lynx System Developers FinishLynx User manual

FinishLynx Scholastic System Quick Start Guide Page 1
FinishLynx Scholastic Package
Quick Start Guide
For EtherLynx Vision Cameras

FinishLynx Scholastic System Quick Start Guide Page 2
FinishLynx Scholastic System
Verify that your FinishLynx Scholastic System contains the components pictured here. If something is missing, or you have questions
regarding your system, call: 1-800-989-LYNX or send an email to [email protected].
Item
Description
Part
Number
Item
Description
Part Number
Carrying case
1A210
Normally closed start
sensor with light
3L400
EtherLynx Vision
Scholastic high
sensitivity camera
5L510
500 ft. start sensor
cable
3A100
CS Mount 2.8-10mm P-
Iris Lens
CS2810P
DB15 to XLR
Connection cable
451-S
Not pictured
Scholastic-level Timer
enable option
embedded in camera
5LTE
25 ft. Ethernet cables
(x2)
C10BT-25
Geared head
BG3275
Capture button and
USB/Serial adapter
1A205U
Camera tripod
5LTP10
Power Injector for
Power Over Ethernet
IDL-PoE
Lynx USB Flash Drive
with FinishLynx LITE &
LynxPad
5LSWL
and
9LSW01
Be sure to keep your USB flash drive safe. It includes your Serial Numbers, Software, & Quick-Start Guides.
To access the files, insert the flash drive in your computer and navigate to the folders.
Items Not Included
•Computer (laptop recommended) running Microsoft Windows. Your computer needs: one available USB port or a
serial port (a 9-pin connection found on the back), and one available Ethernet port.
•Plumb bob and string. The plumb bob is available at your local hardware store, and you can use virtually any type of
string or twine, as long as it is at least the width of your track (optional).
•Printer (optional).
Introduction
In this quick start guide, you will learn how to set up and configure the FinishLynx LITE network, set up the EtherLynx
Scholastic camera and align it with the finish line, capture, evaluate, and print a FinishLynx LITE image and results, and
import a start list created in LynxPad.
For more detailed or advanced instructions, consult the online FinishLynx Operator’s Manual (help.finishlynx.com)or the
technical support section of our website: www.finishlynx.com/support/.

FinishLynx Scholastic System Quick Start Guide Page 3
Step 1. Go to the Track
Bring your FinishLynx system (and an assistant) to the
track. Make sure there is power available for your
computers and for the Power-over-Ethernet switch. The
EtherLynx Vision camera and the IdentiLynx camera will
receive their power via the Ethernet data cables.
Set up a table near the finish line, ideally on the infield if
power is available. The finish line should have black lane
markers painted or taped on the finish. If not, we suggest
you use black matte tape to designate lane lines. This
will help you align the camera and get clearer images.
Step 2. Install the Software
A. FinishLynx LITE (Scholastic Package)
Install FinishLynx LITE from the USB thumb drive
provided with your system or download the latest version
at: www.finishlynx.com/product/software/finishlynx-
results-software/
When prompted, enter the serial number(s) provided on
the flash drive. Please note that your FinishLynx LITE
serial number will not work with the regular version of
FinishLynx.
B. LynxPad
Install using the Lynx flash drive or download the latest
version of LynxPad at:
www.finishlynx.com/product/event-
management/lynxpad/
Follow the instructions on your screen to install LynxPad.
When prompted, enter the serial number found inside
the Lynx flash drive.
Note: You should Right Click on the installer and
select Run as Administrator to install LynxPad, if you
do not, you will not be able to print from LynxPad.
C. USB/Serial adapter
1. Install using the Lynx flash drive by navigating to
the USB-to-Serial Adapter folder.
2. Insert the USB adaptor into an available USB
port on your computer. Allow Windows to run
through its recognition process for the device
and driver.
Step 3. Evaluate a sample image
1. Start FinishLynx LITE. Click File - Open….
2. Double-click Sprint.evn to open the sample event.
Note: This sample is a two-camera image. Your
Scholastic System uses only 1 line-scan camera and
produces single-camera images.
3. Click the mouse once on the torso of a competitor
on the left side of the screen. A red hairline
appears. You can click and hold the red crosshair
and drag it up or down to the correct lane number on
the left side of your screen.
4. Press the Enter key on your computer. The
finisher’s time appears in the start list above the
image.
5. Repeat these steps for all of the competitors on the
screen. You have just successfully evaluated a race
in FinishLynx.
6. Click File | Close window. If you want to reuse the
image later for practice evaluation, click No when
asked to save your changes. Close FinishLynx.
Step 4. Configure the network for Windows
OS prior to Windows 7 (See Step 5
below for Windows 7, 8 and higher)
1. Click the Microsoft Windows Start button and select
Control Panel, or click Start | Settings | Control
Panel.
2. Double-click Network Connections.
3. Right-click the Local Area Connection associated
with the network interface card (NIC) in use and
select Properties. The Local Area Connection
Properties dialog appears.
4. Make sure you see a line that reads, Internet
Protocol (TCP/IP). You may have to scroll down to
see it.
a. Click Install and select Protocol.
b. Click Add....
c. Click to select the Microsoft TCP/IP option and
then click OK.
5. Check the box next to Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).
6. Click to select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and then
click Properties. The Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
Properties dialog appears.
7. Click the Use the following IP Address: button and
then type the following numbers:
▪IP address: 192.168.0.5
▪Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0. Click Ok and then
click Ok again.
8. If you are running Windows XP, follow these
steps to disable the firewall. Otherwise continue
Step 6 below
a. Open the Windows Network & Sharing Center.
b. Right-click the Local Area Connection
associated with your system, and select

