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Cognisys Scout Owner's Manual

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Owner's Manual
Revision 1.2
Copyright 2018 Cognisys, Inc.
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Summary of Contents for Cognisys Scout

  • Page 1 Owner’s Manual Revision 1.2 Copyright 2018 Cognisys, Inc.

  • Page 2: Table Of Contents

    Table of Contents SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS ..........................5 GETTING STARTED ............................5 ?........................... 6 HAT IS THE COUT ECEIVER (PIR) ......................6 DVANTAGES OVER ASSIVE NFRARED ............................7 HAT IS NCLUDED ............................8 ATTERY NSTALLATION ............................9 UICK TART UIDE ............................10 LEANING AND 2.6.1 Cleaning ..............................
  • Page 3 4.2.5.1.2 Channel ..............................26 4.2.5.1.3 ID ................................26 4.2.5.1.4 Scan Channels ............................26 4.2.5.1.5 Wake Up ..............................26 4.2.5.2 Flash Settings ..............................27 4.2.5.2.1 Ready Wait ............................... 27 4.2.5.3 Time Settings..............................27 4.2.5.3.1 Set current time ............................27 4.2.5.3.2 Window On .............................. 27 4.2.5.3.3 Set Start Time ............................
  • Page 4 Table of Figures Figure 1 – Scout Receiver Connections ....................... 12 Figure 2 - Basic Connection Diagram ......................33...

  • Page 5: Safety Instructions

    WARNING indicates a potentially hazardous situation which, if not avoided, could result in death or serious injury. Follow all CAUTION notices to reduce the risk of personal injury, prevent damage to the Scout equipment, accessories, and devices (computers, cameras, flashes, etc). Failure to follow all CAUTION notices may void your warranty.

  • Page 6: What Is The Scout Receiver

    2.1 What is the Scout Receiver? The Scout Receiver is an ideal solution for short-term or long-term trail photography. It uses an invisible active infrared beam created by a separate transmitter. Simply: When this beam is crossed it will activate your camera.

  • Page 7: What Is Included

    • Scout Receiver • Camera shutter cable of choice • 4m/13ft weatherproof cable (Scout Receiver to camera) Removable ¼-20 tripod mount • • Quick-start guide insert If you purchased the Scout Receiver as a kit it may include additional accessories.

  • Page 8: Battery Installation

    2.4 Battery Installation Battery installation is a simple process and because the Scout Receiver has excellent battery life – you won’t have to do it often! The Receiver requires six AA (LR6) batteries. You can use either alkaline or rechargeable varieties.

  • Page 9: Quick Start Guide

    2.5 Quick Start Guide Want to be up and running in two minutes or less? Here’s the quick-start guide in case you misplaced it:...

  • Page 10: Cleaning And Care

    2.6 Cleaning and Care We want your Scout equipment to last – so here are some brief steps to keep it happy! 2.6.1 Cleaning For cleaning we recommend a slightly dampened (not wet) micro-fiber cloth. Do not spray water directly into the inside of the equipment. Any liquid that goes into the controller may cause an electrical failure of the device.

  • Page 11: Maintaining Weatherproof Design

    2.6.3 Maintaining Weatherproof Design Scout equipment is designed to meet the most challenging environmental conditions. It does, however, require some care to maintain its weatherproof sealing. Prior to opening the equipment rinse it under gently running water if it is dirty.

  • Page 12: The Scout Receiver

    2.7 The Scout Receiver Figure 1 – Scout Receiver Connections...

  • Page 13: Scout Transmitter

    2.8 Scout Transmitter There are three buttons available on the Scout Transmitter. This is the power button. Press this button to turn on the Scout Transmitter. The red LED will light up and then slowly fade out. To turn off the Scout Transmitter simply press and hold this button for approximately two...
  • Page 14 This is the “speed” button. Press this button to adjust the speed of the transmitter. The red LED will flash with the selected speed. There are three available speeds: Slow: One LED flash. 100ms transmit rate. Medium: Two LED flashes. 50ms transmit rate. Fast: Three LED flashes.

  • Page 15: Camera Connection

    2.9 Camera connection The Scout Receiver cable uses a 3.5mm connector for attaching it to your camera. If the camera is controlling your flash(es) this is the only connection you need! If, however, you are using one or more Scout Flash(es) you will also need to connect the Scout Receiver’s “flash sync” RCA connector to your camera.

