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Speculator Speculator - FAQs, Technical Support, Examples, etc

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Old 05-14-2006, 01:03 PM   #11
Ted Craven
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Question:

Sometimes when using Spec150 a horse's Past Performance Screen displays all 0s for call times and beaten lengths. At the same time, the Pre Analysis screen is all blank (see screenshot below).

Answer:

This is a bug with Spec150 which occurs if you also use the Pre Analysis screen, however there is a simple workaround which prevents it.

The bug occurs by the following sequence:

1. load a new race card for the first time and select a race

2. from the Pacelines and Calculation menu, select Pre Analysis and display the Pre Analysis screen (using any criterea)

3. exit the current race to the races list display (the display of all today's races), WITHOUT displaying any Past Performances for the current race (i.e. do NOT select Pacelines and Details)

4. choose another race. Now, if you display the Pre Analysis screen, it will be all blank. If you display any horse's Past Performances (the Pacelines and Details menu option), the call times and beaten lengths will show 0s.

5. if you now go to any subsequent race, the same thing will occur and you will not be able to handicap those races.

The workaround for this bug is: if you display the Pre Analysis screen in any race, you MUST subsequently hit 3 = PACELINES and DETAILS on the Pacelines and Calculations screen to display Past Performances BEFORE exiting that race and proceeding to another race. You don't have to select any pacelines and you don't have to display more than the 1st horse, but you must do this before opening up a different race. If you exit the race in which you displayed the Pre Analysis screen, then re enter the same race before going to a different race, then display a Past Performance, then exit and continue to a different race, the bug will not occur.

Again, if you use the Pre Analysis Screen, be sure to display at least one horse's Past Peformances for that race before you continue to a different race, or else all the rest of the card's Past Performance and Pre Analysis displays will not work. If you don't use the Pre Analysis Screen, you should not encounter this bug. If you select the Past Performances first, then go to the Pre Analysis screen for that race, you will also not encounter the bug.

(Thanks to Gerald Springer for helping to reproduce this bug.)
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Last edited by Ted Craven; 05-14-2006 at 01:08 PM.
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Old 07-27-2006, 10:19 PM   #12
Ted Craven
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Question:

Sometimes Spandx, Spec150 or Spec160 crashes with the message: 'Error BASE/1003 Variable does not exist: RACE'.

Answer:

Among the reasons why this happens, unfortunately, is the use of the F9 Comments key in a horse's Past Performance. When you enter Comments for one or more horses, then go to any subsequent readout screen (e.g. Energy Generator), the Comments will display the first time only, then subsequently disappear. When you continue to the next race, you will get the above error. When you re-enter the program and select the same race card, you'll get the same error message. If you use the Fix Download feature on the Main Menu to delete the offending race card, you'll get a slightly different error and crash:

'Error BASE/1003 Variable does not exist: RACEDATE'.

Use of Comments via the F9 key in Past Performances is buggy, and should be avoided. This is a hard one to fix - the code for the Speculator user-interface is inscrutable (bless Guy's heart) and I'd rather stick pins in my eyes. How about using a piece of paper? I promise RDSS will permit lots of comments!

To delete the offending race card files if Fix Dowload does not work, go to your Spec150/160 directory in Windows Explorer, find the 3 files named for your race card (in the example below, DMR0727R.DBF, DMR0727H.DBF, DMR0727P.DBF) and delete them. Then return to Speculator and try the card again.

Many thanks to 'Dugoutgold' Doug for persistent sleuthing to track this one down!

Ted
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Last edited by Ted Craven; 07-27-2006 at 10:42 PM.
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Old 07-31-2006, 12:20 PM   #13
Bill Lyster
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A way around the error message bugaboo

Ted:

I too have had this problem on occasion. I tend to use F9 a lot.

Remember we once had this conversation and I had remarked that if you open all the race files on a card before working any race this problem appears to go away.

Every once in a while I forget to do this and get jammed with an error message and have to start over. Hope this helps.


Bill
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Old 07-31-2006, 12:53 PM   #14
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Hi Bill, Can you tell me exactly how your opening all the race files on the card, in other words what sequence are you using? Do you mean 1, seclect and calculate race on the main menu first? Im the one who found this bug so Im interested in this. I nver found a way to get around it.

Best Doug
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Old 07-31-2006, 07:05 PM   #15
Ted Craven
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Bill,

I tested this and you're exactly right (but obviously I've forgotten that conversation!)

Here's what I did: from the race menu, open each card you wish to handicap (no need to go to pacelines) before you hit F9 Comments for the first time. For example, if you wanted to handicap races 1,3,5,7,9 for the day, open all those first before handicapping any of them. Then return to the first one (or any one) and F9 Comments will not crash. Unfortunately, the comments still display only once on any of the Ratings screens, but they print out fine.

