Are you running an important Championship at your Club in the near future??
It’ll be quite well known in UK scoring circles that Datchet Radio Sailing use Parallel Scoring for the larger events. That is to say that, as we go, we score results simultaneously into two entirely separate systems in the interests of security and protecting competitor investment …and our hard earned Club reputation. You can lose both in the blink of an eye if something goes wrong.
There’s no point in parallel scoring if you don’t use entirely separate technologies. (We shall write more about Parallel Scoring later.) At the IOM Worlds we used HP and Dell Windows Laptops and a couple of ruggedised, military spec Android tablets. Always have at least two of everything!
We often use the laptops at the water’s edge, but for the IOM Worlds we kept them safely in a Clubhouse Office. For scoring at the line into the Parallel System, the Club has at least four android tablets.
We started with regular Samsung tablets, shrouded with Amazon bump proof and allegedly waterproof covers. Very nice, but not what we’ve ended up with.
For roughly the same money we have a couple of ruggedised tablets from a Hong Kong business called Oukitel. Definitely robust, no need for the protective covers and its IP68 water and dust resistant. Built for outdoors, when outside on a sunny day one appreciates the extra screen brightness. Mine has 620 nits… not that I know what that means! But it’s bright. The HP laptop by comparison is a devil to read outside on a sunny day.
We have two tablet sizes in use at Datchet – ten inch and eight inch screens. It’s a matter of personal preference. For Afleet HMS scoring specifically, my own preference would be the eight inch model.
A couple more things:-
- the RT3 Plus model (8 inch) in the photo above has a simply massive 11000mah hour battery aboard. It can do a couple of days scoring at least. Good.
- I thought I’d be neutral about it, but these military spec tablets have TWO on board SIM slots. Not that we need two, but the point is the Samsungs have no SIM slots at all. You have to join a phone hotspot or return to the clubhouse to connect to the world. If you are into sending scores to a WhatsApp group, or direct to your Club Website on Afleet connect – or for heat backups…. you’ll want an onboard SIM and do those tasks at the line as the heat comes to an end. We use Lebara (Vodafone) SIMS.
- Totally unexpectedly – if you look carefully at the photo you will see that the RT3 Plus has a neat flat, wide hand strap on the back. It’s personal preference, but for scoring I find that a simply massive benefit. I even use the ends of the hand strap to include a neck cord (and Apple AirTag) for the times in between races.
Drawbacks – probably this applies to tablet technology in general. Despite being IP68 waterproof, rainwater on the screen can effect the software mapping of where your finger hits the screen. If it’s raining and there’s no shelter, we now slip the tablets into one of those normal waterproof A4 pads that most clubs use for scoring.
https://www.amazon.com/Waterproof-Clipboard-Aihontai-Material-18-Month/dp/B07DQC8CDK?th=1
It’s only a couple of weeks since the IOM Worlds finished. We know at least two clubs that have, based on this experience, bought an Oukitel since the Worlds finished. No more Samsungs for us, I suspect.
Price? About the same price range as a Samsung ordinary tablet. Our 8 inch RT3 Plus was around 150GBPs in late 2025. Considerably less than a ruggedised Samsung, …. if you can find one these days. Cheap enough really to dedicate the tablet to scoring and allow nothing else in there.
Datchet Radio Sailing - Making It All Much Easier !! 