Translated by R.Whitehead 10-3-2014 (my best effort – accuracy is not guaranteed)
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9. Using in on-line Contest (OLC)
On-line Contest, OLC for short, has been for many years a popular decentralized
competition type in man-carrying sport sailplanes and paragliders. Here the flights of the
participants are recorded with GPS and then transferred by Internet into the OLC system.
There each flight is automatically evaluated according to the Online Contest rules and the
participant receives points for the flight.
Starting from 2011 this system is now available for model fliers, so that they also can
compare their flights with one another within their own area. Participation is completely free.
The flight task is basically the fastest possible speed round a triangular course of
predetermined size (of course in pure gliding flight). More details on the OLC website:
http://rc.onlinecontest.org
The special thing is that it is flown decentralised. Each pilot can therefore fly at any location
i.e. if he has the time and desire, if the conditions appear right for it, etc. All the entered
flights can be viewed constantly on line, daily detailed evaluations and ranking lists are
given, as well as an annual ranking at the end of the year.
The GPS-Logger 2 can directly produce the IGC file which is needed for the flight evaluation
in Online Contest. So no more conversion of files is necessary, just the .igc file transferred
from the memory card directly into the OLC system and the flight is evaluated. This file is
also signed internally by the GPS-Logger, so that the OLC server can examine this in file
manipulation (this is the highest quality class for documentation).
IGC mode must be activated in the settings of the GPS-Logger.
The integrated engine noise sensor provides an ENL value corresponding to the noise level
coming from the drive motor. This allows very precise separation of a motor glider or model
with retractable engine from a pure glider. This is important for the correct rating of the
flights.
In order to obtain optimal values of the ENL sensor, the GPS-Logger 2 should be installed
close to the noise source. At the same time the distance to interfering noise, servos for
example, should be as great as possible. Ideally , in the climb the sensor constantly shows
the maximum value of 999, and while gliding a fluctuating low value.
With the GPS-Konverter, entries for pilot name, model type, model name, and the
competition class can also be given. These designations are stored on the memory card and
entered into each IGC file. By this means, if you use a separate memory card for each
model, the correct data can always automatically be transferred to the IGC file.
Characteristics in the IGC mode:
● The IGC file is written in addition to the normal NMEA file on the memory card.
● The IGC file has a special file name in the IGC format.
● Recording ends automatically as soon as the GPS-Logger 2 is stationary for 10 seconds.
During these 10 seconds the green and orange LED flash alternately.
● It is also possible to start the recording with different conditions as before.
The file is signed and valid for the OLC message only if the recording has been completed
correctly.
