Abstract: A poolside connector system and method for use with swimming pool race timing systems and signaling devices. A deck plate or similar poolside signal junction is provided with an optical receiver terminal, and a cable connection from a poolside signaling device such as a touchpad or backup button is provided with an optical transmitter terminal that can be plugged into the deck plate terminal. Electrical signals from the touchpad and backup button representing completed laps are transmitted as optical signals to the deck plate junction. The optical connection at the deck plate is non-conductive and electrically sealed from the poolside environment, and thus has no exposed electrical terminals to corrode. The low voltage DC current on which the optical terminals operate is provided in sealed fashion to the electrically insulated optical terminals, in a preferred form via an inductive power coupling whose halves are sealed in the deck plate and the removable cable connection.

Abstract: A sealed two-plate swimming pool touchpad construction that is unaffected by pressure, in which a resilient, compressible, non-conductive spacer material such as rubber tubing is seated in an array of spaced recesses or grooves on the inside face of the rear plate to insulatively space a conductive, flexible front plate from the rear plate. The front plate is joined and sealed in watertight fashion to the rear plate around the array of grooves and spacer material. Conductive portions of the inside face of the front plate are flexed into switch-closing/signaling contact with conductive portions of the inside face of the rear plate between the spacer material when a swimmer makes contact with the front plate.