Skewered Fencing

Quick Start Guide

Download the Quick Start Guide (pdf) that comes with new boxes. Print double-sided, trim along the dotted lines, and fold in 4. It will fit in the shipping box under the scoring box.

Physical buttons

There are three buttons on the box: a red button and two white buttons.

The red button has three functions:

• A quick press will cycle through the weapon modes.
• A long press will enter/exit the configuration menu on the box. This is primarily useful to set the strip ID by pairing a remote.
• A very long press (5s or more) will reboot the scoring box into firmware upgrade mode. Once this is entered, it will remain in firmware upgrade mode until the firmware is uploaded or the box is rebooted.

The two white buttons navigate and adjust the configuration menu: the left button moves up (or decreases a value) and the right button moves down (or increases it). Together with the red button (which acts as OPT/select inside the menu), this lets you configure the box on its own, with no remote needed. Outside the menu the white buttons do nothing.

On Build 729 or later, holding the middle white button for 3 seconds while the box powers on restores the previous firmware, in case of a problem with an update (see Updating). As a last resort, both white buttons may be held down when the box is powered on to immediately enter USB firmware-update mode as a recovery mechanism.

Configuration Menu

Long press the red button on the box or long press the OPT button of a paired remote to enter the configuration menu. Once in the config menu, use OPT to select items and CLR to exit items or CLR again to leave the config menu.

You can also operate the menu using only the box's own buttons, with no remote: the red button acts as OPT (select an item, then select again to finish editing it) and a long press leaves the menu, while the left white button moves up or decreases a value and the right white button moves down or increases it. This lets you configure the box — including enabling wireless and setting the Strip ID — without a remote.

The configuration items are:

• Strip
  The strip ID of the box which defines which remote it will respond to. See Pairing a Remote.
• Remote
  The last received charge level of the remote, usually in 5% increments. This cannot be changed.
• EpeeAuto
  Whether to auto-increment the score when a hit occurs in Epee (only while the clock is running).
• Passive
  Controls what happens when the passivity shot clock expires (foil and epee only; saber does not have a passivity clock). This can be set to:
  • Stop: The bout clock stops and further touches are blocked when the passivity threshold is exceeded — similar to when the period expires. The passivity state clears when a P-card is given, the clock is restarted, reset, or manually adjusted. The box beeps and the passivity clock flashes.
  • Cont: The bout continues normally after the passivity threshold is reached. The passivity indicator will flash but the clock keeps running and touches are still accepted.
  The default is Stop. A pool bout (period "P", selected by stepping the period down from period 1) has no passivity clock at all.
• SaberPer
  Whether to display the period indicator for Saber.
• Tone
  The buzzer frequency in Hz (2700 - 3300). This can be useful if you have multiple boxes near each other.
• Vol
  The box volume (Off / Low / Medium / High).
• Btn Beep
  Whether to make an audible chirp every time a remote button press is received.
• StartSnd
  Whether to sound an audible signal when the bout clock is started. This can be used instead of the director saying "fence!" or "allez!".
• Self Ref
  Allow fencers to start the bout clock and increment scores without using the remote. When enabled, if both fencers short their weapons to their lamés (foil and saber) or hold their blades together (any weapon) for at least 600ms then the box will beep once to acknowledge and then start the clock with a double beep after a short random delay (1.5 - 3.5 seconds for lamé shorts, 2 - 4 seconds for blade contact so fencers can return to their lines). Fencers can also increment the score for their opponent by shorting to their own lamé for 3 seconds. The box will emit warning chirps for the final 1.5 seconds to notify fencers and prevent accidental scoring.
  Once time has expired or during a break, the same start gesture advances to the next period with a fresh clock (ending any break early) and then starts it, so a whole bout can be fenced without a remote.
• Timing
  The timing standard used for lockout windows, passivity thresholds, and default clock durations. This can be set to:
  • FIE: Standard FIE timing. Lockout windows are 300ms (foil), 170ms (saber), and 40ms (epee). The passivity threshold is 60 seconds. The default bout clock is 3:00 for all weapons.
  • WFL: World Fencing League timing (according to preliminary reports). Lockout windows are shorter: 200ms (foil), 100ms (saber), and 40ms (epee). The passivity threshold is 45 seconds. Default bout clocks vary by weapon: 2:00 (foil), 1:00 (saber), 3:00 (epee).
  • Custom: Your own lockout windows. When Custom is selected, a "configure >" row appears below the Timing item and opens a per-weapon editor: select a weapon and type its lockout time in milliseconds as three digits (for example 2-5-0 for 250ms). The values are remembered, even when switching to another timing mode and back. Everything else (passivity, default clocks) follows FIE.
  The default is FIE. When any non-FIE timing is active, a scrolling "NON-FIE TIMING" banner is shown and the display uses amber/purple colors to visually distinguish from standard FIE mode.
• Timeline
  Whether to display the hit timeline. This can be set to:
  • Off: The timeline is never shown and not available, even for review.
  • Live: The timeline is always shown with live strip interactions being constantly shown.
  • Hit: The timeline is shown only when a touch occurs.
  For example, competitions may opt to either disable the timeline entirely or show only when a hit occurs and allow reviewing the timeline to disambiguate calls.
• HitTimes
  How much extended hit-timing information to display:
  • No: Late and short hits are not shown at all.
  • Late: Late hits, whipovers, and short hits are shown with their timing. This is the default.
  • All: Additionally, on a double touch the second light shows how many milliseconds after the first hit it landed, so fencers can see how close the double was to the lockout.
  Connected repeaters follow the box's setting.
• Rot
  Whether to rotate the display 180 degrees. This can be useful if the box is mounted upside down.
• L/R Swap
  Swap the left / right fencer connections. This can be useful if the box is mounted upside down.
• Live Vid
  This is for integration with an external video replay system. It will indicate that the video replay system should display continuous live video (instead of only showing replays).
• Wireless >
  Enable and manage wireless connections to the box. See Wireless below.
• System Info >
  Select this option to show the serial number and current firmware version of the device.
• Firmware >
  Select this option to show the current firmware version and optionally put the box into update mode, ready to receive new firmware from the app or over USB. See Updating the scoring machine firmware below.

