In the past a rare total computer failure at an event has resulted in understandable panic. And various kludges such as collecting everyones dibbers in a bag, downloading at a later date and returning the dibbers or doing double prints on the splits printer, writing the name on the second splits, keeping the latter and spending hours manually transcribing all the data afterwards at home.

But there is a simpler plan B.

Just do one mini splits printer download. Get each finisher to check that all controls in order have been hit, and if so to write their elapsed time and name with texta onto a blank label to stick on a results slat as a provisional result. Discard the splits print. Then at the end of the event collect all the colored cards for entry on the day/ modified entry /P card sales that were used on the day. That’s all.

At home after the event, after a glass of red to calm the nerves, put the splits printer download box into service mode with the purple service off stick. Place this on top of the Wunderbar USB red download box (as in safety check) and in the SI Timing event file select DATA COLLECTION/DOWNLOADS/DOWNLOAD MASTER PRINT (SLAVE) and do the download. All the data that would have been captured by individuals downloading one at a time at the event into the computer including all splits times will be included in that download and saved. Note that the black download box attached to the splits printer has special additional memory for this data compared to the usual red USB download box.

The SI archive will automatically match up the downloads to those that have pre entered, which is almost everyone. All that is left is to manually match up any entries on the day/transfers/Pcard sales as per the colored cards with the respective downloads.

For this to work, pre entry must have been used and all entries/changes/sales on the day must have had their details noted on the colored cards. And the black splits printer download box must have had its memory cleared by a purple clear memory dibber , which is always with wunderbar.

Even though it is seldom used there is always a splits printer box with spare batteries and paper at every event just for this purpose.

This procedure has been tested and found to work. At an event a couple of years ago every finisher was asked to do an extra download in the splits printer after the usual Wunderbar USB download. Two results files were constructed, one using the usual procedure and the other from what was in the black splits printer download box with a few manual adjustments. The files were identical.

The plan B procedure also opens the possibility of running minimal events from the boot of a car without a computer.