How to submit a flight to
the OLC
This is a rough guide on submitting your flight claim to the On
Line Contest. Hopefully you will find
the procedure to be simple and relatively painless, at least after the *second*
time you do it! If you find some part
of these instructions confusing, or something has been omitted, please let me
know. Here is a quick summary of the
procedure:
1. Choose your GPS and set it up
2. Fly, of course
3. Download
your flight to the PC
4. Submit
your flight to the OLC
Choose your
GPS and set it up
Let's start by assuming that you have a Garmin GPS, since that is
what I'll use for the instructions and photos.
If you have another model, please adapt these instructions to your own
model. I'll also assume that you are
using a variant of Windows on your PC.
Mac users, please let me know if a program like Virtual PC (name?) will
allow you to use the software mentioned below. And Linux users, let's figure
together out a procedure that works. You may also be able to use a PDA (Palm OS or
Pocket PC) as well: there is a version of G7ToWin for the PocketPC called G7ToCE
(see info further below on G7ToWin); for PalmOS users, you can pick up a copy of the
(for now) freeware SoaringPilot and its
accompanying validation program. More information on this option further
below.
If you don't yet have a GPS, consider buying one that records
altitude in the tracklog (since that is required for submitting flights longer
than about 57 km to the OLC), and that allows you to choose your recording time
interval. Garmin models that do this
include the eTrex Legend, Venture, Vista, any of the GPS 76 series, 72. The yellow original eTrex and eTrex Summit
models, while recording altitude in the tracklog, do not allow you to specify the
exact time interval that you want; they also have limited tracklog recording
memory.
Firstly, before your flight, make sure that you have turned on the
tracklog recording feature of your GPS, and have cleared the active
memory. If you have a GPS 76 (or maybe
one of the eTrex models), choose the "Tracks" menu. If you have a GPS
38 (or maybe one of the 12, II or III models), choose the "TRACK LOG"
menu. See the picture below.
Once in the Tracklog screen, you'll need to tell the GPS to record
at specific time intervals. The longest
interval allowed by the OLC is 60 seconds. However, the shortest interval you can choose depends on the
number of tracklog points your GPS can record.
Check your owner's manual to find out how many tracklog points your GPS
can record, or visit GPScentral.ca to see a comparison
of popular models:
On the GPS 76, for instance, you can record 2048 points. Leaving a
few for pre-launch waiting around, that leaves roughly 2000 points available
for recording. Choosing an interval of
20 seconds allows you a flight of 2000 * 20 = 40 000 seconds, or 40 000 / 3600
= 11.1 hours of recording. Dropping the
interval to 10 seconds still allows for 5.5 hours of recording with this
model. The top-end eTrex Legend and
Vista, and GPSMap 76 models have 10 000 recording points, so you can record
every 5 seconds and still have plenty
of memory to record a long flight. See
the picture below, which shows an interval of 1 minute being chosen.
When you are flying, you will want to remember the recording
interval that you chose, at least if you are flying a closed-course (out-return
or triangle) task. For instance, if you chose 20 seconds, you will have to stay
in the turnpoint sector on your task for at least 20 seconds in order to ensure
that the GPS records you having successfully rounded the turnpoint.
Back in the tracklog screen, also remember to tell the GPS to
"Stop when Full" rather than "Wrap when Full". This will
ensure that, in the event that the GPS's memory fills up while recording your
flight, it will simply stop recording.
You wouldn't get credit for your entire flight in this scenario, but at
least you'd get credit for the majority of it.
If you select "Wrap when Full", your GPS will over-write the
initial portion of your flight with new information, and you would receive no
credit for any portion of your flight.
Lastly, don't forget to clear the tracklog memory, and turn on the
recording feature before your launch!
On the GPS 76, choose "Recording: On", while on the GPS 12 and
the like, choose "Record: Yes"
After your flight, it's time to connect your GPS to your computer,
and download the tracklog to send it to the OLC. For this, it goes without saying, you will need a special cable to
connect your GPS to the serial port of the computer. If your computer doesn't
have an RS-232 serial port, only a USB port, you will have to buy a USB-serial
port converter.
On the GPS 76, look in the "Setup" menu, then the
"Interface" tab, to set the right data interface for downloading, and
on the GPS 12 and the like, use the "Interface" menu. Set the communication interface to
"Garmin" on the GPS 76, and to "GRMN/GRMN" on the GPS 12
and the like. See the picture below.