  • Page 16: Basic Navigation

    3. Basic Navigation In this section we’ll go into the basics of adjusting settings for the Scout Receiver. If you find your eyes glossing over with all the technical discussion you can always skip to the “5 - Examples” section to start using your Scout Receiver.

  • Page 17: Main Screen Icons

    3.2 Main Screen Icons The Scout Receiver will display different icons depending on what features you have turned on. Wireless is turned on. If using hard-wired flashes you should turn wireless off. See section “4.2.5.1 - Wireless Settings” for details.

  • Page 18: Menu Icons

    The Scout Camera Controller feature is enabled which changes the functionality of the Receiver. If you are not using the Scout Camera Controller you should disable this feature. See section “4.2.5.8 – Use Camera Control“ for more details. 3.3 Menu Icons Inside the menus you will see the following icons: This checkmark means the feature is enabled (turned on).

  • Page 19: Settings

    4. Settings 4.1 Settings Navigation Map Below is the navigation map for all the settings. The links are “clickable” to get you to the specific details about the setting. LED Alignment Wake Camera Control Camera Settings # pics Pre-trig time On time Off time Final Off...
  • Page 20 Flash Settings Ready Wait Time Settings Set current time Window On Set Start Time Set End Time Window On Set Start Time Set End Time Screen Saver 30 Sec 2 minute Lockout On/Off Change PIN Current PIN Brightness High Shot Limit Enabled (Yes/No) Shot Limit Limit Window...

  • Page 21: Setting Descriptions

    The LED alignment feature will automatically turn off after five minutes. You can also de- select it to immediately turn it off. If the Scout Transmitter is set to its fastest transmit rate the red LED will appear nearly solid 4.2.2 Wake Camera Control If you are using the Scout “Camera Control”...

  • Page 22: Pics

    4.2.3.1 # pics This is the number of times you would like to take a picture when Scout Receiver detects something. This assumes your camera isn’t in burst mode, of course! We’ll also refer to it as “shutter activation”. 4.2.3.2 Pre-trig time This is the first step after Scout Receiver detects something.

  • Page 23: Final Off

    Periodic half-press can work around this problem by every so often giving the camera a good *poke* to make sure it doesn’t do something as silly as leaving video mode! The green LED will light on the Scout Receiver when the camera receives a half-press.

  • Page 24: Hp (Half-Press) Limit

    4.2.3.9 HP (Half-Press) Limit The Scout Receiver allows you to set a duration limit on the half-press. Most photographers won’t need this but it can be useful to only allow the half-press (regardless of your shutter settings) to happen once and only once.

  • Page 25: Selective

    Note: If using the Scout Transmitter (not the Scout Base Transmitter), increasing the transmit speed will significantly improve the performance of directional triggering (at the expense of battery life).

  • Page 26: Wireless Settings

    This determines what frequency the Receiver operates on. All Scout equipment for a given setup must be on the same channel to operate properly. If using more than one Scout setup in the same area (within 60 meters / 200 feet) you should assign each setup its own unique channel.

  • Page 27: Flash Settings

    4.2.5.2.1 Ready Wait The Scout Receiver has the capability to wait for the flashes to be ready (charged) prior to telling the camera to fire (flashes on first exposure). This helps prevent the subject from being “spooked” with the camera shutter firing but not having the flashes fire.

  • Page 28: Set End Time

    4.2.5.3.4 Set End Time This will set the end time for the window. Here are a couple of examples: Start Time: 6:00AM End Time: 8:00AM In this case, the Receiver will only activate the camera for a two hour period in the morning. The next example is a little different: Start Time: 6:00PM...

  • Page 29: Brightness

    4.2.5.6 Brightness The Receiver has two brightness levels – “Low” and “High”. “Low” is the default. 4.2.5.7 Shot Limit Sometimes you can get yourself into a bad environment where things are moving around too fast and critters (the ones you don’t care about) are causing false triggers. Wasted frames and overheating flashes –...

  • Page 30: Use Camera Control

    Scout Flashes. Enabled: The Scout Receiver will wake up the Scout Camera Control system and then notify it that the Receiver has detected something. The Scout Camera Control will fire any Scout Flashes. 4.2.5.9 LED on trigger Normally when a subject is detected the LED on the front of the Receiver will light to give visual feedback that it detected a subject.

