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Alcorn Mcbride 8TraXX/E User Manual

Eight independent stereo mp3 players
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8 TraXX/E
Eight Independent Stereo MP3 Players
User's Guide

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  • Page 1 8 TraXX/E Eight Independent Stereo MP3 Players User’s Guide...
  • Page 3 Alcorn McBride 8TraXX/E hardware and software. Errors can sometimes go undetected, however. If you find one, please bring it to our attention so that we can correct it for others. Alcorn McBride welcomes comments and suggestions on the content and layout of its documentation.
  • Page 4 Page 2 March 23, 2012 • Alcorn McBride 8TraXX/E User’s Manual • Rev 2.6...

  • Page 5: Table Of Contents

    Serial Control __________________________________________________________________ 19 Ethernet Control________________________________________________________________ 19 Discrete Input Control ___________________________________________________________ 20 Input Groups__________________________________________________________________ 20 TraXX Configuration Software ___________________________________________________ 20 Playlist Control _________________________________________________________________ 25 Overview ____________________________________________________________________ 25 March 23, 2012 • Alcorn McBride 8TraXX/E User’s Manual • Rev 2.6 Page 3...
  • Page 6 Error codes ___________________________________________________________________ 51 How To Update Firmware __________________________________________________________ 52 Standard Firmware Update ______________________________________________________ 52 Firmware Recovery _____________________________________________________________ 52 Troubleshooting Guide _____________________________________________________________ 53 Specifications_____________________________________________________________________ 54 Index ___________________________________________________________________________ 55 Page 4 March 23, 2012 • Alcorn McBride 8TraXX/E User’s Manual • Rev 2.6...

  • Page 7: Welcome

    The 8TraXX/E lets you play eight independent stereo tracks from a single, economical rack-mount unit. It’s perfect for museums, interactive displays, and background music or effects. Each track can be individually triggered by a number of methods.

  • Page 8: Technical Support

    Technical Support You can obtain technical support or other information about specifying, installing, configuring, updating and programming your Alcorn McBride 8TraXX/E from several sources: For… Contact… When?… Firmware Updates http://www.alcorn.com/support Any Time Knowledge Base http://www.alcorn.com/kb Any Time E-mail Support support@alcorn.com...

  • Page 9: Getting Started

    Throughout this manual you will find detailed discussions on all the features of this product. However, you’re probably anxious to see your 8TraXX/E play some audio right away. We’ll start with a few easy steps to show you how to play audio from the...

  • Page 10: Playing A Test Sound

    Every 8TraXX/E comes with a Compact Flash card preloaded with test sounds already installed in the unit’s Compact Flash slot. To play test sounds, follow these step-by-step directions: Connect a channel of the 8TraXX/E to a set of powered speakers or • to the input to an amplifier.

  • Page 11: Replacing An Older 8Traxx Model

    If you are replacing an older 8TraXX model and wish to continue using the older command set, use the LCD menu of the 8TraXX/E to turn on “Legacy Mode”. Your 8TraXX/E will now function like an older model 8TraXX.

  • Page 12: Channel Status Leds

    The LED located directly above the File Access LED is used to indicate communication activity. It will blink Green whenever the unit is communicating via Serial or Ethernet. It will blink Red whenever a communication error is detected. Page 10 March 23, 2012 • Alcorn McBride 8TraXX/E User’s Manual • Rev 2.6...

  • Page 13: Lcd And Menu Knob

    LCD and Menu Knob The Menu Knob is used to navigate through an LCD menu in which you can configure your 8TraXX/E. Details of each of these parameters are explained in the sections that follow. Main Menu Audio Master Volume (0-100) Sample Rate (Auto, First Det, 44.1, 48KHz)

  • Page 14: Rear Panel Controls And Connectors

    9-pin cable. The pinout appears below. Please refer to the Serial Protocol section for a list of control commands. Serial Connector Pinout Function TXD (data from 8TraXX/E) RXD (data to 8TraXX/E) Ground Page 12 March 23, 2012 • Alcorn McBride 8TraXX/E User’s Manual • Rev 2.6...

  • Page 15: Midi In

    Protocol section of the manual for a list of commands. Ethernet RJ-45 UDP control uses port This is a standard RJ-45 jack used to connect the 8TraXX/E to a network. 2638. Control (UDP), file transfer (FTP), and time (NTP) protocols are supported.

