A: We will occasionally attend national events; check the news to see if we’re planning on attending any events, or contact us directly and we’ll let you know where you can see one.
A: Absolutely! And future changes to timing will be addressed with updates you can download from our website.
A: AutoClock™ is designed to be operated by the fencers themselves. Pushing the AutoClock™ button on the Firefly Scoring Apparatus activates AutoClock™. Now when you’re ready to fence, simply depress the switch (or touch your weapon to your lamé if you’re fencing saber), wait for the beep, and then fence! The clock will start automatically, and will stop as soon as a light goes off. Don’t forget, though: if you stop fencing for any reason other than a light on the scoring box (if you step off the strip, for example), the clock is still running! In this situation, all you have to do is make a light go off and the clock will stop.
A: Have you ever fenced someone who always starts before you’re ready? You know, that person with whom you feel more comfortable fencing when a referee is present? Well, AutoClock™ will keep them honest! Once you start AutoClock™, there’s a random delay before the signal telling you to fence. Neither fencer can predict it, so they have to stay honest! Good referees are trained to do this as well: they will vary the timing of their “en garde…ready…fence!” commands. Now there’s a fencing scoring box that does it too!
A: Starting with FSR1d (with white off-target lights), we changed the model numbers to better reflect the product line, and make room for future products. The “S” is for “small”, the “R” is for “recording apparatus”, and the “1” is the version. The letter at the end is the hardware revision (which signifies minor improvements).
Yes: Firefly FSR1 Manual.
We’ve tested Firefly with a 9V battery, and we don’t currently recommend it. With two target lights constantly on, and the clock on, it lasted less than two hours on a 9V battery. We can’t say yet what this will translate to in terms of actual usage, but won’t be much. We put a lot of effort into making the LED arrays bright, which creates a significant power drain.
We are considering introducing a “power saving” mode that will dim all of the lights and reduce timings (so that the lights and buzzer aren’t on for so long) that should make it feasible to use Firefly even with small batteries (like a 9V battery). The clock digits use a considerable amount of power (while they aren’t particularly bright, it requires more power to make a “long” LED, and of course some segments are on all the time if you’re using the clock); using the clock will definitely reduce battery time!
We may introduce a rechargeable battery pack (most likely a gel cell); stay tuned for that.
We’re actually not all that excited about making Firefly work with 9V batteries because we don’t want to encourage the use of disposable batteries (throw it away? There is no “away”.) We know there are rechargeable 9Vs, but they are not particularly common, it’s hard to find chargers for them, and due to their lower power output, it would be even harder to get a decent lifetime out of Firefly.
A lot of folks have been asking about batteries, and we are busy thinking about this problem. The answer is: yes, Firefly can run on batteries. A battery clip and a few minutes with a wire cutter, and you can make your own battery adapter, though don’t expect much life out of a 9V battery. At some point, there will be an “official” solution you can buy here on the website.