NOS 4.1 Noptel Oy, Oulu, FINLAND

Transcription

1 Noptel ST-2000 User s Guide NOS 4.1 Noptel Oy, Oulu, FINLAND

2 NOS 4.1 User s Guide 24 th of August 2004 Noptel Oy Teknologiantie Oulu, FINLAND Tel Fax Internet: , technical support: support1@noptel.fi , sales: info@noptel.fi Product number: G-114 Document: N40311B Copyright and trademarks: The NOS4 software and NOS4 User's Guide can be freely copied. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. EDGEPORT is a registered trademark of Inside Out Networks. MOXA is a registered trademark of Moxa Technologies Co., Ltd. NOTE! Specifications subject to change without notice due to continuous research and development General

3 Contents: 1. GENERAL HOW TO READ THE USER S GUIDE CHANGES MADE TO THE PREVIOUS RELEASE INSTALLATION SYSTEM INSTALLATION SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS SOFTWARE INSTALLATION USB device driver installation Installing from CD-Rom Guided installation WHEN USING FOR THE FIRST TIME STARTING SHOOTING OPERATING INTERFACE TOOLBAR STATE ICONS FOR THE SYSTEM ACTIVE WINDOWS SHORTCUT KEYS HELP HELPS FOR CERTAIN DISPLAYS BASIC FUNCTIONS STARTING THE PROGRAM STARTING PARAMETERS NOS.INI file COM.INI file QUITTING THE PROGRAM SHOOTING CHOOSING THE GUN SHOOTING MENU SHOOTING TRAINING PROCEDURE OPERATING FROM THE SHOOTER S DISPLAY TEST SHOTS DURING TRAINING OR COMPETITIONS SHOT DELETION TRAINING WITH LARGE GROUPS OF SHOOTERS Program start-up...31 NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 3

4 7.7.2 Shooter name loading and storing Changing lanes Replay Manager and score list SHOOTER S WINDOW THE X RING GUN ZEROING ZEROING IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE COG OF THE SERIES QUICK ZEROING WITH THE MOUSE ZEROING SOUND ADJUSTING THE ROTATION ZEROING FOR A GROUP OF SHOOTERS RESETTING THE ZEROING SCORE LIST SERIES RANKING FILE FUNCTIONS SHOT FILES SETUP FILES WINDOW TEMPLATE FILES REPLAYING AND PRINTING SHOTS STARTING OF SHOT REPLAYS REPLAY MANAGER TOOLBAR SHOT SELECTION SHOT REPLAY MODES Replay mode I: XY, normal target display Replay mode II: R(t) Replay mode III: XY(t) Replay mode IV: Hits SHOT TREND STATISTICAL CALCULATIONS Shot statistics Series statistics PRINTING SHOTS AND SERIES SELECTING SHOTS AND SERIES PAGE SETUP (PRINTOUT) SHOT LIST STATISTICAL LIST WINDOW SHOOTER SETUP General

5 13.1 SHOOTER LIST CREATING AND DELETING SHOOTERS SHOOTER S INFORMATION REMARK GUN AND TARGET SELECTION DISPLAY RINGS DISPLAY OPTIONS MULTIUSER SYSTEMS EXTENDING THE SYSTEM SELECTING LANES ARRANGING SHOOTER WINDOWS GENERAL SETUP GENERAL OPTIONS COMPETITION NAME OTHER OPTIONS SOUNDS STATISTICAL CALCULATION TIMES AND RING LIMITS OPTICAL UNIT SETUP OPTIONS AUTOMATIC START UP SIGNAL LEVELS AUTOMATIC OPERATION POWER ADJUSTMENT LEAD SETUP LEAD DIRECTION ADJUSTING LEAD WIND AND BALLISTICS ZEROING SHOOTING SEVERAL TARGETS AND SILHOUETTES SHOOTING AT SEVERAL TARGETS DEFINING SEVERAL TARGETS SHOOTING AT SILHOUETTES IMPLICATIONS OF THE SHOOTING DISTANCE SCALING THE TARGET POSITIONS ADJUSTING ROTATION...93 NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 5

6 20. CASES OF USE MOOSE (RUNNING BOAR) BIATHLON RUNNING TARGET RAPID FIRE PISTOL (RAPID AIR PISTOL) DUEL (SPORT PISTOL AND CENTER FIRE) SHOOTING MODES SHOOTOFF RAPID SHOOTING AUTOMATIC FIRE PRACTICING WITH THE SOUND SIGNAL COLOR SETUP UNITS TIMER REFLECTORS REFLECTORS FOR DIFFERENT OPTICAL UNITS AND DISTANCES MEASUREMENT ACCURACY SHOOTING WITH REAL BULLETS POSITION OF THE REFLECTOR (PRISM) TROUBLESHOOTING DIAGNOSTICS LOGGER WINDOW POSSIBLE ERROR STATES QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS PROGRAM ERROR MESSAGES ERROR MESSAGES STORED IN THE LOG FILE VOCABULARY INDEX APPENDIX A. SHORTCUT KEYS APPENDIX B. NOS.INI-FILE MEMO General

7 1. General Noptel's ST-2000 product family employs a measurement method based on prism technology, which enables several shooters to shoot at the same target simultaneously. Shooting training devices based on the prism technique consist of an Optical Unit (transmitter / receiver), typically attached to the outside of the barrel of the gun, a computer and a retro-reflector, which is attached to a conventional shooting target. The operating principle of the prism technique is shown in Figure 1.1. The Optical Unit comprises a transceiver in which a light emitting diode sends a light beam towards the target area, where a reflector returns the light which falls on its surface back towards the Optical Unit. The size of the measurement area thus increases directly as a function of shooting distance. light beam target reflector lenses transmitter receiver Figure 1.1 Hit measurement principle NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 7

8 The Optical Unit is connected to the computer via a small RS-box or USB-Converter. Any extension cable that is needed is connected between the Optical Unit and the RS-Box or between the RS-Box and the computer, depending on the type of ST-2000 device. An extension cable allows the shooter to be further away from the computer. Several Optical Units can be connected to one computer simultaneously with certain restrictions (Figure 1.2), since each Optical Unit requires a serial port. The number of serial ports per computer may typically be increased by USB-Converters in notebook computers or by special interface cards in desktop computers. An extension may have 4 or 8 ports, for example and a PC can have 2 USB-Converters or interface cards. Optical Units Computer USB COM 3.. COM 6 Figure 1.2 ST-2000 Multiuser system. The type of reflector is dependent on the shooting distance, weather conditions, required accuracy level and the version of the ST-2000 employed. To maintain the required accuracy level in poor weather conditions, better or more reflectors can be employed. Alternatively the shooting distance may be reduced, since the required skill level is maintained automatically. A number of shooters can shoot at the same target simultaneously General

9 1.1 How to read the User s Guide This NOS4 User s Guide is meant to be a guide to help you to make a fast and easy start using the Noptel ST-2000 shooter training system. At the same time you will find out how to get the most out of the system s versatile qualities. If you are an experienced Windows or NOS4 user, you will probably be able to use the NOS4 software, even if you don t read a page of this guide. NOS4 software is typical Windows software, with help files, which guide you through most problems. This guide does not deal with the common terms and functions connected with Windows use, so if NOS4 is your first Windows application we recommend you to use a Windows handbook together with the guide when learning the use of the software. The paragraphs in this guide which refer to a Windows function that we assume you to be familiar with are marked [WINDOWS]. If you don t know the subject in question, you may look it up in your Windows handbook. NOS4 is designed so that it may be used as a single or multi-user shooter training system. For most parts the operations are the same regardless of the number of users, but there are some exceptions, where the number of shooters affects the use of the program. These cases and other special situations are marked as follows: Single shooter Several shooters Shooting at long range Shooting at a moving target Shooting at several targets Important issues NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 9

10 2. Changes made to the previous release The most important change made to the previous release is that NOS4 is purely a Windows software product. This has led to many changes in the software, which will benefit the user of the program. The most important changes are: Output straight from the program to the printer. The shots can be printed on paper immediately. Guided installation (Installation Wizard), which will guide you step by step through the installation. Built-in serial port search and automatic check of optical units. Each serial port is checked and the optical unit attached to it is recognized automatically. (Note: Setup in COM.INI -file.) Toolbar, which contains the most important functions. Dynamic addition and removal of shooters. In NOS version 3 the number of shooters was given in the command line. In NOS version 4 new shooters can be created while using the program, even in the middle of a shoot. Heart rate monitor support. An accessory to the Noptel ST-2000 Sport, Sport II and PistolTrainer devices. Optical units starting with controller version 1.00 measure the heart rate of the shooter via a Polar Electro transmitter belt worn by the shooter. The information collected is added to the data from the actual shoot. Command line parameters are no longer used. The same information is now in NOS.INI and COM.INI -files Changes made to the previous release

11 3. Installation 3.1 System installation The Noptel ST-2000 consists of the following (Figure 3.1) : ST-2000 optical unit (to be attached to the barrel of the gun). RS-Box (RS-232 serial interface) or USB-Converter (USB-port). Target with optical reflecting tape or prism reflector. NOS4 software. You also need: PC with Windows2000 or WindowsXP operating system. Gun The Noptel ST-2000 system is installed as follows (Figure 3.1): 1. Start PC using power switch. 2. Connect optical unit to RS-Box or USB-Converter. 3. Connect RS-Box or USB-Converter to computer's port. If USB- Converter is used, wait and install the device driver. 4. Install NOS4 software and start it. 5. Set target to the shooting distance. 6. Attach the optical unit to the barrel of the gun and do the zeroing (adjusting) the optical unit. 7. Start shooting training. Optical Unit 5-10 m Target Computer Figure 3.1 Setting up the ST-2000 shooter training system NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 11

12 The optical unit is usually attached to the gun below the barrel (Figure 3.2). The gun is selected from the shooter setup. Figure 3.2 Attaching an optical unit to a rifle and a pistol 3.2 Software requirements Minimum requirements for the NOS4 software are: A free serial port (e.g. COM1 or COM2) or USB-port for the optical unit. A Pentium 500 MHz -based PC computer. A Microsoft Windows2000 or WindowsXP operating system. NOS4 software versions do not require an optical unit to start, so that you can analyze shooting data on any PC computer without an optical unit. 3.3 Software installation The software is supplied either on a CD-Rom. The installation is done by starting the Install Wizard, which will guide you through the whole installation process Installation

13 3.3.1 USB device driver installation It is required to install separately the USB device driver, if the computer USB port is used to connect ST-2000 products. See more details from the extension unit's guide supplied Installing from CD-Rom The NOS4 CD-Rom is auto-run. Place the CD-Rom into the drive. After a while the installation program will start and you will see this menu (Figure 3.3): Figure 3.3 CD-ROM installation Place the mouse cursor on the desired Install NOS4 text. The text will turn red. Then click the mouse. The guided installation will start. Move to the section "Guided installation" Guided installation The installation of NOS4 software is done by a special installation program (Install Shield). It will go through the installation step by step. NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 13

14 When started, you will see this on display: Figure 3.4 Software installation 1 1. Click the Next button to move forward in the installation. You can come back later by clicking the Back button to change the settings you have chosen. If you wish to quit installation without installing, choose Cancel. Figure 3.5 Software installation 2 2. Next you can give your name and the name of your company or team for registration of the software. Once started, NOS4 will suggest your name as the default shooter name. Type your name into the text field Name and your team into the Company field. Move forward by clicking Next Installation

15 Figure 3.6 Software installation 3 3. Define the directory path where you want the NOS4 software to be installed. We recommend the default choice "C:\Program Files\Noptel\Nos4", but if you wish to change it because of disk space for example, just click Browse, and you may choose any path you want. Click Next to go on with the installation. Figure 3.7 Software installation 4 4. You may choose the most common setup (Typical), minimal setup (Compact) or a setup with your own choices (Custom). If you have a limited amount of disk space, choose Compact, otherwise we recommend the Typical setup. Click Next to continue. NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 15

