Daktronics Venus 7000 User Manual

Daktronics Venus® 7000 Controller Track Setup Guide

Figure 1: Venus 7000 Shell Menu

Figure 2: RTD Inputs

Figure 3: RTD Input 1 settings for a serial
connection from the MEET MANAGER

Venus® is a registered trademark of Daktronics, Inc. FinishLynx™ is a trademark of the Lynx System Developers, Inc.
Windows® and DOS® are registered trademarks of Microsoft, Inc. Hy-Tek Meet Manager® is a registered trademark of Hy-Tek ltd.

 NOTE: This reference is intended as a guide to help configure the
Venus 7000 controller to interface with Hy-Tek’s MEET MANAGER
for track and FinishLynx photo finish system.

STEP 1 Configure RTD Inputs

Click on <Configure> shown in Figure 1. Next, select the
RTD Inputs file tab as seen in Figure 2. To edit an input,
highlight a number (i.e. 1:) and click on <Edit Input>.

STEP 2 Configure RTD Input 1

Choose Input 1 and configure it per Figure 3 for a serial
connection from Hy-Tek’s MEET MANAGER.

Daktronics, Inc. PO Box 5128, 331 32nd Ave. Brooking, SD 57006 ED-12636 REV 1
www.daktronics.com tel [phone] or [phone] fax [phone] e-mail: [e-mail]

Page 1 of 10

Daktronics Track Venus® 7000 Controller COM Port Troubleshooting Guide

Figure 4: RTD Input 2 Settings for

Run Time from a serial comm. port on
the Lynx Capture Station.

Figure 5: RTD Input 3 Settings for
Results from a serial comm. port on
the Lynx Capture System.

STEP 3 Identify how FinishLynx will connect to the Venus 7000.

Option 1 is through a serial comm. port. Option 2 is over

the network via a UDP/IP socket. One thing to consider
when making this decision is that if you use serial ports
and you want to send both results and running time from
the FinishLynx capture computer, it is best to use two
separate scoreboard outputs. If you use serial ports, then
you need two serial ports. If you use the network, you just
need to configure two UDP/IP scoreboard outputs, but no
further hardware is required. If you decide to use the
network, you will need the NCP plug-in from FinishLynx.
It is possible to send both run time and results on the same
serial port, but while the run time is counting on the
scoreboard, there will be no results sent over. Either stop
the run time manually, or by using the internal photocell
in FinishLynx. After you have stopped the run time, when
the next result is picked, it will be sent to the scoreboard.

STEP 4 Configure RTD Inputs 2, 3 & 4.
Input 2 will be the running time from FinishLynx Capture

computer. Input 3 will be the start lists and results from
FinishLynx Capture computer and Input 4 will be the start
lists and results from FinishLynx Edit Computer.

Serial Port Connection
Choose Input 2 and configure it per Figure 4. Choose

Input 3 and configure it per Figure 5. Choose Input 4

and configure it per Figure 6.

OR

Network via a UDP/IP socket connection

Choose Input 2 and configure it per Figure 7. Choose

Input 3 and configure it per Figure 8. Choose Input 4

and configure it per Figure 9.

Daktronics, Inc. PO Box 5128, 331 32nd Ave. Brooking, SD 57006 ED-12636 REV 1
www.daktronics.com tel [phone] or [phone] fax [phone] e-mail: [e-mail]

Page 2 of 10

Daktronics Track Venus® 7000 Controller COM Port Troubleshooting Guide

Figure 6: RTD Input 4 Settings for

Results from a serial comm. port on
the Lynx Edit Station.

Figure 7: RTD Input 2 Settings for
Run Time over a UDP/IP network
socket from the Lynx Capture
Station.

Figure 8: RTD Input 3 Settings for
Results over a UDP/IP network
socket from the Lynx Capture
Station.

Figure 9: RTD Input 4 Settings for
Results over a UDP/IP network
socket from the Lynx Edit Station.

Daktronics, Inc. PO Box 5128, 331 32nd Ave. Brooking, SD 57006 ED-12636 REV 1
www.daktronics.com tel [phone] or [phone] fax [phone] e-mail: [e-mail]

Page 3 of 10

Daktronics Venus® 7000 Controller Track Request Guide

Figure 10: Start List

 NOTE: The Track Request program is used to make requests for
Start Lists, Results and Team scores from the Venus 7000 to the
MEET MANAGER.

STEP 1 Installing Track Request.

Install the Track Request program onto the Venus 7000
using the Track Request.msi installation file from
Daktronics.

STEP 2 Operation of Track Request.
To open the Track Request program, double-click on the

icon found on the desktop of the Venus 7000 computer.
Once you open the program, leave it open to keep it ready
for the next request.

The parameters on the left side of the window are used to

select which information to display.

Round: determines if the data is from a preliminary,

semi-final, or final event. If there are no prelims or

semi-finals, the finals will be round 1.
Event: is the event as numbered in the MEET

MANAGER.