Remote

Hover or tap on the buttons below to learn what they do.

Remote ID (Strip ID)

Each remote stores the Strip ID that it is configured for. Boxes and remotes are initially configured as "Strip 1". Scoring boxes will only respond to signals from remotes that have the same Strip ID as the scoring machine. To change the ID for a given remote, press and hold the SET button and PLUS button on the opposite corner for 5 seconds until the green LED flashes several times quickly. Then enter a two digit strip id (01 - 99). The green LED will flash quickly again when the new ID is set.

Charging

The remote is powered by an internal rechargeable battery. The battery should last 1-2 months of typical usage. When necessary, recharge the battery by connecting it to a standard USB-C charger.

Pairing a Remote (Setting the Strip ID)

To pair a remote with a customized strip ID (see above) with a box, do the following:

• Long press the red button on the box to enter config mode.
• While config mode is active and the option is on strip id, it will detect any remote. Press the OPT button on the remote twice to set the new strip ID to the remote's ID.
• Press CLR on the remote several times to exit config mode.

Wireless

The box continuously broadcasts its state wirelessly so nearby devices can follow the bout. Turning on Enable in the Wireless menu additionally lets up to three devices connect directly to the box at once. A connection is one of two kinds:

• Unregistered connections are read-only: they can listen to the box's state (score, clock, lights) but cannot control it.
• Registered connections can also send remote commands to the box. A registered device is clearly indicated on the box — a "REMOTE" banner appears when it connects (showing the device's name, if it has set one), and a small blue dot at the bottom right of the screen stays lit while it is connected. The dot is deliberately blue so it can never be mistaken for a red or green hit indicator.

Registration is secured with an on-screen code, and is only accepted while the box is in the Wireless menu, so a stray device nearby can never quietly register with your box. Up to 5 registered devices are remembered across power cycles.

Registering a device

Use the Skewered Fencing app for Android or iOS to connect to a box. To register:

1. On the box, enter the config menu and open Wireless, then set Enable to Yes.
2. In the app, select your box to connect. The box displays a six-digit code.
3. Enter that code in the app to complete registration. The box shows a "REMOTE" banner once the device connects.

