Simulator Toolbox

1. Basic information

In its simplest form a ringing simulator consists of two things:

• A physical component (hardware) for the student to ring, consisting of one or more sensors to convert the motion into an electrical signal.
• An electronic component (software) that detects the hardware signals and turns the student's action into sound.

The student can either ring a bell that has been silenced or a dumbbell specially constructed for training purposes. In either case, sensors are attached to the wheel in order to convert the movement and position of the bell into an electronic signal. The software converts these electronic signals into sound, giving feedback to the student either alone or by mixing the sound of the bell rung by the student with other simulated bells. The student can then learn to control and ring the bell at first and then to adjust the sound of their bell to fit in with the "perfect" timing of the computer.

Students can also practise at home by pressing a key on the keyboard to make a sound.

When someone is new to ringing there are a number of skills that they need to master in order to successfully progress to call changes and method ringing. The latest simulator software is a useful tool to help develop skills such as: listening; an understanding of place in a row; an ability to control a bell sufficiently well to be able to ring it to any of the three speeds of ringing on any stroke; leading and ropesight.

What a little simulation can do

Simulators can save time and manpower whilst benefiting students at the early stages of their ringing careers. They allow the student to practise listening and bell control without the necessity of the whole band being present. In summary, simulators allow:

• Unlimited practice which won't disturb the neighbours.
• Unlimited practice at rounds and beyond without needing the help of other ringers.
• Non-judgemental feedback on striking.
• Practise ringing on higher numbers and methods unsupported by the local tower/band.

All in all, a very powerful training tool for both new and experienced ringers.

With simulators, people seem more relaxed about trying things that could go wrong – because they know they are keeping their mistakes to themselves in the tower. With open bells, some ringers are uneasy about trying something ambitious as they are worried about making a racket or a fool of themselves – a simulator liberates them from that.

How much does a ringing simulator cost?

For the basic installation, not too much. To get started on one bell:

• Cost of bell silencing with a rope = zero
• Single sensor and DIY installation = £150
• Laptop or PC (donated) = zero
• Simulator software = £20

A reconditioned Windows PC with screen, keyboard and mouse can be bought for as little as £90 and a reconditioned 14” Windows 7 laptop from £120. If you're not confident then installation can be part of the sensor package.

Remember you can start small and build up your capability over time.

Learning to ring using a simulator

A student learning to cover

Learning on dumbbells at the Worcester Teaching Centre

1.1. Simulator map

If you want to see a simulator in action prior to getting one yourself, use the simulator map to find and contact an existing working simulator.

1.2. Pop-up simulation

2. Installing a simulator

Installation of a simulator can be straightfoward but usually involves rummaging around amongst the bells. To accurately sense the position of the bell, essential for the software to ding the bell at the right time, the sensors must be placed carefully and fixed firmly to the bell frame.

Be prepared to spend a bit of time fine tuning such things before being able to use the simulator and hear the bells hopefully at the time you expect!

ART merely informs and advises where it can – it does not have any software or hardware bias or make any recommendations.

2.1. Design considerations

Before you purchase anything, think about how you are going to use your simulator:

• A form of sound control
• One-on-one practice
• Multiple workstations

Do talk to your neighbouring towers and your local ringing society to see what use they might like to make of the system and whether you can collaborate on funding or installation.

Sound control

If you just need an alternative form of sound control, you can do this relatively cheaply, but you will be missing out on many of the benefits of a simulator. If your bells are difficult to access so that you can silence them, why not consider one or more dumbbells in the clockroom?

One-on-one teaching

If you are going to use your simulator for one-on-one practice, you will need a screen (either a TV screen or projector and screen) but it does not need to be a large one. To make the most of this set-up a triple action foot-switch is recommended.

Multiple workstations

You can have more than one workstation so that several ringers can practise different things at the same time. You wil need several computers and several sets of headphones. Some sensor systems are unable to cope with multiple workstations so future plans may influence your choice of system.

If you plan to have multiple workstations do give some thought to where the computers will be placed and to cable management. Budget for additional power sockets to be professionally installed.

And finally...

Don't try to do things on a shoe-string. Be bold. Many ringing societies will contribute to improvements in teaching facilities from their bell restoration or training funds and you should certainly allow for this in any bell restoration project. There are many local charities who will contribute to imaginative projects, especially when they involve people gaining access to heritage and work with young people.

Ringing simulator with multiple workstations at Mancroft Ringing Discovery Centre

2.2. Silencing Bells

Equipment used to silence a bell should only be fitted or removed when the bells are in the 'down' position (never when the bells are up). They should be fitted securely to ensure that they do not slip around during the ringing. Always work in the bell chamber with someone else. If lone working cannot be avoided, take a mobile phone with you and let someone else know that you are working on the bells and how long this work should take. For the most up to date advice, refer to the CCCBR website

Bicycle inner tubes Bicycle inner tubes act as a large rubber band and can be used to hold the clapper centrally or to one side. They are relatively cheap and quick to fit and remove, the top end being looped over one of the nuts on the headstock. If the tube is too long, you can shorten it by tying a simple knot in the middle of the tube.

