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<< Click to Display Table of Contents >> Rowing Online for the first time |
  
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<< Click to Display Table of Contents >> Rowing Online for the first time |
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When you look at the Session List in Oarbits, you'll quickly spot scheduled rows that suit you, and after rowing a few of them you'll know a growing number of people you like to row with online. Some people get into groups they like and row mostly with them, others range around and join whatever action is going on when they want to row online.
After a while you'll probably want to put a session of your own up on Oarbits, and you'll be surprised how often others will join in.
For your first row though, you'll probably want to just quietly try it out by yourself, and RowPro enables you to do that. Just follow the steps below.
The first thing to do is connect your PC to the Internet, and check your firewall settings to ensure RowPro can access the Internet. RowPro connects to Oarbits and to the Online Rowing server separately. See the Connecting Help Topic if you need help.
Once you're connected, start by going to the Control Center / Oarbits page in RowPro. The first time you do that you'll be asked to register (it's free), after that you'll just go straight into Oarbits. See the Understanding Oarbits Help Topic for details. See the Connecting Help Topic if you have problems connecting to Oarbits.
Once you've registered, close the Control Center, open Session Setup and click Online. RowPro will connect to the Online Rowing server and will show you a list of any Online Rowing sessions that are available to you. See the Connecting Help Topic if you have problems connecting to the RowPro Online Rowing server.
When you first start, this list in Session Setup / Online will most likely be empty. That's normal, because you haven't yet joined any Scheduled Rows in Oarbits.
Now click the Create Quick Row button at the bottom of Session Setup. Make up a race name, for example 'My first online row', choose a suitable short distance, say 500 meters, make sure your Concept2 PM is connected to RowPro, and click Row.
This will take you to the Check-in and Start screen. You'll see your name there and an icon flashing red. Click the Ready button and the icon will stop flashing to show you're ready and will show a green S icon to indicate you're the starter. If others were joining you in this session, you could now Chat with them. If you want to warm up, now's the time to do that.
When you're ready to start, click Prepare to Start. If your PC sound is on you'll hear a voice say 'Prepare to Start'. You'll notice the 500m row will be set up on your Concept2 PM, and the Prepare to Start button will become a Start button. Strap in, pick up the handle, click Start and watch your Concept2 PM. When it says Row!, start rowing! You'll notice the row itself proceeds just like any other RowPro session, except that the bottom half of your PM screen shows position information relative to others. Since there are no others in this session, it will only show you.
When you've completed the 500m row, a Session Results form will appear showing you in first place (of course!) and you're done. Click Finish to wrap up the session. If others had been in this session with you, you could now Chat with people that had finished their 500m. Click Finish to end the Online Rowing session and return to the default Just Row display.
Once you have the hang of it, you can go back into Control Center / Oarbits and join a Scheduled Row by clicking the checkbox - once the box is checked you've entered the Scheduled Row.
About 10 minutes before the scheduled GMT start time of the Scheduled Row you joined, open Session Setup / Online and you'll see the Scheduled Row listed. Select it and click Row and you'll be in Check-In again. Wait for the Starter to start the row, and follow the instructions in the Start screen and on your Concept2 PM as before.
If you need help you can just type a question into the Chat screen in Check-in, and all others in the session will see it and answer.