Operational Guide for the Pigeon Racing Professional
At the loft with UNIKON Champ 16th March 2009
Thank you for purchasing UNIKON Champ. UNIKON Champ is a new generation of state-of-the-art ETS Clock; it was introduced into the UK, Belgium and Holland in 2007. Champ differs from other ETS clocks in many ways. It is internally upgradeable to meet with future demands of the sport and allows for technology enhancements in the future. Only UNIKON gives you a Pocket Clock with no electrical connections for superb reliably and ease of use this information is a guide to the general UNIKON functions. This guide does not cover installation. Please speak to your local UNIKON agent about your specific needs or advise on how to get the best from UNIKON Please note that the screens and reports used in this manual may differ from the version you are using. This guide was written based on firmware V3.00. To get the latest version of this manual please visit www.pigeon-ets.com Please take a moment to familiarise yourself with your investment. All UNIKON products have a full two year warranty against manufacturing defect.
UNIKON Stapleton Way Spalding Lincolnshire PE11 3YQ Office Hours are 0830 to 1700, Monday to Friday. For assistance out of hours please contact your local UNIKON agent Sales Hotline: Servicing: Technical Support: Fax
01775 717177 01775 717119 01775 717179 01775 717107
[email protected] [email protected]
[email protected] www.unikon.co.uk Version March 2009, Specifications Subject to Change without Notice
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Contents
Quick Start
About your UNIKON Champ
Assignment
Clocking Birds
Arrival Screen Information
What to do on Marking Day
How to erase a training toss
Mobile Phone Text Messages / Pager
Using Multiple Pocket Clocks
Connecting other makes of ETS Clock
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Quick Start
What’s in the Box?
A. UNIKON Champ B. 1 x Dual Field Ring Sensor C. 1 x 5m Extension Cable to connect between the Champ and the Dual Ring Sensor D. 1 x 3 pin UK Power Supply E. Documentation F. 1 x Pocket Clock – OPTIONAL (Only If you ordered a pocket clock with your Champ system)
F
C B
A D
E
We recommend that you make a note of the serial numbers of each item at the appendix at the end of this manual for easy future reference. Please refer to the Wiring & Installation instructions guide for an overview of how to connect UNIKON. You should speak to your UNIKON Agent for further advice on how to get the best from UNIKON.
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About your UNIKON Champ
Thank you for purchasing UNIKON Champ. UNIKON Champ is very versatile yet it is designed to be easy to use so you have more time to concentrate on your birds.
Cordless Pocket Clock
Before you start please make yourself familiar with your system configuration.
1.
UNIKON Champ Clock UNIKON Champ is designed to allow for future expansion.
2. The follow options are available a. UNIKON Pocket Clock – This little box is all you need to take to the Club. This allows your UNIKON Champ to stay at the loft. Your UNIKON Champ becomes a 2nd clock, we call this “Loft Clock” mode – so it is always recording your birds arrival times.
Loft Clock Remains at your loft !
b. USB Port – This is for connections to your PC. It allows you to use your PC printer for producing arrival reports. You can also manage training and race data within loft organiser programs. It also can be used to connect your UNIKON clock to the internet for instant online results. UNIKON is internet Ready!
c. Wireless Bluetooth – This is a wireless method used to connect to a mobile phone to allow text messages to be sent to another phone with details of a bird’s arrival time. This option can also be used as a pager to alert you that a bird has arrived by Ringing your mobile phone (if you do not answer the call the service will be free). Bluetooth also allows for connection to a PC provided that it is within range (normally less than 10 meters or 30 feet)
Bluetooth Bluetooth technology is how mobile phones and computers, not to mention a broad selection of other devices, can be easily interconnected using a shortrange wireless connection. Using this technology, users can have all mobile and fixed computer devices be totally coordinated.
d. GPS (Global Positioning System) – When this is used your loft coordinates are known. This means that for each bird that arrives at the loft the exact loft position is also recorded along with the real time. Another benefit is that there is never any time deviation at all. (GPS is even more accurate than the Radio clocks). This will provide a secure and accurate solution to meet with the security demands of National Flying Clubs.
e. Print Manager – Allows printing of training reports and more from your home PC (Requires Bluetooth / USB option)
f.
