date, time “stamp” is useful in sorting out 

race results if there is any confusion about 

which results correspond with which heat. 

12. Starting a new race (including the 

1 st race) 

After you have selected the ‘Meet Setup’ 

choices (Buttons per Lane, Unused Lanes, 

Timer Precision, Official Time Rules, Lane 

order, meet description file) and entered a 

Meet Name, you are ready to start a meet. If 

you want BestBET to automatically arm 

itself, click the 'Arm Timer for Next Race - 

Automatically' button. If you want to arm 

BestBET manually, just press the NextRace 

button or NextEventANDRace button. 

Whether you have chosen automatic or 

manual, the timer is now ready (as indicated 

by the ‘READY’ in the 'Elapsed Time' 

window) and the race and heat numbers are 

incremented. Next Event… also increments 

the event description/number/distance. 

You can tell BestBET at this time which, if 

any, lanes are vacant. But it is often best to 

wait until the race starts, just to be sure. 

When the Starter begins the race, the SBC 

will start its timer and the Elapsed Time 

clock will display that information. To 

“tell” BestBET which lanes are vacant (in 

addition to any Unused lanes), just click the 

appropriate Vacant Lane check box. 

BestBET will set all times in that lane to 

“9999.99”. This is the indication that there 

will not be a time for those lanes’ buttons. 

13. A Race Starts but BestBET Didn't 

This could happen if you are using BestBET 

in the manual arming mode and you didn't 

re-arm after the last race. BestBET will tell 

you that the SBC has detected a start – just 

answer yes to the question it asks. The 

correct elapsed time will then be displayed 

and finish times will be correct. 

A race could also start when BestBET isn’t 

ready if it thinks the last race did not finish 

(a button wasn’t pressed and the BestBET 

operator didn’t press the appropriate ‘Lazy 

Button’). If this happens, finish the race 

(probably by clicking the appropriate ‘Press 

Lazy Buttons’), then click the 'Start Timer' 

button (the button which toggles between 

'False Start' and 'Start Timer'). [If using the 

automatically arming option switch to 

‘Manual Arm’ first.] Obviously the finish 

times will not be correct but placing will be 

accurate. Correct the finish times according 

to USS rules by adding the average stop 

watch time difference - see the USS rule 

book. 

14. False start – what to do 

Easy – just press the False Start button. 

False starts can occur if the timer presses the 

recall button or if the starter switch activates 

randomly (watch out for this). BestBET will 

decrement the Race and Heat numbers. If in 

the manual arm mode you will have to press 

the 'NextRace/NextEvent' button again. 

You will also have to tell BestBET again 

which lanes are vacant. 





15. Empty lane – what to do 

In addition to the Unused Lanes which you 

specified in the Setup main menu, there will 

often be vacant lanes in the normally-used 

lanes. As discussed previously, you tell 

BestBET which lanes are vacant by 

checking the appropriate Vacant Lane check 

box. This sets all times in the lane to 

9999.99. This is a “marker” used by 

BestBET to indicate that there will not be 

button times for that lane. 

16. Somebody doesn’t press a button 

Normally all buttons in a lane with a 

contestant will be pressed and the corresponding 

time will display on the BestBET 

screen. Occasionally, however, a button 

won’t be pressed, or will not register, or … 

When this happens, click the appropriate 

Press Lazy Buttons. This sets the time for 

any buttons in that lane which weren’t 

pressed to 9999.99. This time is ignored in 

the calculation of the official time, and 

serves to indicate that the time did not come 

from a lane button. 

17. You made a mistake about an 

empty lane or pressed the wrong 

“Lazy Button”– what to do 

If you selected the wrong vacant lane, just 

“un-check” it and check the correct empty 

lane. If you pressed the wrong “lazy 

buttons” lane, the safest thing to do is check 

that lane as vacant then un-check it. You 

could also press that lane’s Reset Lane 

Buttons, but if you are not careful and Reset 

a lane which has finish times, those times 

will be wiped out. 

18. Timer(s) Press Push Button(s) 

Prematurely 

If this happens just press the appropriate 

Reset Lane Buttons. This will reset all times 

in that lane. BE CAREFUL! BestBET will 

not ask for confirmation and if you reset a 

lane which has legitimate times they will be 

eliminated. 

