Software User Manual ==================== Introduction ------------ Golf Kaddie 99 is distance tracking software specifically tuned to be used on a golf course. By using a sensor placed on the wheel of your golf buggy (cart) it is able to measure the distance traveled by the buggy. By entering the length of holes and position of obstacles like trees, it can then work out what distance you are from upcoming objects. By entering your distance measurements for each club you have in your bag, it can then recommend which club to use as you progress through the hole. Golf Kaddie also keeps track of your score and can calculate how you are progressing with respect to par, and your handicap. Golf Kaddie maintains a database of multiple golf courses, and multiple players so you can retrieve information previously entered if you (or any other user) play that course again. Installation ------------ Installation of Golf Kaddie 99 is very simple. Just follow the instructions: (Golf Kaddie 99 requires 35Kb of disk space, and 89Kb of free memory to run, plus 1-3Kb for golf data files, Total = 126Kb) 1. Download golfkaddie.zip from our website (http://start.at/inline) 2. Use any standard unzip package on your PC (or Psion) to extract the files from golfkaddie.zip. The files will be: golf99.opa - The Psion Golf Kaddie program manual.txt - This manual. readme.txt - Latest release notes. license.txt - License agreement 3. Move golf99.opa into the /app/ directory of your Psion on any of its disks you choose. 4. On the System Screen of your Psion, Select Menu, then Install, and select golf99.opa. 5. The Golf Kaddie 99 icon ( a golf flag ) will appear in the System Screen. Starting -------- Once you have installed Golf Kaddie 99, you can start it and play with it even if you haven't constructed your sensor yet. If you have a sensor constructed: Turn off Psion. Connect Serial link, and connect Sensor to it. Turn on Psion. Make sure Remote Link is set to off in the Psion's System screen. Start Golf99 You will be presented with a picture and the option to choose a predefined course and player or none. Make your choice and press enter. You will now be in the Score Screen, with a centre window showing distance statistics. Entering Course Information --------------------------- Press 'Menu', and move to 'Course'. You now have the choice of creating a new course record or editing the current one. If the course selected is 'nowhere' editing will be pointless as the changes wont be recorded. Editing aspects of the course simply invokes minor parts of the new operation, so only new will be explained here. 1. You will be asked for a name of the course. This can be any unique (up to) 8 character name. 2. You are then asked for the length of each of the 18 holes, then the par's of each hole, then the indexes of each hole. You do not have to fill out all these fields. Obviously entering the length of each hole is advantageous for the operation of Golf Kaddie 99, but even then you don't have to enter a value each hole. (For example if you are only entering a 9 hole course). Par's are also optional, although the score screen will not be able to calculate progressive scores for you during play. Indexes are again optional. They are used to work out handicap-adjusted par's for each hole. If you choose to use this feature, you should ensure that each index has a value. Use 'Enter' to move forwards through the course dialogs, and 'Esc' to move backwards and through the course dialogs. An 'Enter' at the final dialog (Page 3 of Indexes) will cause the data to be saved. The course you have just entered will become the course used during the game. You can also change course used by selecting 'Change' from the menu. Entering Player Information --------------------------- Press 'Menu', and move to 'Player'. You now have the choice of creating a new player record or editing the current one. If the player selected is 'no one' editing will be pointless as the changes won't be recorded. Editing aspects of the player simply invokes minor parts of the new operation, so only new will be explained here. 1. You will be asked for a name of the player. This can be any unique (up to) 8 character name. 2. You will be then asked to enter your handicap. You can leave this as zero if you wish. 3. You are then asked for the distance you can hit each of each of your clubs, You do not have to fill out all these fields. In practice you may not carry a full set of clubs with you, so if you don't have the club that is listed, just leave its entry as zero. These will be removed when Golf Kaddie calculates its club selection, and only the clubs that have a distance will be considered. The distances do not have to be in order. Use 'Enter' to move forwards through the course dialogs, and 'Esc' to move backwards and through the course dialogs. An 'Enter' at the final dialog (Page 3 of Clubs) will cause the data to be saved. The player you have just entered will become the player used. You can also change player used by selecting 'Change' from the menu. Entering Settings ----------------- Golf Kaddie needs to know the circumference of the wheel that has the sensor attached to it. Measure your wheel circumference (distance around the outside) accurately and enter the value in the same units you use for your golf course. E.g.. You may be using metre's as your unit of measurement, and the circumference of your wheel is 76 cm. In this case enter 0.76 into the Circumference dialog. This value defaults to 1 if you have never set it. To enter circumference, select 'Menu', then 'Wheel', then 'Settings'. Tracking -------- If you have a sensor constructed and connected, and Golf Kaddie is running, you can begin tracking (excepting signals from the sensor) by using 'Menu' and selecting 'Game', then selecting 'Begin'. The link symbol will then come up in the right status window. Each rotation of the wheel will cause the link symbol to move, and the odometer to change value. These signals can be used to check whether your sensor is working correctly. Views ===== Golf Kaddie displays both score information