  • Page 16: Power

    Firmware Recovery Mode (DIP 3, Unlabeled) This switch boots the 8TraXX/E in a recovery mode in which you can update the firmware. Use this mode to update to a working firmware version if a regular firmware update fails (due to power failure during update, corrupt firmware file, etc.)

  • Page 17: The Compact Flash Card

    44.1KHz, 48KHz Bitrates 32,48,56,64,80,96,112,128,160,192Kbps File Naming A specific file naming convention is used so that the 8TraXX/E can identify It is sometimes easiest to use the “numbered” the file type, as well as associate the supported file types with a number.

  • Page 18: Playback

    The one exception to the numbering method is the schedule file. The 8TraXX/E only supports a single schedule, and therefore there is only one file name permitted for this file. As you can see in the table above, this filename is SCHEDULE.SCL.

  • Page 19: Transferring Files Via Ftp

    PC, 8TraXX/E has a built-in FTP server allowing for quick file transfers over Ethernet. The nameserver setting Before using FTP, be sure that the network settings on your 8TraXX/E are is used to resolve configured correctly. Network settings can be configured using the front hostnames into IP panel menu of your 8TraXX/E.

  • Page 20: Additional Features

    Additional Features LCD Status Display You can choose from three different home screen status displays via the LCD menu on your 8TraXX/E. Entering the main menu and choosing System->Panel->Home Screen, you can choose from Clock, Ch. Status, and All Ch. Status. 8TraXX/E defaults to the Ch. Status home screen.

  • Page 21: Control Methods

    Control Methods For your convenience, Alcorn McBride distributes an application called AMI Terminal, which allows you to control the 8TraXX/E via RS-232 or Ethernet with the click of a button. This free application can be obtained at http://www.alcorn.com/support/software.html Serial Control The 8TraXX/E can be controlled using the male DB-9 RS-232 connector on the rear panel.

  • Page 22: Discrete Input Control

    Discrete Input Control The 8TraXX/E has a total of 8 discrete inputs on the rear of the unit which can be set to accept Voltage Input (12-24VDC) or Contact Closure. Voltage Input or Contact Closure is selected by configuration dipswitch #2 on the side of the 8TraXX/E chassis.
  • Page 23 Groups. Manage Input Groups By default, the 8 discrete inputs on the 8TraXX/E act individually and are constrained to a total of 8 separate operations – one for each input. However, if you need to perform more than 8 operations using the parallel inputs, you can combine the 8 inputs into “Input Groups”...
  • Page 24 Select one of the Groups and click Edit Selected Group to assign inputs to that group. For this example we have assigned Inputs 1-4 to Group #1. Click Save to save the assignments. Page 22 March 23, 2012 • Alcorn McBride 8TraXX/E User’s Manual • Rev 2.6...
  • Page 25 Manage Channel Groups You can have a total of 8 Channel Groups in the 8TraXX/E. Channel Groups allow you to control multiple audio channels using a single input or Serial/Ethernet command. In the TraXX Config program select Manage Channel Groups to open this window: Select a Group and click Edit Selected Group to assign channels to that group.
  • Page 26 Now you need to save your file. To do this select File…Export loads on startup. Configuration… and choose the destination. You can copy it to your hard drive and then copy it to the 8TraXX/E Compact Flash and insert it into the unit. Page 24 March 23, 2012 •...

  • Page 27: Playlist Control

    Overview A playlist file is nothing more than a list of 8TraXX/E commands listed For an easy way to make a playlist, use in a text file. These commands, which are listed in the Command Protocol Playlist Builder section, are the same commands that are used by all of the 8TraXX/E’s...

  • Page 28: Special Playlist Commands

    Special Playlist Commands In addition to regular 8TraXX/E commands listed in the Command Protocol section, there are a few additional commands for the Playlist Control interface. These single-character commands further modify the behavior of the playlists to provide additional features that only apply to the Playlist Control interface of the 8TraXX/E.

  • Page 29: Example Playlist

    #1. If the user issues a Play command during the playback of file #1, it will be interrupted and the playlist will move on to the next command. If a Play command is not received, the 8TraXX/E will not advance to the next playlist command until file #1 has played to completion.