Dual Field Ring Sensors – Optimised for performance. Please refer to your UNIKON agent to ensure the best installation
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Global Positioning System
GPS GPS stands for Global Position System. It allows for exact position (To within < 10m) and time using satellites in a fixed orbit around the earth,
Assignment
1. Before you can start using UNIKON for training or official races you will need to have your loft inventory and electronic rings registered in your UNIKON Pocket Clock by your club.
2. Providing your Loft Inventory The first step is to provide your club with a list of your bird’s ring numbers in advance of the start of the flying season. Your UNIKON system can store up to 250 birds or 500 birds if you are using a standard Pocket Clock. You do not need to have electronic rings for all of the birds that you have, but if there are birds that you later in the season decide to race with UNIKON it is better that the club has those details now. The details you need to provide are the full association ring number, i.e. GB07A12345 along with the sex (if known) and colour. (Please see a list of colour codes supported by UNIKON in the appendix at the end of this guide). 3. Assignment On a day well in advance of the start of racing your club will arrange a day to do the assignment. Simply take your UNIKON Loft Clock to your club to have your loft inventory registered within your UNIKON Loft Clock. You will also need to take your UNIKON rings and the pigeons that you wish them to be used for.
Assignment Each electronic ring has a unique code. For UNIKON to display your bird’s association ring number the electronic ring number needs to be paired with your association number. This process is called Assignment, and is normally carried out at your club before the start of the racing season. RPRA Rules state that assignment must be done by your club. Your UNIKON system therefore does not let you assign your own rings.
During the Assignment process your club will:-Set up your UNIKON Loft Clock with your Pigeons and UNIKON rings a. Enter your Loft number and your Name into your UNIKON Loft Clock b. Set the time in your UNIKON Loft Clock, (this is just a general correction and not the time used for official races)
3.
Regional Differences
c. Your club will also give you a list of Pigeons registered in your UNIKON Loft Clock. It is IMPORTANT that you check this list of ring numbers is correct. (This will save time during marking)
Your club may arrange a different procedure to that shown here.
Training You are now ready to start using UNIKON. Simply switch on UNIKON, insert your UNIKON Pocket Clock into the Loft Clock and you are ready! – It’s that simple.
The most important thing to remember is that when you show a bird to your ring sensors you should see the birds actual ring number. If this is not the case have your club reassign the ring before racing to avoid delays in correcting errors on Marking night.
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Clocking Birds
1. If you have a UNIKON Pocket Clock place it in your UNIKON Champ
2. Switch on UNIKON. The display will briefly show the current version of software (In the example v2.77), along with a test to display the number of Ring Sensors connected.
Software Version Don’t worry if it’s not up-todate. Your UNIKON system is very easy to upgrade the software. For example, you only need to insert another members pocket clock with the latest software into your UNIKON champ base and it is automatically updated. It’s that easy with UNIKON.
U N I K O N v2.77e deister electronic 2 Ring Sensors OK
In most cases this will happen automatically at the club. For more information and to check that you have the latest software please visit www.unikon.co.uk
3. a few seconds the screen will either show, or the right picture if there is at least one active race.
RING 0 of 0 No Rings arrived
Marked : 32 No Rings arrived
Tu 08/01/08 16-16-58
Tu 08/01/08 16-16-58
4. You are now ready to clock arriving birds. It is that simple. Providing UNIKON is switched on and has power and you have your Ring sensors connected it will always be ready to clock birds (No matter what button you press) UNIKON is always READY !!!!
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Adding Rings Manually UNIKON Champs allow you to manually input ring numbers on to your clocks.
0 Veiw rings arrived 1 Pool Birds 4 Delete Ring 5>Add ring
First select Add ring (this option is not available when in race mode) and then the following screen will appear. The up and down arrows let you scroll though the available options and select lets you move to the next part of the ring number.
Add ring: GB00 _
000000C
^|:Select
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Pooling Birds
UNIKON Champ provides the ability to add birds to pools, either Club, Section or Open.