16 Figure 3.8 Software installation 5 5. Next give a folder name for the NOS4 -software. The default name is "Noptel Training Systems" Continue by clicking Next. Figure 3.9 Software installation 6 6. Next you will see a window with a summary of the choices you have made during the setup. If you want to change something, just click the Back button to get to the place where you made the choice. If there s nothing to change, click Next Installation

17 7. The Install Shield will copy the necessary files to your hard drive and make the settings. Wait until you see this window: Figure 3.10 Software installation 8 8. The setup is now complete. If you want to start the NOS4 software immediately, check "Yes, Launch the program file". Quit the Installation by clicking Finish. When the software is executed for the first time after installation, the user must choose the gun he/she is going to shoot with. The gun chosen will be stored in the setup file as the default gun. The gun can, of course, be changed later (c.f. shooter settings). The user also chooses which language version of the software he/she wants to use. This can also be changed later. NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 17

18 4. When using for the first time This chapter provides a short overall view of how the program works. Later chapters describe the different menus and displays and the tasks involved in each activity. The best way to become familiar with the program is to use it. To start the program, either choose 'Noptel Optical Shooting 4.1' in the Start menu or double-click the Shortcut icon with the mouse [WINDOWS]. After the program has been started, the computer display will be as in Figure 4.1. If there is an existing setup file, this may create small differences. If there are several optical units attached to the PC there should be a target on the display for each optical unit. Figure 4.1 Program start-up screen When using for the first time

19 4.1 Starting shooting 1. Before you start the NOS4 program, connect the optical unit to the computer. Set the target at the shooting distance. See: System installation 2. When NOS4 is started for the first time, it will ask for the shooter's name and default gun. (You can change these settings afterwards.) 3. When NOS4 starts, each serial port of the computer is checked, and the optical unit attached to it is recognized automatically. A new shooter window is created for every optical unit found. If no optical units can be found, one shooter window is created anyway. Its bottom right corner will show a state icon, which should be a greyed "sleeping" pistol. If this icon is red, no optical units were found. For more information, see: Shooter window. 4. Press the Start shooting button (pistol icon) on the toolbar to start shooting. The state icon should now change to blue. 5. Aim at the target. When your gun points to the target you may see a moving spot on the display indicating the point where you would hit if you were to pull the trigger at that moment. 6.Pull the trigger as you would normally do. 7. When the Automatic replay repeats your shot, the display shows how you aimed before triggering. After shooting you will see a "bullet hole" indicating the point that you hit and in the upper left corner you will see the score of your hit. NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 19

20 5. Operating Interface NOS4 is a typical Windows software product. If you have used any Windows software earlier, you will learn the use of the NOS4 software in just a couple of minutes. Figure 5.1 User Interface (4 shooters) Operating interface vocabulary: (Figure 5.1) 1. Main menu (Pull down) 2. Toolbar 3. Score list 4. Shooter window 5. State icon for the optical unit 6. Help bar 7. Name of the shot file currently in use 8. State icons for the system Operating Interface

21 5.1 Toolbar The most common commands can be selected from the toolbar (Figure 5.2) As default, the toolbar is visible, but you may open and hide it from the main menu by choosing: View Toolbar. When the same command is selected again the toolbar becomes invisible Figure 5.2 Toolbar File operations: 1 New Saves and closes an old shot file and opens a new one. 2 Open Loads an old shot file from a disk. 3 Save Saves current shot file with a new name on a disk. Shooting control: 4 Start Starts optical units and begins to check on target for defined periods. 5 Stop Turns optical units off and starts loading the battery. Zeroing and saving: 6 Quick Z Quick zeroing with mouse. Zeroing point (center point of target) is pointed to with the "finger". 7 Zeroing Shooter window changes to zeroing mode, which has a wider view 8 No Save Sets saving of shots on disk on / off Replay and printing: 9 Replay Moves to shot replay window 10 Print Opens shot selection window, which can be used to replay and print shots 11 Result Opens and closes scores window Number of Target rings (Zooming): 12 Less Reduces the number of rings visible in the shooter window (Zoom in) 13 More Increases the number of rings visible in the shooter window (Zoom out) NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 21

22 Other settings: 14 Shooter Opens Shooter's setup window 15 Opt.Unit Opens Settings of the optical unit 16 Arrange Arranges opened windows on the screen 5.2 State icons for the system In the lower right hand corner of the main window state bar, there are icons which describe the current settings of the program (Figure 5.1 point 8). Their explanations are as follows: Shots are saved. Shots are not saved. Zeroing mode is on. Optical unit extra gain is on. Ballistic corrections are used. Wind corrections re used. 5.3 Active windows When operating with several shooters, the operation is always performed in the window that is active at that moment. To activate a display, click the left button of the mouse when the cursor is on the window. In the shooter window, the title bar should be pressed with the left button of the mouse, unless you want to open the oprating menu at the same time. The shooter window and the score list window have their own menus, which are opened with the right button of the mouse. 5.4 Shortcut keys The shortcut keys are operated by first pressing Ctrl, holding it down and pressing the shortcut key needed. A total list of shortcut keys is given in Appendix A Operating Interface

23 5.5 Help The contents of the software s Help-file (Figure 5.3) can be seen by opening Help Contents from the main menu and the index (Figure 5.4) by choosing Help Index. Figure 5.3 Help contents window NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 23

24 Figure 5.4 Help Index window You may search for a help topic by writing the key word into text field 1 or by pointing at the word in the list 2. Pressing F1 while a window is open opens the help for that particular window. 5.6 Helps for certain displays There is a help bar at the bottom of both setup windows and the shot replay window (Figure 5.2 point 6). The help bar shows a short description of the chosen button, list or text field. If you point with the mouse at a hit on the shooter window, the score of that hit is shown on the help bar. You can replay that particular shot, by doubleclicking with the mouse Operating Interface

25 6. Basic functions 6.1 Starting the program Start the NOS4 software as you would start any windows program from Start menu: Noptel Training systems Noptel Optical Shooting. A faster way to start the program is to create a shortcut button on the desktop [WINDOWS]. 6.2 Starting parameters The starting parameters for NOS4 are located in the NOS.INI and COM.INI -files. You may change them with any normal text editor (e.g. Notepad [WINDOWS]) NOS.INI file Each line in the NOS.INI file corresponds to one start-up parameter. If you wish to change a start-up parameter, remove the semicolon (;) from in front of the line. Don't change the start-up parameters unless you are sure of the effects. The meanings of the most common start-up parameters are the following: (In general: parameter = 0 not in use, parameter > 0 parameter in use) SHOOTERS=8 The number of shooter windows (1-32 pcs.) AUTOSTART=0 Automatic start of optical units (on/off) ROTATION=180 Rotation angle of optical unit (0-359 degrees) All NOS.INI parameters are listed in Appendix B. NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 25

26 6.2.2 COM.INI file During the start-up, the program examines all the serial ports found in the computer (COM ports) and automatically gives a lane to every optical unit found. If any of the serial ports is in use for another device attached to the computer, this may cause problems. The COM.INI file describes all the serial ports that do not need to be checked during start-up of the NOS4 program. Remove the semicolon (;) from in front of a line and the setting will become valid. If you have a multiuser system in use, set the parameter "NUM_OPTICALUNITS=X" in COM.INI file so that "X" = number of optical units. Then NOS4 will stop searching for optical units after it has found the given value of optical units. If you have more than one optical unit in use, you will have to change the NUM_OPTICALUNITS parameter. If you want to pass over the search for optical units completely and use the NOS4 program for analysis only, remove the semicolon from in front of the NO_OPTICALUNITS line. This will make the starting of the program faster. 6.3 Quitting the program To quit the program, choose File and Exit from the main menu. If one or more optical units are on, the shooting may not be completed and a confirmation of quitting may be needed, where Yes ends the program and Cancel continues it without interruption Basic functions

27 7. Shooting 7.1 Choosing the gun The gun is selected by choosing Setup and Shooter from the main menu, or by pressing Open shooter setup on the toolbar. Having selected first one shooter or several shooters, Select shooters, you can select the shooters' gun from the Gun menu. Confirm the selection by pressing Apply or OK. The guns specified by Noptel can be read from gun file NOS.GUN. There can also be guns specified by the user and saved in the file CUSTOM.GUN. These guns are designated with a separate program, Gun & Target Editor (GunEdit). This is started via the Noptel Optical Shooting menu, located in the Windows start menu. 7.2 Shooting menu The basic operations connected with shooting and the optical unit are controlled from the main menu Shooting option. There are commands for Start and Stop shooting. Starting shooting means setting the optical unit to the measuring state. This is seen from the shooter window state icon, which will turn pale-blue. The optical unit can be made active also by pressing the Space bar while the window is active. The Shooting menu has some important options. Automatic replay, Save shots and Zeroing mode are switched on and off here. Zeroing mode can also be switched on from the toolbar. NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 27

28 7.3 Shooting training procedure The most typical shooting training procedure is the following: (Numbers in square brackets refer to the chapters where the steps are explained in more detail.) 1. Once the Optical Units have been connected, the program can be started. 2. Name the shooters Setup Shooter [13] and select lanes Setup Lanes. If there are enough lanes, you can use the default options for these. 3. Switch on the Optical Units from the toolbar Start (or ctrl-l or Shooting and Start from the main menu[7]. 4. If the 'on-target' automatic check function [16] is on, the program will adjust the level of the Optical Unit signal, after which the pale-blue broken-pistol icon will change to a pistol icon. If the received signal level is adequate, the aiming point on the display will start to track the movements of the gun. 5. The gun is triggered, which is shown by the appearance of the hit spot and hit data on the target on the display. The Automatic Replay, if selected, will replay the shot after a few seconds [12]. 6. Depending on the mode of Restart [16] the program will either switch the Optical Unit on automatically after the cocking delay, or start it for the next shot as described in step 4 above. 7. After the shooting the Optical Units, if they are still on (paleblue icon), are switched off with the Stop button from the toolbar [7]. 8. Use the Replay manager to view the shots [12]. 9. Exit the program. Possible error situations and their corrections are explained in chapter Shooting

29 7.4 Operating from the shooter s display Clicking the right mouse button on top of the desired shooter window (Figure 7.1) opens the shooter's operating menu. Commands accomplished through this menu are directed only to the selected shooter. Figure 7.1 Shooter s operating menu The following tasks can be executed using the operating menu: Start and stop shooting Zeroing by COG series hits or by pointing with the mouse Special zeroing actions: Adjust rotation and scale targets (multitarget disciplines), and Set lead (moving targets) Reset zeroing Replay the last shot Starting a new series Open a Shooter setup window Reset the last shot NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 29

30 7.5 Test shots during training or competitions During a competition you can still fire test shots which won t be stored on the file. This is done by selecting Shooting and Save shots mode OFF from the main menu. Return to the competition after the test shots by selecting Shooting and Save shots ON. When the shots are not saved, the state bar of the main window shows an icon. There will also be a message Shots not saved instead of the name of a shot file. 7.6 Shot deletion Accidental shots may occur in training, the wrong gun may be selected for a shooter or there may be mix-ups in connection with lane changes. For such situations the program allows one or more shots to be deleted. The last shot of a single shooter can be deleted from the shooter s operating menu Reset last shot when the shooter s window is active (or shortcut Ctrl-DEL) Clearing the shots also updates the score data. After all, a marksman with a healthy conscience will not use the shot reset function to create a dream series or fix the score. 7.7 Training with large groups of shooters In an 8-shooter lane up to 64 people can shoot with the same program start-up. The number of lanes can be smaller, but this will not reduce the number of shooters. This section describes how to implement firing practice with large groups of shooters, i.e. more shooters than there are lanes, e.g. eight lanes and nine or more shooters, or just one lane and two or more shooters. The principle is simply that a shooter window is created for each shooter, everyone shoots in turn and the program is told which lane the shooter is using Shooting