  • Page 30: Playlist Builder

    Click OK to add the event to the playlist Add as many commands as you like! Once you are done, you can save the playlist file and transfer it to the 8TraXX/E Compact Flash card! Page 28 March 23, 2012 •...

  • Page 31: Scheduler Control

    Schedule File Format The schedule.scl file itself is nothing more than a formatted ASCII text file. In this file, each line contains an 8TraXX/E command as well as data fields that specify when that command should be executed. This section covers these fields and how they are used to schedule command execution.
  • Page 32 Start Date(D): January 1 2015 Event(E): COMMAND – Specifies that parameter 1 contains a 8TraXX/E command Parameter 1(1): The command string “1P2PL” will cause the 8TraXX/E to play file #1 to channel pair #2. Example 2 T:14:46 D:01/1/2015 E:COMMAND 1:"P2RJ" ;Stop CH Pair2 Playback Two things have changed in this example.

  • Page 33: Fields In Detail

    The Ending Time and Ending Date fields specify the time and date that the repeating will stop. In this example, the 8TraXX/E will play file #1 to channel pair 2 on 1/1/2015 at exactly 2:46PM. It will then play the file again 30 minutes later (3:16PM) and will continue to repeat until 3:00AM on 1/3/2010.
  • Page 34 The repeat number can be anywhere from 1 to over 4 billion. You can specify repeating a number of minutes, which is why this is so huge. Page 32 March 23, 2012 • Alcorn McBride 8TraXX/E User’s Manual • Rev 2.6...
  • Page 35 Repeat Number section for details. You can also specify sunrise or sunset. In order to take advantage of sunrise/sunset calculations in the 8TraXX/E, you need to determine you longitude, latitude, and time zone. All three of these settings can be configured remotely using the Command Protocol of the 8TraXX/E.
  • Page 36 One event executes per minute. If you want to execute more than one event, you should launch a playlist with the schedule event. Playlists can execute an unlimited number of commands once they are triggered. Page 34 March 23, 2012 • Alcorn McBride 8TraXX/E User’s Manual • Rev 2.6...

  • Page 37: Schedule Builder

    Builder. Open the Schedule Builder application Select the 8TraXX/E in the list of supported devices and click OK. The Add/Edit Event window will appear automatically. This is where you select the event you wish to insert into the schedule. Since “Play and Loop Clip”...
  • Page 38 For the sake of this example, we are going to repeat this command every hour. Page 36 March 23, 2012 • Alcorn McBride 8TraXX/E User’s Manual • Rev 2.6...
  • Page 39 In this screen, you are free to Add/Edit/Delete Scheduled events as needed. Once you are finished creating the schedule, all you need to do is save the schedule file as schedule.scl and copy it to the 8TraXX/E’s Compact Flash card. March 23, 2012 •...

  • Page 40: Command Protocol

    Playback Commands These commands control the playback operation of the 8TraXX/E. These commands can be directed at either an individual Channel Pair or a Channel Group. Channel Group numbers range from 1 to 13 and are always preceded by the letter ‘G’.

  • Page 41: Play - Pl

    Play - PL Description: This command causes the 8TraXX/E to play a sound file to the specified channel pair or channel group. Command Bytes: <n><d><i>PL or “<filename>”<d><i>PL Parameters: <n> is the ASCII file number between 0-99999 <filename> is the ASCII file name <d>...

  • Page 42: Play Toggle - Pt

    Search - SE Description: This command causes the 8TraXX/E to preload a file to a specific Channel Pair or Channel Group. If the next Play or Loop command is sent without a sound number or file specified, the preloaded sound number specified by this command is used. This is especially useful for All Channel play commands, where you can leave the sound number unspecified, and the channel number is specified as ‘*’.

  • Page 43: Play Directory - Pd

    Play Directory - PD Description: This command causes the 8TraXX/E to play the files located in a specified directory by automatically generating a playlist with the contents of the directory and starting the playlist on the specified channel, channel pair, or channel group.

  • Page 44: Stop - Rj

    Stop - RJ Description: This command causes the 8TraXX/E to stop playback of the specified Channel Pair or Channel Group. Command Bytes: <d>RJ Parameters: <d> is either P followed by a channel pair number in ASCII or G followed by a...