Pooling is split in to 3 types
•
Club
•
Section
•
Open
Pooling Quick Guide F Key—Cycles through pools (CLUB, SECT, OPEN, TOTALS, MAIN MENU) and finishes marking for each bird Up & Down—Selects the bird Select/Green—Selects the Bird for the currently selected pool 1 & 0—selects if the birds is marked for the pool group (1 is marked and 0 is not marked
Club Pools >2001 GB09A12001H W ABCDEFGHIJ x xx
Club Pools >2001 GB09A12001H W ABCDEFGHIJ x xx
F Section Pools >2001 GB09A12001H W ABCDEFGHIJKLMNO
To cycle though the pool types you press the F key till you find the type you are entering in to. Type the last 4 digits of the birds ring number you are looking for this and then press OK to enter pool mode To mark a bird for each pool you use the 1 to add them to the pool and 0 to not enter the bird. (C to move backwards, OK to move forwards) Once finished select “F” . You can now cycle the Pool Screens menus with the F key as shown to the right. Once you are done pressing the F key will bring up the totals of birds marked for each pool finally returning to the main menu.
F Open Pool >2001 GB09A12001H W ABCDEFGHIJKLMNO
F Club A: E: D: I: H:
B:1 F:1 J:
C: G:1
F Sect A: E: D: I: H: L: M:
B: F: J:
C: G: K:
N:
O:
F Open D: H:
A: E: I:
B: F: J:
C: G: K:
L:
M:
N:
O:
F 0 Veiw rings arrived 1 Pool Birds 4 Delete Ring 5>Add ring
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Pad Antenna Testing
To ensure that your system is fully working before that all important race you can test the Pads using a special key fob available from UNIKON.
Present the key fob to each pads reading field and on screen it will show a cross and the pads serial number for each field that is working as shown below
Sensor - Test 10485 XX 10486 XX
If you don't get a cross it means that you have missed a field or the antenna isn't working.
Suggestions
•
Check that all cables are OK. Check that the cables or connectors are not damaged. Check for broken pins on the connector.
•
Switch OFF then on UNIKON to see the antenna Count.
•
If you are using more than 4 PAD’s you must use a Power Booster after every 4 PAD’s
•
On long cable runs—more than 20m you will require a cable terminator.
•
If a pad is still not working with the antenna tester please contact UNIKON support for advice.
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Arrival Screen Information
Race Information & Arrival Time This example shows the 2nd bird of 18 to have arrived home. UNIKON can handle up to a total of 6 simultaneous races. That is 5 official races and one training toss. Up to 25 simultaneous races are possible with further pocket clocks When racing in more than one race the liberation name is displayed to allow you to see what birds came back from which race.
Position. This is the 2nd bird of 18 to have arrived home. (From all races) Use the blue scroll keys to look at other positions
RING 2 of 18 >3565 GB06X13565C DG Exeter Sa 15-45-18 Sa 03/05/08 18-45-34
0-9 Key Pad In the main screen simply type the last 4 digits of any ring to quickly search for when that bird arrived home. Navigation Keys. These up and down keys allow you to cycle though the list of birds that have arrived home. If you know the ring number of the bird you are looking for use the fast search option.
Fast Search. Simply type the last 4 numbers of any ring number when ever you see this 4 digit number in the corner of the screen and UNIKON will find and display the full ring number
Ring Number, sex and colour of Bird. Current Time. The bottom line on the display always shows the current Date Cancel [C], NO This key will cancel certain selections, or return back from menus.
OK, YES [Enter] This key is used to select options
Fast Searching If you what to find when a particular bird came home simply type the last four digits of the ring number whilst you are on the arrival screen (Above) RING 2 of 18 >3565 GB06X13565C DG Exeter Sa 15-45-18 Sa 03/05/08 18-45-34
If you see a “+” symbol preceding the search number it means that there is more than one ring ending in the number you have entered. UNIKON has found the first match. Now simply press the UP or DOWN arrow keys find the bird you are looking for.
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Functions [F], MENU This key will enter a menu showing various UNIKON functions.
Never miss a Bird UNIKON is always scanning the Ring Sensors looking for arriving birds, no matter what you do on the keypad. Don’t worry, you cannot accidentally delete an active race. UNIKON makes it easy so you can relax and enjoy your sport
Erase a Training Toss
1. Pressing the [F] Function key will always display a menu with various options. (These options may differ from those displayed due to the configuration of your system Important: Your UNIKON system will always be able to clock birds, no matter what menu option you leave UNIKON in.
