Navisport Documentation

Platform: 🖥️ Desktop only

When you need this

You're connecting a timing card reader to your computer so you can read competition cards at the finish, at a checkpoint, or during barcode check-in. The Serial Settings page lets you select the port and reader type, establish the connection, and monitor incoming card reads in real time.

Connecting a reader

You've plugged in your reader hardware and need to tell Navisport which port and device type to use:

Open Serial Settings from the main menu.
Select the Serial Port that your reader is connected to.
Choose the Reader type that matches your hardware.
Click Connect to establish the connection.

Once connected, the status will change to Connected. To end the connection, click Disconnect.

Reader controls

After connecting to a serial port, you can start and stop listening for card reads:

Connect reader — starts listening for chip reads from the connected reader.
Disconnect reader — stops listening for chip reads.

Data log

Cards are being read and you want to verify what's coming in. The Data Log shows all chip reads received from the reader. Each entry displays:

Chip # — the chip number that was read. Click a chip number to open a detail view showing all punches stored on that chip.
Read Time — the time the chip was read.
Punches — the punch data stored on the chip.

The Last chip indicator shows the most recently read chip number.

Filtering and re-reading

You need to find a specific card in the log, or a card didn't read properly the first time:

Use the Filter by chip number... field to search for a specific chip number in the log.

If you need to re-read a chip (for example, if the first read was incomplete), reading the same chip again creates a new entry in the log — it does not overwrite the previous read.

You're working elsewhere in the application and want to confirm the reader is still connected. The main menu shows the current reader connection status:

Green indicator — the reader is Connected and actively listening.
Red indicator — the reader is Disconnected or no reader is connected.

This lets you quickly check whether a reader is connected without opening the Serial Settings page.

Putting it together: setting up a finish line reader

You're at the finish area and the reader is plugged into your laptop via USB. You open Serial Settings, select the correct COM port, choose your reader type, and click Connect. The status turns green. As the first runner finishes and places their card on the reader, the chip number and punches appear in the data log. You confirm the data looks correct, then switch to the event monitor knowing the reader is active — the green indicator in the main menu confirms it at a glance.

Serial Settings