BridgePal Scoring System


Hardware Requirements



Scoring Units


Scoring units would usually be android smartphones or android tablets, but can be other touchscreen phones/tablets that have a web browser (e.g. iPhone/iPad). A mobile network connection is not required, only wifi support. Manufacturers are continually bringing out new models, so any specific recommendation made here would soon be out of date, However, even a low end device will suffice. The BridgePal app will run on any android version from 3.0 upwards.

5 inch phones (like Alcatel POP 4) are proving to be quite popular, also 7 inch tablets, like Lenovo Tab E7 or Amazon Fire. These can be purchased refurbished on eBay.


WiFi Router


You can use your in-house router if suitable. Otherwise buy a dedicated router. An expensive high performance model is not necessary. This TP Link router works well in one of our local club. A user recently (2024) bought this router and she is very pleased with it.


PC


A PC running Windows is required to host the scoring program and interface to the scoring units via wifi. Any version of Windows from XP (Service Pack 3 and Internet explorer 8) onwards is suitable. The hardware requirements are minimal, and even the cheapest new windows laptops are adequate for the task. Alternatively, rather than purchasing a new PC or tablet, it may be possible to use an old second hand laptop which is no longer considered to have adequate capacity or performance for other use.

Hang on - I have just heard from a long suffering scorer who is forced to use a 14 year old laptop that takes ages to boot. And if you want to open a Firefox page or start Thunderbird, that is a bit of a luxury - it takes ages again. Please Committee - buy a new laptop for your scorer, even a second hand one would be OK, but not 14 years old!! Yes you can run BridgePal on your old laptop, but nothing else, no emails, no browsing, no nothing!!