Erase Training UNIKON will store a training toss or an official race for as long as you like. You will, however, need to clear the old training toss before you can do another. If you have an official race in progress it is not possible for you to accidentally delete an active race.
0>View arrival time 1 Pool Birds 2 Report Menu Erase Pools
2. To select Erase Training use the down arrow key to highlight Erase Training with the cursor “>” and then press OK. This option will erase any training flight or any race no longer active. Menu Options with a number by the side of them can simply be selected by pressing the appropriate key. Eg. Pressing 0 will return the display to show the arrival screen. (you don’t need to do this to clock birds However there is no quick number short cut to menu items that perform erase. Instead you need to use the DOWN ARROW key to select Erase Training (Which is not shown on the menu screen below as it is below the Erase Pools option)
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An official race remains active until your clock is struck off at your club, and the official arrival times are printed. (You will need to do this even if you have no birds back from a race). When you take back your clock you will then be able to erase the old race using the erase training option. Remember, however, that if you have multiple races active, you will need to have the official arrival times printed for all races before you can clear your clock completely. Don’t worry If you have a training toss active and you enter these birds into an official race at your club your training toss will be erased automatically.
What to do on Marking Day
1. Simply take your pigeons and UNIKON Pocket Clock to your club on marking day. All your birds you are entering for that race MUST have a UNIKON ring that has been assigned prior to the race by your club. (This will be on the assignment list that the club gave you).
2. Your Club will Take your Pocket Clock and place it in the UNIKON Club base. This automatically sets the time with TIM. Then each of your birds are passed over ETS Ring Marker. This writes a secret code into the ETS ring and in principle is the same as putting a rubber ring on the bird. Your Club will give you a copy of your RACE ENTRY Sheet. 3. If you have another club to go to you simple take your Pocket Clock and place it in there UNIKON base station (With ETS it is not necessary to STRIKE ON all the clocks together) 4. When you arrive back from your club place your UNIKON Pocket Clock in your Loft Clock, ensure the system is switched on and wait for the arrival of your birds. The display will show the total number of birds “Marked “ entered in to all the races. It is still possible to fly a training toss whilst there are active races
Marked : 32 No Rings arrived
5. If you wish to enter birds into another race whilst a race is active, this is no problem with UNIKON. Even if you take your UNIKON Pocket Clock out of the Loft Clock UNIKON will still record the arrival of birds. UNIKON is the only cordless clock.
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Using UNIKON “Solo”? If you have a UNIKON Solo System (Ie without a pocket Clock) then you need to take the Unikon Base to the Club If you fly more than one race at the same time we would recommend that you purchase a Pocket Clock to get the very best from your UNIKON System as this will ensure that you never miss a bird if you need to take your clock to a club.
6. When you take out the UNIKON Pocket Clock from the Loft Clock the display will show that your Loft Clock is operational and ready to continue clocking birds.
UNIKON Loft Clock Pocket Clocks : 1 Rings arrived : 0 Fr 04/01/08 11-14-06
The time and date will only be displayed at the bottom of the screen if a valid Pocket clock has recently been used.
Need another Clock? The clever design of the UNIKON means that you can use Multiple Pocket Clocks with the same Loft System. This is useful when you cannot physically get to two or more marking stations on the same evening. You can use up to 5 pocket Clocks on the same Loft Clock and each Pocket Clock can still handle up to 5 races for a total of 25 races! Please see Section 9 for more information
7. You can now take your Pocket Clock to another club (up to a maximum of 5 clubs with the current version of UNIKON). You can even fly a training toss at the same time. 8. When using multiple pocket clocks you can fly up to 25 races at one time. Note: if you need more than 5 races please contact UNIKON.
