About

mtr-log-extractor extracts timing data (logs) from Emit Mini Time Recorder (MTR) units commonly used in orienteering races. Extracts are uploaded them to a destination such as Dropbox.

The intended use is for in-the-field extraction by non-technical race organizers using a simple system such as a Raspberry Pi. Uploading the log over WiFi or the mobile network allows more technical personnel to post-process the timing data into split times and results without physical access to the time-recording unit.

tTime is a GUI tool for performing the same kind of extract and many features for further processing. The motivation for mtr-log-extractor is simply the ability to extract and upload timing data with a minimal amount of user interaction.

Usage

Note: See the Raspberry Pi guide for instructions on running on a Raspberry Pi with automatic extraction when the MTR is connected.

mtr-log-extractor is run from source so download the source code.

Create Python (3.7) virtual environment and install dependencies:

python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate
pip install pyserial requests dropbox

Find the MTR device name by having dmesg running while connecting. For example, the device name could be /dev/ttyUSB4.

To upload to a server with a plain HTTP POST from submission:

./mtr-log-extractor.py -p /dev/ttyUSB4 -d http://example.org/

To upload to Dropbox, log in to Dropbox, create an App in the App Console and generate a token for it. Save the token in a file. Run with:

./mtr-log-extractor.py -p /dev/ttyUSB4 -d dropbox ../dropbox.token

Logs are written to syslog (facility local0) by default.

Run ./mtr-log-extractor.py -h for option details.

Development

Run automated tests (find logs in testoutput/):

python -m unittest discover tests

Check code style:

sudo pip3 install flake8
flake8

Running without physical MTR

Setup serial port loop:

sudo apt-get install socat
./devutil-serialportloop.sh

Start test http upload server:

mkdir ../http-upload-dir
./devutil-http-upload-server.py -d ../http-upload-dir

Start mock MTR on one port:

./devutil-mockmtr.py /dev/pts/4

or with data in file (recorded with devutil-recordmtrdata.py):

./devutil-mockmtr.py /dev/pts/4 -f mtr.bin

Start program on the other port:

./mtr-log-extractor.py -p /dev/pts/3 -d http://localhost:8080/ -l log.log

or, using dropbox:

./mtr-log-extractor.py -p /dev/pts/3 -d dropbox ../dropbox.token -l log.log

Utilities

devutil-http-upload-server.py: Starts a local HTTP server accepting uploads

devutil-mockmtr.py: Script that listens to a serial port and acts like an MTR

devutil-recordmtrdata.py: Extracts and saves MTR data in raw/binary form

devutil-serialportloop.sh: Creates a virtual serial port pair (using socat)