19. Manually entering an official time 

(over-riding official time) 

• If no buttons were pressed in a lane – 

You have no choice but to refer to the stopwatch 

back-up time. Click the “ Press Lazy 

Buttons” for the affected lanes. Print the 

result without having an actual time for this 

lane. When you get the stop watch time, 

either you or the scorekeeper can write it 

into the “official time” cell on the printout. 

If you’d like, you can enter the time into the 

computer. You’ll need to do this between 

races since BestBET doesn’t allow such 

interruption during an event. Set BestBET 

to the manual arm mode, enter the race 

number in the Race Number cell, then go to 

the RaceResults | Find Previous Race 

Results | by Race#. Just type the time into 

the correct “official time” cell then press the 

Tab key. Before pressing Next Race or 

returning to the automatic arm mode, enter 

the last race# and bring up that race so that 

when BestBET increments the heat and race 

all the info will be correct. 

• If only 1 button was pressed (and you 

are using BestBET rules) – You can choose 

to manually enter the one button time in the 

official time cell or else refer to the stop 

watch time as just discussed. 

• If the finish judge(s) decide that the 

places as determined by the push-button 





times are wrong, you can correct the 

situation by changing a finish time. You 

cannot directly change a place – places are 

determined by BestBET from the Official 

Time(s). 

The correct way to change placing is to 

subtract the minimum time necessary from 

the swimmer whom the judges rule had a 

better finish. You'll need to be in the 

manual arm mode and between, not in the 

midst of, races. Simply highlight that 

swimmer’s official time, enter the faster 

time, and press the “Tab” key. BestBET 

will recalculate finishes. Print a corrected 

results sheet if you already had printed the 

incorrect results. 

Whenever you manually change the official 

time BestBET places an “X” on the right 

hand side of the time to signify that it has 

been edited; the “X” also is displayed on the 

printout. This “X” marker serves to keep 

everything on the “up-and-up” by making it 

clear that the official time was edited. 

20. Displaying results 

Results are automatically displayed if you 

are using a scoreboard and have selected a 

ScoreBoard communication port. After the 

last finish in a race, the results are displayed 

one more time until the next race starts. If 

you are in the manual arm mode and want to 

display results again, click the Display 

Results on Scoreboard button or press “D”. 

BestBET will cycle through the results again 

in finish order. Cycle through the results as 

many times as the meet and your desire 

permit. 

You can press the NextRace/NextEvent… 

button while results are being displayed. 

Results will be displayed until the cycle 

finishes or until another race starts. Then the 

elapsed time for the current race will be 

displayed. 

21. Saving and/or printing results 

Race results are automatically saved to 

computer memory (RAM) and to the hard 

drive. 

The easiest way to print results is by the 

Print Race Results button on the BestBET 

main screen. Pressing the “P” on the 

keyboard does the same thing. If you plan 

to print every race, select “Automatically 

Print – Yes” from the Setup menu. If some 

lanes’ results don’t show on the printout, go 

to the main menu RaceResults | Print Setup 

and set the printout to Landscape (instead of 

Portrait). Print again and all lanes should be 

included. 

See the next topic for how to view the race 

results that are saved to the hard disk. 

22. Power outage 

If you are using a computer that does not 

have battery back-up and there is a power 

outage (e.g., somebody trips over the 

computer’s extension cord) and not all 

results have been printed and/or sent to the 

score keeper, results can be retrieved from 

the hard disk. BestBET saves the race 

results to a file with the extension “.bbt” 

appended. This file can be re-loaded into 

the BestBET timing program. See par. (4.) 

of this section for instructions. 

It can also be viewed using the operating 

system’s Notepad or WordPad program. 

Both of these programs are simple word 

processors; any other word processor can 

also be used. Start whichever program you 

want to use to open the file, then open the 

appropriate file. It will be in the same 

directory that the BestBET program is 

located. 

The file contains race details and is suitable 

for troubleshooting. Results will be 

displayed very much like the individual 

race printouts. You can also print any of the 





results using the word processor’s printing 

commands. BE CAREFUL NOT TO EDIT 

THIS FILE. If you do there is a good 

chance that the timer.exe program will not 

be able to load it. If you open the file and 

upon closing it the computer asks if you 

want to save changes, say ‘no’. If you want 

to work on the file, make a copy and then 

work on the copy. 