Download your
flight to the PC
Update May 20, 2004:Don't use G7ToWin,
as it has problems with flights in W.Canada (at least, last year's version did);
as a result, since your flight would usually end after midnight UTC, i.e. the day after
the start of the flight, the wrong date would be assigned to the .igc filename. When
the OLC software checked the date of your flight claim against the filename, it would
note a difference, and refuse to accept your flight. To avoid any problems, please use
GPSDump instead, available here. Read
through the instructions for G7ToWin anyway, since the concepts are similar for GPSDump.
Or, of course, you can also use programs like CompeGPS, SeeYou, StrePla to file your flights for you.
Now we're ready to download the tracklogs to the PC, but we'll
need some software to do that. There
are many good programs out there that allow you to analyse your flight in
endless detail, plot it on maps in 2D or even 3D, and so on. Examples include
SeeYou, CompeGPS, StrePla, and more. But all of these cost money. The freeware G7ToWin will do the job we need
here, which is download the tracklog, and save it as an .igc file, so we can
send it off to the OLC.
You can get a copy of G7ToWin from its creator, Ron Henderson.
There are versions for Windows PCs, or Pocket PC PDAs. to install the program,
just download and unzip the program file, then put it in a directory like
c:/gps/g7towin. Start up G7ToWin, and then set the Configuration to select the
right serial port (usually com1, unless you have a serial mouse, in which case
you may have to choose com2).
Once you have the G7ToWin software installed and running, and the
GPS connected to the serial port via cable, you can turn on the GPS. Quickly
put it into Simulator mode so it doesn't start recording new tracklog points in
your living room! On the GPS 76 and the
like, press the Menu button, then "Start Simulator". On the GPS 12
and the like, select System Setup, then Mode: Simulator.
To test the connection between the GPS and the PC, use the
"GPS | Get GPS ID" command to see if the computer can talk to the
GPS. If it can, you should see some text appear in G7ToWin like "GPS 76
Software Version 2.09". If you've
specified the wrong serial port in "File | Configuration", you will
get an error message if the serial port you chose is in use by some other
device. Or the program may just lock up if you choose a non-existent serial
port. You may even need to re-boot if the PC fails to respond after you select
an incorrect serial port.
Getting a connection? It's time to download the flight. Use the command "GPS | Download from
GPS | Tracks", or the command "Tracks | Download Tracks from
GPS". See the picture below.
Once the download starts, you will see a status message telling
you in real-time how many tracklog points have been downloaded, e.g.
"T00077 of 990", and the status bar at the bottom will display
"Downloading tracks". See the picture below.
After the download is complete, the GPS will beep, and display the
message "Transfer complete"; press Enter to acknowledge it. G7ToWin will display "Ready -- GPS is
Garmin" in its bottom status bar.
Now that your flight is downloaded to the computer, it's time to
save it as an .igc file (International Gliding Commission format). This special format prevents cheating. Use the menu "File | Save IGC
File" to set your configuration. See the picture below.
Enter your name, model of glider, class of glider (flex-wing hang
gliders are O-1, rigid-wings are O-2, paragliders are O-3, foot-launchable
sailplanes are O-4, and control-bar rigid-wings are O-5). Typically you only
make one flight per day, so Flight Number will be 1, Contest ID can be your initials
(as we don't have a national competitors' registry or League in Canada), and
Glider ID can be "n/a" since we don't have aircraft licensing in
Canada.
In the lower part of the IGC details, check "Save with IGC
Long File Name" if you want a half-way legible file name, or "Save
with IGC Short File Name" if you want a cryptic 8-letter name. Most important: check the box for "G
Security Record". This ensures
that your file can not be tampered with. Without this record appended to your
flight, your entry can be disputed or rejected, since without it there is no
proof that your track log has not been tampered with or doctored.
Once you are done, click on Save Configuration to record your personal
details in G7ToWin's configuration file. Also click on Save to actually save
the file and exit the IGC File dialogue box.
Next time you download a flight, you may have to update this IGC File
data with the name of a new flying site or glider name or type.
G7ToWin displays a text message telling you where it saved the
file. See below for examples of long and short file names. I recommend that you make a copy of your
file and put it in another location for safekeeping before you go any further.
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Next thing you can do is to take a look at the actual track log.
You are allowed to only make a few, limited changes to a tracklog without
invalidating your ability to retain the G Security Record - which is why we
first saved our original tracklog and made a copy for safekeeping. Use the command "Tracks | List" to
view your tracklog data points. G7ToWin doesn't display your flight
graphically, but lists each recorded tracklog element in spreadsheet form. See
the example below.