31 7.7.1 Program start-up Before starting the program set the number of shooters in the NOS.INI file (e.g. 24 shooters, 8 optical units): SHOOTERS=24 The program starts up and 24 small shooter displays appear on the screen. If there are less than 24 displays, the program has read the default file. Press ctrl-a, and all the windows will be shown on the screen. If the Optical Units are connected and the serial communication drivers are loaded, the state icons for the first eight shooters (Shooter 01.. Shooter 08) will be in the Transmitter off state (gray) and the rest (Shooter 09.. Shooter 24) will have the red shooting prevented icon Shooter name loading and storing If the group of shooters is practicing for the first time, the names of the members should be entered on the displays in place of the default names (Shooter 01, Shooter 02..) The names are given in the Shooter setup menu. See chapter 13. When all the names have been put in and the names of the group are in the shooter list, exit the window using the Close -button. The names can now be stored in the setup file for use in later practices. With the Setup Save option of the File menu the names are stored in the default setup file NOS.NSF. If you want several groups, create a setup file for each group. The name (e.g. Group 1) can be given by storing the setup file with the File/Setup/Save as... command. Putting in 24 names takes a while, so in order to speed up the shooting practice you can write and save the names in the setup file the previous day. When the actual practice starts, you can load the names rapidly from the setup file. For all subsequent practices the names saved earlier can be loaded with the File/Setup/Open option. This means that there will be a list of.nsf setup files included in the index, from which you will find the file for your group, e.g. GROUP1.NSF. NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 31

32 7.7.3 Changing lanes As there are fewer lanes than shooters, it is not possible for everyone to shoot at the same time. For this reason the shooters are divided into sub-groups not exceeding the number of lanes. With eight lanes and 24 shooters three groups of eight shooters can be formed. Correspondingly, if it is desired to use four or six lanes, six or four groups are formed. If three groups of eight are chosen, the first group will include the first eight shooters, (Shooter 01.. Shooter 08 or the names given to them), the second group the next eight (Shooter 09.. Shooter 16) and the third group the last eight (Shooter 17.. Shooter 24). If there are fewer than 24 shooters the groups can be smaller. By opening the Setup/Lanes toolbar you can see the placement of the shooters in lanes. The default placement is Shooter 01/ Lane 1, Shooter 02/Lane 2,... Shooter 08/Lane 8 and Shooter 09.. Shooter 24/ Lane 0. The first eight shooters placed in lanes will shoot a chosen number of series (one or more series according to the time available) after which the group of shooters is changed: the first shooters will be assigned to lane 0 and the next eight shooters (Shooter 09.. Shooter 16) will have lanes When the second group has shot the same number of series as the first one, the group will be changed again. Shooters will be placed in lane 0 and lanes 1..8 will be distributed among the shooters in the last group (Shooter ). If you want to arrange a competition between the shooters during the training period, it is more fair on the shooters and more exciting as a competition if the groups shoot only one series at a time. After that the groups are changed after each series, so that immediately after the first series of the third group the first group will shoot its second series (Figure 7.2). This will mean changing lanes more often, however, which will lengthen the time taken up by the training period. N.B.: When changing Optical Units, take care that each shooter shoots in the lane set for him. Similarly, make sure that each shooter in the new group has a lane when lanes are changed Shooting

33 Shooter 1 Lane 1 Lane 1 Shooter 2 Lane 2 Lane 2 Shooter 3 Lane 3 Lane 3 Shooter 4 Lane 4 Lane 4 Shooter 5 Lane 5 Lane 5 Shooter 6 Lane 6 Lane 6 Shooter 7 Lane 7 Lane 7 Shooter 8 Lane 8 Lane 8 Shooter 9 Lane 1 Shooter 10 Lane 2 Shooter 11 Lane 3 Shooter 12 Lane 4 Shooter 13 Lane 5 Shooter 14 Lane 6 Shooter 15 Lane 7 Shooter 16 Lane 8 Shooter 17 Lane 1 Shooter 18 Lane 2 Shooter 19 Lane 3 Shooter 20 Lane 4 Shooter 21 Lane 5 Shooter 22 Lane 6 Shooter 23 Lane 7 Shooter 24 Lane 8 Figure 7.2 Shooter rotation in lanes Replay Manager and score list The Replay manager shot replay, which can be used at any time during training, allows you to replay any shot you want, irrespective of whether the shooter in question has a lane or not. The program will keep the total score of each shooter during the whole training period and update the Score list, which contains the scores and positions of all the shooters. NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 33

34 8. Shooter s window The program has a Shooter s window for each shooter which displays real-time aiming movements, shot scores, some statistical values and an automatic shot replay. Additionally, there is the Replay manager - shot replay function for all the shooters (see chapter 12), where you can examine the shot more closely. The statistical data for the shot are also displayed in full in the Replay manager. Figure 8.1 Shooter s display The shooter s display shows (Figure 8.1): 10.1 sector 9 Shot score and sector. Score 94.1 (89) Total score in decimals (in integers). Series 1 Series number. Shot 10 Shot number in current series. Statistical information in the shooter s display: (See also: Statistical calculation): (94.5) Points score in parenthesis. TIRE 3 TIRE value, trigger timing and reaction -value. [0.71] Relative triggering number in square brackets Shooter s window

35 By pressing the right hand button of the mouse on the shooter s display you can open the shooter s operating menu, where you can give shooter related commands. The state icon for the optical unit is located in the bottom right corner. It gives the following information on the state of each optical unit (Figure 8.2): Figure 8.2 Optical Unit state description icons 1. Shooting stopped 2. Cocking, gun is being reloaded 3. Aiming, optical unit is measuring and the shooter is aiming at the target 4. Optical unit not in use, no optical unit was found on startup or no lane has been defined for the shooter 5. Automatic replay in progress Results and other information can be seen in the left-hand corner of shooter window. These are defined in the shooter window settings, RealTimeAiming and AutoReplay. When replaying a shot, the aiming point can be seen as a moving spot on the target (default setting), as points or as a sequential line. 8.1 The X ring It is also possible to take hits in the X ring (Figure 8.1) into account. A gun-specific X ring is drawn on the display with a dotted line if selected in Display Options. When the X ring option is selected, a hit breaking the X ring is scored with an X mark instead of the sector value. In addition to the X, the program indicates a hit in the X ring with enlarging circles shown on the screen immediately after the shot. NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 35

36 9. Gun zeroing With the actual NOS4 program, zeroing takes place in one way of the following ways: 1. Targeting can proceed in the normal shooting mode. 2. Switch the Save shots mode off at the Shooting menu. In this operating mode the target in the shooter window is seen in accordance with the normal setup (e.g. up to the fifth ring), but the shots are not stored on the disk. 3. Select the zeroing mode from the main menu: Shooting, Zeroing mode. The program then automatically shows the entire measurement area for each group of shooters, so that it is easier to find the spot. Shots can be fired as normal but the scores are not stored on the disk. The zeroing mode is shown as a state icon in the bottom right-hand corner of the display (see Figure 5.1). The current signal level (top right-hand corner, upper value), power level (lower value) and extra gain (G icon) are also seen in the display. The restart settings are overruled when the zeroing mode is on, and the Optical Unit is turned on automatically after each shot. Figure 9.1 Zeroing mode Gun zeroing

37 In all the above-mentioned modes programmed zeroing can be performed in a restricted area either to a place pointed at with the mouse or to the COG of the hits in the series (if you wish you can also reset earlier zeroing). If the center of the target moves outside the permitted area of zeroing, the program will inform you of this and will not accept the programmed zeroing. The area where the software zeroing is allowed is seen as a ring if desired. The zeroing area ring is switched on and off from the Display options menu. The ring is always drawn when zeroing mode is on. The size of the ring is dependent on the optical unit used and the size of the target. Sometimes the ring may be so much larger than the related target that it doesn't even fit in the window. Note! The zeroing area can be also square with certain optical units. The programmed zeroing doesn t have any effect on earlier hits in the series. When the centers have been moved, the lane-specific zeroing is saved in the ADJUST.SAV file. If this file exists in the directory, the zeroing data are read and updated each time the program is started. Zeroing is selected from the operation toolbar of the Shooter s display. Select the operation toolbar by pressing the right hand mouse button when the pointer is on the Shooter s display while this is active. Zeroing mode in brief: Shots are not saved when in the zeroing mode. The yellow ring seen in the zeroing mode shows the borders of the permitted zeroing area. If aiming is outside the yellow ring, it must be altered with the adjustments on the gun or the optical unit to be inside it. Some devices have such a large zeroing area that it will not fit on the screen. In the zeroing mode the upper right-hand corner of the window shows the signal level of the optical unit, which varies in the range , and the power of the transmitter light beam (Pow), which varies between 1 and 15. NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 37

38 9.1 Zeroing in accordance with the COG of the series Once shots have been fired, the gun can be adjusted by moving the center of the target in accordance with the COG of the fired or ongoing series (at the center of the group), provided that the COG is within the limits of the zeroing area. Choose Zeroing and To the COG point of the hits from the operating menu. The program will give the number of shots affecting the aiming point and will set the aim, after which the center of the target will be the center of the group in question until the next targeting or resetting. 9.2 Quick zeroing with the mouse A programmed zeroing can be carried out also with the mouse, within the limits of the permitted area of zeroing. Quick zeroing with the mouse is fast and easy with NOS4 software. It can be done in both the zeroing mode and the shooting mode. Zeroing with the mouse is done as follows: 1. Move to the zeroing mode by pressing the Zeroing button on the toolbar (or by choosing Shooting Zeroing mode from the main menu). 2. Move the mouse cursor on top of the shooter window and press the right mouse button. The Shooter's operating menu will pop up. Choose Zeroing With the Mouse. 3. After this, the cursor of the mouse will change to a picture of a hand. Point at the zeroing point (=center point of target) with the "finger" and press the left mouse button. Zeroing is now complete. Optionally, zeroing can be done according to the center of gravity of the series Gun zeroing

39 9.3 Zeroing sound The internal speaker of the computer can be used to help in zeroing, provided that only one gun is to be adjusted at a time and this is to be done near the computer. Switch the zeroing sound on by choosing Zeroing sound from the General setup. Then activate the shooter s window to be adjusted. A continuous sound will be heard when the aiming point is in the measurement area, and it will increase in frequency as the aiming point moves towards the target area. 9.4 Adjusting the rotation The optical unit should be attached to the gun so that the unit is horizontal while shooting. This is not always possible, however, because of the attachment point on the gun barrel or the twisted position of the shooter. This is not usually such a big problem when performing traditional marksmanship shooting, as only the sector may change because of rotation of the unit, but when there are several targets or a running target to be shot at (chapters 19-20), rotation may be harmful. Disturbing rotation is seen after center point zeroing if the hits at one end of the target area are below the middle line and those at the other end above the middle line. The rotation can be rectified by shooting two shots one after another so that they are in reality on the horizontal line. Then open the shooter s operation window and select Zeroing and Adjust Rotation. The software will now eliminate the rotation effect. Note that the center point zeroing usually changes when the rotation is adjusted, so that the zeroing has to be repeated. 9.5 Zeroing for a group of shooters When there are several lanes with active shooters and it would take a lot of time and computer operations to adjust them all in the ways defined above, a simpler way is to use the zeroing option for all shooters. After every shooter has performed the zeroing shots needed, select Options and General zeroing from the main menu. All the shooters will now be adjusted one by one to the hit COGs of their latest series. If there are shooters whose COG points are outside the zeroing area, these will be mentioned in the dialogue window and will have to be adjusted afterwards. NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 39

40 9.6 Resetting the zeroing Zeroing chosen according to the center of the series or with the mouse can always be cleared by selecting Reset previous zeroing from the operation toolbar. The previous zeroings are then canceled and the center of the target moves back to its original place, to the center of the measurement area of the equipment. At the same time, any rotation adjustments and multi-target scalings are canceled. The programmed zeroing can easily be tested by placing the Optical Unit against a reflecting surface (e.g. a table) and switching on the transmitter. You will probably have to use extra gain in the Optical Unit for this. The spot of the aiming point should remain more or less in one place on the display. Place the mouse pointer on the spot and press the mouse button. If the area of measurement is sufficient, the aiming point should move to the center of the target. (In reality the center of the target is moved to the aiming point, moving the bullseye.) If the original aiming point was outside the area of measurement, you can try moving the pointer between the center of the target and the aiming spot. The center point should move a corresponding distance towards the aiming point Gun zeroing