Heat: is the heat as numbered in the MEET MANAGER.
Multi: is used for decathlons, heptathlons and

pentathlons. Example, the Event# is the number of the
decathlon, the Multi# is the number of the sub-event
within the decathlon like the shot put. This is numbered
in the MEET MANAGER. The Multi: field will not
affect the lists unless the Event: field is a

multi-disciplined event.
Page: will select which lines of data are displayed. The

page size is set in the MEET MANAGER. If the size is
set to 8 and you have 24 competitors, page 1 will show
place 1-8, page 2 will show 9-16 and page 3 will show 17-

24. If you enter page 0, the competitors will cycle 1-8, 9­16, 17-24 automatically. The page time is configured in
the MEET MANAGER.

The radio buttons under the Request Type: are used to

select which type of data you would like. Choose Start

List, Result List, Women’s Scores, Men’s Scores, or
Awards. Awards are similar to the results, except they

will only display the athletes that received awards in that
event.

STEP 3 Start Lists.

Refer to Figure 10. To request a Start List, fill in the

appropriate Round, Event, Heat, Multi and Page. Next
click on the Start List radio button under the Request
Type:. Now press the large <REQUEST> button to request
the selected information from MEET MANAGER.

STEP 4 Results Lists.

Refer to Figure 11. To request Results, fill in the

appropriate Round, Event, Heat, Multi and Page. To
select a final result for multiple heats, enter 99 for the
Heat. Next click on the Result List radio button under the
Request Type:. Now press the large <REQUEST> button to
request the selected information from MEET MANAGER.

Daktronics, Inc. PO Box 5128, 331 32nd Ave. Brooking, SD 57006 ED-12636 REV 1

www.daktronics.com tel [phone] or [phone] fax [phone] e-mail: [e-mail]

Page 4 of 10

Daktronics Venus® 7000 Controller Track Request Guide

Figure 11: Results List

Figure 12: Multi-Event List

Figure 13: Team Scores List

STEP 5 Multi-event Results.

Decathlons, heptathlons and pentathlons have multiple
disciplines all in one event. To display each discipline, the
event number must be chosen for the multi-discipline
event. For example, if the decathlon is event 40, enter 40
into the Event: field and then change the Multi: field to
the discipline desired. If the 100 meter dash is the 1st
discipline of a decathlon, set Event: to the proper event
number and the Multi: to 1, then click request. Refer to
Figure 12. The Multi: field will not affect the lists unless
the Event: field is a multi-disciplined event.

STEP 6 Team Score.

Refer to Figure 13. To display team scores, select the

Women’s Scores or the Men’s Scores and click on

<REQUEST>. When requesting team scores, the values for

Round:, Event:, Heat: and Multi: are ignored. However,
the Page: field operates normally.

Daktronics, Inc. PO Box 5128, 331 32nd Ave. Brooking, SD 57006 ED-12636 REV 1

www.daktronics.com tel [phone] or [phone] fax [phone] e-mail: [e-mail]
Page 5 of 10

Daktronics Venus® 7000 Controller Track Request Guide Troubleshooting

 If you request an event or heat that does not exist, nothing

will happen.

 A Hy-Tek sequence has 5 frames. Frame 1 is for the start

list, 2 is for results, 3 and 4 are teams scores and 5 is
awards. Frames 2 and 5 are typically identical and frames
3 and 4 are identical.

 If the results are flashing, be sure the Venus 7000

controller sequence Hy-Tek is running in “selected
frame” mode and not in “continuous” mode.

 When using the track request program, Port is associated

to the Venus 7000 controller input that the MEET
MANAGER is connected to. The Port defaults to the

Venus 7000 controller Input 1. The COM Port and
protocol settings for the input must be changed in the
Venus 7000 controller configuration menu.

 Verify that you have the Alpha Scoreboard option in your

Hy-Tek MEET MANAGER for track. Configure MEET
MANAGER to use the Daktronics Fixed Digit output.
Next identify and configure the comm. port on the Hy-Tek
computer that will connect to the Venus 7000. Last set the
baud rate in MEET MANAGER to 9600.

 You can also push data from the MEET MANGER by

pressing Ctrl-F1 while in the Run menu of MEET
MANAGER. A menu will pop-up similar to the Track
Request.

 Refer to Daktronics Dwgs B-127739 and B-267220 for

sample system riser diagrams.

 Refer to Daktronics ED-14511 for instructions on setting

up MEET MANAGER and FinishLynx.

Daktronics, Inc. PO Box 5128, 331 32nd Ave. Brooking, SD 57006 ED-12636 REV 1

www.daktronics.com tel [phone] or [phone] fax [phone] e-mail: [e-mail]

Page 6 of 10

Daktronics Track Venus® 7000 Controller COM Port Troubleshooting Guide

Figure 14: RTD Input Diagnostic menu with no data
Figure 15: RTD Input Diagnostic menu with Data

STEP 1 Choose the RTD input to test

From the Venus 7000 Shell Menu (refer to Figure 1 in the

Track Setup Guide), click on <DIAGNOSTICS>. In the

Diagnostics menu, select the RTD file folder tab.

