Frequently Asked Questions
Any computer with a minimum of 128MB of memory and a USB port will do
It works with any version of Windows from 98 onwards (including Vista) but Windows XP is probably the best option if you have a choice
Enter the actual number of tables into the scoring program and put out as many Pads as you have
For those tables without a Pad, record the scores on a paper traveller
Get someone not playing or someone who has already played
the boards to enter the results into the scoring program
You can use up to 128 BridgePads up to 200 feet from the base station
It can reach different rooms on 2 or 3 floors
In a multi-room location a trial is useful to find the optimum placement for the computer and base station
Scrolling results, show the interim rankings and percentage scores as the event progresses
Every 10 seconds ScoreBridge reads the results recorded so far, scores each board and calculates the overall result
It updates a Web Page - the "Scrolling Results" - every 30 seconds and this can be shown on a computer monitor or a projector
They "scroll" slowly if all the lines do not fit on the screen
"Early" results, like an "early" paper traveller can be misleading so it is best to switch this on about half way through the event
The World Bridge Federation and the European Bridge League use wireless scoring and display the current rankings
About 50% of UK clubs using wireless scoring use scrolling Results. A few choose to switch them off in the last 1 or 2 rounds but in othher clubs seeing the last round is most popular
This is an extract from comments from Max Bavin - EBU Chief Tournament Director and WBF Tournament Director
- What a terrible thing playing a game in which everyone knows what the score is. Hopefully it will never catch on though, as otherwise football teams might start taking off defenders and bringing on strikers in a desperate attempt to improve their score towards the end of the match!
- There is nothing in the Laws of Bridge which either prohibits this or encourages this; the Laws
are entirely neutral
- Moreover, there is no official advice from the EBU on the subject, and I very much doubt that there ever will be
- The ability to know the running scores in bridge - or, at least, having a pretty good idea of what they are, is DIFFERENT to what people are used to
- It is neither a good thing nor a bad thing necessarily; it's a DIFFERENT thing - that's all
- So, the bottom line is that you will need to decide for yourselves whether you like the difference or not
- By you, I mean the members of "your club" or "your county", as the case may be
- By the way though, some people are quite good at estimating their score even without the benefit of a screen display you know !
LCD screens at £100 upwards are suitable
Ideally place the screen (or, for larger clubs, screens) well away from any table as players when dummy will go to look at them and talk about them potentially disturbing people playing
An attactive alternative is a projector - minimum cost £250 - showing the image on a screen or a wall
Ideally use a separate screen to display the interim results - the "Scrolling screen"
( During the session, the director may wish to look at a traveller on the computer and may accidentally show that on the screens being used for the scrolling results. A second screen avoids this )
Laptop computers always have a separate video output
A desktop computer which needs either a second video card or a dual video card
In Control Panel / Display / Settings select the "windows extended desktop"
Make the scrolling results window slightly smaller than maximum
Then drag it over to the extended part of the desktop (on the right hand side) where it should then be maximised
The window will return to that position (maximised on the second screen) when the scrolling results are run again
E.g. a Mens Pairs and a Ladies Pairs ( each of which may have multiple sections)
- You can do this using one computer, one Wireless server and sharing the wireless database
- You can separate scrolling screens for each event or you can combine then into one display which flip-flops between the two sets of results
Full instructions are in the ScoreBridge Help Page "Wireless Scoring of Two or more Independent Events" in the Wireless Scoring section of Help
1. Check that the contrast has not blanked out the screen - see below
2. Change the batteries - be careful to slide out the battery cover do not prize it out as that will break it - it is stiff to ensure it closes firmly
3. Re-check the contrast - see below
How long do the batteries last?
About 50 sessions - i.e about a year if you play once a week
You get a "Replace batteries" warning about 10 sessions in advance, giving you plenty of time to get new ones
Each BridgePad uses 2 "AA" batteries
Rechargeable batteries are not advised
Reset the Pad to the Welcome screen - hold hown the XX and press PWR
Then repeatedly press the PASS key to increase contrast
Repeatedly press the ERROR key to reduce contrast
1 If the base station is too distant or too close to other electrical equipment - it should be at least 30 cm's away - try moving it
(even if the base station is badly sited this problem may not show up at the start of the event)
2 Call the Director to use his special menu to get this Pad to "take over" from itself
3 If the does not work, use a spare Pad to take over from this Pad in the same way