41 10. Score list The program keeps a Score list of the shooters during the competition, in which they are listed in order from best to worst in terms of their total score, for example. The score list window (Figure 10.1) appears on the display as a default when the program is started, and can be closed and opened by Window and Score from the main menu or with the shortcut key ctrl-x. Figure 10.1 Score list window The setups concerning the form of the score list and the order of the list can be found in the setup menu Setup Score (Figure 10.2), or by pressing the right-hand button of the mouse on the score list and choosing Setup. NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 41

42 Figure 10.2 Score list setups The order of scores in the window is one of the following: 1. Total score. The total score of each shooter defines the order. This is the default setting. 2. Total score with X ring. The score is always calculated in integers. If two shooters achieve the same score, their order will depend on their X ring shots. 3. COG (center of gravity). The score for the series is calculated by assuming that the center of gravity of shooter s shots is the center of the target. 4. Mean score. The average of all the shots the shooter has shot is taken; regardless of how many shots each shooter has performed. 5. Shooter list (not used). The shooters are not ranked. The order in which the shooters were put to lanes will remain throughout the shooting. This setting should be used when the shooting is done merely for practising purposes and competition-like situations are to be avoided. The score can be calculated in integers or in decimals, Decimal scores. In addition to default fields, the setup menu of the score window can be used to set the program to display the shooter s team (e.g. club, country), the score of the group (shown automatically if the Score list

43 order is based on the COG) and the score of the total shots and the best and worst shots. The score list can be printed from the main menu, File Print score list Series ranking To display the series ranking, choose from the main menu: View Series Ranking. A long-term ranking list can be maintained from series already shot. When a series is completed, the software compares the results with series shot earlier. If the result is better than the latest result accepted for the ranking, the shooter's name, the result and the date are saved in the file GUN X.RNG, where "X" is the gun. The ranking list can also be saved in an ASCII file GUN_X.ASC by pressing the Text file button. The series ranking can be printed by pressing the Print button. The number of series kept in the ranking (5-100) is selected via the Ranking Size field. If you wish to clear the ranking list press Clear. Note that once cleared, the clearing can t be undone. NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 43

44 11. File functions The program uses the computer hard disk and the directory in which the program has been installed for storing shot and setup files. Shot files (extension *.PUM) are automatically given a running number name NOS4 00.PUM, NOS4 01.PUM, etc. If desired the user can adopt a different system for naming the shot files. Setup files and default setup files are NOS.NSF, which are loaded when the program is started in such a way that user-named files with a *.NSF extension can be loaded either from the command line when the program starts up or from the File menu. All file functions open a file window (Figure11.1), in which loading, storing etc. are handled. Figure 11.1 File window The desired directory and file can be selected either with the mouse or with TAB and the arrow keys. OK confirms the required function and closes the window. Cancel closes the window without any action File functions

45 11.1 Shot files Previously fired shots can be checked by loading the file (*.PUM) containing the shots. Functions associated with shot files are obtained from the File and Shot menus. New creates and starts a new shot file. Open reads shot data from the selected shot file. Save As copies and saves the shot file with a new name. A single shooter can be selected from the active shot file, and this shooter's shots are then saved in a new shot file. Ignoring the original number, the shooter's number is set to one in the new file. The original shot file remains unchanged as the active file. The shooter selection window is opened by selecting Save selected... When the shooter has been selected, the Save button is pressed to open the file window where the new shot file name is given. Statistical data on all the shots in the current shot file can be transferred to an ASCII file by selecting Export statistics. The ASCII file containing the shot statistics will be named according to the shot file, with the extension *.STA. The series statistics are stored in the file with the extension *.SER. The program stores the last four shot file names. These files are listed at the end of the menu, where they can be easily accessed by selecting them from the menu Setup files Settings associated with the display menus can be stored in a file so that they can easily be restored the next time the program is used. Settings can be stored in the default file NOS.NSF or in some other file named by the user. The setup file extension is *.NSF. If the program finds an NOS.NSF file in the start-up directory its settings come into force. The display setup can be stored by selecting File and Setup in the main menu. Settings are stored in the default file by selecting Save in the submenu. If it is desired to save the settings in a file named by the user, selected Save As, whereupon the display will show the file management window in which the file can be given a name or stored under the name of some existing file. NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 45

46 Stored file settings can be used by selecting File, Setup and Open in the main menu. All the files with the extension NSF are shown in the window Window template files Window templates can be used to save training situations in a file, from which they can easily be retrieved later. When all the windows are arranged on the display: clock, timer and the score window, the situation can be saved for later use. The positions of the windows on the screen are saved, and so are the settings and shots. A window template file is saved by choosing from the main menu: File Window templates Save as. A NOS4 software window template file name is always of the form *.WND. An old window template file can be loaded by choosing from the main menu: File WIndow templates Open. The window can be used to give the file a new name describing the practicing situation better. The latest windows template used can easily be retrieved by choosing Window Rearrange or using the short-cut Ctrl-W. The default window template file is loaded by choosing from the main menu: File Window templates Start up. When retrieving a windows template, the program assigns the shooters currently on the display to windows on saved files. This makes changing the shooters fast and flexible, especially in situations where there are more shooters than there are lanes. When changing lanes, the windows of the active shooters can be arranged on the display: When the lanes are chosen Active lanes Windows template, Open. Note that if there are more shooters in the file than there are on the display, only the ones on the display will be arranged according to the file File functions

47 12. Replaying and printing shots The replay window for shots and series is opened from the main menu by choosing: View Replay or by pressing the Replay button on the toolbar. Another way is to point at a hit with the mouse in the shooter window. The number and result of the hit will be seen on the status bar at the bottom of the screen. Double click the hit with the mouse, and the shot will be shown in the replay window. A third way is to open the shooters operating window and click the Replay -button. A single shooter s latest shot can always be replayed by activating the shooter s window and pressing the shortcut key 1. It will then be replayed as when using automatic replay (XY mode). The display mode is selectable with the keys 2 (R(t) mode) and 3 (XY(t) mode). Statistics modes are switched on with the keys 4 (Shot statistics) and 5 (Series statistics). To return to normal mode re-click the short cut last used Starting of Shot replays The NOS4 program has Automatic Replay as a default, which enables the last 3.1 seconds of aiming to be replayed immediately after every shot. The Automatic Replay is switched on and off from Shooting in the main menu. The Replay manager is started from the main menu Window and Replay or from the operation toolbar of the shooter-specific display. To exit the Replay manager, press the Close button. NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 47

48 12.2 Replay manager toolbar Replay manager differs from the normal shooter s display in that there is a group of keys immediately under the header bar, known as the toolbar, as well as the horizontal and vertical scroll bars Figure 12.1 Replay manager toolbar Toolbar buttons (Figure 12.1) from left to right: 1 Close Close replay manager window 2 Previous Restore previous shot or series. 3 Next Show next shot or series. 4 Select Open the window from which any shot in the file can be selected. 5 XY Replay mode I: X-Y, normal target display 6 R(t) Replay mode II: R(t) 7 XY(t) Replay mode III: XY(t) 8 Hits Replay mode IV: Hits 9 Trend Shot Trend 10 Stat Shot statistics 11 Ser.Stat Series statistics 12 Setup Set window options Below the toolbar there is a text field, where you can comment on the shot. Save the comment with Save. The scrolling bars Time and Speed can be used to adjust time and speed of the replay. When changing the time, note that the zeroing times vary Shot selection When the Replay manager is started up, the latest shot is the default. You can choose earlier shots with the buttons at the top of the screen. The Previous command replays the previous shot and Next button replays the next shot back. If you are examining the series statistics or series hits, the buttons will display the previous/next series. The Select button opens the Shooter/shot option display, where the shot to be replayed can be selected Replaying and printing shots

49 Figure 12.2 Shooter/shot option display Choose the Shooter and the shot/series which you wish to replay or print. Choose shot or series will list either a single shot or a whole series. You may also choose if you want the name of the shooter or a possible comment on the shot to be seen on the list. The following can be done with the Shooter/shot option display: Replays: Replay, opens the replay window and replays the chosen shot or series Statistics, shows the statistics for a chosen shot or series Prints: Print, prints the chosen shot/series Page, opens the print setup windows, where settings can be made prior to printing. NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 49

50 Choosing shots/series All, chooses all shots/series None, removes all choices 12.4 Shot replay modes Replay mode I: XY, normal target display A shot in the XY Replay mode is seen as an aiming movement on the target (Figure 12.3). Figure 12.3 Replay mode I: X-Y This replay mode looks like real time shooting Replaying and printing shots

51 Replay mode II: R(t) The R(t) Replay mode shows the distance of the aiming point of the shot from the center of the target as a function of time (Figure 12.4). Figure 12.4 Replay mode II: R(t) The time in seconds is seen at the bottom of the window, the vertical line represents the moment of triggering. The place of the hit is seen as a white line. The dotted horizontal line represents the midpoint of the target and the other horizontal lines stand for other rings of the target. The numerical values are seen at the end of the lines. The last second of aiming and the follow through are shown in different, colours, as is done in normal mode. NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 51

52 Replay mode III: XY(t) The XY(t) Replay mode displays the distance of the aiming point from the center as a function of time in the same way as the R(t) Replay mode, but the movement of the aiming point is shown in terms of horizontal and vertical movements separately (Figure 12.5). Figure 12.5 Replay mode III: XY(t) Time in seconds is seen at the bottom of the window and the vertical line on the right shows the triggering point. The horizontal dotted line represents the midpoint of the target and the other lines the rings of the target. Numerical values for the lines are seen on the right side Horizontal movement is expressed with X and vertical with Y Replaying and printing shots

53 Replay mode IV: Hits The Hits Replay mode shows the hits (series hits or all shot hits) on the target (Figure 12.6). Figure 12.6 Replay mode IV: Hits 12.5 Shot trend All the shooter s shots are gathered together and the shot trend is defined from them as a function of time (Figure 12.7), where the average orientation of the gun is shown during the last three seconds before triggering. By examining this trend it is possible to classify the shooter by referencing to his basic style: holder, optimizing shooter or reaction shooter. NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 53

54 Figure 12.7 Shot trend If the trend is a steady horizontal line, the shooter is of the pure holder type. The optimizer s trend rises towards the ten ring but due to the limited human reaction time, it turns downwards about 0.2 seconds before triggering. In both cases, the shooter s holding and aiming ability defines how close to the ten ring the trend line can rise. The shot trend is not usually as clear as in our example figure and it may thus be difficult to define the shooter s basic type. The accuracy of the trend increases as the number of shots increases, so that a minimum of 60 shots is usually recommended. A more detailed discussion of shot trends and the definition of type of shooter is available in the paper Technical analysis of shooting performance using Noptel ST-1000 PC and ST-2000 equipment by Dr. Juhani Heinula Replaying and printing shots

55 12.6 Statistical calculations The NOS4 program calculates various statistical values for both single shots and series. In every shot the program gives a value for each of the three basic elements of shooting: hold, aim and trigger control. Most values are calculated from the statistical time, which is usually the last three seconds before the shot. The program calculates values for the shooter s holding (spreads), both horizontal and vertical. An important value connected with this is the relative triggering valuer (RTV), which expresses the extent of aiming point movement in the triggering time in relation to the extent of movement during the holding period. The program also calculates for how much of the chosen statistical time the aiming point has remained within acceptable limits. The limit for acceptance corresponds to the usual target rings, so that a score limit of 9, for example, corresponds to the target ring 9. There are two limits of this kind, an outer limit, which is rougher, and an inner limit, which is finer. At the same time the program calculates the holding time which is the time before triggering during which the aiming point remained constantly within the limits of holding. The percentages and holding times based on the score limits and holding limit are calculated by reference to three dots, i.e. the target rings are thought of as drawn around these dots. The dots are the center of the target, the COG of the shooter s holding area, i.e. the mean aiming point, and the hit point. The values calculated relative to the target center therefore correspond to the actual hit rings. The program also calculates the continuous time of holding on the target (i.e. in the measurement area of the equipment) before the shot (Time on target) and the total holding time on the target before the shot (Total time). All the calculated values are indicated in the shot and series-specific mode of the statistics. A deviation box, the sides of which are formed by the +/- horizontal and vertical spreads, is drawn around the COG of aiming. The COG of aiming of the last shot is shown on the display by a small "+" sign and the COG of all the COGs of all the aiming events in a series is shown by a medium sized "+" sign. The COG of the actual hits is shown by a "+" sign with a ring drawn around it. NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 55