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Cordless Pocket Clock
Text Messages to your mobile phone
UNIKON is able to alert you with a text message every time a bird arrives back at your loft, no matter where you are.. 1. For this feature to work you will need a spare Bluetooth enabled mobile phone. (There are many low cost Pay-as-you-go phones available suitable for this purpose). This mobile phone needs to remain located within a few meters of your UNIKON Champ (The wireless range of Bluetooth is limited to around 10m)
UNIKON GB07A12345 Arrived Th 26/04/07 10:42:02
a. To Connect the mobile phone to UNIKON Champ, b. Switch on UNIKON Champ
a. Select the Bluetooth option on the Mobile Phone to search for nearby Bluetooth devices. Select UNIKON on the phone menu b. The Phone may now ask for a Password – This is “0000” – Four Zeros. c. The phone will now show that the wireless connection is established. 3. Now you will need to set up on UNIKON Champ the telephone number of the phone that you will have with you. You can setup UNIKON Champ to either:
Bluetooth Send Text Message to your mobile when a bird arrives – showing the time and ring number
a. Send a TEXT Message to your mobile Phone b. Or make a CALL to your mobile phone. (If you set up the Loft’s mobile phone number in your mobile and Call it “UNIKON – Bird Arrived”) then it will remind you not to answer the call. (By not answering the CALL this feature will not incur any call costs)
Use as a free pager alerting you of the arrival of a bird The future with UNIKON – Your birds arrival times direct to the Internet !
Enter your Telephone Number to TEXT/CALL 0780 6586-----
A Bluetooth phone just needs to be within 5m of UNIKON Page 15 of 20
Using multiple Pocket Clocks
One of the many advantages of UNIKON is that you can add to it at any time and one of the easiest upgrades is to simply add another pocket Clock. Why would I want another Pocket Clock? Well there are two reasons: 1.If you fly in a partnership and share a loft (You can both use the same Ring Sensors and Loft Clock, or: 2.You fly with multiple clubs that are to far away from each other for it to be practical to take the same pocket clock to each club. Your UNIKON System already supports the ability to work with Multiple Pocket Clocks. In fact you can use 5 pocket clocks on the same Loft Clock.
Marked : 32 No Rings arrived
Important When using pocket clocks you MUST Register each Pocket Clock by briefly placing each Pocket clock into your UNIKON Loft clock after Marking. You may leave either one of the pocket clocks in the loft clock if you like. It doesn’t matter. If birds arrive that are not recognised by the current pocket Clock, don’t worry. The Loft Clock keeps these birds. The unrecognised birds may show as unassigned or Training.
Tu 08/01/08 16-16-58
Before you take any pocket clock to your club for strike off, remember to place it briefly in the Loft Clock to ensure it has all the correct arrivals.
Simply wait until you see the following Screen When you remove the pocket clocks you will see on the Loft Clock Screen along with the number of Clocks that have been registered with the Loft Clock.
When using pocket clocks you MUST register each Pocket Clock by briefly placing each Pocket clock into your UNIKON Loft clock after Marking and before any birds arrive from a race. The loft clock display must display the number of pocket clocks you are using .
UNIKON Loft Clock Pocket Clocks : 3 Rings arrived : 0 Fr 04/01/08 11-14-06
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Appendix A – Product Information Don’t forget to register the serial numbers of your loft clock and any pocket clocks with your association
Product
Serial Number (s)
Date Purchased
UNIKON Champ Loft Clock
UNIKON Champ Pocket Clock(s)
Ring Sensor(s)
Options USB (Universal Serial Bus) Bluetooth (Wireless)
Yes / No
GPS (Global Positioning System)
Yes / No
do I tell what installed How options are in my clock? At the back of the UNIKON Champ loft clock there is an expansion zone. If your clock is fitted with USB a standard USB connector will be fitted here
Power and Backup Power (Optional Cable required) Expansion Options here USB, GPS, Bluetooth
Ring Sensor Connection
If your clock is fitted with GPS, a GPS antenna connector will be shown here.
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Bluetooth is standard when you order USB. There may be other options available since the time of writing this manual. Please check www.unikon.co.uk for the latest information.
Appendix A – Product Information Don’t forget to register the serial numbers of your loft clock and any pocket clocks with your association
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This page is intentional left blank for your notes
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UNIKON Stapleton Way Spalding Lincolnshire PE11 3YQ Telephone: 01775 717177 Fax 01775 717107
[email protected] www.unikon.co.uk
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