June 2022
CP Open and Close Times and Directionally Sensitive Checkpoints
In the Richta GPS Checkpoints system, when a rally entrant passes a checkpoint, the Competitor – GPS Checkpoints app detects this passage of the checkpoint and generates a timeslip and a score; that is what the app is meant to do.
There are course layouts, however, which require altering this behavior. Maybe the course doubles back on itself down the same roads, and you have checkpoints that should be detected in the morning but not in the afternoon. Perhaps there is a checkpoint down a side road that will trigger a false checkpoint reading. Maybe the checkpoint is on an access road, close to a highway, that the rally route uses. Or maybe the road is full of switchbacks, and the checkpoint on the lower portion of the rally route is detected too early.
Rallymasters now have two ways to control whether the app detects a checkpoint; setting open and close times and making the checkpoint sensitive to the direction in which the Competitor passes the checkpoint.
The Richta system has supported open and close times on checkpoints since June 2020. When a checkpoint has an open time set, any competitor who passes the checkpoint before the open time will not be timed there. Likewise, when a Competitor passes a checkpoint after the close time, they will not be timed there.
Open and close times are not adjusted for car numbers. They are absolute times of day.
In June 2022, new releases of the apps now allow directionally sensitive checkpoints. The Rallymaster can assign a direction in which the checkpoint must be passed, with a 45-degree margin or error. A direction of 0 or 360 indicates the checkpoint must be passed while heading north, 90 means east, 180 south, and 270 west. This feature, directionally sensitive checkpoints, is believed to provide Rallymasters with the tools they need to ensure proper checkpoint detection.
Version 1.23 or later of the Competitor app supports directionally sensitive checkpoints.
Neither open and close times nor directional sensitivity is intended to be set at every checkpoint. Only use these settings when you need to alter the app behavior.
To stay informed about the latest news, consider joining my private Facebook Group – Richta GPS Checkpoints.
Rich Bireta
richtarally@comeroadrallywith.us