Motor-cycle tyres An alternative method is to cut an old motor-cycle tyre into sections. Old tyres are easy to get hold of as garages need to dispose of them and they produce a heavily muffled sound on both strokes. Being fixed to the clapper means that they do not affect the set of the bell. Download instructions

Hinged wooden clamps Hinged wooden clamps, secured to the bell with a wing nut locking mechanism, can clamp the clapper in the centre of the bell and are easy to make. These can sometimes work loose if not tightened properly and need to be tailored to fit the diameter of each bell. One disadvantage of clamping the clapper centrally is that it makes the bell lighter set on both strokes, as the weight of the clapper is not working so effectively at holding the bell on the stay.

Rope Position yourself comfortably on one side of the bell. Pass one end of the rope around the top of the bell under the headstock making a loop. Tie a packer’s knot where shown. And pull reasonably tight. Twist the loop round so that the long end of the rope hangs down on the far side of the bell. Reach under the bell and pull the loose end of rope fairly taut against the middle of the far side of the lip of the bell. Then tie a clove-hitch around the narrow part of the flight as shown. With practice you can make the knot and then slip it over the flight. Adjust if necessary so that the clapper is about in the middle of the bell and pull tight. Bring the loose end of the rope to your side of the bell and pass the end through the loop that you made at the beginning. Pull the rope towards you very tightly. Secure it with two half hitches. Tuck in any loose rope securely. Download instructions

2.3. Simulator software

Key features of the software applications

All of the packages have huge amounts of functionality and this is evolving all of the time. There are currently three main software applications offering full simulation on PCs. All have developed a "moving ropes" screen with videos of real ringers to give a virtual reality effect.

Besides the graphic displays, which can be viewed as you ring or afterwards to see how well you have done, the latest releases of all three software packages include the facility to record your ringing and to play it back afterwards.

The packages all include accuracy statistics allowing you to measure how your performance improves over time. There are usually two statistics: one measures the overall error at each stroke; this can be useful in a tower situation to tell whether you are consistently quick on one stroke or another. As errors can be positive or negative and cancel each other out, a second statistic, "average error" or "standard deviation", is usually provided, which measures how variable the striking is overall.

Once you have mastered ringing a bell at a steady speed in rounds, you can then move on to practising call changes. At home or on your smartphone, you can use the software to help understand the theory. In the tower, with an instructor, you can practise physically ringing the bell quicker or slower at handstroke. Kaleidoscope exercises allow you to practise changing place at backstroke as well, and to increase the frequency of the changes of speed, till you have mastered the three speeds of ringing at both strokes. These exercises are pre-programmed into some of the packages, as are most of the exercises for Learning the Ropes Levels 2 to 5.

All of the packages have video clips of moving ringers so that when practising on a bell with a sensor you can watch the other ropes and practise your ropesight. They also include features to help you spot which bell you should be following, such as flashes or winks.

Abel Abel is probably the commonest application in use and was first released by Chris Hughes in 1993. Since then ringers have bought more than 10,000 copies. If you have an older version of Abel it can be upgraded for free by downloading an update from the Abel website.

Beltower Developed by Derek Ballard, the Beltower licence has been extended to allow any version of Beltower previously supplied by the author to be installed in any bell tower or mini-ring for training purposes. BelTutor (the cut down version for training) is effectively freeware and may be copied and passed around freely.

Virtual Belfry Developed by Doug Nichols, each copy of Virtual Belfry is licensed to a particular computer, although if you own several computers, additional license keys are provided free of charge.

2.4. Sensors

There are a number of different sensor systems on the market and there is also the option to make your own. Each sensor system has advantages and disadvantages. The number of sensors and how you intend to use the system all need to be considered carefully before choosing a system:

• Unless you are confident about electronics, you would be best advised to purchase a tried and tested off-the-shelf system.
• Hard-wired or wireless? Hard-wired systems are the most common, although cable management is an issue. The newer wireless sensors avoid the problems of cables running around the bell frame and are easily transported. The same set of sensors can be used in more than one tower.
• If you are using the installation for teaching, you may only need sensors on one or two bells. However, the systems also double up as an alternative to installing sound control and you may want all of the bells connected.

Optical sensors For over 20 years David Bagley has been making optical sensor systems. The sensors themselves can be fitted to the frame either with screws or by wrapping plastic insulation tape around them and the frame. Similarly, plastic insulation tape can be used to clip the cables out of the way. How do they work? Light generated by a LED strikes a reflective strip on the wheel and the sensor sends a signal to the computer. The reflective strip is placed opposite the sensor when the bell is down. A delay needs to be incorporated before making the sound of a bell which is set using the computer. The delay varies from bell to bell in a ring by weight. Typically for a ring with a 12cwt tenor the delay varies from about 350ms to 450ms. The accuracy of the human ear is limited to around ± 30ms and bells can also be odd-struck. Therefore, it can be difficult to set up the sensor precisely. However, adjusting the delay so that the sounds coincide with those of the real bell is not difficult and will be near enough for most practical purposes. The Bagley system comes with 9-pin serial connections to the computer. These days many laptops and small computers do not have 9-pin serial ports and it is usually necessary to purchase an additional USB-Serial converter.