Wireless menu

The Wireless menu controls the box's wireless connectivity: whether devices may connect directly to the box (the box broadcasts its state either way), the registration process, the list of remembered devices (which can be cleared to forget them all), and how many devices are currently connected.

If wireless goes offline

Scoring never depends on wireless — a wireless problem only affects the wireless link, never the bout. If the wireless radio ever gets stuck, the connected dot turns into a slowly breathing red marker. Simply open the config menu and the box restarts the radio for you; the restart is fast enough to be seamless, leaving you in the menu with wireless back online.

Updating the scoring machine firmware

Boxes running Build 729 or later are updated wirelessly from the Skewered Fencing app. Boxes running an older build must first be updated once over USB (see below) to Build 729 or later; after that, every update can be installed from the app. To check which build a box is running, open System Info in the config menu.

Updating from the app

1. Register your phone or tablet with the box, if you haven't already (see Registering a device). Only registered devices can update a box. Registration only needs to be done once for each device and box; the box remembers it for future updates.
2. On the box, enter the config menu and select Firmware, then Update and Yes. The box restarts into update mode and shows "Ready for update" with a countdown. If no update starts within 2 minutes, the box returns to normal with its firmware unchanged. Select Cancel to leave update mode without updating.
3. In the app, select the firmware to install, then select the box. The box shows the download's progress, then verifies the new firmware and installs it, which takes about 30 seconds. The box then restarts with the new firmware.

Repeaters connected to the box automatically enter update mode when the box does, so they can be updated wirelessly from the app at the same time.

Updating is safe: the box only accepts firmware signed by Skewered Fencing, and a failed, cancelled or interrupted download leaves the current firmware in place. Avoid unplugging the box while it shows INSTALLING, but if power is lost anyway the install resumes the next time the box is powered on.

If the new firmware fails to start, the box automatically goes back to the previous firmware. If you run into a problem with a new update, you can also return to the previous firmware yourself: hold down the middle white button while powering on the box, and keep holding it for 3 seconds until the box restores the previous version.

As a last resort, if the box won't start or respond at all, hold down both white buttons while powering it on to go straight to USB recovery mode, then update it over USB as described below.

Updating over USB

USB updates work on every box, and are required once to bring a box with firmware older than Build 729 up to date. To update over USB, follow these steps:

1. Download the desired firmware version to your computer. Do not alter the name of the firmware file.
2. Connect a micro-USB cable from your computer to the micro-USB port at the bottom of the back of the machine. If the scoring machine is powered off, it will turn on when the USB cable is connected.
3. Put the box into its USB update mode:
   • On Build 729 or later: enter the menu and select Firmware, then Update and Yes. When the box shows "Ready for update", select USB Recovery (or press both white buttons together).
   • On older builds: enter the menu and select Update and then Yes.
   • On any build, holding the red button for 5 seconds or more also works.
   Note: As a last resort, if none of these work, there is also a recovery mechanism for entering firmware update mode as a USB drive: Disconnect the box from power and then hold down the two white buttons while plugging the box into the computer via the USB connection.
4. On the computer, a USB drive named "RPI-RP2" should show up.
5. Copy the firmware file to the "RPI-RP2" drive. Once it finishes copying, the drive will automatically disconnect and the scoring machine will restart with the updated firmware.
6. In some cases, the saved configuration will be reset after an update. Press and hold the same button on the scoring machine (the button further from the power switch) for 1 second to enter configuration, then press "OPT" on the remote twice to register the remote. You may also have to navigate the config menu to adjust the screen rotation.