FinishLynx Scholastic System Quick Start Guide Page 4
Properties. The Local Area Connection dialog
appears.
c. Click the Advanced tab.
d. Make sure the box under Internet Connection
Firewall is unchecked.
e. Click Ok and then exit the Network Connections
screen. Restart your computer.
Step 5. Configure the network for Windows
7 & 8 (if applicable)
Note: Sections 1 and 2 should be completed on both
FinishLynx and Meet Management computer.
1. Go to the windows Control Panel. On the top right
is View By with a drop down arrow. Click the drop
down arrow and choose Small or Large Icons.
2. Find and double click on Network and Sharing
Center. They are listed alphabetically by icon
name.
3. This will open the Network and Sharing
Center. On the left is a blue section titled Control
Panel Home.
4. Click on the Change Adapter Settings icon.
5. A new window will open displaying your network
connections. Right click on the Wireless Network
Connection and select Disable from the list of
items. This is only necessary for the FinishLynx
Capture computer.
6. Right click on the Local Area Connection and
select Properties from the list of items. A new
window will appear with a list of connection
items. Click to select Internet Protocol Version 4
(TCP/IPv4) and click the Properties button.
7. A Properties window will appear and is typically set
to Obtain an IP address automatically. Click to
select the radio button for Use the following IP
address. In the box for IP address, enter
192.168.0.5 for FinishLynx and hit Tab key to auto
fill in Subnet mask 255.255.255.0
8. Click OK and navigate back to the Control Panel. In
the control panel click on the Windows Firewall
icon. Under Control Panel Home, on the left, click
on Turn Windows Firewall on or off.
9. Turn off both Home and Public Firewalls (Domain for
Windows Pro).
Step 6. Set up the EtherLynx Scholastic
Camera and Tripod
Note: In addition to following the instructions in this quick
start guide, we recommend you view the Camera Setup,
Mounting, and Alignment videos available on the Lynx
YouTube channel and website:
www.finishlynx.com/support/setup-videos/
1. Open the legs of the tripod in line with the finish line,
preferably on the infield and approximately 8-10 feet
back.
2. Extend the legs of the tripod so they are at full height
–approximately 6 feet.
3. Attach the supplied 1/4” to 3/8”
brass adaptor to the screwed
stud on top of the tripod
(Adaptor is taped to adjustment
handle of tripod)
4. Secure the geared head to the stud on top
of the tripod.
5. Note how the mounting plate is attached
to the geared head. Then, pull back on the lever at
the top of the geared head to release the mounting
plate.
6. Using the hole closest to the camera lens on the
bottom of the camera, tighten the mounting plate by
screwing it into place. The arrow on the bottom of
the mounting plate should point toward the lens.
Use a flathead screwdriver or a coin to tighten the
mounting plate.
7. Make minor adjustments to the tripod legs so both
bubbles on the tripod are centered.
Step 7. Align Camera on Finish Line
1. On the near side of the finish line, hold the plumb
bob so that it is suspended directly above the middle
of the finish line. This is the plumb line, shown as a
in the image below.
2. Tie string to the screw on the top of the tripod head.
Have your assistant take the other end of the string
to the far side of the finish line and hold the string
taught. This is the sight line, shown as bin the
image below.
3. Move the tripod to the left or right until the plumb line
and sight line touch at position c in the image below.
The camera is now in the finish line plane.
4. Attach the camera to the tripod by clicking the
mounting plate in place on top of the geared head.
The lens should point toward the finish line.
5. Turn the black knob on the geared head that
controls the tilt of the camera so that it is at about a
30 degree angle to the ground
Sight line
Plumb
line