Magnetic sensors John Thorpe makes a solid state magnetic system and the basic layout of the system is similar to the optical system. The interface with the computer is via a USB so there is no need for a converter. The sensors are made in a completely sealed unit and this, along with the use of waterproof connectors, ensures that they are dust and moisture-proof and therefore offer reliable operation in the less-than-ideal environment of many bell chambers.

Radio Frequency (RF) Sensors Simbell is based on standard Radio Frequency (RF) technology and offers similar advantages to wireless sensors. This system has a good range and almost zero latency (a few micro-seconds). It is quite possible to power 6 or 8 transmitters for several hours on a single rechargeable battery pack. Originally designed to simulate sound only for silent practice in towers without sound control, the sensors are compatible with Abel, Beltower and Virtual Belfry. There are some helpful videos on the Simbell YouTube channel.

Making your own sensors

Sensors and the interface are two entirely different things. Most people understand the sensors well enough; the challenge is getting the signal into the computer. But it can, in fact, be very easy.

The minimum circuit for a single bell requires a USB-serial converter, a reed switch and a magnet. It is also easy to make your own multi-bell interface using some fairly basic programming. A suitable converter can be bought for about £10 and it allows you to connect up to 4 bells. The help pages in each application explain more, although the electronics and the programming, while quite basic for some, may be too daunting for others.

Multi-bell installations

A multi-bell installation allows you to use the system as an alternative form of sound control and to practise on any bell. The sensors are quite sensitive and, if you are practising with the other bells down, any slight motion can set them off. There are options within the software to switch the other bells off, or you can simply ring any offending bells up.

2.5. How-to guides

Simbell YouTube

Three handy videos showing how to set up Simbell with each of the three major software packages.

Setting up Simbell with Abel

Setting up Simbell with Beltower

Setting up Simbell with Virtual Belfry

2.6. What the user's say...

Simulator at Scaldwell

I know there are a lot of computer simulators quietly sitting in a dusty corner never being used. The technology is not simple for a mere mortal with just adequate computer and even less engineering skills. But I thought it was the only way forward. I am, after all the only member of my merry band with the skills to ring methods and I was determined to drag the rest of the band into the delights of change ringing with the help of 21^st century technology! It is also extremely useful when teaching learners, I have found.

The desktop computer we had in our tower died over the winter; it didn’t like the cold and damp. So we raised the money for a laptop (from weddings and a local educational charity amongst others) so we can take the laptop home and keep it warm and dry.

We loaded the software, we had (Beltower) and bought a programme I had seen demonstrated at the ART Conference (Virtual Belfry) and thought it was going to be easy to get everything going again!

Having only set up the system once and that was at least 18 months ago, of course you forget all the little steps you have to take. That time around, my two brother-in-laws came to help; one putting in the hardware the other figuring out how to set up the software. I just made the tea! But they live a long way away and this time round only one could make it, so although Chris came up for a few days, we failed to get the system running. A name check to Chris Bassett from Staplehurst for his and sister Sue’s help.

To cut this long story short, over the last week or two I have been emailing David Bagley and Tony Croft to make sure the systems were working correctly. David helped me work though systematically to see if the sensors on his Bagley Box system were working correctly and sending signals, making sure nothing had happened to the hardware during and since the computer decided to die. I would like to say thank you to David for being so helpful and taking me through the process step by step. Screenshots and comments were sent, with suggestions coming back as to the next step.

The other person who has been extremely helpful and supportive is Tony Croft with help from his friend Steve Framer. Tony has knowledge of Virtual Belfry and has helped me through the problems I have encountered there. Steve has recently developed a YouTube video which explains setting up Simbell with Virtual Belfry and I found another video on how to set up Simbell with Beltower. [Editor's note – setting up Simbell with Abel is also a subject of one of Steve's YouTube videos]. I recommend both to you if you have got this far in reading my story, the basic idea is the same regardless of the hardware and software you use. Tony and Steve are currently working on a video explaining how the hardware is connected and talks to the computer programme. This proved to be the vital bit that always seems to be missing from any list of instructions. I had no idea what a COM port was, apparently it’s another name for the USB socket where you plug the thing in! You have to make sure (in Device Manager) that the computer is using the same number as you decide to use with the computer programme!

Enough technical details. Stick with it, ask questions and be persistent, there is some fantastic software and hardware out there to make teaching bell ringing easier. More is being developed by the boffins all the time, make sure you get the latest upgrades and keep practising! Let’s just hope in the future it doesn’t take quite so long getting it set up! But it is all worth it in the end.

Scaldwell band have the aim of ringing Plain Hunt by Christmas. We are not sure which Christmas, but Christmas is our aim. If you are in the area do please come and give us a hand!

Simulator at Crick

I had been attending simulator sessions at a nearby Church since starting to ring again in 2013. These were run by (the late) Peter Wenham at Braunston. When I started to teach others myself in 2015 I could see the possibilities but hadn’t access to the £500-600 plus computer and software that a simulator set-up would have cost to purchase at the time so it went on the back burner.