Firmware releases

• Loading releases…
• Build 350 (2025-06-12) → download 💾
  • Reduce Mistakes: This release focuses on reducing mistakes and making the box simpler and more intuitive. In addition to Undo (below), several minor improvements were made:
    • When the bout clock is running, operations such as changing the weapon mode, clearing scores, or resetting the clock are blocked. If one of these is pressed, the clock will flash red to indicate that the operation cannot be done.
    • When reviewing the timeline for a touch, pressing CLR or SET will exit the timeline view instead.
  • New Feature: Undo. A long-press of white ↩️ (left) button triggers undo. The box now keeps a history of recent inputs and allows undoing operations. In particular:
    • If you accidentally clear the scores, undo will restore the scores.
    • If you accidentally start a one-minute break and lose the lock, Undo will restore the clock.
    • If you accidentally reset the clock, undo will restore the clock. If you reset the clock during the one-minute break, it will restore the "on break" status and continue counting down.
    Scores, Cards, and priority can also be undone.
• Build 325 (2025-04-14) → download 💾
  • New Feature: Wireless support for SFS integration! This release provides the initial wireless broadcasting support so that the Super Fencing System iOS App can connect to Skewered Fencing Boxes. Please note that the wireless protocol is still in development and may change.
• Build 321 (2025-03-27) → download 💾
  • Improvement: Direct time entry shows 0:0x values more clearly.
  • Removed: Pre-start warning ticker option for self-ref is removed. The warning ticker to donate a point to the opponent remains.
• Build 319 (2025-03-24) → download 💾
  • New Feature: Direct entry for bout clock! Previously, a long press of the SET button would reset the timer to 1:00. Long-pressing the SET button now allows you to directly type in a time in M:SS format. By default it's set to 1 minute, but using the button numbers you can enter any time from 0:00 to 9:59. Pressing SET or CLR will immediately accept the currently-displayed time.
• Build 316 (2025-03-24) → download 💾
  • Improvement: The timeline now marks whipovers. Whipovers are also saved for review like touches.
• Build 314 (2025-03-23) → download 💾
  • New Feature: Allow showing the timelne only when a hit is made. The timeline now has three options:
    • Off: The timeline is never shown and not available, even for review.
    • Live: The timeline is always shown with live strip interactions being constantly shown.
    • Hit: The timeline is shown only when a touch occurs.
    The new "Hit" option may be a better option for competitions to avoid distracting live updates by still allowing review of a timeline to disambiguate the sequence of actions around a touch.
  • Update: When the timeline is not disabled, the review may be started either from the most recent portion (by pressing the back button) or the earliest captured portion (by pressing the forward button).
• Build 310 (2025-03-21) → download 💾
  • New Feature: Allow reviewing the timeline for the last touch as well as scrolling back in time to see more. After a touch, press the white ↩️ button to view the most recent touch timeline. Press ↩️ again to scroll further back, and press ↪️ to scroll forward in time. Scrolling forward to the end will stop the review and restore the live timeline.
• Build 309 (2025-03-21) → download 💾
  • New Feature: Add self scoring and rename "Self Clk" to "Self Ref". Fencers can now donate points by shorting to themselves for 3 seconds. This is also a temporary "Ticker" option to indicate that self start is engaged.
• Build 292 (2025-03-07) → download 💾
  • New Feature: Add config menu option "Self Clk" to allow fencers to start the clock themselves by shorting to their lamés.
• Build 274 (2025-02-18) → download 💾
  • UI: Show the weapon mode when turned on.
  • Config menu: Show remote charge level right under strip id.
  • New Feature: Add config menu option "Btn Beep" to beep for each remote button press.
  • New Feature: Add config menu option "StartSnd" to beep when the clock starts.
• Build 250 (2025-01-30) → download 💾
  • Fix: Show ground light on epee if a fencer's A-C lines are shorted.
  • Remote: Final production version of remotes include battery level monitoring and colored LED indicator for the battery level (green flash = >40%, yellow = 20-40%, red = <20%).
  • Config menu: Display charge level of remote battery for production remotes.
  • Config menu: Add system info display to show serial number and firmware level.
  • Internal: Add a quick firmware update mode sequence: hold the two white buttons when powering on to immediately enter firmware update mode at startup.
  • Internal: Increased display framerate to minimize flicker on recorded videos.
• Build 228 (2025-01-13) → download 💾
  
  • UI: Center scores move penalty cards to outside (P-Cards still on inside).
  • UI: Fix buzzing when 1 min break timer expires.
  • UI: Flash the clock when time has expired (either break or normal).
  • Config menu: Add firmware update screen, showing current build.
  • Internal: Revamp serial communication for Favero repeater adapter and video replay support.
• Build 201 (2024-11-06) → download 💾
  Fix two bugs related to Favero repeater lights via the prototype adapter:
  1. In foil, after the lockout period off-target hits would light up the white light momentarily like in saber instead of being locked out. This is now fixed.
  2. When the box went to sleep the repeater lights would stay on. They should now turn off.