  • Page 45: Playlists

    Playlists Play System Playlist Description: This command causes the 8TraXX/E to start a playlist as the system playlist (not tied to any particular channel). Command Bytes: <n>PL or “<filename>”PL Parameters: <n> is the ASCII playlist number between 0-99999 <filename> is the ASCII playlist file name...

  • Page 46: Control Commands

    Control Commands These commands control some of the operational modes of the 8TraXX/E. Other operational modes and unit configuration can be accomplished by using the LCD menu system on the front panel. Keylock Enable Description: This command is used to disable the front panel buttons of the 8TraXX/E.

  • Page 47: Version Request

    To get the current name of the unit, send NM without the <n> parameter. Examples: Set unit name to “myTraXX”. myTraXXNM Get the current unit name. March 23, 2012 • Alcorn McBride 8TraXX/E User’s Manual • Rev 2.6 Page 45...

  • Page 48: Mute/Unmute/Volume Control

    Mute/UnMute/Volume Control Description: This command causes the 8TraXX/E to mute, unmute, or set the volume level of the specified Channel Pair or Channel Group. Command Bytes: <v><d>AD Parameters: <v> is one of the following (in ASCII): M - Mute U - Unmute...

  • Page 49: Playing Status Request

    Get Channel Pair 3 Status P3?C Example Response: 5|music1.mp3<h0d>6|music2.mp3<h0d> Get Channel Group 2 Status G2?C Example Response: 2|yell.mp3<h0d>3|sing.mp3<h0d>4|hi.mp3<h0d> Get Channel 12 Status C12?C Example Response: 12|soundfx.mp3 March 23, 2012 • Alcorn McBride 8TraXX/E User’s Manual • Rev 2.6 Page 47...

  • Page 50: Completion Acknowledge Mode

    Completion Acknowledge Mode Description: This command is used to select the Completion Acknowledge mode. When the 8TraXX/E finishes playing a file, it can send a Completion Acknowledge response or trigger a command. There are 2 different completion acknowledge modes possible. This Completion Acknowledge Mode remains as long as the 8TraXX/E is powered.

  • Page 51: Midi Control Protocol

    MIDI Control Protocol The 8TraXX/E may also be controlled using MIDI control change messages via the 5-pin DIN Connector. The data format is: 31250 Baud, No Parity, 8 bits, 1 Stop bit Unlike with parallel The protocol is in accordance with MIDI Control Change protocol. As shown in...

  • Page 52: Error Codes

    Selecting the correct file? Is the file on the card? Is it named Search Error correctly? System Busy Wait for system to be ready for command. Unspecified Error Contact Factory. Page 50 March 23, 2012 • Alcorn McBride 8TraXX/E User’s Manual • Rev 2.6...

  • Page 53: How To Update Firmware

    How To Update Firmware Under certain circumstances, it may be necessary to update the 8TraXX/E’s firmware. Do not update the firmware unless there is a specific need to do so. Standard Firmware Update 1. Download the latest firmware for the 8TraXX/E product from http://www.alcorn.com/support/firmware.html...

  • Page 54: Troubleshooting Guide

    Microsoft FAT32. Q: Audio playback is too fast or too slow. A: All files played on the 8TraXX/E must be encoded to use the same sample rate (i.e all 44.1KHz or all 48KHz, etc.). You cannot mix and match sample rates.

  • Page 55: Specifications

    Size: 19” W x 1.719” H x 10.88” D (48.3 cm W x 4.44 cm H x 27.64 cm D) Weight: 8.5lbs. (3.9kg) Environment: 0°C (32°F) to 38°C (100°F) 0-90% Relative Humidity Compliance: CE, UL, CSA, WEEE, RoHS March 23, 2012 • Alcorn McBride 8TraXX/E User’s Manual • Rev 2.6 Page 53...

  • Page 56: Index

    UDP Port, 14 Manage Input Groups, 21 uninterruptible, 16 Menu, 11 UnMute, 46 Menu Knob, 9 Update Firmware, 51 MIDI, 13 Version Request, 45 MIDI Control Protocol, 49 Page 54 March 23, 2012 • Alcorn McBride 8TraXX/E User’s Manual • Rev 2.6...

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