Gordy asked on the Swim Coaches Idea Exchange group on Facebook:
Anyone on here using the Auto Coach system? Need someone to walk me through how to set up some basic stuff.
Mark Rauterkus Gordy. I’m here.
What I want to do is set up the following:
20 x 25 on a :50 send off where the horn starts (from push) 4 swimmers 7.5 apart.
I need the instructions to be idiot proof please!
Mark Rauterkus: This is what I would do:
Hold left button and spin left top button changing the watch mode to read “Interval” along the bottom left of the screen. I love the interval mode.
Hold left button and spin top right button so that the display on the bottom right of the screen reads :50. The steps in the interval can range to [:10] (another question) — or :05 up to 4-minutes by 2.5 second gaps.
Then to deploy the set, 5-seconds before the first swimmers should depart from the wall, push either the top left button or the top right button. Here is the difference.
When pushing the top left, the watch counts down for 5-seconds and then come the beep, beep, BEEP. (That’s the go signal.)
When pushing the top right button, the watch does a long ready whistle and the 5-second count down begins. Then the voice says, “Take Your Marks” — and then comes the BEEP to send off the swimmers.
I’d send off swimmers from both ends of the pool on the BEEP. Then there are 2 heats, not 4. Same number of people in the lane. Then I’d have the second person in each lane / heat go 5-seconds behind the leader. That person doesn’t get a “go” signal and would need to do the regular math, subtract 05 from the clock on finishes to get the time.
See next for an answer to do it your way…. (I hope)
Mark Rauterkus on how to do what is really asked above.
Go to the mode called Setup. To get there, depress the left button and spin the left top button until the word on the bottom left reads Setup.
Once in the mode Setup, remove the pressure on the left button and the choices among the setup scroll.
Scroll (left top button twist) to the words above Setup (bottom) read, “Start Interval” (just above bottom) — Then turn top right button to see the options. Lowest is 5.0 s, then 7.5 s, then 10 seconds, 12.5 seconds, 15.0 s, You want 7.5 seconds. Have that displayed. Then push the top right button — noted on screen with purple word and arrow, “Save-^” — to SAVE that selection of 7.5s.
This way the watch will always send the following swimmers on their repeat off at 7.5 seconds.
When you push the top right button, the watch gives verbal feedback saying “Store.”
Within the PACE mode, visible on bottom left, TURN the top left dial to read on the bottom line, C0:50. That is in the middle of the bottom line. That’s the Cycle Interval. The 0: is because it is less than a minute. Cycles can be as short as 0:15 (15-seconds) and as long as 6:00 cycles, adjustable by :01 seconds. Lots of spinning needed.
TIP: watch the bottom middle numbers. Set yours to C0:50.
Then you are ready to roll. The beep will go for the leader after a 5-second prep and then every 7.5 seconds for 4 swimmers.