Last August I was looking around on the internet and up popped a new site I hadn’t spotted before, The Liverpool Ringing Simulator Project. I was immediately impressed. The project was based on the principles of open-source meaning that all the technical details (program for microcontroller and even PCB layouts and circuit diagrams) were, freely available for anyone to use. The thing that made this stand out from similar things I’ve seen in the past though, was the attention to detail and the exemplary documentation of the project. This gave me the confidence to contemplate making a version for Crick.

I contacted the project leader Andrew Instone-Cowie and was pleasantly surprised to receive a very supportive email and an offer of help should I hit any problems. I had a couple of weeks which were fairly free and to get me started while my PCBs were being manufactured in America he sent me some spares he had lying around. I hit a few snags but always had support from Andrew and had something working within a few weeks.

I still needed to build sensors sort out cabling and get things in boxes, as I had a bare circuit board at this stage

Muffles for the bells also needed to be made. Eventually near to Christmas I assembled everything in the tower connected the computer and a few bells sort of worked. After some grumbling I pulled the wiring out took all the sensors off of the frame and took them home for proper bench testing all assembled correctly. I had made 2 soldering errors on two of the sensors. All was tested and at the second attempt almost all worked, but not quite. The sensors were a bit too sensitive, so I bit the bullet taking all six out and remounting them so they would be further from the wheels. Now it all works! Fabulous.

A bit of a journey. Not trivial but not impossible either. I think the total cost was under £200 (old laptop, software, old amplifier and speakers not included) but I have sufficient spares to make most of another 1-2 simulators and some of this cost was tooling.

Our first fully simulated practice will be this coming Saturday morning.

Nick Hiams, Crick, Northamptonshire

2.7. If you need help

Contact Details

3. Teaching with a simulator

People often think of simulators as a silencing tool, allowing a student to ring for as long as they need, without disturbing the neighbours. Then, adding a screen allows the student to ring with other "perfect" ringers without having more than you and them in the tower.

However, there's much more to a simulator than that and other teachers' exercises and ideas are described in the following sub-chapters.

If you've got an exercise that isn't included in these resources, please let us know and we'll include it for others to try.

3.1. Bell Handling - LtR Level 1

Benefits of using a simulator

Frequent one-on-one sessions are the best way of teaching a new recruit how to handle a bell competently and safely. To avoid disturbing the neighbours this is often done using a tied bell. However, the addition of a simulator even at this stage of the learning process has the following benefits:

• The ringer learns right from the first lesson when the bell strikes in relation to their movements and the movement of the rope – a critically important lesson. If the new ringer does not get used to this from the outset, it can be difficult and time consuming to teach later.
• You can add variety and fun by changing which bell is the tenor or even the sounds of the bells. Duck quacks are currently in vogue, however you can ring the front six of an eight, but have them sounding like the back six on a major scale, which may be easier for younger (or older) ringers.
• You can try exercises or practise unusual combinations without worrying what it might sound like outside.
• Prepare your ringer for ringing with others by getting them to ring on the simulator. The one learner needs to be in otherwise immaculate ringing to hear their own mistakes: which can be difficult to achieve with bands who are learning together.

Once they have practised these exercises using the simulator, new ringers will be ready for the daunting task of ringing open rounds with a band, and they are unlikely to go too far wrong. It can be very demotivating at this stage to ring with others for the first time with insufficient practice and preparation beforehand and to find they cannot do it.

An example – changing the speed of the bell

Monique was watching the moving ringers at this stage and you may have noticed that she was grabbing at her sally a bit so it was too fast and the backstroke was correspondingly slow. We showed her the striking analysis which proved this. After this clip was taken we asked her to turn away from the screen and just listen. Almost magically she adjusted the timing of her pulls to get her H/S and B/S spot on. We were all so pleased. She loved ringing with the simulator. When we next followed up with ringing on three real bells she proceeded to ring dodging in 2-3, under at B/S, really well.

Adding spice to bell handling lessons

Three blind mice

Start with rounds on just three bells, as this is easier for the new ringer to pick out their bell. Increase the number of bells as they hear their bell and become more confident.

Following

Practise ringing rounds at a steady speed before trying to ring the bells open. Get your ringer to follow you but allow the computer to put in the sound of the remaining bells.

Bell Control

Ringing slowly and even setting every handstroke and backstroke in preparation for ringing rounds on open bells and waiting for other ringers. Allow your student to ring different bells to each exercise in order to develop bell control.

Quicker and slower strokes

Change the speed of ringing on the simulator (e.g. 2h 30m and 3h 30m peal speed) to practise ringing at different speeds (equivalent to moving down or up a place) including taking out and letting in rope.

I’m sorry I haven’t a clue

Let them ring one bell to an even rhythm then turn the sound off for several blows and see if they have maintained the beat. Alternatively you can turn the screen off if they are watching it in order to see how they manage without.

Shadowing

Two bells are rung at the same time. The learner’s bell is silent and the learner tries to ring in time with an experienced ringer on the other bell. This helps the learner get used to the feel and movement of ringing. Not an exercise to be performed on open bells!

Raising and lowering

It is also possible to practise raising and lowering, as the latest versions of the software can drop from double clappering to single clappering as the bell lowers, in a somewhat realistic way, if a ‘bottom dead centre’ sensor system is used. However, it is not possible to mimic chiming.

3.2. Foundation Skills - LtR Level 2

When a new ringer is able to ring safely on their own, one-on-one sessions often cease and they begin ringing with others at a practice in which the amount of rope-time is limited. Progress often slows and ringers can become disheartened and even decide to give up. What a waste! Additional regular and frequent simulator sessions at this stage of the learning process have the following benefits:

• One or many learners can practise when and for as long as at least one teacher is available, without disturbing the neighbours.
• You can try exercises or practise unusual combinations without worrying what it might sound like outside.
• There is no need to get a band of helpers to ring the rest of the bells – even the most enthusiastic won't be keen on hours of rounds and call changes week after week.
• The new ringer can practise and study at home in order to accelerate their learning.
• Give your ringer the chance to ring with "perfect" ringers so that they can learn to hear and correct their mistakes.

Again, once they have practised these exercises using the simulator, ringers will be better prepared for the daunting task of ringing them with a band and they are less likely to go too far wrong.

Introducing the open handstroke lead

All applications have a feature where you can press a key or tap the screen to make one of the bells sound and the computer rings the other bells. This allows the open handstroke lead to be practised at home, on a tablet or smartphone.

Of course you have to be able to pick out your bell to hear how accurate your striking is, but most of the software packages have the ability to show the results graphically afterwards. They can even show the results graphically as the bell is rung in each row, and there are also features to practise listening to uneven ringing in order to learn to detect the errors. Back in the tower, the handstroke lead is a difficult concept to grasp and it can take a lot of practice. A simulator is an ideal way of practising as the other members of the band will be in the right place all the time and will not get bored.

Starting to teach ropesight

You can use the moving ringers facility on the simulator software (on a computer or better a large screen) to show any of the Learning the Ropes Level 2 exercises. These may be easier to see this way, especially when in slow motion. You can start at 6-hour peal speed and increase this as success develops, until ringing at a normal but slowish speed. These can be organised as either group or individual sessions with you leading or teaching. You can ask questions such as "Who is following the 2?" or "Which bell is ringing in 6th place?" Alternatively you can give advice such as "Just look at the sallies – whose comes down last?"

Call Changes

Practising some simple call changes allows the learner to practise changing speed at handstroke.

All the applications have the facility to ring call changes, although you may need to set some options such as whether the call changes are called up, down or by place. The help file explains how to do this.

To start with, the call changes will need to be called occasionally to allow time for the learner to understand how and when to pull and to settle down afterwards, but as the change between one row and the next becomes cleaner, the frequency of the call changes can be increased.

In method ringing, changes are also made at backstroke, so it is necessary to practise this as well. All applications have an option to practise changing at backstroke. This gives the learner the chance to get the feel of how much and when to pull.

The software applications can be used on their own without input from a sensor, to help the student understand the theory of call changes and work out which bell to follow next. They can also experiment with the effect of different calls. This is useful practice prior to them calling their own call changes.

Kaleidoscope places and dodges

Kaleidoscope is a useful step between call changes and methods. Long and short places can be practised at handstroke and backstroke as in call changes and dodging introduces changing speed continually at handstroke and backstroke. When practising dodging it is important to practise both the ‘up’ dodge and the ‘down’ dodge as the amount the pupil needs to pull and when are completely different.

TIP. Remember to untick the stop at rounds and stand at rounds options when you're practising kaleidoscope exercises.

Adjusting the speed of the bell

In addition to Kaleidoscope places and dodges, if your pupil is experiencing difficulties, you can also adjust the speed of the rounds to give the pupil the feel of ringing at each of the three different speeds and how much they need to take in or let out rope. For example, normal rounds speed would be around three-hour peal speed, but changing the peal speed to 2 hours 30 minutes simulates the speed of hunting down. Similarly, changing the peal speed to 3 hours 30 minutes simulates the speed of hunting up.

3.3. Introduction to Change Ringing - LtR Level 3

Benefits of using a simulator

Ringers progressing through Learning the Ropes Level 3 benefit from simulator sessions, helping them consolidate bell handling (moving their bell accurately at every stroke), ropesight and listening skills:

• Whilst learners can still practise supervised at separate simulator sesssions, they should be safe enough to practise on their own on a spare bell or dumbbell at the normal practice.
• Exercises or unusual combinations can be rung without worrying what it might sound like outside.
• The new ringer can analyse their ringing, looking for patterns in order to improve their performance.
• Ropesight and listening skills can be further developed with "perfect" ringers.

Ringing on a simulator at this stage can be just as beneficial to the learner, accelerating learning and adding fun to practices, as it is for Levels 1 and 2.