STEP 2 Test Hy-Tek Meet Manager

In the Input: data box, select Input 1. If the RTD
Diagnostic menu shows Input 1 under the Input: data
box, click on <REFRESH>. Refer to Figure 14.

STEP 4 Test Analysis

If data was received, numbers and names will appear on
the right side of the colon as seen in Figure 15. This data
should also be displayed on your scoreboard display
system. The data on the left side of the colons are the Item

Number ranges.

STEP 3 Test Analysis

After clicking <REFRESH>, examine the data in the message

box on the bottom left of the window as seen in Figure

14. If only the numbers on the left side of the colons are
displayed, you have received no data. Try sending data
from MEET MANAGER again. If no data is received
(check data by clicking <REFRESH>), inspect cable routing
and connections.

Daktronics, Inc. PO Box 5128, 331 32nd Ave. Brooking, SD 57006 ED-12636 REV 1

www.daktronics.com tel [phone] or [phone] fax [phone] e-mail: [e-mail]

Page 7 of 10

Venus® 7000 Controller Track & Field Real Time Data

Figure 16: Insert Data Frame

Figure 17: Frame Properties

STEP 1 Create Data Frame
When creating a new RTD sequence, a Data Frame must

be added. To do this, open the Frame menu, then select

Insert and then Data Frame. Refer to Figure 16 below

STEP 3 Hy-Tek sequences

Rename your file “Hy-Tek”. From there, build a

 Important  Field Type: select RTD

frame similar to Figure 19. Frame #1 will be for Start
Lists. To start the RTD Template, click <PROPERTIES>
on the bottom of the window. A Frame Properties
window will appear.

Frame Properties Data Box Description:
(Refer to Figure 17)
Field: applies box number
Row &Col: Horizontal & Vertical position
Font: Size of letters and numbers
Overlay: Outline used for video background

RTD Field: Individual field properties
Input: COM Port Source
Item #: Serial bit on data stream
Length: Number of characters after selected item

number

Justification: Centering or spacing left or right
Field Name: Automatically sets item number length

for selected choice. (Refer to STEP 4)

Sample Text: Text that will be seen on Sequence
Designer but not on the Scoreboard

STEP 2 Delete Graphic Frame

After adding a data frame, there will be two frames.

Frame 1 must be deleted. On the bottom of the window,
the frame must be Frame 1 of 1 Type: Data and not
Type: Graphic. Refer to Figure 16. To delete a frame,

click on , or right-click on the frame to be deleted.
Highlight Frame option, and then select Delete. Click on

<DELETE CURRENT>.

Daktronics, Inc. PO Box 5128, 331 32nd Ave. Brooking, SD 57006 ED-12636 REV 1

www.daktronics.com tel [phone] or [phone] fax [phone] e-mail: [e-mail]

Page 8 of 10

Venus® 7000 Controller Track & Field Real Time Data

Figure 18: Data Frame Parameters

Figure 19: Hy-Tek Frame 1

Figure 20: Hy-Tek Frames 2 and 5

STEP 4 Verify the Data Frame Parameters
Refer to Figure 18. These will need to be verified for

each frame. For the Hy-Tek sequence, Input 1, frames 1,
2 and 5 will be set to hy track ln.itf and Frames 3 and 4
will be set to hy track scr.itf.

STEP 5 Start creating RTD fields
Pick the Frame Properties file tab, next select Field

Type: RTD. Now the RTD Field should display that
fields parameters. Click on the Field Name, choose the
desired information for that field. After entering each

RTD field and it’s respective parameters, the frame should

appear similar to Figure 19.

STEP 6 Additional Hy-Tek frames
The Hy-Tek sequence should consist of five frames: Start

List, Results List, Women’s Scores, Men’s Scores, and
Awards. Refer to Figure 19, Figure 20 and Figure 21 for

frame setup.

 NOTE: Women’s Score and Men’s Score frames are
duplicates. Once one frame is created, it can be copies to the
other frame.

Daktronics, Inc. PO Box 5128, 331 32nd Ave. Brooking, SD 57006 ED-12636 REV 1

www.daktronics.com tel [phone] or [phone] fax [phone] e-mail: [e-mail]

Page 9 of 10

Venus® 7000 Controller Track & Field Real Time Data

Figure 21: Hy-Tek Frames 3 and 4
Figure 22: Lynx Start

Figure 23: Lynx Results

STEP 7 FinishLynx RTD Sequences
Following the same instructions as the Hy-Tek in

STEP 3, Create a Lynx Start list sequence. After that is

completed, create a separate sequence Lynx Results list.
Refer to Figure 22 and Figure 23.

Daktronics, Inc. PO Box 5128, 331 32nd Ave. Brooking, SD 57006 ED-12636 REV 1

www.daktronics.com tel [phone] or [phone] fax [phone] e-mail: [e-mail]

Page 10 of 10