56 Outer Hit Ring Bound 9.0 Inner Hit Ring Bound 10.0 Actual Hit Point Target Hit Rings Outer COG Ring Bound 9.0 Inner COG Ring Bound 10.0 Deviation Box & COG of the Aim Hold Bound 7.0 ( With respect to the Hit Point ) Hold Bound 7.0 ( With respect to the COG of the Aim ) Figure 12.8 Examples of statistical limits. Score Score as an integer Group Score Relative Triggering Value 10.1 sector 2 Score 17.3 (17) Series 1 Shot 2 (18.7) [1.52] Previous Shot (red) COG for the Shots Last Shot (white) Deviation Box & COG of Aiming for the Last Shot COG of the Aiming COGs Figure 12.9 A typical display Replaying and printing shots

57 Shot statistics Shot statistics are shown in figure Figure Shot statistics The statistical values are represented in the shot statistics as follows. Hold time: Continuous hold time on target before the triggering. Statistical time: Chosen statistical time. The COG of aiming: The COG of aiming (score and sector) during the eight seconds before the shot. The right-hand figures correspond to the COG during the last second before the shot, the following figures to that during the next to last second, and so forth. Deviations (x/y): Horizontal and vertical spread (stability of holding). The right-hand figures correspond to spreads during the last second before the shot, the following figures the two final seconds, etc. The spreads are calculated according to the formula of average spread, so that the unit of calculation is the space between the hit rings. Target: The percentage of the statistical time during which the aiming point (corrected for the gun s caliber) has remained within the given score limits (score limits in brackets), and holding time (holding NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 57

58 limit in brackets). All the values are calculated relative to the center of the target. COG: Same as the above, but calculated relative to the COG of aiming (i.e. holding area). Hit: Same as the above, but calculated relative to the actual hit. X-deviation: Horizontal spread during the chosen statistical time. Y-deviation: Vertical spread during the chosen statistical time. Centre of gravity: The COG of aiming (corrected for the caliber) during a chosen statistical time. TIRE: The TIRE number is a triggering qualification number based on the timing and reaction. The best-timed triggering gives TIRE 3 and the worst TIRE 1. TIRE does not express a single triggering event particularly well, but gives the average of several consecutive triggerings. The Relative triggering value (RTV): The Relative triggering value indicates the cleanness of triggering. The smaller the number, the smaller is the movement of the aiming point at the time of triggering in relation to the average movement before triggering. Even well-timed triggering can be spoiled by jerking, but the relative triggering value usually expresses that well Replaying and printing shots

59 Series statistics Series statistics are presented in figure Figure Series statistics The series statistics include (from the top) Score: Total score calculated in decimals and (in integers). COG: Group score and percentage deviation of the actual score related to the group score (worse or better). The diameter of the group. The maximum distance between two hits in the group, measured from the outer edges of the hits. Statistical values for each shot of the series and their averages are presented in columns: Shot Hold Total Interval number of shot holding time on the target total holding time time between shots NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 59

60 Hit Sector X-dev Y-dev TIRE Relat COG Sector score of the hit sector of the hit horizontal deviations (spread) vertical deviations (spread) TIRE number relative triggering value (RTV) COG score of aiming, caliber included sector of COG Statistical limits and and holding times: Target COG Hit Relative zeroing within the outer and inner holding limits as a percentage and within the inner holding limit in seconds, relative to the target. Relative zeroing within the outer and inner holding limits as a percentage and within the inner limit in seconds, relative to COG of zeroing. The relative zeroing within the outer and inner holding limits as a percentage and within the inner limit in seconds, relative to the COG of hits. COGs relative to hits and zeroing of the series: Hits placement and sector of the COG of hits for the series Zeroing placement and sector of the COG of zeroings for the series Replaying and printing shots

61 12.7 Printing shots and series The printer support enables the printing of shots. Various zeroing, series and statistical prints make it possible for you to follow your development as a shooter over a longer period of time. A training diary is also easy to keep. Each member of a group of shooters gets his/her own written feedback right after shooting. The use of different printing modes makes it easy to analyze the results Selecting shots and series The shots to be printed are selected, like the shots to be replayed, from main menu File Print, or by pressing the Print short-cut button. A replay of a shot on the computer can also be chosen from the menu, Replay. A shooter is chosen from the list, and the shots of the chosen shooter will appear on the shot list. The shots/series to be printed are then chosen from the shot list. More than one shot/series can be selected at a time. The program will then print the shots automatically, a page at a time. A choice is made in the Select menu as to whether shots or series are to be printed. The selections appear on the shot list immediately. The All button will select all of a shooter s shots, and the None button will remove the selections. NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 61

62 12.9 Page setup (printout) The Page setup is opened from the selection window by pressing the Page button. The Page setup window (Figure 12.12) is used to define graphics and other information about to be printed on the page. The Fonts button opens a setup window, which can be used to change the printer font. Figure Page setup A shot can be printed, just like a replay, in three different modes: XY, R(t) and XY(t). The printing mode is set by enabling one or more options from the Printing modes menu. If more than one is chosen, they are printed separately on consecutive pages. If shot statistics are chosen, they are put on the same page as the XY-printout in both the shot and the series printout. The shots together with the shot statistics make a clear basic report on the series. Other settings for the page to be printed can be given under the topic Options. Optional printouts contain the version of the software and the name of the competition. The black area of the target can be left unprinted and just the rings of the target are printed. The value for the lowest ring is chosen in the First Target Ring. If the option Smart Target Rings is enabled, the target is printed so that the hits cover the printing area most efficiently Replaying and printing shots

63 12.10 Shot list The shot list (Figure 12.13) is opened from the main menu via: View Shotlist. Figure Shot list The list shows for each shot: Index Result Hit sector For a replay of a shot seen in the list, double click it with the mouse Statistical list window The statistical list window (Figure 12.14) is opened from the main menu by choosing: View Stat view. Figure Statistical list NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 63

64 The statistical list gives values for the following parameters of the shooting performance: Hold Sx, average horizontal movement Sy, average vertical movement Aim COG, COG score of the aiming, caliber included ATI, Aiming time at target Trigger RTV, Relative triggering value, "purity" of triggering TIRE, Timing and reaction of triggering Corresponding values can be seen in greater detail in the replay windows for shots and series Replaying and printing shots

65 13. Shooter Setup Shooter Setup: the shooter-specific settings allow a set-up to be defined for each individual shooter. To display the Shooter setup window, choose from the main menu: Setup Shooter... or press the Open shooter setup button on the toolbar. Figure 13.1 Shooter-specific settings 13.1 Shooter list There is a list of shooters on the left-hand side of the setup display. Before selecting the shooter-specific options you must first select from the list which shooters these options will concern. The All button selects all the shooters and the None button cancel all selections. NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 65

66 13.2 Creating and deleting shooters You can create a new shooter window at any time. Choose New a new shooter with a default name Shooter X, where X is the number of the shooter. You can change the shooter information. The new shooter will not be created until you accept the new setting by pressing Apply. When there is more than one shooter and the last shooter hasn t made any shots, you can delete the last shooter with the Deletebutton Shooter s information Each shooter can be given a name, a team, which can be the shooter s club, unit or nationality, and a flag. The name can be set for only one selected shooter at a time. Name and ID are entered into the text fields from the keyboard, and the flag is selected from a list in the drop-down menu Remark A comment to be shown on the display can be entered in the Remark field. A remark may apply to a single shooter or all the shooters. It can include brief information on the shooting situation, e.g. shooting position: prone, standing, etc Gun and target selection The Gun selected in the list defines the size and shape of the selected shooter's target. The guns specified by Noptel can be read from the gun file NOS.GUN. There can also be guns specified by the user and saved in the file CUSTOM.GUN. These are designated with a separate program, Gun & Target Editor (GunEdit). This is started via the Noptel Training Systems menu, located in the window start menu Shooter Setup

67 Some of the guns predefined in the program are special ones, and some are extra choices available with respect to the shooting discipline. Choices are given in a window opened by pressing the button special. Some predefined special guns are introduced in more detail in chapter Display rings The size of the display and the number of visible rings are determined by the visible rings and hit rings set for a particular shooter. Remember that the number selected for the setups refers to the value of the outer hit ring, not to the number of rings. Hit rings should be smaller than, or the same size as, visible rings. The rings can also be changed with the number pad + and - keys directly from the active display. All selections must be confirmed with either the Apply or the OK button. NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 67

68 13.7 Display options Display options is a list of options which affect the screen of the Shooter s display. Some cannot be carried out in all display modes. The same selections can be made in the Replay Manager setup. Figure 13.2 Display options Track options define how the aiming track is shown on the screen. The mode during replay can be a continuous line, plots according to samples, or a moving plot, sprite. If the line is drawn, the track can be faded at the end of aiming to avoid confusing the screen. The Hits group includes information on how to display the shooter s previous hits. If Series hits is chosen there will be only the hits of the series to be shot. All previous hits can be displayed by selecting All hits, and the third option is Only current, in which case only the previous hits will be displayed. The Target options define whether the Zeroing area and X ring circles are to be shown or not Shooter Setup

69 Both series and shot numbers and hit score and sector are default options. The score indicated for the shooter can be the total score for all series or the current series score. These numerical data are shown in the left upper corner of the screen, with the triggering values, i.e. TIRE number and relative triggering value, below them. The COG group contains certain statistical data: center of gravity options for hits, aiming of series and aiming of shots and the Hold box, a rectangle drawn according to the shooter s hold deviation. The score calculated according to the COG can be displayed on the screen. Other options include Shooter s Flag, and Replay clock when replaying. These options are shown on the screen when chosen. Without the Fill hits option the hits will be shown only as circles. NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 69

70 14. Multiuser systems 14.1 Extending the system The system can be extended by means of USB-Converters or serial cards, which are available for 4 and 8 users. An USB-Converter is attached to the computer through an USB-port, allowing several shooters to shoot simultaneously using the same computer. Extending the system to multiuser shooting does not require any software update. The NOS4 software always remains the same. Before the NOS4 software is started, Windows demands that the device drivers of the USB-Converter or serial card should be installed according to the instructions supplied by the manufacturer of the USB-Converter. The number of optical units must be defined in the COM.INI -file. Optical Unit Target Computer USB-Converter Figure 14.1 Example of a 4 -user system Figure 14.1 shows a system extended with a 4-port EDGEPORT USB-Converter. The device drivers for the EDGEPORT USB- Converter are installed from the CD-Rom disk supplies by the device manufacturer [WINDOWS] Multiuser systems

71 A PC will usually have COM1 and COM2 serial ports, which in this case will remain unused. In the example the optical units are connected to a USB-Converter. The added serial ports are COM3, COM4, COM5 and COM6. The following figure gives an example of system extended using serial card [WINDOWS: Control Panel System]: Figure 14.2 An example of settings for a 4-port serial card (Moxa). By pressing Properties (see previous fig.) you get to see the serial card settings in more detail. In this example the added serial ports are COM3-COM6, which is the recommended installation. If you are using an 8 port serial card, the added ports are COM3-COM10. NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 71

