Lost a stage for the first time ever

[BostonBullit]

I've been the stats geek (along with other duties) at our local club matches since we started hosting matches back in 2013 and this weekend I had to toss a stage for the first time due to a device issue.  I've been running Practiscore since day 1.  Our first season we used our own phones or spare ipod touch devices to score on.  Once we knew the club was going to keep going we got a stack of Nook Simple Touch devices that we've used since.  With those discontinued we picked up a bunch of Kindle Fire 7" during Prime Day last year.

 

People got spoiled using the NSTs; they could leave them sitting around and not worry about things.  This weekend the clouds burned off and the sun came out (finally) which was great for the match but not for the Kindle that was left sitting in direct sunlight for 15mins due to a delay on the stage before it.  When the RO found me and asked for a spare device I figured it just ran out of battery and we switched to the backup and finished the match.  Unfortunately the thing is dead.  He told me that when he found it sitting there it was HOT and unresponsive.  It is sort of alive but the screen seems dead, only the backlight comes on and the upper left corner gets HOT when it's plugged in.  It does still make sounds but with no touchscreen I can't interact with it.  I tried plugging it into the computer and could see the file system but everything in the Practiscore folder was 0 byte files.  Now it won't even show any files.  I finally gave up and tossed that stage because I only have 2 of 6 squads scores on the spare.

 

Has anyone else had a Kindle melt down like this?  I'm going back to the Nooks until I figure this out.  It was on the list to get the sun shades already but even with those I'm skittish.  It kills me to dump a stage or lose the score of a single shooter and I don't wand to deal with this again.

 

Peter

[euxx]

PractiScore app for Android allows to write local log of accepted scores to an SD card. You don't need a large card either and you can get small ones cheap. Chances are it would have saved stage scores in your case (though you'd need to manually re-enter it).

[BostonBullit]

Thanks, I’ll pickup some SD cards before the next match.

[euxx]

Thanks, I’ll pickup some SD cards before the next match.

Note local log need to be enabled in the match settings on each device and location changed to sd card.

[Nathanb]

So one of the things I’ve done to help eliminate this is to buy those five dollar plastic ammo cans.  After you’re squad is done it goes back in the box.  Keeps it cool and out of the sun. 

[MemphisMechanic]

17 hours ago, BostonBullit said:

I'm going back to the Nooks until I figure this out.  It was on the list to get the sun shades already but even with those I'm skittish.

 

The sun shades have kept this kind of issue from happening on 100* match days for us down here in the southern heat so far.

 

We also generally toss it in someone’s cooler between stages while we walk to the next bay and do our walkthrough - which I also do with my phone if it gets to feeling hot.

 

(Obviously not a cooler which is swamped with ice water. )

 

Edited April 8, 2019 by MemphisMechanic

[MikeBurgess]

I would look at it as a acceptable loss rate, years of matches one lost stage, we lost lots of score sheets over the years with paper sounds like Practiscore is better than that even factoring in a lost stage. I would, for local matches,  probably not go the trouble to "fix" anything other than to explain to the shooters at the next shooters meeting that leaving a pad in the son is bad for it and may cost the match a stage.