Bug Report 1.6.4.1 - Thinkify TR265 issue

[Linda Powell]

Brian,

I downloaded the newest version of ART, 1.6.4.1, on 7/22 onto my primary timing laptop. Today I went to program tags for an upcoming race and encountered a bug.

When I open the Program Tags window, the program searches and finds the TR-265 as it always does. When I held a tag up to the bumblebee antenna, the original serial number was shown, however, when I went to re-write the tag number to match the race/bib #, all I would get is "attempting to write tag."  The updated software would not program tags at all. 

I transferred the database to my secondary computer which still had 1.6.4.0 version and the program tag task was seamless as always.

Back to my primary laptop...I re-installed 1.6.4.0 and the Program Tags function worked with no issues.

Has anyone else had this issue yet with programming tags?

-Linda

Bizz Running Company

[Rich Moore]

Im struggling with this problem right now as well. 
Is there a way to roll back the update? I have installed it on both or my timing laptops. 

[Michael Braun]

I can't program tags either and all my computers are updated.  How can I install an older version of Agee race timing?  Thanks for the help.

[Bill Stokes - Stokes Race Timing]

I program my tags from a desktop PC with my 12 year old Thinkify TR-200 USB reader - there's not enough power on the USB ports of most laptops to power the darn thing. Just install the latest version of ART on a PC (don't need a license to program tags).  If you are going to program the tags to only be used in a particular race (like I do for XC meets) then you'll need to import your racetiming.db from your laptop and program the tags then copy it back over to the laptop.  

[Brian Agee]

I am curious, what is the "% of power" you have the software set to? You'll see this setting when you open the Settings screen (with your reader connected) and click on the RFID Readers tab. If you have it set to 6%, try bumping it up to at least 30% or so and then try again. I've noticed that it does seem to struggle to program tags when it's at the lowest power setting.

As far as I'm aware the code that controls the reader hasn't changed in many years. However I did make changes to that code back when the Thinkify TR290B was being offered. I doubt anyone uses that reader anymore, so I may undo those changes and say that the TR90B is no longer compatible with the software.

[Michael Braun]

I just tried to program tags and it is working again.  I swear I tried multiple laptops and I was having the issue on multiple machines.  I guess it will continue to be a mystery.  It was programming tags just now when it was set at 6% but I will try bumping up the power setting if I have this problem again in the future.  

Thanks for the response.

[Brian Agee]

After talking to Jamie Chandler and our head timer (who prepares all of our timing crews bibs) I am wondering if it is the tag itself instead of the reader or anything in the software. Jamie said that it appears the last few rolls we purchased had a higher number of tags that would not program for some reason. Our head timer echoed the same opinion, that out of 100 tags he would find between 3 and 5 that would not program. In the past it would be be more like 1 in a thousand (or higher) that wouldn't program. So if you're having trouble programming, try switching to a different tag and see if works, and then go back to the one that you were struggling with to confirm that the tag is the issue. If you purchased tags from us recently and are having this issue, let us know how many tags you have that are not programming correctly.

[Dave Fleishman]

Thanks, Brian—I thought I was going crazy.  I have been finding higher defect rates among the tags I’ve been buying, too.  Mine is probably more than 5%—closer to 8% won’t program.  I set the bad ones aside, programmed the rest, and then came back to the bad ones—they still would not program.  Fortunately, I had more than I needed for this race, so I just cast aside the bad ones and chalked them up to bad QA on the manufacturer’s end.  

[Rich Moore]

I bought my tags from Atlas RFID. Haven't had the issue before. 
I don't believe it's bad tags as I CAN program them with a version of ART from 10/2024. 
I have the older version on a laptop I use as the manual backup up and it works from there. 
I will report if I run into further issues with the older setup. 

[Brian Agee]

Rich, what is the power setting for Thinkify readers on both laptops? Is it possible the laptop running the older version of ART is using a higher power setting for Thinkify readers than the laptop running the newer update? You've probably checked that already, but in case you hadn't I was curious what those values were for each computer.

[Michael Braun]

I just got done programming tags.  I couldn't get it to work last week but it worked today without making any changes.  After programming about 100 tags at 6%, I increased the power setting to 11% and it programmed the tags a bit quicker.  So increasing the power setting helped a little

[Brian Agee]

Just had a new customer discover something interesting. Hopefully he'll chime in with more details if he sees this post. He's tested this over and over again and it's VERY repeatable.

He spent the last two days testing the system out and programming tags indoors. He took everything outside to train some people on how to use the system and not a single tag would program. He put the antenna in the shade, and then tags programmed without any issue. Put it in the sun, nothing would program. He repeated this numerous times and it was the same result. It's upper 60's there and nothing is hot to the touch or anything. So these tags appear to be very sensitive to sunlight when it comes to programming the tags. He's having no issues at all reading the tags...

I'm not saying that's the root (or only) cause of the problem some others have reported here, I just thought it was fascinating and worth mentioning on this thread. As soon as I wrap up the AthleticLive interface I'm going to focus on the part of the code that deals with programming tags to see what I can improve there.

[blueridgetiming]

I can attest to this same issue on 2 of my laptops. These laptops used to work fine with programming and now they never see any tags. If I switch over to a different computer with the same tags and thinkify, it works fine. I thought it was an antenna problem on the Thinkify at first, but if I were to conjecture, I think it's something specific to something on certain computers. I just use a different computer, but I could provide any system specs between the working vs non-working that may help solve this issue.

[Rich Moore]

Brian, I sent you a link with some photos and videos of what's happening on my end. I hope it helps you. 

[Todd Henderson]

I read where the update shouldn't effect writing tags but after I updated my computers I am no longer able to write tags. We have an event this coming Saturday. Any help would be great. 

[Todd Henderson]

I actually just figured it out with a little online help. You have to go to Settings - Advanced - Then uncheck Store Reader infornation in the database. After performing this I am back to writing tags again. :-)

[Rich Moore]

THIS worked!!! I am writing to tags again as well!! Thanks Todd!!

[Jonathan Newton]

Came here with the same issue. I had "store read info" un-checked, so I checked it again and I'm back in business. Using a ThingMagic USB.

Prior to this I was getting an "unknown exception" error.

[Jonathan Newton]

Good luck with Rebecca Mountain Todd! My buddy Brandon is doing photography for you!

On Wednesday, September 3, 2025 at 10:44:26 AM UTC-4 Todd Henderson wrote:

[Brian Agee]

This one has been tough to figure out because the Thinkify connection/programming code has been touched for many years. However because of this latest clue about checking/unchecking the option to store reader info in the database it gave me a different angle to look at this.

Checking/Unchecking that option was probably just removing your Motorola (or other primary readers) from the list of readers - which left only the Thinkify reader as the Active reader to try and use. I just discovered that the software was essentially getting stuck trying to use the first active reader (even if it was not connected). Again, what's odd is that it doesn't appear that any of that code has changed either in many years. 

I just fixed the issue, you can test it out with the new 1.6.4.2 beta version by clicking here if you'd like. 1.6.4.2 is basically done, my twins will be using it for a XC race this afternoon and a road race this weekend. The only thing left I hope to add in is the ability to pull in Athletic.net CSV files and I'm waiting on them to finish testing the live results export to their website. So hopefully the official launch of it will be early next week. 1.6.4.2 has a lot of great improvements and it's the last update I hope to push out until things slow down after the Fall season.

If you'd prefer to stay on the version you're currently on, try simply marking your other readers as "inactive" in the Settings screen. If that doesn't do the trick, you can remove it, program your tags, and then re-add it (or check or uncheck the option to store reader info in the database). Just remember to add it back, enable it, or undo that option when you want to use your primary reader.

Sorry for any headaches this has caused, but thankful it will be fixed with the next update.