72 14.2 Selecting lanes In multiuser systems each shooter has his/her own window. In a situation where the number of shooters exceeds the number of optical units (lanes/serial ports), a lanes setup is needed. To display the lanes to shooters, choose Setup Lanes from the main menu. A shooter's lane is opened by pointing at his or her name on the Shooters list and then at the required lane (COM port) on the Lanes list. By pressing the Default or Reset button, the default settings of the lanes can be restored or all lane setups can be removed. With the Display button only shooters who have their own lane are arranged on the screen. Figure 14.3 Lane selection window At start-up the program searches the system for optical units, and gives a lane for each existing optical unit automatically. Optical units installed in the system can be searched for by pressing the Test Ports button. This function enables new optical units to be attached after program start-up Multiuser systems

73 14.3 Arranging shooter windows The shooter windows on the display can be moved and their size changed so that more windows can be fitted onto the screen, allowing more specific observing of details. There are several options and short-cut keys in the program, making the arranging of windows fast and easy. The options can be found in the Window menu. All (short-cut Ctrl-A) and Rearrange (Ctrl-W) arrange either the shooter windows or all the windows on the display. Active lanes (Ctrl-B) does the same, but only the shooters who have a lane are left on the display. Next (Ctrl-N) and Prev (Ctrl-P) circulate the shooter windows on the display, if not all the windows are needed at the same time. In multiuser systems it is necessary to group shooters for displays, because the number of shooters can exceed the number of optical parts and lanes. Grouping is done from the main menu: Window GroupSize and by selecting the required group size, which can be 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 shooters. NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 73

74 15. General setup The general settings connected with the use of the program are found in the General Setup display of the Setup menu (Figure 15.1). Figure 15.1 General settings This window is used to set miscellaneous options that generally affect the behaviour of the program General options General options include options concerning shot display, statistical calculation and the operating interface. General options are: The Series Size setting is used to define how many shots a series will contain. The default series size is 5, and the maximum size is 10. Ignore missed. The program doesn t usually take into account a shot sound which arrives at a moment when the signal level is General setup

75 below the set limit of validity, i.e. the Optical Unit is not pointing at the target. If Ignore missed shots is chosen, the program will ignore only the shots with a proper signal if the hit is outside the target. Elsewhere the shot score is entered as 0.0. Statistical calculation is on by default, but can be switched off to speed up operation of the program slightly. The program automatically bypasses statistical calculation if the firing speed approaches the computer s shot development handling capacity Competition name A competition or training session in which the equipment is used can be given a name for reporting purposes. The default is Noptel Optical Shooting Other options Ring Digits. The values of the rings are drawn in the target if the window is big enough for number drawing. Heart Rate Monitor. It is possible to attach a Heart Rate Sensor - HRS to the ST-2000 Sport, Sport II and PistolTrainer. The shooter's heartbeat is shown in the shooter window and replay windows. Track Fading defines the time after which the zeroing lines or series of dots on the display are faded from the end of the zeroing curve. Replay Speed. The default speed for a replayed shot can be controlled by selecting 1 for the slowest speed and 8 for the fastest one. The default is Sounds Hit sound gives a short sound signal for an accepted shot. If you have a sound card available you can simulate a hit sound from a *.WAV file. The software contains an example file NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 75

76 SHOT.WAV, but you may replace it with another *.WAV file if you wish. The zeroing sound gives a continuous sound signal for centerpoint zeroing. This is heard whenever the aiming point is in the measurement area, and increases in frequency when the aiming point is on the target. Heart Beat. If you are using a heart rate monitor, the computer gives a sound signal for observed heartbeats when this option is selected Statistical calculation times and ring limits Calculation times can be defined in the program by storing the aiming time, the follow-through time and the time available for statistical calculation. These calculation times in seconds are entered as numbers in the entry field. Aiming time is defined by the time stored in the file (default 4.1 s). The time is the same as the maximum replay time in the file. A shot repeated immediately from the memory can be repeated for a longer time. Follow through time is defined by the time stored in the file after recording of the hit (default 0.2 s). Thus the time stored in the file is the sum of the aiming and followthrough times, 4.3 s. Statistical time is the time during which the statistical calculation (12.5) is carried out (default 3 s). The outer and inner ring limits are defined for statistical purposes as those rings where a certain part of the aiming time is within the selected COG. The Hold limit is defined by the hit ring used for calculating the aim hold time. The X ring can be chosen as the limit for the inner ring and for the hold limit. More information on statistical calculation is given in chapter General setup

77 Figure 15.2 Statistical calculation settings Settings in the Time group: The NOS4 software calculates several statistical values for each individual shot or series. The parameters apply to the three basic elements of shooting: holding, aiming and triggering. Most of the parameters are calculated for the statistical time (Statistical), usually the three seconds before the shot. In addition, Aiming and Followthrough times can be defined to be saved in the shot file. Settings in the Hit Ring Limits group: In addition, the software counts for what percentage of the selected statistical time the aiming was within the fixed result limits. A result limit corresponds to a normal target ring; in other words result limit 9 corresponds to target ring 9. There are two target limits, a rough Outer one and a smoother Inner one. At the same time the program also calculates the time for Holding, which is the time before triggering during which aiming is continuously inside the holding limits. The hit ring limits affect the values given to the series in the shots and statistics windows. NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 77

78 16. Optical unit setup Optical Unit settings and zeroing are made in the Optical Unit setup window which is opened from Setup in the main menu. Use of the program can be made as simple as possible by selecting power limits and start-up automation. Once suitable settings for the shooting mode used (shot rhythm, distance) have been made, they do not normally need to be changed. Figure 16.1 Optical unit settings 16.1 Options Using some devices an extra amplification of the Optical Unit signal Extra Gain should be employed if the signal level is low (i.e. less than 400) or shooting is taking place at long distances (tens/ hundreds of meters). The rule of thumb is: if there is a prism or group of prisms as a reflector on the target, extra gain is needed. When shooting from short range (5-10 meters) extra gain is not normally needed. Automatic power adjustment calculated by the PC is obtained via Automatic Power Adjust Optical unit setup

79 The Check On Target function (checking the existence of the target) starts after the cocking delay. Here the Optical Unit is switched on and stays on if the gun is pointing at the target (i.e. the signal level is higher than that set as the lowest acceptable level). If the gun is pointing outside the target area the Optical Unit will be switched off to reduce current consumption. The check on target function also operates in the Manual start-up mode, although it can be turned off completely if desired. The Checking Interval indicates how long the Optical Unit is inactive before the next Check on target. To reduce current consumption, it is advantageous to set the checking interval as high as the style of shooting will permit Automatic start up The Restart mode of the Optical Unit s automatic start-up logic after a shot can be selected from three possibilities: Manual: No automatic start-up. Automatic for series: Start-up between shots in a series but not after the final shot. Automatic always: Start-up after every shot. Cocking Delay: Optical Unit cocking delay setup. If zero is given as the value, the cocking delay is disabled. When the automatic start-up mode is selected, the cocking delay gives the time after the shot during which the Optical Unit is completely passive. Cocking sounds etc. at that time will not cause new shots. To reduce current consumption it is advantageous to set the cocking delay as high as the style of shooting will permit Signal levels The Optical Unit has separate channels for measurement with a signal level between The transmitter power adjusting system tries to set the signal level in the range (Figure16.2), but the signal level limits can be changed if required. Accuracy increases as a function of signal level, but the level has to be less than It NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 79

80 is good practice to leave enough room for possible variation due to atmospheric conditions, for example desired signal level mean signal level maximum limit mean signal level minimum limit smallest acceptable signal level Figure 16.2 Signal levels Signal level, transmitter power and signal amplification (Extra gain) ON/OFF can be seen in the shooter window in the zeroing mode (or on the Diagnostics display). It is usually advantageous to set the extra gain at ON if the signal level is below 500. On the other hand, if the signal level is good (over 1500), and the transmitter power level is below 6 (seen in the zeroing mode or Diagnostics), it is usually better to switch the extra gain off. A very important limit value given by the user is the smallest acceptable signal level: Signal level validity. Since the functioning of the ST-2000 is based on reflection, one should be careful that reflections from a table or ceiling, for example, do not cause "false shots" when cocking the gun. A suitable value can usually be found by checking the mean signal level obtained from the target and setting the smallest acceptable signal level to about half of that. Another possibility is to check what the mean signal level from the "false" reflections is and set the limit somewhat higher. Note that the last shot by an active shooter (i.e. a shooter whose window is active or selected) can be canceled with the key combination ctrl-del or from the shooter s operating menu (Reset last shot) Automatic Operation The purpose of automatic operation is to make the system easier to use and at the same time reduce power consumption as far as possible. In the sequence displayed below, automatic start-up has Optical unit setup

81 been selected after a shot and checking of the existence of the target. When all settings are ready and shooting has begun, the Optical Units are switched on individually or all at once with the shortcut selection. After this the program checks at certain checking intervals whether the specified Optical Unit is pointing at the target, in other words whether the signal level is greater than the set signal level validity. If the limit is exceeded the Optical Unit is left on continuously and the power adjusting system tries to set the signal level to within the required range. If for some reason the signal level falls below the target existence limit then the existence of the target is rechecked after the target delay. There is a Cocking delay after the shot when the Optical Unit does not function, after which the existence of the target is automatically checked. If the signal level at the instant of the shot is too small, however, and the shot is not approved, the Optical Unit will always be switched on automatically after 0.5 seconds. Operation will continue in accordance with the procedure described, depending on the selection, either to the end of the series or until the transmitters are switched off, e.g. with the shortcut selection ctrl-k. On target Score On target? ON Transmitter OFF move off target 0,5 s Cocking delay Checking interval Time Shot OK Signal level: Small Figure 16.3 Target holding check NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 81

82 16.5 Power adjustment The setup window for the transmitter of the optical unit is opened from the main menu: Setup Optical unit... Power. Figure 16.4 Power adjust and signal level options The power of the infrared transmitter in the optical unit can be varied between 1 to 15. The transmitter's Power adjust limits can be changed to the fields Min and Max when needed. If automatic power adjustment is off, the transmitter can be set to a Fixed power. Some of the transmitter's luminosity (power) is reflected back from the reflector on the target to the receiver in the optical unit, the signal level of which varies between (Average) target values for the signal level in the receiver are defined in the Signal level limits fields Min and Max. When shooting over long distances, using some devices the signal level can be raised by means of extra gain. The function of the transmitter power adjust and signal levels can be seen in the Diagnostics and in the zeroing mode Optical unit setup

83 17. Lead setup When shooting at moving targets, lead settings are needed. The lead settings menu can be chosen from the main menu: Setup Advanced Lead. Lead settings are activated by checking the Lead Used checkbox. Lead corrections are applied separately for different directions in the fields Left and Right. A lead is indicated in the lower left-hand corner of the shooter display by a red/blue arrow. The brighter-coloured dot on the arrow represents the direction in which the taget is moving. When shooting at a running target make the following changes in settings: Statistical time 1.0 s, aiming time 1.75 s and follow through time 0.5 s (General setup). The check on target automation can be switched off. You can also switch off the filtering of the samples after the hit with the NOS.INI file parameter FTF=0. Figure 17.1 Lead setup for Running Target Lead direction Automatic. The program deduces the direction of the target automatically from the aiming of the shooter. Change After Shot. The direction doesn't change until after the shot. NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 83

84 Specific Colors. Hits aimed to the left and right targets are drawn in different colors. A hit on a target moving from right to left is marked with blue and hits on a target moving from left to right with red Adjusting lead The real lead setups are given in both directions, to the left and to the right. If the reflector is in the same direction as the movement before the real zeroing point, the sign is negative. In the same manner, if the reflector is after the zeroing point the sign of the lead is positive. You can also define the lead by means of the mouse. If the lead point has been shot and the hit was not in the center of the target, the correct lead can be defined by: Opening shooter s operating menu Choosing zeroing lead setup. Point at the hit with the mouse cursor and press the right hand mouse button After this the program will set the direction of the lead to match the hit (according to the direction icon). It is important to note that the state icon of the direction must be the same as the lead direction. To ensure this, Automatic and Change after shot options should not be enabled while the lead settings are being made. The direction of the lead may be changed by clicking the Direction icon in the lower left-hand corner of the shooter window. In the zeroing mode it makes no difference what the lead settings are. When shooting the zeroing shots, the aim is the midpoint of the target, which is held in place Lead setup

