The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-05-20
NEW TIMING MECHANISM.
Successful Trial of "A Wonderful In
vention at st. Louis.
From The Chicago Chronicle.

From the Chicago Chronicle.
St. Louis, Mo.-Of the thousands of peo-
pie who attended the great gathering of
turner's at the fair grounds last week and
viewed the contests from the grand stand,
few realized that on the track before them
an invention was being tried for the first
time, whose object was the mechanical re-
cording of results in trials of speed. The
appliance consists of an electric battery,
an mgeniously constructed starting pistol
several electrical indicators and a photo
graphic camera. The appliance served
not only to make a double record of the
time of starting and the finish, but pho
tographed the men at the finish. First
of all, when the course for the races was
laid out it was decided that six men
should run i'm each team.
Paths were made for the six contestants
and pieces of cord were stretched between
them. This served to keep the men to
the course. At the finish there was
square box arrangement raised high above
the ground on two steel uprights. Lead
ing down from the box were several pairs
of electric wires. AT each side stood a
camera focused on the apparatus at the
finish. On the other side of 1t were the
recording instruments. They looked like
the "tickers" in a brokers' Office. with
their wheels filled with long white paper
tape. Leading from the recording instru-
ment into trench and down to the start
ing point were two wires attached to the
starting pistol, a remarkable piece of me-
ChaniSm in itself. When the apparatus
was ready for a race, six light pasteboard
tubes were between the six pairs of wires
leading from the elevated box. The men
were placed on the starting line at the
opposite end of the course. When ready
the starter raised his odd-loOking pistol
and pulled the trigger. The moment he
did so it discharged a blank cartridge an
electrical connection was esta blished, and
the "tickers" at the finish were started.
AS the men raced along the course the
tapes moved off the rolls and each second
they received dot. At the finish the men
running under the elevated box knocked
the pasteboard tubes from between the
wires and broke the electrical connec-
ton. There was a tube for each man and
a ticker" for EACH so that when the
ticker stopped the dots on the tape ac-
curately recorded the time made and gave
the finish to a fraction of a second These
tapes were labeled with the names of the
contestants and were handed to the
judges, whose work was thus made sim
ply clerical
A double system or check" on the ma
chimes was also made. This was secured by
a double system of tapes IN each tick
err" One tape was controlled by the start
ers pistol. From the other wires led a
little hand switch with a push button
One of the operators mounted a ladder
and the moment he heard the report of
the pistol he touched the button, starting
the other tapes and making a double rec.
ord of the race. Still an additional safe
guard for accuracy was secured with the
camera. The moment the first man at
the finish knocked his tube down the cleo
trical connection was made with the cam
era already focused and a snap shot or
the racers was made at the moment of
the finish. When the plates were devel-
oped they showed the relative position OF
the men and gave their attitude when
crossing the finishing line.
The next test of the apparatus will be
made at bicycle races on a circular
track, instead of a straightaway course.
Those interested predict great things for
the appliance. The inventor is a st. Louis
man.