• IBM PC or compatible computer. 8086 / 80286 / 80386 / 80486 / Pentium class CPU running at a minimum of 8MHz.


• Minimum of 640K RAM. (+4MB of extended memory if you want to use the digitised voices)


• Any display type: CGA / MDA / EGA / VGA / LCD (colour is best!) (Note: a 2nd MDA display can be used in addition to a CGA / EGA or VGA display for location near the scrutineers / referees, for example)


• 1 x 720K or 1.44MB 3.5" floppy disk drive


• 1 8-bit XT or 16-bit AT compatible expansion slot for AMB interface (if reqd.)


• 1 8-bit XT or 16-bit AT compatible or PCI expansion slot for external lights interface card (if reqd).


• Parallel printer port required for dongle and printer (printer connects to dongle).


• Serial port required for AMB rs232 interface or DD lap counting system


• Optional Parallel Printer (preferably EPSON compatible, although others are catered for) (DOS printers ONLY).


• Soundblaster compatible Soundcard

ProCount was designed to work under MS-DOS v3.20 and later, although it will work in some Windows operating systems. The following operating systems are recommended to run ProCount for maximum stability and reliability:

• MS-DOS 3.20 to MS-DOS 6.22


• Microsoft Windows 95/98 in MS-DOS mode.

The following operating systems also seem to work, but due to their nature, they may be less resilient:

• Microsoft Windows 95/98 in a DOS-box.


• (Microsoft ME has not been tested, but since it is similar to Windows 9x, I have placed it in this category.)

The following operating systems are not recommended for running real-time DOS programs since they intercept every input / output request to the hardware to let the operating system handle it. Whilst ProCount may run under these operating systems on a fast PC, you use them at your own risk:

• Microsoft Windows NT
• Microsoft Windows 2000


• Microsoft Windows XP

ProCount is compatible with the AMB 8300 / 8800 / System-20 products, using either the old PC-XT plug in card or the newer serial interface.

It is therefore also compatible with any other lap counting system that uses the AMB System-20 serial interface specification, e.g. Chronit.

Some manufacturers are now producing personal transponder based systems where each driver has their own unique transponder number. The AMBrc system belongs to this category. At present ProCount will work with the AMBrc equipment in its AMB System-20 compatibility mode.

ProCount contains interfaces to the following Soundblaster soundcards:

• Soundblaster 2.0 (early)


• Soundblaster 2.01 (late)


• Soundblaster Pro


• Soundblaster 16

A soundcard that is compatible with any of the above standards should work correctly.

However, for any of the above soundcards to work with any DOS program, not just ProCount, you must have a suitable DOS driver for the card. Early soundcards were plug-in cards that were configured by jumpers, links and switches on the board to determine their address range and IRQ numbers. These cards did not need any support drivers and could be detected immediately by any application. Most recent soundcards are now integrated into the motherboard of a PC and are initially disabled. In order to enable them, a device driver is necessary to configure the sound card address and IRQ number. Without this driver, the soundcard will remain 'invisible' to a DOS program.

Most drivers are now written for Windows and include legacy support in a DOS-box. This allows ProCount to use the Soundcard in a DOS-box under Windows 9x. However, if you wish to run in MS-DOS mode, then a DOS device driver is essential.

Be very careful if you are buying a new printer specifically for ProCount.
A lot of new printers are only supported in the various flavours of Microsoft Windows, as much of the software needed to drive them is contained in a Windows Device Driver in order to keep the costs of the printers very low.
This means you cannot simply print ASCII text to them and get it to be displayed.

Similarly, a lot of new printers now only support USB connectors. These are not compatible with DOS programs.

When buying a printer, make sure it has a parallel printer port connection and will work with DOS programs.

Printers that support or emulate the following pritner control sets will work with ProCount:

• Epson FX-80 printer codes


• Epson EscP/2 printer codes


• HP PCL5 (laserjets & deskjets)

If in doubt , please contact me before buying.