Learning to cover

Perhaps the easiest bell to hear in any ring or on the simulator is the tenor. As it stays in the same place in odd bell methods, ringers can practise developing listening skills by ringing the tenor to a Doubles method such as Grandsire or Plain Bob without needing to worry about changing speed.

When students are not ringing, encourage them to have a go on the treble with a set of headphones and practise their striking. Set them a challenge, such as covering to a 120 of Doubles and improve their scores, beating their own previous best, recording them on a nearby whiteboard. You can train others as software managers to free yourself to help with the main ringing. One teacher likes to assign this role to a youngster, which taps into their ease with technology, whilst keeping them off their phones! The ages of those who liked a go, ranged from 1 to over 80. And people loved recording their best scores, and comparing them to their first-attempt scores, which were kept as a baseline.

You can set up any bell to sound as the tenor so ringers can learn to cover (improving their ropesight, rhythm and listening skills) off a bell they can easily handle – something they couldn't do without the simulator.

This is extraordinary! Neil ringing behind to Grandsire Cinques on the MRDC simulator. Anne ringing behind for the first time ever on 12. Obviously Neil had rung on 12 behind in the past quite a few time. Anne is a Ringing Remembers recruit.

If you have an 8-bell tower set up with a simulator, with six ringing Plain Bob Doubles, you can use both your silent bells to mirror the tenor. Alternatively you can have one student mirroring the tenor and the other the treble or an inside bell.

Learning to plain hunt

All simulator applications allow you to practise ringing Plain Hunt and Minimus methods on four bells with two bells covering. This may be a useful exercise before attempting Plain Hunt on five bells.

Having mastered the foundation skills, there are a number of simple exercises that can be practised in order to develop the skills needed to plain hunt the treble to methods. Bistow Little Bob Doubles allows the student to practise ringing the treble to Plain Hunt on two. It is similar to Kaleidoscope short places and involves the same pulls but each time the treble ringer will ring over a different bell, so it starts to introduce ropesight.

At this stage the applications offer a wide range of methods to practise which can be used to develop ropesight. The moving ringers feature helps with this, although some new ringers trained using a simulator will often have developed good listening skills and may rely more on listening than ropesight.

Learning to plain hunt by mirroring an experienced ringer, is a great use of a simulator. You can have a whole group of students model their speeds for plain hunt, on one experienced ringer ringing their bell at the correct times and talking through speeds and place. The students should aim to fire their bells with the experienced ringer, who rang on a mid-range bell to avoid extremes of visual gap. Any number of tied bells can have their sound turned off on the simulator, so many can do this exercise at the same time.

Ringing up and down in peal

Practising ringing up and down in peal can sound really awful but the bell needs to be heard by the participants. A simulator takes away the worry associated with annoying the neighbours.

Practising ringing up and down in peal can be started in a group, with just one teacher and a student on each bell. The teacher rings a middle bell in the peal down, slowly and steadily. All the other ringers try to match the teacher's speed – either firing or ringing closely after the teacher. This is particularly useful when there is only one teacher and the rest of the band are new ringers. Alternativey this exercise can be used to get more students through the earlier stages of being able to control the raise or fall without having to take turns one at a time.

Real ringers vs ringing simulator

It is important that the teaching programme includes a balance of time with real ringers as well as time on a simulator. Real ringers will not strike as accurately, and although they will nod and wink, they will also go wrong! Nevertheless there are also things that can be done with a simulator that are less convenient to do with real bells. This includes:

Shadowing 

In which the student’s bell is silent and the student shadows the teacher’s movements. Two or three students can shadow a single teacher.

Ringing bells of different weights 

To get used to the different techniques required.

Ringing theory

Such as coursing order, before and after bells etc. become very easy to see using the moving ringers or the numbers on the screen.

3.4. Novice Change Ringer - LtR Level 4

3.5. Change Ringer - LtR Level 5

As ringers progress through the higher Learning the Ropes Levels simulator sessions should still be used to consolidate foundation skills – bell handling, ropesight and listening.

At this stage, your ringer will be familiar with some methods and you will want to develop their repertoire. Standard methods are at their fingertips and new methods may be added. Touches may be called or pre-set touches and exercises used to develop abilities.

Analysing ringing to improve performance

Two newish retired learners had Abel on their own PC, so I would save and email their Abel files to them so they could play them back at home and study them. They were so taken with it they ordered their own dumbbell but carried on returning for my sessions for a while as well.

Exercises or unusual combinations

Exercises or unusual combinations can be rung without worrying what it might sound like outside. Your own practice exercises can be added to the simulator software's repertoire, although all the ones ART recommends are there already, such as dodging and place making in various positions and Mexican Wave. It can be used for practising more complex pieces of work such as Cambridge places. This can do done with two bells in the tower, or they can be added into the middle places of 6-bell kaleidoscope places. Alternatively the place notation can be added to the simulator with the student ringing by themselves, ringing both the 3 and 4 to simulate ringing Cambridge places both up or down.

Met short for a practice?

If you meet short for a practice, you can set the simulator to ring the tenor. This will feel a bit strange so start with something simple, such as Plain Hunt, and work up to more complicated methods as the band gets used to the lack of visual cues. Experience shows that the tenor is the best bell to simulate.

3.6. Rhythm, listening and striking

Benefits of using a simulator

3.7. Accuracy statistics

Striking analysis tools

All of the simulation software tools produce a graphic representation of a ringer's or band's striking to help identify any consistent problems. The latest releases even allow you to record something as it is practised, and play it back afterwards. The applications also give a variety of statistics for errors, some broken down by place. In order to interpret these statistics, however, some explanation is needed.

How accurate is accurate?

A typical row of ringing lasts about two seconds. Therefore, the typical gap is ⅓ second or 300 milliseconds.

There are limitations on the human ear. Two sounds made less than 20 milliseconds apart will seem to sound at the same time. Therefore, in practice, even the best ringers will struggle to get their bell within 10% of the inter-bell gap (30 milliseconds). Therefore, an average error of 20% is not bad, especially for newer ringers.

One of the problems with errors is that some blows will be early and some late. The +ve and -ve errors tend to cancel each other out. Therefore, in the Abel example an error of 19% at handstroke is a measure of the distribution, ignoring whether the errors are late or early. The second figure, 13% early, indicates that the bell has a tendency to be slightly early.

Some applications use standard deviation rather than average error to measure the distribution of the errors. This is a statistical measure, based on the assumption that the errors will follow a ‘normal’ distribution curve.

Striking windows

Abel	Virtual Belfry	Beltower

3.8. Simulator striking competitions

Chester Diocesan Guild Striking Ladder

The Chester Diocesan Guild runs a "striking ladder" similar to the table tennis or squash ladders of our youth. The referee or judge can be human or technology can be used, in the form of recording the striking on a simulator and submitting it for analysis.

CDG Striking Ladder

The Isle of Dogs striking challenge

The Isle of Dogs have a simulator, connected to all of the bells, so they can record two touches of 120 changes in Abel and the file can be marked by the 12 bell competition striking analysis software (CAS). As the judge is a computer, it is 100% consistent each time it is used, and produces a percentage score which enables easy comparison.

Isle of Dogs Striking Challenge

Orange County individual striking challenge 

Doug Nichols was able to use Virtual Belfry with a group of ringers at Orange, New South Wales, to measure how their striking accuracy improved over the course of a year with the use of a simulator.

Orange New South Wales

3.9. Developing ropesight

Benefits of using a simulator

3.10. Ringing on higher numbers

You can set your simulator to ring more bells than you have in your tower and one or more of your ringers can practise the rhythm of ringing on higher numbers. This can be challenging for most people if the back bells are “unmanned”.

This is extraordinary! Neil ringing behind to Grandsire Cinques on the MRDC simulator. Anne ringing behind for the first time ever on 12. Obviously Neil had rung on 12 behind in the past quite a few times. Anne is a Ringing Remembers recruit.

3.11. How-to guides

Download these handy guides showing how to set up your simulator for each of the learning exercises on these Learning the Ropes resources.

• Learning with Abel
• Learning with Beltower

Getting the most out of your simulator software

Abel

ART has published a series of YouTube videos about setting up and using Abel. 

• Getting started
• How accurate is my striking?
• Help, I can't hear my bell
• Call changes
• Covering by listening
• Covering by watching to develop ropesight
• Setting up for handbells – Plain Hunt
• Setting up for handbells – Plain Bob Minor

Virtual Belfry

Simbel has published a series of YouTube videos covering practical simulator sessions using Virtual Belfry. 

• Dodging
• Following
• Striking part 1 – listening
• Striking part 2 – speed
• Ropesight
• Kaleidoscope
• Mexican wave
• The pull-off
• Using a footswitch
• Learning the Ropes Level 1
• Learning the Ropes Level 2
• Learning the Ropes Level 3

4. Practising at home

Benefits of using a simulator

4.1. Smartphones and tablets

4.2. Handbell simulation

Learning methods

Towerbell ringers can learn methods and test themselves quite easily by reciting the work of a method or by drawing out the blue line on paper. If they can do this quickly and without error, and their ropesight is good, they can be confident that this will translate into a reliable performance in the tower. However, for handbell ringers it is much harder to confirm whether they know a method well enough to ring it on handbells, because knowing a single line or a grid pattern doesn’t mean that you can ring two bells based upon this knowledge. To demonstrate that you know a method by drawing it on paper, you would have to be able to draw two lines simultaneously. This is impracticable. The alternative, and one that some handbell ringers use, is to practise methods with a simulator, using two keys on the keyboard to ring their two bells while the simulator rings the rest.

Some ringers seem to manage to ring a simulator such as Abel using the keyboard quite successfully, but it is generally acknowledged that this is much harder than practising with real ringers. There are a number of reasons for this:

• There is no distinction between handstroke and backstroke when pressing keys. Abel’s keyup/keydown option helps with this, but it is no substitute for swinging one's arms up and down.
• Using the keyboard you cannot “internalise” a rhythm based upon the movement of your arms and the timing of the swing.
• The handbell equivalent of “ropesight” is difficult as Abel’s screen bells flip instantly between strokes. With real ringers you see the bell you are going to follow start to move and this helps you anticipate the swing of your own bell to ring after it. Abel now has an option for "moving handbells" which move the bells smoothly, more closely simulating the real world situation.

Dummy Handbells

Abel’s documentation suggests using dummy handbells with electronic switches for clappers to overcome the first two points and includes a design to help individuals build their own. Although a few people have successfully built dummy handbells for their own use, mechanical designs are prone to problems such as bounce and unwanted rattle, the design is beyond many ringers' DIY skills and no one has built any for general sale to others.

Handbell Manager

Handbell Manager is free software (under the GNU General Public Licence) that enables USB motion controllers to be used as dummy handbells with Abel or Beltower. Click on play below to see a demonstration video of three leads of Bristol using Abel, Handbell Manager and ActionXL wired motion controllers.

There is no computer keyboard or mouse interaction during the video – the controllers are swung to ring two bells and buttons on the controllers are used to start the others ringing, initiate "Go Bristol" and call the three bobs.

What do you need?

For more information about setting using simulators to learn to ring handbells, go to the Handbell Resources.

Reproduced with the kind permission of Graham John

5. Extending your simulator capability

Hardware extensions to your ringing simulator, improve the simulator experience and increase the amount and type of learning that can take place.

5.1. Dumbbells – at home or in the tower

Ringing but not on a real bell

Dumbbells allow you to practise on something other than a real bell. Most bell hangers can incorporate full size dumbbells into a design for a new bell frame or as a stand-alone installation. There are also a number of off-the-shelf systems that can be purchased for a more modest cost but which still have a realistic feel and can even be installed in your garage or loft!

5.2. Workstations – single or multiple?

Simulators are very useful in the early stages of ringing as you do not need a band of experienced ringers around you to practise ringing rounds. A mixture of ringing with real people and practice on a simulator is an ideal combination to get you up and running quickly. New ringers can perfect their rounds and leading with an open handstroke lead without having the embarrassment of making mistakes in front of other people!

Single workstations

If you are teaching one or two new ringers at a time, or your more experienced ringers want to come and practise on their own, you only need a single workstation. One instructor can easily cope with two pupils taking turns to practise.

The single workstation can make use of a projector to project onto a large screen to give large life-like images to help develop ropesight. Alternatively, a large LCD TV screen can also give life-like images. However, in practice we have found that after a short while ringers soon rely less on the screen and more on listening, so a standard 18-inch LCD screen is more than adequate.

Often it is the ringers who have been ringing for some time, and who have become conditioned to ringing by watching rather than listening, who need the comfort of the screen.

Multiple workstations

If you have more students, a multiple workstation set up may be more appropriate; several bells can be in use at any one time and different people can be practising separate things quite independently. All it needs is an additional splitter box or interface with the capability of sending signals to different computers and sets of headphones for each workstation.

With multiple workstations a small number of instructors can hold a 1½ to 2 hour intensive tied-bell session with a large number of students and each student can get a significant amount of ‘rope time’. Ideally the ratio of students to instructors should be about 2 to 1.

5.3. Accessories – headphones and footswitches

Headphones

Bluetooth headphones have a latency (time delay) between the computer signal and hearing the sound in the headphones, although this can be compensated for by adjusting the sensor delay in the software. Pairing can also sometimes be troublesome.

Some wireless headphones can also have this issue, although the Thomson WHP3001BK Wireless Headphones are probably the best to use in a multi-workstation environment. They cost about £40 and operate on four different channels. If you intend to have more workstations you will need alternative systems. There is a button on the side of the headphones to switch channels, so you will need to instruct your pupils to press the button until they are tuned in to the right channel.

Alternatively, you can use a wired headphone, although trailing cables can be a nuisance and interfere with moving arms, unless the cables are long enough and carried around the rear of the body, or clipped with a clothes peg, or something similar. Stereo headphones with a 3 metre lead and 3.5mm jack can be purchased on the internet for as little as £3.75 (Kenable).

Ideally the teacher needs a headphone as well, to listen in to the pupil. This is straightforward with wireless headphones, and Bluetooth and 3.5mm splitters are available to enable two Bluetooth or two wired headphones to share the same computer.

Footswitches

Another refinement is to have foot-operated switches to control the software. Serial ‘push to make’ footswitches can be wired into a 9-pin connector for a COM Port, if your computer has one, or connected to a USB COM Port adapter. This can then be controlled by the interface on the software.

USB footswitches are cheap and readily available on the internet. Although single action footswitches are available and can be programmed for multiple commands, a triple action USB footswitch is not that much more expensive and allows rounds to be started, the ‘go’ command and ‘stand’, or any other combination of commands, to be operated by different switches.

The footswitches come with a driver on CD. You may need to install a tool such as ‘WinZip’ to unpack the driver first.

Rather than needing to set up the footswitch in the software, these footswitches work by activating the keyboard shortcuts in each application. Currently these shortcuts differ between applications, but there are quite a few shortcuts available and you can programme your own shortcuts for each footswitch (such as bob and single) using the driver interface.