What is the difference between F.A.T. and Hand Time?

FAT stands for fully automatic timing, what this means is that the time starts on the flash from the starters pistol or some other visual starting device. and individual timers stom their clock when a runner finishes. With handtiming timers use a standard stopwatch which they start and stop, which makes fat better because the margin of error is less

Nearly all FAT systems I've been around, the timing mechanism starts with the "bang". This is accomplished with an accoustic pickup device hung from the starters hand.

As the runners cross the finish line, a camera relays information to the controlling PC and the software figures out the actual elapsed time as the torso is positioned over the finish line. No manual stopping with FAT.

Times are displayed to decimal places (hundredth's of a second).