Getting started

What is Internet Racing?

Internet Racing enables you to connect your PC to the Internet while you row, and race other RowPro and e-Row users around the world in real time. This enables you to race anyone, anywhere, anytime, and adds the excitement of knowing you're participating in a live race with real people in real time. Up to 8 people can participate in a race.

How it works

RowPro uses the Internet to connect you to Oarbits, an online rowing club where you can create and join races, view results, and contact other Oarbits members.

When it's time to race, RowPro moves you to the Check-in where you and the other participants assemble. When you're all there the person who created the race becomes the Race Master and moves you through to the start. There you get ready to row, and when you're all ready the Race Master starts the race.

While you're racing, each participant sees their boat and the other participants' boats on their RowPro or e-Row display, moving along in accordance with the meters rowed by each participant. At the finish, you see the results for each participant and your own results are stored in your rowing log.

Equipment combinations for Internet Racing

The following Indoor Rower, software and PM combinations can be used for Internet Racing:

• Model D
  • RowPro with PM3
• Model C
  • RowPro with PM3
  • RowPro with PM2+
  • e-Row with PM2+

Any and all of these combinations can race together in the same Internet Race. That means you don't need to know or care which equipment combination is being used by any of the other participants.

Equipment versions for Internet Racing

The following versions are required for Internet Racing:

• PM3 firmware - Must be at least Ver 82. To check, from the PM3 Main Menu select More Options / Utilities / Product ID and look at the bottom of the PM3 display screen. For a free update, visit www.concept2.com and download and install the latest PM3 firmware version, connect your PM3 to your PC and run the update, which installs itself automatically.
• RowPro - Must be at least Release 1.7. To check, start RowPro and look at the large numbers on the Splash Screen (the first screen that appears while RowPro is starting). For a free update, visit www.digitalrowing.com and download and install the latest release of RowPro.
• e-Row - Must be at least Version: 4.1.0 Build 115. For a free update, visit www.concept2.com and download and install the latest e-Row version.

Internet connection

Naturally your RowPro or e-Row PC will need to be connected to the Internet while you race online! Almost any Internet connection will do, from dial-up modem to broadband.

Connecting to the Race Server

Internet Racing is enabled by :

1. A Web Server that handles users and race admin functions and gets people to the start line.
2. A Race Server that shuttles race data back and forth between the participants in real time during each race.

These servers are located at www.digitalrowing.com, replacing the original servers at Concept2 that were used with e-Row, which have now been retired.

RowPro Internet Setup

RowPro automatically connects to the Web Server and Race Server at Digital Rowing, so there is no need to do anything in the way of Internet Setup.

RowPro automatically connects to the servers whenever:

• The Internet button is clicked in Session Setup.
• The Internet button is clicked in Control Center.

e-Row Internet Setup

All e-Row users will need to change their Internet Setup settings from the original Concept2 servers to the new servers. The new settings to load into e-Row are:

• Web Server - webserver.digitalrowing.com
• Race Server - raceserver.digitalrowing.com

Apart from re-pointing e-Row to the new servers, existing e-Row users should notice no difference between the old and new servers. The process of connecting to and using the servers is the same as it was before.

If you're behind a firewall

If you're connecting to the servers from behind a firewall, for example a company firewall or a personal firewall in your PC, you will need to adjust its port settings to enable RowPro to communicate with the servers. The settings to check are:

• Web Server: Port 80 - The web server uses Port 80, which is the standard HTTP port used for Internet browsing, so as long as Internet browsing is enabled, RowPro will be able to connect to the Web Server.
• Race Server: Port 9100 - The Race Server uses Port 9100. It's likely that your firewall will be set to block Port 9100, so you will need to open this port to enable RowPro to connect to the Race Server. Consult your firewall documentation or your system administrator if you need to open up this port.