Doug, F9 Comments are still imperfect, but hope this helps!

Bill, many thanks for the additional workaround!

Ted
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Old 07-31-2006, 08:52 PM   #16
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Crash prevention program

Doug:

Ted got there first, but just follow what he explained because he explained it perfectly. It should eliminate that type of crash.



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Old 08-02-2006, 02:02 PM   #17
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thanx Bill, i gave up on the coments screen, just keep the ole pen and and paper handy here.
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Old 05-11-2007, 11:38 AM   #18
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Hello to everyone on this site and especially as to the Speculator area.

I have just started using Speculator 160 (as of 5/6/07) and obviously have a long way to go. I have been handicapping for a long time and own and have read most of the recent books that deal with Sartin numbers and concepts written by previous PIRCO members. Currently my handicapping approach is based on "The Hat's" recent book Match Up 2. It is not my attempt to try to pick the same pace lines that he would have picked (assuming that I ever could) but to use his early or late running race ideas and the general need to match running lines of the copntenders so as to reach the eventual 4-5 preferred contenders. In this regard, as to Speculator 160, in helping me to pick my own pace lines how best can I utilize the very first screens-that is before any calculations are made and/or reduction of contenders to the 4-5 is considered. I have been thinking of using Perceptor 1 (which is available in the pace line selection area via F3) with its pace line ranking to either point me in the right direction or more importantly to help me pick the best line especially when I am fighting over more then one line to use. How does the Perceptor 1 in this early screen come to its ranking? If i have to use different distances and even surfaces does it take this into account in the calculations to its rankings. I need to know the basis for its ranking so that I can as much as possible work with its considerations (or not) in the selection of my own lines. I would think, and have read in other post on this matter, that sometimes others have not used let say ranking #1 or even #2 but instead have gone to another ranking which in their minds represents the horse better as to today's race. Having said that is there a Perceptor 1 ranking in this early analysis that you would not want to go beyond. Perhaps lets say that you would not trust yourself or have too much confidence on using a pace line that is ranked 5th or worse. In any pace line that I do pick it must have been a good form race.

I enjoy the software very much even though I am just starting out with it and still have a large learning curve to get through. It certainly gives me allot of information to work with but I need to know what is pertinent in today's race and/or match up.

Thanks,

RR
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Old 05-11-2007, 08:45 PM   #19
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Printing with Speculator 160

Could someone with experience printing with Spec160 advise me on which is the best way to print some of the after calculation screens (i.e. Summary, Match Up by lengths, and BLBL). I have the capability to convert a file to PDF but it does not help. Many times while trying to print different screens the pertinent items do not line up and therefore are unreadable.

I like going to the track and therefore the need for printing (I do not bring a computer to the track). Because of the inevitable scratches can someone recommend the best screens to print so as to be able to reanalyze?

Thanks,

RR

Last edited by mufasa; 05-11-2007 at 08:49 PM.
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Old 05-11-2007, 10:34 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mufasa View Post
Could someone with experience printing with Spec160 advise me on which is the best way to print some of the after calculation screens (i.e. Summary, Match Up by lengths, and BLBL). I have the capability to convert a file to PDF but it does not help. Many times while trying to print different screens the pertinent items do not line up and therefore are unreadable.

I like going to the track and therefore the need for printing (I do not bring a computer to the track). Because of the inevitable scratches can someone recommend the best screens to print so as to be able to reanalyze?

Thanks,

RR
Mufasa,

Sorry to not have made a reply here until now, and also sorry for the brevity now (need to leave for the weekend, but back Monday).

Re printing, Spec160 uses Windows Notepad to print to the default Windows printer. In Notepad, set the Font to a uniform-spaced Font like Courier New (e.g. 10 point size) and this will cause the columns on printouts to line up properly. If you use a proportional Font such as Times New Roman, or Arial, the resulting file and thus printout will be askew.

If you are studying the utility of Perceptor readouts (i.e. Primary Line Score), or the BL/BL screen, I can recommend trying printouts from those 2 screens for starters. You will find that readouts appear from several other screens when you Print any one screen, so you should print them all out and cross-reference what you get to the original source screens in the software. Fewer printouts may be be better to start with: the E/L graph, Perceptor 1, BL/BL should be more than enough.

If any other Spec users care to describe the concept of the Perceptor numbers and how to use them to select pacelines on the Past Performance screens or during subsequent analysis, please feel free to jump in. Otherwise, I shall respond to that early next week.

Best wishes this weekend, mufasa!

yours,

Ted
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