FinishLynx Scholastic System Quick Start Guide Page 5
Step 8. Connect the cables
Sensor
USB
Cat 5 Ethernet
DB 15 Cable
XLR
Capture
Button
PoE
Injector Cat 5 Ethernet
AC AC
EtherLynx
Scholastic Vision
Camera
1. Connect an Ethernet cable between the back of the
camera labeled POE 10/100/1000 to the port labeled
Out on the Power over Ethernet injector.
2. Connect an Ethernet cable to the network
connection on your computer and the other end to a
port labeled In on the Power-over-Ethernet injector.
3. Connect the male end of the start sensor cable to
the DB15 to XLR Connection cable. Attach the start
sensor to the other end of the cable and keep the
start sensor close by.
4. Connect the capture button cable to the USB/Serial
adapter and connect this to a USB port on your
computer.
5. Turn on the camera by pressing and holding the
black power button on the back.
Step 9. Align the EtherLynx camera
Note: The EtherLynx Vision camera can be aligned
using either 1-D mode or 2-D EasyAlign mode. We
recommend using EasyAlign. If you are using an older
model EtherLynx camera, however, it must be aligned
using classic 1-D mode.
NOTE: If running a wireless Ethernet card on your
computer, we recommend that you disable it while
the camera is booting.
Start FinishLynx LITE. Wait while the green status bar
in the lower right corner of the screen completes its
cycle.
Align Vision Camera in EasyAlign 2-D Video Mode
1. Activate EasyAlign by clicking on the 2D align Icon
in the top left hand corner of the FinishLynx
Hardware Control screen.
The icon turns green and the 2-D video viewer
appears within the software. The 2-D viewer makes
it easy to see how your camera is aligned on the
finish. The goal is to align the green vertical line
with the painted finish line and near its front
edge.
2. Adjust Camera Orientation
Use the tripod's Tilt, Pan, and Swivel knobs to
adjust the camera orientation of the camera on the
finish. You want to ensure that the green vertical line
is perfectly aligned on the white finish line and that
all lanes are visible in the viewer.
Tilt
Pan
Swivel
Have your assistant run through the finish line and
watch where he/she appears on the computer
monitor. The goal is for the runner’s torso to be fully
visible in both the inside and outside lanes. Once
the camera position is correct, you can then optimize
the remote lens settings.
3. Adjust & Optimize Lens Settings
First, connect the lens cable to the Remote serial
port on the back of the camera. Then, configure your
camera settings to use the 2.8-10mm P-Iris lens: in
FinishLynx, access the camera settings by clicking
. Under the Setup tab, locate the Iris Type:
setting and select the P-Iris radio button. Click Ok.
Focus Adjuster
Zoom Adjuster