85 18. Wind and Ballistics It is not necessary to use the wind and ballistics settings if the shooting is normal marksmanship shooting with standard distances. When the ballistics function is switched on, the zeroing relative to the basic mode (without this function) alters and the target is no longer scaled in proportion to distance (in the basic mode the level of difficulty remains the same regardless of distance). If only wind correction is selected (without ballistics), zeroing and target scaling operate in the same way as in the normal training situation. Ballistic shooting training consists in principle of two stages (Figure 18.1). Aim is taken first at a zeroing target located at a given distance, say 100 m or 300 m, and then the shooter moves to the desired shooting distance and goes through the training routine proper. zeroing target aiming target ST-2000 zeroing distance shooting distance Figure 18.1 Stages in ballistic shooting training Zeroing Open the ballistic settings window by selecting Setup Advanced in the Main Menu and then Wind and Ballistics, and define the following settings: NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 85

86 Set ballistics on by placing a cross in the box Include/Ballistics. The corrections for wind are taken into account by selecting Include/Wind. Select the desired cartridge from the list obtained by pressing Cartridge. The Cartridge file contains full data on the drop characteristics of bullets and the effects of wind at different shooting distances. The Cartridge can be defined by means of a separate Cartridge Editor (CartEdit) if necessary. Cartridge Editor is found from the Start menu of Windows, Noptel Optical Shooting Select the desired zeroing distance and enter it under Distance/Zeroing. Set the shooting distance under Distance/Shooting to be the same as the zeroing distance. Open the reflector setting/barrel position setting window by pressing Placing... Measure the distance between the center points of the barrel and the ST-2000 weapon attachment as shown in Figure 18.2 and enter this under Muzzle Distance. If the attachment is fixed above the barrel rather than below it, the distance must carry a negative sign. barrel of the gun optical unit muzzle distance Figure 18.2 Measurement of muzzle distance Wind and Ballistics

87 Place the target with the reflector (prisms) at its center at the desired zeroing distance and take aim. It is extremely important that the Optical Unit is absolutely vertically below the barrel when shooting with ballistics included. This can be confirmed by moving the gun horizontally while aiming at the target after zeroing. If the Optical Unit has been attached in the right way, the aiming plot should be a horizontal line Shooting Add the additional factors affecting performance over the true shooting distance to the ballistics settings window, and then begin the actual training. The reflector can be moved away from the center of the target if desired, whereupon its vertical and horizontal deviations from the center point can be measured as shown in Figure 18.3 and the data entered into the program under Prism place. The setting can be found in the reflector setting/barrel position setting window by pressing Placing... horizontal displacement to left prisms aiming target vertical displacement upwards Figure 18.3 Measuring the position of the prisms. NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 87

88 Enter the height difference between the barrel and the target (slope), measured as in Figure 18.4, under Distance/ Slope. The slope can be given in distance units or in degrees. aiming target ST-2000 height difference Figure 18.4 Determination of the height difference between the barrel and the aiming target Enter the Distance/Shooting and move the target to this distance. Enter the wind direction if necessary under Wind/Clock and its speed under Wind/Speed. Wind direction is indicated in terms of a clock, taking the line of firing to correspond to 12 o'clock, as described in Figure aiming target line of fire ST-2000 wind direction: 12 o clock clock Figure 18.5 Defining wind direction Proceed with training Wind and Ballistics

89 19. Several Targets and Silhouettes 19.1 Shooting at several targets The ST-2000 shooter training system has an option of practicing shooting at several targets simultaneously: Multi-target. There are two basic ways to compose a multi-target shooting system: either with one reflector and several targets or with several reflectors and several targets (The numbers of targets and reflectors may be different). Most special guns (chapter 20) are predefined shooting disciplines using several targets Defining several targets Before shooting, the target coordinates must be defined in the setup, or else the settings can be loaded from the multi-target file (*.MTE). The settings are given in the Multi-target setup window (Figure 19.1), which is opened by selecting Setup Advanced and Multi-target. Predefined settings can be loaded from the file by pressing the Open button. Correspondingly, the settings can be saved using the Save As button. The following settings are needed when defining multitarget shooting: Figure 19.1 Multi-target setup (Biathlon) NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 89

90 Targets The group Targets has fields for the number of targets (1...5), the size of the visible area in millimeters and the horizontal and vertical coordinates of each target. Target Order The target, which the shooter is to aim at, can be selected either randomly by the shooter or in sequential order by the computer. The target is selected by the shooter when the target order is Random, where upon a gray square is seen around the selected target. The target can be altered by pressing the SPACE bar when the shooter s window is active and the optical unit is on. Note that the first press of the SPACE bar turns the optical unit on if it is not yet on. The target order may be also either Ascending or Descending. In such cases the target changes automatically after each shot. In Ascending mode the first shot is aimed at target number one (usually on the far left) and in Descending mode it is aimed at the last one (usually on the far right). The Ascending and Descending modes are used in Rapid Fire Pistol shooting, for example. Options Multi-target Enabled - multi-target settings are used while shooting. Disabled when Hit - a target which has been hit disappears for the rest of the series and any further hits on this target are scored as misses (score 0.0). This option is used in biathlon shooting, for example. Single Reflector - this option must be on when only one reflector is used. Note! The reflector must be placed on the coordinate 0.0 Zooming Mode - Only the selected target is zoomed in the shooter s window. Target Adjustment - Mouse Zeroing usually affects all targets. If this option is on, the zeroing changes only the position of the selected target. Silhouette - the silhouette of the file is drawn in the shooter s window Several Targets and Silhouettes

91 Rings On Target - the rings of the target selected are drawn on the silhouette used Shooting at silhouettes The traditional ring target may be replaced with a simple silhouette and the desired number of reflectors attached to this. The reflector positions must be measured accurately, and if several reflectors are used, special care has to be taken that they are far enough apart, depending on the shooting distance and the measurement area of the optical unit. The silhouette is shown on the computer screen by loading the silhouette file, extension *.FIG. Apart from a few examples, the silhouette files are special options. In addition to the silhouette figure, the file also contains the hit areas and the hit values of the silhouette. Silhouette shooting is activated by loading a silhouette figure in the shooter window instead of a circlular target. This is done in the multitarget setup, which is opened from the main menu via: Setup Advanced Multi-target. First check the following boxes: Multi-target enabled, Single reflector and Silhouette. After this, select silhouette from the list. Silhouette becomes visible in the shooter window after quitting the setup window. It is generally necessary to create a new gun with the GunEdit program, in which the used shooting distance and caliber will have to be defined. For more details, see: Shooter setup. Please note when using Silhouettes, the statistical information cannot be fully exploited. NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 91

92 19.4 Implications of the shooting distance The basic principle in the Noptel ST-2000 shooter training system is that the shooting distance used has no effect on the level of challenge of the shooting. In most case this is true, but there are some cases where an accurate shooting distance is needed to enable the correct conditions to be attained. These cases include shooting events which have several targets attached to a single reflector (e.g. biathlon) and silhouette shooting when there are several hit areas on one silhouette. Thus an accurate shooting distance is needed so that hits on the target are measured correctly and the target is seen at its real size in the shooter s sights. Table 19.1 Comparing shooting modes and disciplines Mode Targets Reflectors Distance Moose 2 1 accurate Duel 1 1 insignificant Running target 1 1 accurate Rapid fire pistol 5 5 insignificant Biathlon 5 1 accurate 19.5 Scaling the target positions If there is inaccuracy in the ratio of the shooting distance to the target positions, this can be remedied by scaling the target positions. This is done as follows: Zero the gun in the zeroing mode to the middle of the target area (yellow ring) Shoot at the leftmost target (no.1) Open the shooter's operating menu by clicking the right mouse button in the shooter window. Open the zeroing menu by selecting the Zeroing submenu and select Scale targets. Point at the place for the target (no.1) with the mouse and confirm the setting. This way the program scales all targets to correspond to the shooting distance used in relation to the shooter s target. Note that the degree of difficulty of a single target stays the same. If the scaling is large, the program will comment on this and either distance will have to be changed or the places of targets will have to be fixed numerically Several Targets and Silhouettes

93 19.6 Adjusting rotation The Optical unit should be attached to the gun in a way that it is positioned horizontally while shooting. This isn't always possible, e.g. because of the gun's construction or shooter's rotated position. In traditional marksmanship, shooting at one target this isn't usually a problem, only the sector can change due to the gun's rotation. In multitarget and moving target shooting, for example, rotation of the optical unit can cause difficulties. Rotation error can be seen after zeroing of shots which remains below the middle level on one side of the target and correspondingly rises above the middle level on the other side. Rotation can be corrected in the following manner: Shoot two sequential shots at the outermost spots in zeroing mode Open the shooter s operating menu Choose Zeroing Adjust rotation. Please note; after adjustment of rotation, the zeroing of the centerpoint usually changes, so the centerpoint must be zeroed again. If a difference is observed in the relation of the shooting distance to the positions of the targets, this can still be corrected by scaling the latter. If the optical unit cannot be attached to the gun normally (so that it is horizontally below the barrel), it can be attached in some other way. Just give the program the rotation of the optical unit in the NOS.INI file, with ROTATION ( ). NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 93

94 20. Cases of use There are special settings for guns with a mode of use that is different from basic marksmanship shooting. These guns and their special features are listed in this chapter. They are selected in the Shooter setup like any other guns. Some special guns even have options of their own, which are given in a window which is opened by the button Gun... Note that if a special gun is used, every shooter has to have the same gun. Furthermore, it is essential to know that in those cases where there is one reflector and several targets the optical target has been scaled according to a given shooting distance. It means that the shooting distance used has to be accurate or the targets have to be scaled according to this distance (see previous chapter) Moose (Running Boar) There are two targets used in Moose and Boar shooting, as when shooting with real bullets. Only one reflector is used. During aiming the program checks which of the targets the shooter is aiming at and updates the lead settings accordingly. See lead setup and zeroing in chapter 17. Figure 20.1 Moose Cases of use

95 20.2 Biathlon The shooting part of a biathlon competition can be practiced with the NOS4 software. There is one optical target with five (5) ring targets and one (1) single reflector attached to the centralized target. The position may be standing or prone. The score is calculated without decimals and a hit is worth one point. A target that has been hit is removed and no further hit is given for this target during the same series. Figure 20.2 Biathlon, prone Figure 20.3 Biathlon, principle NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 95

96 20.3 Running target There is target when shooting at a running target, as when shooting with live ammunition. Only one single reflector is used. During the aiming the program checks which one of lead points (left or right) the shooter is aiming at and updates the lead settings accordingly. See lead setup and zeroing in chapter 17. Figure 20.4 Running target 20.4 Rapid Fire Pistol (Rapid Air Pistol) Rapid fire pistol is a discipline in which the shooter has to shoot five shots at five targets in a given time after a mark. The NOS4 software has an option for practicing Rapid Fire Pistol as it is done in reality. Five targets with a reflector in each of them are needed. Distance has no effect on the shooting challenge, but so that the conditions match the real situation, the distance between the targets should be related to the shooting distance that is used Cases of use

97 Figure 20.5 Rapid Fire Pistol, principle Rapid Fire Pistol shooting is started by selecting Rapid Fire Pistol (or correspondingly Rapid Air Pistol) in the Shooter setup. When the gun has been selected, the time limit can be changed by opening the time selection window by pressing the Gun... button. The time limit is chosen from the combobox list, or a custom time can be given in the Custom field. If the shooter wants to measure his/her reaction time, a reflector is placed on the floor or on the table in front of the shooter. The shooter points his gun at the target in the standby state. When the shooters are in the ready position, pressing the short-cut key Ctrl-S starts the actual shooting. This turns the optical units on and after 3.5 seconds the computer gives a short sound signal (500 ms). The shooters now raise their guns and shoot a five shot series at the five individual targets. When the series of five shots has been completed, the program will show the series score. If any shots have exceeded the time limit, these are scored as 0.0. The time taken from the sound signal is given below each target on the screen and starting from the second shot the time interval since the previous shot is also indicated. Shots that have exceeded the time limit are recorded in red. The shooter s reaction time, i.e. the delay from the beep to the moment when the shooter raises his/her gun away from the reflector in front of him/her, is given on the shot score line. NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 97

