I think the timers we have --JA Circuits--are outstanding. At a recent
event I matched my time down to the .001 of a second. I'd never done that
before, not even when we had the Manzanita three channel or four channel,
or the old gas station bell ringer rubber hose as a trigger.
In the latter era the timers also magnetized themselves and ran
slower in the afternoon. There were timers that used hand-aound stop
watches in that era. The early electronic timers used lights alongside
numbers, only to the second decimal. Later came Nixie tubes to show an
actul number, but only to the second decimal. One of our guys in the era
held an EE degree from Stanford and sold us his brand of timer. He also
pointed out the electric power line on the fence at the Pleasanton
Fairgounds did not deliver a full 110 volts and that was another reason for
wobbly times. We've come a long way.
Our present timer's eye is located several inches above the surface
and is quick enough that the timer catches the lightbeam breaking by the
tire. Early electric eye units were much slower to react than our current
units. A chrome wheel at that time could not be "seen" by those eyes.
--John Kelly
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