FinishLynx Scholastic System Quick Start Guide Page 6
Remotely adjust lens aperture to control the
amount of light in the lens. If your picture looks too
white or washed out, use the Close Iris button in
FinishLynx to let less light in. Likewise, if your
picture looks too dark, use the Open Iris button
in FinishLynx to let more light in. To enable the Auto
Iris feature: click | Parameters tab; check Auto
Iris, and then click OK. FinishLynx will now
automatically remotely open and close the iris
depending on the amount of light.
Note: By default, the iris will be in the closed
position, so it is normal for the image in FinishLynx
to be very dark or black at first, until you open the
iris.
Manually adjust lens focus and zoom rings.This
lens is a varifocal lens, meaning it will not stay in
focus when you change the zoom. This step will
require some fine tuning to get the proper zoom and
focus in order to achieve a good image.
4. Once the camera appears to be aligned, click the
green alignment icon to close 2D alignment and
then click on the red 1-D alignment icon . You
will know when your camera is aligned on the finish
line because the 1-D image will be primarily white.
See image below for proper 1-D alignment.
If you followed the steps closely in 2-D align, the
camera should already be aligned in 1-D mode as
well. The 1-D image should look similar to the
following screen capture:
Note: If your picture looks washed out by too much light,
turn the aperture ring to a higher f-number to let less
light in.
5. Have your assistant run through the finish line and
watch where they appear on the computer monitor.
The goal is for the runner’s torso to be fully visible in
both the inside and outside lanes. Now, have your
assistant run through the inner-most and outer-most
lanes. Adjust the tilt of the camera until they are
clearly visible on both ends of the finish line.
Note: It may be necessary to move the camera
further back from the track if you cannot see all
lanes in the image.
Tilt
Pan
Swivel
6. After the image on the computer shows a white
background and black lane lines and your assistant
appears in the inner and outer-most lanes, adjust
the camera lens focus ring again until all lanes
appear crisp and in focus.
Step 10. Adjust FinishLynx camera settings
1. Click | Parameters | AGC.
2. Click the Setup tab and enter the number of lanes at
your finish line in the Lanes field.
3. Check that Identify by… is set to Lanes
4. Click Ok.
5. Select File |Options from the FinishLynx Lite menu
bar
6. Under the General tab select the correct USB/Serial
Port from the Capture Button drop down listing.
Step 11. Create a shared directory for
FinishLynx and LynxPad
1. Right-click on your computer desktop and select
New | Folder. When the New Folder appears,
change the name to Practice competition.
2. In FinishLynx, click File | Options…. Click the
Browse button on the Event Directory: and
navigate to the Practice competition directory you
just created. Then, click Ok.
3. Still in FinishLynx, click File | Options… and click
the Database tab. Click the Browse… button next
to the Output Directory: and navigate to the
Practice competition directory. Then, click Ok.
4. Now, start LynxPad by clicking the Windows Start
button and then All Programs | LynxPad.
5. Click File | Options… and uncheck the Load
Existing Results on Program Start box. Then,
click Ok.
6. Open the sample competition by clicking File |
Open. Navigate to C:\LynxPadData\Sample and
then double-click the lynx.cmp file. A practice
competition opens on the screen.
7. Still in LynxPad, click File | Options…. Click the
Browse button next to the Directory: text field.
Navigate to the Practice competition file you
created earlier. Select it and click Ok. Click Apply
and then click Ok again.
8. Still in LynxPad, click File | Save as… and navigate
to the Practice competition folder. Then, click Ok.

FinishLynx Scholastic System Quick Start Guide Page 7
Now, FinishLynx can get start lists created in
LynxPad, and LynxPad can import results generated
by FinishLynx.
Step 12. Use FinishLynx with LynxPad Data
1. In FinishLynx, click to load the schedule of
events from LynxPad. The Go To Event dialog
appears.
2. Click the Load Schedule button once. Click the
drop-down list under the Load Schedule button. A
list of events appears. Click to select the “110 Meter
Hurdles Men (9, 3, 1)” event in the list, and then
click Ok. The first heat of the third round of the
men’s 110m hurdles opens on the FinishLynx
screen.
3. Either use a starting gun, or knock the sensor
sharply against a hard object - this simulates the
firing of the starting gun and starts the yellow
FinishLynx timer.
4. Have your assistant run through the finish line while
you press down and hold the red capture button to
capture the image. Release the button as soon as
he/she has run completely through the finish line.
5. Practice evaluating the image by following the same
steps you followed earlier in Step 3
6. Click File | Save to save the race to the Practice
competition directory.
7. Crop space between competitors in your FinishLynx
image by right-clicking and drawing a box around
the unwanted space. Release the mouse button
and select Crop from the dialog that appears.
8. (Optional) Print the results and a portion of the
FinishLynx image by right-clicking on the image and
drawing a box around the portion you want to
appear in your printout. For example, the first place
finisher or a close finish between two competitors.
Click Ok and then select the printer from the Print
dialog to print the image and results.
9. Click File | Close window and then click Yes to
save changes you made to the FinishLynx image
when you cropped it.
10. In LynxPad, click to highlight Men 110 Meter
Hurdles in the Events window. The start list
appears in the Heats window.
1. Still in LynxPad, click Competition | Refresh All
Results. The results from the race you just
evaluated appear in LynxPad.
This completes the FinishLynx Scholastic System Quick
Start Guide.

FinishLynx Scholastic System Quick Start Guide Page 8
Notes: