When things go wrong quite often the first thing you need to know is director's PIN. When the system is first installed direcotrs PIN is 0000. -  but can be changed via the PIN menu on the BridgePal Server application on the PC (icon on the windows taskbar) while scoring program is running.

If it does not, then:

• check the computer is connected to the router’s wifi network
• check wifi is enabled on the BridgePal and that it is connected to the same wifi network
• go to the BridgePal app menu and select “more” and “Find BridgePal Server”. This will cause the app to listen for a further 20 seconds for a broadcast message telling it the ip address of the PC.

A BridgePal user entered wrong table and then called you to correct it. - Via directors menu on BridgePal unit click on Reset Table. You will need to enter directors PIN.

A user calls you saying that they cannot enter their table number as somebody is alredy using it. Use directors menu – Acquire Table function. This will disconnect the offender and allow your user to enter their table number.  Any scores entered by the offender won't be deleted from the computer until overwritten by new scores.

If a BridgePal stops functioning, either because the battery has discharged or for any other reason, get a new BridgePal and perform a takeover procedure on the new unit – via Directors menu click on Replace Failed Unit. It will ask for a confirmation “Do you want to take over the active session of a failed BridgePal unit ?”  Tap the OK button and you will be asked to enter the section/table number of the failed unit. Do this and tap on OK. The replacement unit will now resume the session at the screen where the other unit failed.

Say you accidentally perform Reset Table – unlikely but can happen! In fact it did happen that a user performed Reset Table (before we had directors PIN), just to see what happens !!

This is where BridgePal server (icon) comes useful.  Click on the Actions on the menu and select Restore Table. Set Section/Table/Round to the desired values. All scores will still be there.

If you made a mistake when defining movement, e.g. a new half table was discovered or somebody comes last minute, just as you defined the movement and started the system – you are advised to start from scratch. Some scoring programs allow you to modify the movement after the session has started, but this will not work with BridgePals.

Don't worry – it is quick and easy: -

• Exit event and delete it from the list of events, using the procedure appropriate to your scoring program.
• Make sure BridgePal server is stopped too, some scoring programs will stop it automatically when you exit the event and some won't.
• Now create a new event - you know how to do it quickly, you have done it many times.
• On BridgePals perform Refresh from the 3 dot menu, which will bring you back to the Welcome screen.

Tap on Board number on the contract entry screen and select the required board.

If the wireless scoring couldn't be started because Windows Update was unexpectedly running you should start play with paper travellers without BridgePals. Once the wireless scoring facility has been restored ie Windows Update has finished (perhaps half an hour later), start wireless scoring on the laptop and once all table numbers have been entered, restore all tables to the current round. This is again where BridgePal server (icon) comes useful.  Click on the Actions on the menu and select Restore All Tables. BridgePals can then be used from the specified round. Of course for all boards played without BridgePals, the scores will have to be entered in the scoring program manually. This can be done before the end of the session if the director / scorer is free. 

First you notice that BridgePals connection is lost or they are not responding and they cannot continue with scoring.

Case 1. If you have forgotten to plug the laptop into mains, you might find that the laptop goes into hibernation half way through the session. Instruct the players to continue with play.

• Plug the laptop immediately into mains and give it a few moments for battery to catch up a bit, then switch it back on. All scoring software is still running.
• Click Refresh on BridgePal menus and the scoring will continue from the point of failure.

Case 2. If the laptop has turned off for no apparent reason during the wireless session, the situation is potentially more serious. If and when you manage to reboot it, you find that no scoring software is running.

We would suggest that you keep calm and instruct the players to continue with play and record all scores on paper travellers or scorecards or similar while you attempt the recovery (it helps if you are a non-playing director, or perhaps you get an A+A+ for the boards you missed!!)

The recovery depends on the scoring program: -

First reboot laptop and start the scoring program, then....

BridgeScore:-

• Open the latest event. 
• Answer Yes to the question 'Do you wish to open wireless control panel?' 
• Click on 'Restart'.

EBUScore : -

• Select the correct event from the list and click Retrieve Event
• Click BridgePal Scoring
• Click Create Database. It will say “Start a new Session 1” or “Resume existing Session 1”. Click “Resume existing Session 1”.
• Click Launch BCS (making sure Reset Server is not ticked)

Other scoring programs - follow the procedure for restarting an existing event.

On BridgePals perform Refresh from the 3 dot  menu. BridgePals will continue exactly from the point of failure.

Say 2 rounds have passed while you were performing the recovery and you want to get back to wireless scoring. BridgePals are waiting for score input from the point of failure and you really want to reposition them to the current round and enter the scores from paper travellers later. This is where BridgePal server (icon) comes useful.  Click on the Actions on the menu and select Restore All Tables.