Section D – GLOSSARY 

alphanumeric – a typed character which is 

either a letter or number. 

armed - when the timer is looking for the 

start of the next race. The big 'READY' in 

the 'Elapsed Time' window indicates that the 

SBC is armed. If that window reads ‘NOT 

RDY’ then it is not armed. 

BestBET program – the software, timer.exe, 

that runs on a PC and turns the PC into a 

timing console. 

cell – an area on the computer’s screen 

where data is displayed. Sometimes the data 

is “read-only” (it can’t be changed). Some 

data can be changed by the BestBET 

operator. 

COM1 – one of the communications ports 

on a personal computer. Most PC’s have a 

COM1 and COM2, and some have COM3 

and COM4. The BestBET user needs to 

select which communications ports to use to 

send data to the scoring computer and score 

board, if using them. Do this from the 

ScoringProgram and ScoreBoard menus, 

respectively. 

CPU – initials of Central Processing Unit. 

The “brains” of a computer. Handles 

calculations, program instructions, and 

input/output. 

Cross-over cable – as opposed to a straightthrough 

cable. The type of Ethernet cable 

used to connect the SBC directly to a PC’s 

Ethernet port. 

the other 2 are not competing against each 

other. There are 2 of each place. A 

computer scoring program is often used to 

help sort the multiple placement. See also 

triangle meet. 

Ethernet cable – a cable with 8 wires and 

RJ45 jacks on each end. The RJ45’s look 

like telephone plugs but are slightly larger. 

There are 2 types of Ethernet cables – crossover 

and straight-through. The cross-over 

cables are used to connect the SBC and PC 

directly while the straight-through cables 

connect the SBC and PC via a router. 

false start – an illegal start occurred 

(someone started early, not every racer was 

in a correct start position,…) so the race is 

stopped. The BestBET operator needs to 

press the False Start button (then the Next 

Race button if in manual arm mode). 

folder – same as a directory. Space on a 

storage device (floppy disk or hard disk) 

where related information is stored. You 

can make folders, give them a meaningful 

name, and store data in the folder. 

hard disk – a permanent storage device in 

the computer where programs and the 

operating system are normally kept. The 

hard disk cannot be readily removed from 

the computer, unlike a floppy disk or 

memory stick. 

Icon – a figure or picture that represents a 

word or phrase. Useful to help overcome 

language barriers. 

directory – same as a folder. Space on a 

storage device (e.g., floppy disk , hard disk, 

memory card…) where related information 

is stored. You can make directories, give 

them a meaningful name, and store related 

information in the directory. 

double dual meet– a meet with three teams 

but instead of a 3-way contest, 2 dual meets 

are occurring at the same time. One of the 

teams is competing against the other 2, but 

Page D - 1 of 3 


IP Address – the numerical ‘location’ of a 

computer on a network. Represented as a 

set of four, 3-digit numbers separated by 

periods – abc.def.ghi.klm. Each of the 3- 

digit numbers can range from 0-255. 

landscape – “sideways” printing versus 

“normal” (portrait) printing. 

lane order – the lanes as numbered moving 

away from the timing system. If the lanes



start with “1” and increase in number, select 

“low to high” from the Startup | Lane order 

menu. If the lane numbers start with the last 

lane and decrease to the first lane, select 

“high to low”. 

Local Area Network (LAN) – a network 

which connects several (2-200) computers 

within a small geographical area. The 

computers can ‘talk’ to each other and share 

data, files, printers, … Connections are 

typically made with an Ethernet cable or 

WiFi. 