98 Figure 20.6 Rapid Fire Pistol 20.5 Duel (Sport Pistol and Center Fire) The duel is a discipline in which the shooter has to perform in a given rhythm. In the default arrangements the target is visible for 3 s and then hidden for 7 seconds. Only shots occurring in the time when the target is visible are hits and score points. The other shots are scored as zero (0.0). If needed, the visible and hidden times can be changed in the special option window by pressing the Gun... button in Shooter setup. The option window includes Show and Hidden fields, in which the time values are entered. The duel is started, like the Rapid Fire Pistol, by pressing the short-cut key Ctrl-S Cases of use

99 21. Shooting Modes The program includes a variety of shooting modes. When there are at least two shooters it is possible to hold a Shootoff competition, and if you are interested in shooting as fast as possible there is a Rapid Shooting mode. The Automatic fire mode can be used when practicing with automatic firearms for e.g. assault rifle. Select the desired mode, set desired options and press the Start button. Figure 21.1 Shooting modes 21.1 Shootoff Shootoff is a simple competition mode in which shots are taken alternatively and the shooter with the best hit score after each shot gets a point (indicated by a little cup in the bottom right corner of the window). If there are two shooters with same score no one gets a point. The shooter who reaches a predefined number of points first wins the competition. The default value for this number of points is four. When a winner has been found, shooting stops automatically (the Optical Unit transmitters are switched off). To start a new competition select Shooting and Start or simply press the shortcut key ctrl-l. NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 99

100 To make a Shootoff competition more exciting you can shoot against time. A time limit (e.g. 45 seconds) is placed on each shot, and if the shooter fails to shoot in that time his opponent gets a point. This is not automatic, so that when a shooter s time is up he/she has to perform the poor shot. This shot can be reset to score 0.0 by shortcut key Alt-0 to update the scoreboard. Note that if there are two competing shooters it will take a maximum seven shots to win a competition of 4 points, assuming that there are no shots with the same scores (a draw), but if there are four shooters it may take 13 shots to find a winner. The maximum number of shots managed by the program is Rapid shooting A little time is needed between the shots in the basic shooting mode to calculate statistics, update the screen and run the Optical Unit start-up logic. This delay can be reduced by selecting the Rapid shooting mode, in which the Score list is not updated and the Optical Unit is not shut off until the series has been completed. The hit is calculated and displayed in the usual manner. In this way it is possible to take about two shots a second. Even faster shooting is supported if the shooter window is closed so there is no need to update it. Special rapid shooting modes are Rapid Fire Pistol and Duel (chapter 20) Automatic fire The automatic fire feature can be used when practicing with automatic firearms for e.g. assault rifle. In this shooting mode the first shot is recorded normally and gun orientation path measurement continues during so called follow-through period. Based on this measurement data additional hit points are recorded according to given series size and rate of fire. The first shot is tracked, scored and analysed normally. The additional shots are added to the series score if they hit the target. In the Shooting Modes first select Automatic fire -option in the Modes group. After the selection of the shooting mode, the Series Size and Rate of fire (shots/min) can be set. The value set for series size determines the time of the follow-through period and the rate of fire determines the time interval between the generated shots. The range of possible values for Series Size is 2-6 shots. The value Shooting Modes

101 for rate of automatic fire has to be between shots per one minute. When using automatic fire feature the statistics for individual shots are not available. With automatic fire feature the silhouette figures can be used, if needed (see chapter 19.3) Practicing with the sound signal To learn to know the right aiming picture is one of the most important goals of aiming practice. The NOS4 software has an option to practice aiming with a sound signal, which facilitates this. When the Sound Signal practicing mode is switched on and the shooter's window has been activated, the shooter aims as usual. The computer will give a sound signal when the shooter is aiming inside the defined hit limit. By listening to the sound the shooter will learn to know when the aiming picture is correct. The hit limit for the sound signal is defined by the shooter's holding ability, so that a poor or good hold won't make aiming practice any harder or easier. It is possible to set the sound signal function in reverse mode, so that the computer will give a sound signal when the aim is outside the limit. This may be useful if the sound signal disturbs the shooter's concentration. The sound signal is switched on in the Practicing Modes window of the Options menu, by selecting Sound on. To set the reverse mode on, turn on Sound while beyond limit. The hit limit is given in the Aiming sound limit field by typing or using the spinning arrows. The X ring can be the aiming sound limit Color setup Pressing the Colors button in the General settings window opens the colors setup window. Lines group settings and Line width selection affect the colors and line widths in the aiming tracks display. Target group settings affect the colors of the target and hit points. The color settings are changed by clicking the desired color and selecting a new color in the Color window. NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 101

102 21.6 Units The units included in settings, e.g. distances, can be input as SIbased units (metric) or in yards, feet and inches as in the United States. The units are chosen in the Setup menu item Units. The shooting distance unit (used only with ballistic settings) is selected separately in meters or yards. All the other units (offsets, group diameters, wind effects) are selected either in SI or US system units Timer When using the NOS4 software, the time used for shooting can be measured or limited by a specific timer (Figure 21.2). The timer is put on the display from main menu View Timer. The size of the timer and its position on the display can be altered just as the other windows on the display. The timer consists of buttons and a digital display. Figure 21.2 Digital timer The timer is operated in the following manner: The buttons on the left-hand side are used to operate the timer. With these you can: Start and stop the timer Set the previous time again Change the display into a clock or a timer The timer can be preset with the buttons on the right-hand side. The presetting can be changed by pressing the right-hand mouse button on the preset-button Shooting Modes

103 22. Reflectors Noptel's ST-2000 product family employs a measurement method based on prism technology, which enables several shooters to shoot at the same target simultaneously. The target has a reflector attached to it, from which an infrared light beam is reflected back to the optical unit that sent it. The reflector is selected on the basis of the operating range, atmospheric conditions, required accuracy and the optical unit used. A target with reflectors can be placed freely almost anywhere, and the level of difficulty remains the same independent of distance. In general: A target with a sticker or plastic reflector is used when shooting at short range (approx m.). A target with one or more single prisms is used when shooting in the middle range (approx m.). A target with one or more quad prisms is used when shooting at long range (hundreds of meters ). Figure 22.1 Targets (sticker reflectors) and a plastic reflector Figure 22.2 Prism reflectors: single prism and quad prism NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 103

104 22.1 Reflectors for different optical units and distances The reflector is attached to the normal target. The following table presents the suitable reflectors at different distances for different optical units. Table 22.1 Reflectors for different optical units at different training distances. Distance Sport II Pistol- Trainer Marksman MilTrainer Combinator 5 m DG 7 cm 2 DG 7 cm 2 DG 7 cm m DG 50 cm 2 DG 50 cm 2 DG 50 cm 2 DG 7 cm 2 DG 7 cm 2 25 m 2xSunx/P38 2xSunx/P38 2xSunx/P38 Sunx Sunx 50 m 4P38 4P38 4P38 P38 P m - - 4P38 4P38 4P m - - 4P38 4P38 4P m x4P38 4x4P38 Explanations: DG - Sticker reflector K-106 Sunx - Plastic reflector K-105 P38 - Single prism K-101 4P38 - Quad prism K-102 Product number: Reflectors

105 22.2 Measurement accuracy The optical unit is calibrated in the factory, so that there is no need for separate calibration. Its accuracy is set with CEP values. Under very harsh conditions the accuracy of the optical unit can be improved with the LAM and DOUBLE parameters, which are set in the NOS.INI file. When shooting at long distances the turbulence weakens the measuring accuracy. The accuracy can be fixed by increasing the number of prism reflectors and placing them in a group on the target Shooting with real bullets When shooting with real bullets the reflector on the target must be moved away from the center point, e.g. to one corner. In this case the optical unit must be zeroed again. If there is only one reflector (prism) and it is placed in the corner of the target. The fact that the center point of the target and the reflector are not the same can cause rotation errors if the gun's rotation angle changes between shots. The fact that the optical unit is not measuring "bullet holes in the target" must be noted. When this is considered, it is obvious that a bullet hole in the target and the hit point measured by the optical unit are not exactly the same with every shot. However, when shooting longer series, the results correspond excellently. The scatter of the hits measured by the optical unit is almost always smaller than the scattering of bullet holes in the target when measuring conditions are acceptable. Shooting training with ST-2000 equipment is totally safe and harmless. You must still always keep in mind the safety precautions for handling guns, especially when changing from optical unit training to shooting with real bullets. All guns should be handled as if they were loaded Position of the reflector (prism) The reflector can be placed in several ways depending on the practicing situation. NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 105

106 Generally the following rules of thumb are in use: Reflectors (prisms) must be positioned as close one to another as the shooting style allows. The more reflectors in use, the less interference from turbulence. Some +/- points about the position of the reflector are presented below. 1 Figure 22.3 One reflector in the middle of the target + Typical, natural location for a reflector. + No canting error exists. - Shooting with real bullets is not possible 2 Figure 22.4 One reflector at the edge or corner of the target + Possible to use real bullets + Free choice of reflector position - Centre of reflector arrangement does not coincide with the centre of the target canting (rotation) error if the canting angle alters between shots Reflectors

107 3 Figure 22.5 Two reflectors symmetrically about the centre of the target + Possible to use real bullets + No canting error - Distance between prisms must be less than the measurement area of the optical unit. - Turbulent conditions (e.g. strong sunlight) reduce accuracy. 4 Figure 22.6 Four reflectors symmetrically about the centre of the target + Possible to use real bullets + Effect of turbulence on accuracy is less than with two reflectors Please note: The effective size of the reflector reduces the measurement area, and therefore this area is wider with a single prism than with four prisms placed at the corners of the target NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 107

108 23. Troubleshooting 23.1 Diagnostics The operation of the system may be checked via the main menu: View Diagnostics. Especially the number of serial traffic errors (SerErr) and missed samples (Miss) should be observed. If these figures increase rapidly you may want to consider the procedures described in this chapter. Note that the errors may also be due to the capacity and speed of the PC. The Diagnostics window can be opened from the main menu via View Diagnostics or using a short-cut key combination ctrl-d. Figure 23.1 Diagnostics window Information viewed in the Diagnostics window depends on the device used. The following information is shown in the Diagnostics window: Device code Ch and Max, which tells the maximum number of measurement samples per second. The activity of the serial connection is described with Miss, SerErr, OvrF, Skip, and ChkErr. Receiver channel signals Ch A, Ch B, Ch C and Ch D and their average Ch avg or signal position PointX and PointY (options). Measured distance Dist (option) and Transmitter transmission energy LED PWR and LSR PWR (option) and number of transmission power changes +/-. Version number of the software Vers. The counter information described above can be reset by pressing the Reset button. The Diagnostics window also shows the serial connection baud rate Troubleshooting

109 If shots are coming at a high rate, multiuser systems can experience problems, e.g. the calculation of statistics can be prevented. The cause of this may be that there is not enough free memory available or the computer is too slow. If you suspect, that files are not being transmitted properly, you can try the following: Start the optical unit and fire some shots. At the same time, monitor the readings in the Diagnostics window. If the counters in the columns Miss, Skip and ChkErr are increasing rapidly, there may be problems in data transmission. If this is so, change the buffering of the serial port in the following way: 1. Open the setup window for serial port data transmission [WINDOWS]: Control Panel System Hardware Device Manager Ports Com (Communications port) Properties Port Settings Advanced Increase the size of the receive buffer (to right): Receive buffer: low (1) high (14) 3. Close the setup window by pressing OK button If you have an old, non-updated version of the Windows95 or Windows98 operating system, we recommend you to update it to the newest version possible Logger window To display the log window, choose from the main menu: View Logger Figure 23.2 Logger window NOS4 4.1 User's Guide 109