BridgePal units are very straightforward. They run a simple BridgePal app which sends, backwards and forwards, screenfulls of data to the computer, via a basic  router, all connected to a Windows PC which runs a clever little piece of code - BridgePal Server and nginx webserver. When you tap on the "Accept" button on BridgePal the score is immediately sent  to the computer where it is stored into a file - the BWS file also known as wireless database. The computer sends back a confirmation message with a screenfull of traveller data. That's how you - the BridgePal user -  know that your data has been safely stored in the computer. All this happens in a small fraction of a second. Also there is always a scoring program running on the computer. This initially starts the session and subsequently collects data from the BWS file and stores it to the travellers in the scoring program where the scorers and directors can see them.

It all has to be plugged in and connected throughout the session. BridgePal users know it is all connected because their units work and their screens are displayed. 

So what can go wrong?

A user sent a message that at the end of the session some scores and names were missing in the scoring program - see BridgePal Forum   

The reason for it was that he did not leave EBUScore on the BridgePal Scoring screen, for example he might have gone to a different screen to look at travellers and left it there. EBUScore will only retrieve results from the BWS file while it is on the BridgePal Scoring screen. Other scoring programs behave in a similar way. The data can still be recovered as it will all be in the BWS file on the PC. 

EBUScore

• If at the end of the session the scoring program is still running, just go to the BridgePal Scoring screen and click on the "Read Names" and "Read All Results" buttons.
   
• If the scoring program is not running, start EBUScore, retrieve the event, go the BridgePal Scoring screen, click on the "Restart" button, then on "Create Database" and then on the button "Resume Existing Session...". If you then click on the "Read Names" and "Read All Results" buttons EBUScore will retrieve all the data for that session from the BWS file.

BridgeScore

If the scoring session is still running click on "Read All Scores" and "Read Player Names" on the Control Panel.

If the scoring program is not running and the session has finished, start BridgeScore, open the event, answer Yes to the question 'Do you wish to open wireless control panel?' and then click on Restart. Now click on "Read All Scores" and "Read Player Names" on the Control Panel.

Other scoring programs - similar functions will be available.

A request from a scoring program author:

"Does BridgePal have a text log of the scores as they are received from the tablets?  Reason for asking, one club inadvertently overwrote a session and lost everything including the BWS file. This has happened a few times over the years with all the electronic scoring systems, but some of them do have logs from which a result can be salvaged."

The answer is yes. Player IDs and Names entered on BridgePal tablets are recorded in the file C:/BridgePal/xlogs/names.txt and contracts/results are recorded in C:/BridgePal/xlogs/scores.txt.

So - if something catastrophic happens, you can continue scoring manually - enter scores on paper travellers or even scorecards and later score the whole event manually using the scoring program, combining the scores from the file scores.txt (before the failure) and your paper travellers / scorecards (after the failure).

An alternative is to recreate and start the event and reposition / restore it to the point of disaster. This is again where BridgePal server (icon) comes useful.  Click on the Actions on the menu and select Restore All Tables.  Later use the data from the files above to enter the missing scores in the scoring program.

If there is a power cut while you are running a BridgePal session, your BridgePals and laptop will continue to work on batteries, but the router will probably stop working. The power cut backup strategy could be to use a mobile hotspot instead of the failed router.

A mobile hotspot can be used in smaller clubs. Hotspots generally have a limit on the number of devices supported, e.g. 5 or 10, and a more limited range than a wireless router, so may not be suitable for larger clubs.

Any iOS or android phone can be used as a hotspot in this way.

• In Settings on the phone set Personal Hotspot ON (Mobile data must be ON) and set a password for Personal Hotspot
• From visible wireless networks on the laptop choose the hotspot and use the password defined above to connect. The hotspot wifi should be set to "metered connection" to avoid any big downloads like windows update
• From visible wireless networks on all BridgePal phones choose the same hotspot and login with the same password
• If you wish, you can turn off the phone's mobile data connection to prevent internet access by conencted devices.

A message from a user that used this solution for power cuts: This hotspot solution worked very well for them. - Here is their reply:

"Great success - I've used a mobile hotspot on my phone to act as a router, connecting five table-top tablets and the scoring laptop to run an event with BridgePal..
Further, I've trialled starting an event with the Club's "usual" router, simulating it breaking down  (pulled its mains plug out!) and then using my mobile hotspot to take over - again, this was successful.  So, in future, I will have a back-up strategy against the case where there is a power cut or if the router fails."

However, the situation is not so brilliant if you are using a browser based BridgePal. If there is a power cut, you need to re-scan the QR code if you are using the Personal Hotspot as the IP address will change. Unfortunately this is not all - you will also have to do the director's function Replace Failed Unit to get you to the same place you were when the power cut started. This is something to do with cookies - don't worry about it.