Mapping (a network folder) – WXP allows 

you to name a folder, shared on the network, 

as a letter, much like ‘C’ is commonly used 

for your PC’s hard drive. This ‘mapping’ of 

the folder makes it easy to access the folder 

just by using the letter name. BestBET uses 

this technique to know where to send race 

results if you are communicating with a 

scoring computer via a LAN. See Fig. 12 

and the Appendix for instructions on how to 

map a network folder. 

meet events’ description file – a file which 

can be imported by BestBET and shows the 

meet’s event numbers, distances, and 

descriptions on the main screen. Two 

example files are supplied with BestBET – 

SummrRec.txt and HiSchool.txt 

memory card – a storage device such as a 

‘stick’ which connects to a USB port, or a 

CompactFlash card. These are good devices 

from which to run timer.exe. They are fast, 

and the frequent writing of race results to 

them will not eventually wear out the 

device, unlike a hard drive. 

allowing the BestBET operator to mark 

vacant lanes, press lazy buttons… and print 

results. 

Network Interface Card (NIC) – A place to 

plug in a network cable. The cable ends, 

called RJ45, look like a telephone plug but 

are larger. The NIC contains the 

components necessary to communicate over 

a network 

null-modem cable – the type of cable needed 

if you are connecting a scoring computer to 

the BestBET timing computer via serial 

ports. The cable has female 9-pin 

connectors on each end which plug into the 

serial port of each computer. Two types of 

9-pin cables are common – the null-modem 

and the straight-through (aka mouse 

extension cable). A straight through cable, 

used to connect a scoring computer to some 

commercial timing systems, will not work. 

official time – the one time, calculated from 

the 3 button times, which will be called the 

contestant’s time. The official time is 

usually either the average or the median 

(middle) of the 3 button times. 

operating system – the program which 

contains instructions on how the computer 

handles keyboard input, mouse activity, 

printing… and other programs. Common 

personal computer operating systems 

include various versions of Windows, 

UNIX, Apple Mac OS’s, and Linux. 

phone jack – the type of electrical 

connections in the central cable. They 

connect to the push buttons’ phone plugs. 

multi-tasking – the ability of an operating 

system, such as Windows or Unix, to do 

different tasks simultaneously. What really 

happens is that the operating system gives 

each task sequential bits of time to do their 

jobs. This sequencing happens so rapidly 

that it appears several tasks are occurring at 

the same time. Multi-tasking allows 

BestBET to monitor the SBC while also 



phone plug – the type of electrical 

connection at the end of the button cables. 

Connects to a phone jack. 

portrait – “normal” versus “sideways” 

(landscape) printing. 

Push buttons – the handles which contain 

the push-button switches pressed by the



people doing the timing. Each lane has 

either 2 or 3 “buttons” whose handles are 

colored red, white, or blue. 

RAM – acronym for Random Access 

Memory. The computer memory from 

which programs run. This memory is about 

1,000,000 times faster than hard disk 

memory, but is not permanent – when you 

turn the computer off data in RAM is lost. 

Router – a device that enables 

communication between the SBC, the 

computer running timer.exe, and the scoring 

program computer via a network. 

Companies that make routers include 

AirLink, Belkin, DLink, Linksys, and 

NetGear. 

score board – a display which shows the 

elapsed time and the contestant’s lane, place, 

and finish time. One- or multi-line 

scoreboards can be purchased for use with 

the BestBET timing system. 

screen saver – a program which changes the 

screen if a computer is not used for a few 

minutes. It prevents screen “burn-in” which 

happens when the screen displays the same 

information for long periods of time. 

Single Board Computer (SBC) – a computer 

usually used for specific, well-defined tasks. 

Has limited input/output, usually without a 

keyboard, mouse, or monitor. BestBET uses 

an SBC to monitor the electronic starter and 

push-buttons. 

touch pad – a device which a swimmer 

touches upon finishing a race and which 

then signals a timing system. 

triangle meet – a 3-team meet where 3 dual 

meets are occurring at the same time. Team 

A is competing against Team B, Team B is 

competing against Team C, and Team C is 

competing against Team A. All 3 teams are 

racing at the same time and there are 3 of 

each place. The scorekeeper, often with the 

help of a scoring program, sorts out the 

multiple placements. See also double-dual 

meet. 

USS timing rules – USS are the initials for 

United States Swimming, a governing body 

for competitive swimming. USS has 

established rules for how to decide the 

official time from touch pads and button 

times. 

Windows 95, 98, Me, NT, XP – the PC 

operating systems on which BestBET will 

run. 