and hole layout information in two separate screens which you can move between using the diamond key. Roaming Window -------------- In both Screens is a roaming window showing who you are, where you are playing, the hole number, index, par, the distance to the flag, and the club that will best get you there. There is also an odometer on the bottom left that continually tracks distance and can be reset by using the space bar. This odometer can be used to measure a shot you have just hit or total distance covered for example. You can move to the next hole by pressing '->' and move back a hole by pressing '<-'. If you find your distance measurement has become inaccurate, you can use 'm' to move forward 5 units (metre's or yards), or 'l' (less) to move back 5 units. The 'z' key simulates one rotation of the wheel, which can be used prior to building your sensor. Score Screen ------------ The Score Screen sits behind the roaming window and shows your score for each hole, and the par. It calculates your score as you go giving progressive displays in the lower portion of the screen. If you have all the course indexes set up correctly, and a handicap entered, it also calculates what the handicap adjusted par for each hole is (Ph), and gives progressive scores relative to your handicap. To add a score to a hole just press the number of the score [0..9]. This will cause Golf Kaddie to record the score for the current hole and move on to the next hole. Hole Screen ----------- The Hole Screen gives you a graphical view of the hole, and where you are on the fairway. A hole can be straight, have a bend to the left or a bend to the right. It can display trees, lakes, bunkers and rough that come into play. These can all easily be entered at any time by using the following keys: b - add bend (or straighten) the hole. t - add trees. s - add bunker (sand) w - add lake (water hazard) r - add rough. Once you hit any of these keys, a small dialog will pop up asking you for more specific information. You will need to enter what distance from the tee the obstacle is (your current position is the default), whether its on the left side, right side or middle of the fairway, and if it requires a label. If you select 'Yes' to label, Golf Kaddie will display on the screen how far you are away from it, and what club to select if you wish to lay-up before it (except in the case of bend, where the club selected is exactly to it). Be sparing with label, as too many will quickly clutter up your screen. Another way to avoid clutter is to only show trees, sand, etc. that actually come into play. Registering ----------- This software is shareware, which means that you have only downloaded a demo version, and if you continue to use it you are required to pay for it. Go to the Website (http://start.at/inline) for latest pricing and payment methods. The cost will be around $25USD and you can order online through a secure credit card facility. Hardware -------- No hardware is provided with this software. It is up to the user to build their sensor and method of mounting Psion on their golf buggy. Luckily this is a very simple task. The sensor is made by joining the two leads of a magnetic switch onto pins 7 and 8 of a 9 pin serial connector, mounting the switch on the wheel to record rotations, and plugging the serial connector into the Psion serial link cable (3-link) For a detailed description on how to do this, with pictures, see the website http://www.start.at/inline Advanced & Trouble Shooting =========================== Limitations ----------- Due to the slow speed of the Psion's processor it can only keep up with a maximum rate of sensor activation's (rotations of the wheel of your buggy). With no other applications running, you should not exceed 500 wheel rotations per minute. On a 0.76 m wheel circumference that equates to aproximately 22km/hr. (Walking speed is approximately 5 km/hr). File Structure -------------- Golf Kaddie 99 uses the default disk of your Psion. This can be set on the System Screen and is usually the internal disk, which is perfect. It will create a directory called /GolfKad/ and in that it will place a file 'kaddie.ini' which stores setup information. When you create a new course, that data is saved in a file called course_name.cse. When you create a new player that information is stored in a file called players_name.ply. If you go into hole view and begin to add obstacles they will be placed in a file called course_name.hol Golf Kaddie takes full care of maintaining these files so you should not access these with any other applications. If you wish to archive or delete a course, use the delete or copy file mechanism of the System Screen to delete both the relevant .cse and .hol files. Similarly for a player, delete the .ply file. Men's and Women's markers at the same course -------------------------------------------- You can create two course records. E.g. Finley-M and Finley-W for men and women respectively. Disabling Handicap ------------------ Handicap-Adjusted Par (Ph) Ph can clutter the score screen. It requires a non-zero handicap to calculate its value, so by setting your handicap to zero in the Player Editor allows you to remove Ph from the screen. This is the only place your handicap is used or displayed. Yards and Metres ---------------- Golf Kaddie doesn't explicitly show what units you are using as it assumes that most people will use one and stick to it. E.g.. Europeans will use metres, and people from the UK will use yards. If you sometimes use metres and at other times use yards then simply make more course and player records to account for this. E.g.. London-y (a London course in yards), Paris-m (a Paris course in metres), Fred-m (a player distance in metre's) and Fred-y (same player in yards). So when you go to play Paris, load Paris-m and Fred-m. Please note you will also have to adjust the wheel circumference to the new units each time you change. The End. Thank you for choosing Golf Kaddie 99. Remember, registering this software gets one years free online support to solve any problems you may have.