  • Page 31: Examples

    5.1 Camera Settings Here are some suggested camera settings. Drive Mode: Single or Continuous. If set for “Single”, then you can have the Scout Receiver control how many shots are taken (# pics) and how much time there should be between the shots (Off time).
  • Page 32 Because of those variables we’d recommend sticking with manual focus. If you’re only interested in day-time photography you can always have the Scout Receiver operate just during the day. See section “4.2.5.3 – Time Settings” for details.

  • Page 33: Wired Camera (Camera Controls Flashes)

    2. Turn off Ready Wait. Go to System Settings->Flash Settings->Ready Wait (See “4.2.5.2.1 - Ready Wait”). The Scout Receiver will then follow this process: 1. The infrared beam detects a subject. 2. The Receiver tells the camera to take a photograph.

  • Page 34: Wired Camera (Scout Receiver Controls Scout Flashes)

    5. The Receiver then wirelessly transmits to the flash(es) to activate. If using more than one Scout Flash you must make sure that each flash is assigned a unique wireless ID. For more details please refer to your Scout Flash Owner’s Manual.

  • Page 35: Video Recording (Receiver Controls Camera)

    1. The infrared beam detects a subject. 2. The Receiver wakes the Camera Controller and tells it that a subject has been detected. 3. The Camera Controller will wake the Scout Flashes and wait for them to become quick- charged (The LED’s wake immediately).
  • Page 36 The Scout Receiver follows this process: 1. The infrared beam detects a subject. 2. The Receiver holds down the half-press on the camera for the duration of “pre-trigger”. 3. Then the Receiver activates the shutter button to start video recording.

  • Page 37: Maximum Battery Life

    3. Leave the Screen Saver at the default 30 seconds (See “4.2.5.4 - Screen Saver”). 4. If possible keep the Receiver out of direct sunlight. Electronics tend to draw more current when warm. Following these steps can help you get in excess of three months of battery life from the Scout Receiver!

  • Page 38: Receiver And Transmitter Placement

    Here is an example of a setup targeting small subjects (but it may catch some larger ones as well). The Scout Receiver and Transmitter are placed low on the trees: Below is an example of targeting taller subjects. No rabbits in the photographs.
  • Page 39 (not available on the Scout Base Transmitter). If at all possible place the receiver so it is not facing directly into the sun. While the Scout is very ambient light immune, facing the sun (especially when the front of scout gets dirty) is the worst case scenario for triggering.

  • Page 40: Installing The Reflash Software (Optional)

    6. Installing the Reflash software (optional) What is “reflash”? It’s a small program that allows you to update the firmware on your Scout Products. You do not need this program to use your Scout equipment. Rest assured if you just purchased your Scout it ships with the latest software available.

  • Page 41: Troubleshooting

    7. Troubleshooting Problem Cause Solution Display does not light when Batteries not installed. Insert batteries. power button is pressed. Battery polarity is incorrect. Verify all batteries are installed correctly. Batteries are low or a bad Verify the quality of the batteries battery cell.
  • Page 42 If you cannot resolve a problem with your Scout Receiver, please contact us at support@cognisys-inc.com. We want to make sure that you are completely satisfied!

  • Page 43: Specifications

    8. Specifications Specifications are intended for reference only. The design may be modified to improve features or functionality without notice. Specifications MIN NOM MAX UNITS Input Voltage Input Current -- Full on (6AA batteries at 1.2V each) 15.4 mAdc Input Current – Display off mAdc Shutter Output Current Sink Battery life (internal - Eneloop batteries at 25C)

  • Page 44: Warranty

    All electronic products are warranted to be free from defects in materials or workmanship for two (2) years from the date of purchase. Within this period, Cognisys Inc. will, at its sole option, repair or replace any components which fail in normal use. Such repairs or replacement will be made at no charge to the customer for parts or labor, provided that the customer shall be responsible for any transportation cost.

  • Page 45: Revision History

    Added selectable sec/min for shutter activations (for video work) Added wireless ID for multiple receivers and one camera controller Added LED on trigger to selectively disable the LED Added HP Limit 10/29/2019 Added reference to Scout LED. Removed references to Scout Flashes coming soon – they’ve launched!

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