Hi Adrew,
I have the about same thing that you submitted, but I also cleaned up all the “to the mark” and “seconds” stuff, and shortened the dings.
Again, after we can develop something good here, how do we get all the others to try it, as they are of the “it aint broke” attitude to the old, illegal countdown the AMYA put out.
I missed something here. How is the AMYA one illegal? (Just curious).
Again,
[
B]Appendix E, Rule 26[/b]
Audible signals for starting a heat shall be at one-minute
intervals and shall be a warning signal, a preparatory signal and
a starting signal. During the minute before the starting signal,
oral signals shall be made at ten-second intervals, and during
the final ten seconds at one-second intervals. Each signal shall
be timed from the beginning of its sound.
Also, the signals cannot be pre-empted. Nothing more or less is permitted, unless Rule 26 itself is amended.
Submit them to the AMYA and request that they put them up as an option. I would not mention anything about illegal issues etc, as that will immediately put them on the backfoot and make them less amicable to the idea.
You can also put it forward that the chosen sounds can be submitted to all other regions and they can just re-voice them in that language (or I can put it together - We have 11 languages so I’m used to that ), thus making a similar option that can be familiar to all should any international event take place.
I have never even seen mention of a race, let alone a real one so like I said, I’m on the sideline with no idea of the politics. I am also someone with no history/pre-conceived ideas of how things work and can’t see how this could be an issue really.
With the preference for the “newest thing” in a sport like radio yachting, I’m surprised that people are still using the antiquated version of the countdown. It’s probably because of all the old farts in the sport that don’t want to change “things that aint broke.”
Maybe after a few more adjustments, the countdown we are working on will be ready to submit to AMYA, and with the support of people here, it will catch on.
So if I understand things correctly:
Appendix E, Rule 26
Audible signals for starting a heat shall be at one-minute
intervals and shall be a warning signal, a preparatory signal and
a starting signal. During the minute before the starting signal,
oral signals shall be made at ten-second intervals, and during
the final ten seconds at one-second intervals. Each signal shall
be timed from the beginning of its sound.
Works out to this (no metronome in the background):
0:00 Warning Signal - bells
1:00 Preparatory Signal - air horn
1:10 oral “50”
1:20 oral “40”
1:30 oral “30”
1:40 oral “20”
1:50 oral “10”
1:51 oral “9”
1:52 oral “8”
1:53 oral “7”
1:54 oral “6”
1:55 oral “5”
1:56 oral “4”
1:57 oral “3”
1:58 oral “2”
1:59 oral “1”
2:00 Start Signal - cannon
(I chose the bells, air horn, cannon, sounds for examples)
That’s correct, although most people will announce the 2:00 and 1:00 marks.
Be careful about the air horn at 1:00, because some people might think of it as the race start signal. Maybe you could switch the bell and and horn if you use those.
But go ahead and try it!
OK,
So my next question is, can you put an oral warning with the preparatory and warning signal? The way I interpret “Appendix E, Rule 26” as written, it is only some sort of sound (horn, bell, etc).
OK,
Here’s my newest versions of my 2 minute countdown (one with a metronome, the other without). Also with a new female voice.
Hi Guzz,
I think the countdown without the pips is perfect. You should submit that to all the organizations and clubs.
As for your other question, the vocal announcements aren’t prohibited by Rule 26, but the rule doesn’t require the metronome either. I think you could say the “audible signal” is the bell with the person announcing the time.
I have a question. Now, granted, I’m getting a little older, but I have trouble hearing some female voices. I don’t know how many times I have heard guys say “Did she say thirty or twenty seconds?”. A great number of the people we sail with are getting older, and I’m sure they are having the same trouble as me. I would think that a stronger male voice would be more easily heard, especially for the older group. So, why are we looking for a female start tape ? Is it required by the rules ?
Dave
You are one of the exceptions 
The reason for getting the female voice is: One, some of us were tired of the guys voice on the AMYA tapes. Two, men actually respond better to a female voice for some reason.
The US Air Force spent a lot of money researching voices for audible warning’s in fighter jets. They experimented with different sexes, different accents, till they found the one voice fighter pilots would listen to when all hell is breaking loose in the cockpit. The ended up with a female voice, with no accent. Fighter pilots have affectionately named her “Bitching Betty”, because they only time they hear her is when something is going wrong and she’s a she
I tried to find wav’s of Erica Lane, or Kim Crow (they’ve are the actual voices) for the count down, but I came up short. So this is what found.
Oh Great !!! Now we all need a tape of our spouses/girlfriend’s voice to get us motivated and on the line at the same time. :scared:
Singlehanded racing, I used a portable tape recorder with automotive PA speaker so I could hear from anywhere on the boat. Gave me a count down to starting time - and then … after the starting time - it began to berate me for being late at the start once again. It didn’t really improve my starting sequence, but sure was audio fun for the boats starting around me ! :rolleyes: :lol:
Just my opinion: While it might be in accordance with the rules, I don’t think you will get much traction on the “silent” count version. Even with countdowns full of timing hacks and tick marks, a lot of skippers loose where the count is while moving around to follow where their boats are relative to other boats and the start line. Also, there is usually some chatter between the skippers during the start, which makes it a challenge hear the count. Yes, it is the skippers responsibility to track the countdown, and yes you can ask everyone to be silent for two minutes, but in the end the RD is going to get an earful of displeasure and ask for some other version of the countdown to be used. Again, this is my opinion.
Scott
In my opinion, a personal, countdown timer/watch is still the best bet for starting. It is always there, can be radio mounted in front of you, and you only need to be ready to start it at the prepatory signal. Sounds, conversations, a bad tape, etc. are all non-issues when keeping your own time.
You can get timers at the Walmart, eBay, etc. Just try to get one without the voice! Could we get a group buy on a small timer?
The non-silence thing is the powerboater attitude. I thought sailors were of the higher quality, and didn’t need all the noise?
Oy, I’m a soundguy. Noise is cool 
With 6 boats driving merrily to a 2 meter wide starting line, I need to be in total concentration to hit the perfect spot, and noise really ruins the effort.
OK all good news. My mate has agreed to do the voice clips. I am now on the track of a decent recorder, perhaps one of the new Tascam units, so sometime soon I hope to have something to send to Naptalene.
" It won`t happen overnight but it will happen! "
Ian,
If you were a little closer I could lend you my daugter’s Tascam. It is a nice unit and works really well for voice and guitartracks. Looking forward to “hearing” your recordings.
Thanks,
Scott