Long time ago,

One of my Club members attempted to build an electro-mechanical hoisting/lowering system. One of the problems was that the hoist was some 40-50 feet, and there was a considerable amount of inertia in the system.

That caused problems with the limit switches - the flag would hoist, the limit switch trip out, but the inertia of the system (including the electric motor) caused it to over-run. I suspect that similar problems still exist - though it may be possible to bouild a system with a faster response.

The other problem with a mechanical system is the lack of flexibility - a normal start sequence is ok, but you need to consider the addition of "L" (cousre change) - recall (individual or general) postponement - and shortening course. All of these are straight forward with flags (even including the rummage in the flag locker/bucket) but a mechanical system needs to have the same flexibility.

Colin

There is an old bar legend at our club of a system that raised and lowered flags on electric car aerials.  Unfortunately it was before my time so I havnt seen it first hand.

Aldenham SC has recently installed a home made system which has the "flags" already flying above the starting box (on a fixed line on a lake) with one side of each "flag" panel painted with the flag and the other side blank.  The OOD just has to rotate the rod supporting the required flag 180degs at hoist or drop stage to either show or remove...

James

One solution is to display images of flags using a large two dimensional computer controlled LED panel similar to those used for advertisements. The main disadvantages are the cost (about £5000 per square metre) and the power requirement (about 900W per square metre). Another solution is to have a permanent display of flags painted on boards with a lamp above each board which indicates which is relevant. This is cheap and simple but needs a large amount of space. An indication of the flag size required can be obtained by comparison with the size of a car number plate which is just legible at 20 metres. For instance if the far end of the starting line is 400 metres from the flag then it can be shown by simple proportion that the flag needs to be nearly 2 metres high. This is only a rough indication because the contrast within a car number plate is better than within a flag, and colour blindness is not a problem either. Also there is a legal requirement for motor car drivers to wear spectacles if their eyesight is defective but this does not apply to helmsmen. For the above reasons many clubs use lamps because they are easier to control and easier to see than flags.