In this tracklog listing, you can see that there are (at least) 3
separate tracks in the data file. The first one (shortened) was a tracklog that
was previously saved in memory in the GPS 76's internal memory. Note that GPS 12 and the like do not allow
saving tracks. Next, you can see that the Active Log is split into tracks 2 and
3 (and indeed, there are 10 more track sections further below in the
listing). Split tracks happen when the
GPS signal is interrupted for any time during your flight.
You can delete the old, saved tracks from your track listing by
clicking on the first track element of the saved track, hold down the Shift
key, then click on the last track element. Then right-click anywhere on a
saved-track element, and select "Delete Selected Tracks". See figure below.
Notice that the tracklog elements that were explicitly saved in
the GPS using the "Tracks | Save" command have the date Sun Dec 31,
1989. The act of saving them deletes
them from the Active Log in the GPS, and also removes the actual time and date,
and ruins them for OLC claims. So, never use that command to save your GPS
tracks in the GPS. The OLC will only
accept tracklogs that are the Active Log in the GPS.
Once you have deleted any old, saved tracks out of your trackog
listing, leaving only elements marked "Active Log", you can select
all of the remaining track elements, then right click on any one and select
"Combine selected tracks into one". Then save your tracklog again as an .igc file.
Lastly, validate your .igc file.
From the same place you downloaded G7ToWin, download valig7towin.zip
(Windows Console version) and unzip the .exe file into the same directory where
you placed G7ToWin.exe (and where the .igc files get saved). To validate an .igc file, open a "DOS
window" by using "Start | Programs | Accessories | Command
Prompt", then change to the directory where G7ToWin.exe resides. Simply type "valig7towin filename.igc"
in order to validate filename.igc. The
program will respond either with "valid" or "no checksum at end
of file: filename.igc". In the latter case, your file won't be accepted by
OLC (or is open to dispute by other pilots).
See below for results from checking first an invalid file, and second a
valid file.
If you used Soaring Pilot on a PalmOS PDA
to act as a logger for your tracklog in flight, then you had an option to save the
.igc file that it generates as a DOC file, or a native .igc file on an external
memory card. In the former case, you need to synchronize your Palm to get the logger file
into your c:/Palm/backup directory, then use a doc to text file converter (like the one from
QEX2 ) to turn it into a real text file which you can then
validate with the vali-xsp.exe file from soaringpilot.com; in the latter case, put your external
card in a card reader connected to your PC and transfer it over to the PC's hard disk where
you can validate it.
Submit your
flight to the OLC
Now we're ready to submit our flight to the OLC, or On Line
Contest. This contest has branches for
sailpanes and hang gliders (which includes paragliders). To reach the hang-gliding contest, or HOLC,
point your browser at: http://www.onlinecontest.org/holc. There is a category for flights
originating in Canada, and also an international
category for the whole world. You enter for the country where your flight
took place, and your entry automatically goes in the International category as
well.
First thing to do, if you haven't already, is to register yourself
as a competitor. Click on the Competition
Entry in the Canada section (see picture below), and click on "add new
competitor", then fill in your personal details, and the name of the club
that you are flying for. Please select
one from the list that appears. If you
don't find your local club listed, please add it. Or, select the name of your
provincial association. Don't just leave your selection blank or your flights
won't count toward a club total.
Next step is to make a Flight
Claim, by clicking the eponymous (same-named) button in the Canada
section. You have to enter your name
and birthday before you are allowed to make an entry. If you made a typo in
your personal details when you entered yourself as a competitor, likely you
won't be able to get in. Contact Stewart Midwinter for assistance.
Make sure you have your .igc file handy, then fill in the flight
details (date, location, glider type, etc.).
You don't need to fill in the 3 turnpoint co-ordinates; they will be
automatically determined by the OLC software after your flight file is
uploaded. In fact, you may be able to leave all of the details blank except the
name of your .igc file (this is where using the short version of the .igc file
probably helps, e.g. 34R0SAM1.igc), and when you press Submit, the software
will read those details out of your .igc file and insert them in the form for
you. (I can’t remember if that is that the case, so please let me know). Once you are done entering details, press
the "Check Entry" button and fix any errors that are listed in
red. Then re-submit. Note that there is no “test” category, and
every flight claim is for real, so please claim carefully.
After a final check, your entry is processed by the OLC. If all
goes well, your entry will appear right away on the Canadian daily
score listing, and the international daily
score listing of all hang-glider or paraglider flights made in the world
that day.
Congratulations!
Questions? Please write for assistance.