Wireless adapter or card – a device that 

connects to a network without wires. Many 

modern computers have a wireless device 

built in. Several types of wireless devices 

can be purchased to add wireless capability 

to your computer. These include USB, PCI 

bus, and PC Cards. 

split times – the individual lap times (1 lap = 

2 pool lengths) in a swim race or in a relay 

race, each members individual time. 

starting system – a device which starts a race 

typically by sounding a beep and flashing a 

strobe light. A timing system, such as 

BestBET, detects this start and then starts 

the elapsed time clock. Starting systems 

include Colorado, OMEGA, and Daktronics. 




Section E – Technical Information 

Operating Systems 

Windows 95, 98 , Me, 2000, XP, or Windows NT 3.51 or 

higher 

Maximum number of races stored per meet 999 

Computer Requirements 

• 64 MB RAM 

• Hard Disk Space - 2 MB for program and 0.1 – 0.5 MB per meet, 

depending on meet size 

• CPU - Pentium class 

BestBET Options 

• 6 lanes, 2 buttons per lane 



Electrical Safety 

- 5 V at ~ 2 milliamps 

- inherently safe via normally positive digital input 

Serial Communications 

- supports baud rates 9600 – 56000 

- supports COM1, 2, 3, &4 

- Other settings: no parity, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit. No flow control. 

Data transmitted by BestBET in response to scoring program request of: 

‣ “W” – BestBET system description, a null-terminated string of app. 70 bytes 

‣ “SC” - “current” race results are transmitted (race index unchanged) 

‣ “SN” - “next” race results are transmitted (race index increased by 1) 

‣ “SL” - “previous” race results are transmitted (race index decreased by 1) 

‣ “SRxxx” – where xxx is the race number: the race index is set to the requested race 

number and then results transmitted. Race 7 can be requested as “SR7” or “SR07” or 

“SR007”. 

‣ “SEHeehh” – where ee is the event number and hh is the heat number. Unlike 

requests by race number, both ee and hh must be exactly 2 digits, e.g., Event 7 is sent 

as “07”. Results are transmitted after BestBET finds the corresponding race number. 

race results 

- race-, event-, and heat-number, in that order, in a 10-byte ASCII string, counting the 

terminating null character. The 1 st 3 bytes are the race#, the next 3 the event#, and the last 

3 the heat#. Then, 

- the date/time, an 18 byte null-terminated ASCII string, with the null character, then 

- in order from 1 to last, each of the lanes’ official time, in seconds. Each time is a 8 bytes in 

the format “xxxx.xxx”. Vacant lanes’ times will be 9999.990. An official time will be 

8888.888 if the button times were wildly different and the BestBET operator did not 

manually enter an official time. 

Page E - 1 of 1 



Section F – Appendix – Networking with a Scoring Program 

Communicating with a scoring program via a network offers some advantages over communications via 

a serial connection. The length of a network cable is for practical purposes infinite while a serial cable 

is limited to a few hundred feet at most. Or a wireless network connection can be used which allows 

even greater flexibility on where the scoring program computer can be placed. 

But setting up a network is not for the faint of heart. It requires that a router be configured which is not 

trivial for some routers, a folder (directory) on the scoring program be set to ‘sharing’, and that same 

folder be ‘mapped’ to a network drive on the BestBET computer. Figures 11a-c and 12 describe some 

of the basics on configuring routers and sharing/mapping folders. In addition to that information, the 

following Microsoft web sites offer valuable networking information for Windows XP networks: 

• http://www.microsofr.com/windowsxp/using/networking/getstarted/getsetup.mspx for basic 

information on setting up a home network. Ignore the discussion on connecting to the Internet 

– for the BestBET timing system the computers that need to network with each other are the 

SBC, the PC running the BestBET timer.exe program, and the PC running the scoring program. 

• http://www.microsofr.com/windowsxp/using/networking/getstarted/shareresources.mspx for 

information on sharing files and mapping a network drive. 

• If these web sites have changed, try www.microsoft.com and searching for networking in 

Windows XP. 

If you do not need the extra distance/flexibility offered by networking, BestBET recommends 

communicating with a scoring program via a serial connection. It is much simpler to set up although a 

serial port is required (or a USB port and a USB-serial adapter). 

Page F - 1 of 1

B e s t B E T

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?