UtahBMX.com

So, the moto viewer for mobile devices for RAD Canyon BMX was active again for last weekends race activities. Just looking for some feedback as to its current state to see if we need to make any major changes? How's it working?

One change I will be making is only the current race weekend will have links to the moto sheets. I'm thinking about saving all prior race sheets in an "archive" link for future viewing, or is this not necessary?

Is it necessary to see both the first and reposted motos? Or should the site remove the original file link when there is a reposting of motos?

Need I say I LOVE this new feature!! In my humblest of non-technical opinions, I see no reason for an archive. I also see no reason for the original set of motos once there has been a repost. Finally, is there a 'motos' button or link somewhere on the utahbmx home page, or the radcanyonbmx home page? All is appreciated on this forum, many thanks!!

Great Idea !! I say only keep the re post's and archive all races .

Love it!

It's nice to know that the reposted motos are the repost--so if the filename has that in it, it's golden.

I like the idea of an archive--if easy and not space consuming.

I love it. It works great, even on a Blackberry. Just post the correct repost, but be sure to label it as such so we know we are looking at the correct one. I would archive them, but I don't really think the archive needs to be easily viewed from a mobile device if it makes any difference.

It's funny how on race nights, I start getting texts from other racers around the country talking about our race after they look at our motos on line.

Now if we could get results online?? Maybe scan the main event scoring sheets to a pdf file, then post like you are with motos? Maybe someday the ABA/USABMX guys will get up to date enough to send results in electronically and that could be used.

I love it! Last weekend I didnt have to walk over to the moto posting area at all!

I do like the idea of archiving motos but after the weekend is over. Having all 3 days there on Sunday is nice for comparing who raced each day. I also think you need to keep the repost tag, sometime I just make a recheck again to make sure I didnt miss an announcement about a repost.

I have one suggestion, sometimes it is hard to hear at the track so if we could add a notification option on the website to be notified when new motos have been posted that would be very helpful.

Finally, is there a 'motos' button or link somewhere on the utahbmx home page, or the radcanyonbmx home page?

Nope, but good suggestion. I'll look at getting this added to both.

I like the idea of an archive--if easy and not space consuming.

The files are already uploaded (and in the database), so it's just a matter of creating an "Archive" link that will display links to those files. It's easy.

Just post the correct repost, but be sure to label it as such so we know we are looking at the correct one.

I'll look into getting this one worked out. I should be able to program it so that if a REPOST is uploaded, the original file link will not be displayed. Melton has done a great job making sure the file is labeled "repost" so even if both files are displayed it should be easy to only view the correct file.

It's funny how on race nights, I start getting texts from other racers around the country talking about our race after they look at our motos on line.

Now THAT is totally AWESOME! Hopefully that is just another reason other tracks to be envious of our program

Having all 3 days there on Sunday is nice for comparing who raced each day

Absolutely. When I say "archive", I'm referring to prior race weekends only. The current weekend (for the indoor) will still display Fri, Sat and Sunday, and only go to archive after the weekend is completed. I'll probably look at putting a time buffer of say 3 days before links will only display in the archive. This should also work once we transition back to outdoor.

I have one suggestion, sometimes it is hard to hear at the track so if we could add a notification option on the website to be notified when new motos have been posted that would be very helpful.

Still have this one on the list. The main way I can see this happening is creating a database to hold email addresses, but that would require people to manually sign up. And of course one wrong character means missing an email, or the email gets delayed by network issues or weak signal, etc. Alot of room for error on this one so might have to come up with another solution.

Now if we could get results online?? Maybe scan the main event scoring sheets to a pdf file, then post like you are with motos?

Yeah, this is a tough one. Lot's of manual work required to make that happen. The way the ABA explained the moto sheet viewing process they use for Nationals, there may also be a way to view results from prior races, but I'm not totally sure. That process is a lot more involved.

Thanks to everyone for the feedback! Keep them coming, and we'll keep working to get this dialed in.

thank you for doing this, Gallo! And do J.Melteezy for doing the operational part of uploading! It is super neat!

J Gallo wrote:

I have one suggestion, sometimes it is hard to hear at the track so if we could add a notification option on the website to be notified when new motos have been posted that would be very helpful.

Still have this one on the list. The main way I can see this happening is creating a database to hold email addresses, but that would require people to manually sign up. And of course one wrong character means missing an email, or the email gets delayed by network issues or weak signal, etc. Alot of room for error on this one so might have to come up with another solution.

Thanks to everyone for the feedback! Keep them coming, and we'll keep working to get this dialed in.

Jason, I know I have my twitter account set up to send texts to my phone when Melton posts on twitter. I get texts all the time reminding me of practices and races. I don't know if that would be an option, but I know the capability is there. I'm sure there are people who aren't going to want the notifications, so a manual sign up would probably be the best option to make sure those that want it are going to get it. As long as everyone gets their info in correctly they should be fine.

Thanks for all your hard work on making this work, and for all you do to keep this site so fun and informative. Your efforts are greatly appreciated.

Hal

Twitter is definitely an option that could prove useful. I'll look into whether I can send an update to Twitter thru the moto sheet upload program automatically. That way no one would have to manually create a "tweet", and it could include the name of the file so it will be easy to see if it's a REPOST or not.

Ok, so finished up the archive page. Currently, any race moto sheet posted will display immediately on the main page, then rotate into the archive after 4 days. That should cover the 3 days for indoor races, and will display thru the weekend for Thursday racing once we move to the outdoor track schedule.

I also added a link to the moto viewing page to RAD's home page, and an article on the home page of UtahBMX.com.

A quick search of Google shows a few different ways to create a "tweet" to RAD's twitter account when motos sheets are posted. This would allow anyone to receive a text message from Twitter to their phone (which can be done without creating a Twitter account). I need to get some info from Melton, and then I'll try and get that programmed before racing this weekend so we can test it out.

J Gallo wrote:Should the site remove the original file link when there is a reposting of motos?

I'd like it if the site only had one link per day. last race, they reposted twice, so I wasn't sure if I was getting the right repost or not. I wasn't quite 100% trusting to rely on the online repost. How tough would it be to make the moto post to a web page, so as long as we're on the web page we have the most up-to-date moto sheet? I imagine that'd be a lot tougher than printing to a PDF. Just curious what it'd take. I LOVE the idea, not having to crowd over there is a great thing.

Ok, the automatic post to twitter is a lot more involved than I originally thought. I won't be able to get it up and running by this weekend, but I will keep working on it for future races.

How tough would it be to make the moto post to a web page

At this point, too tough to make happen with the limited resources and manpower at registration. The ABA BMX way is a more "live" environment (similar to your web page idea), but much more difficult with some key components for failure. Web server, Intranet, Wifi, Connections, etc. I would love to make this happen eventually, but it will take additional hardware and manpower.

Jason,

Sounds like you have a pretty good handle on things, and everything's working very smoothly for the most part. Thanks again for all that you do to make this site so damn cool. One of these days I'm going to have to try one of those new fangled smart phones so I can play along too. Until then, it's still cool to be able to pull up moto sheets from home to keep up on things, when I can't get to the track, or just to revisit the fun after the fact.

Are you planning on posting the outdoor motos as well?