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Summary of Contents for Alcorn Mcbride ProTraXX
- Page 1 ProTraXX Sixteen Independent Mono MP3 Players User’s Guide...
- Page 2 Alcorn McBride ProTraXX 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 3 March 23, 2012 • Alcorn McBride ProTraXX User’s Manual • Rev 1.4 • Page 3...
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Page 4: Table Of Contents
Spot Logging ___________________________________________________________________ 23 LCD Status Display _____________________________________________________________ 23 Control Methods __________________________________________________________________ 24 Serial Control __________________________________________________________________ 24 Ethernet Control _______________________________________________________________ 24 Discrete Input Control ___________________________________________________________ 25 Input Groups__________________________________________________________________ 25 Page 4 March 23, 2012 • Alcorn McBride ProTraXX User’s Manual • Rev 1.4... - Page 5 Completion Acknowledge Mode __________________________________________________ 59 How To Update Firmware___________________________________________________________ 60 Standard Firmware Update ______________________________________________________ 60 Firmware Recovery _____________________________________________________________ 60 Troubleshooting Guide _____________________________________________________________ 61 Specifications_____________________________________________________________________ 62 Index ___________________________________________________________________________ 63 March 23, 2012 • Alcorn McBride ProTraXX User’s Manual • Rev 1.4 • Page 5...
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Page 6: Welcome
The ProTraXX lets you play sixteen independent mono 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 7: Technical Support
Technical Support You can obtain technical support or other information about specifying, installing, configuring, updating and programming your Alcorn McBride ProTraXX 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 8: 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 ProTraXX play some audio before you dive in to all of that. Below are a few easy steps to show you how to play... -
Page 9: Playing A Test Sound
Every ProTraXX 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 ProTraXX to a set of powered speakers or • to the input to an amplifier. -
Page 10: Front Panel Controls And Indicators
Front Panel Controls and Indicators The ProTraXX includes controls to accommodate a wide variety of installations. The front panel incorporates a 2x16 LCD display and Menu Knob, a blue power indicator, sixteen channel control pushbuttons, a Mute pushbutton, media status/error indicator, a GPS status indicator, channel status and rear input indicators, and a Compact Flash slot. -
Page 11: File Access Led
ProTraXX includes a female type-B USB connector on its front panel. This port can be used to control ProTraXX, using its standard command set, as a USB serial device. While many operating systems will detect and install the driver automatically, some operating systems such as Windows 7 64-bit will need the user to supply the appropriate driver. -
Page 12: Lcd And Menu Knob
LCD and Menu Knob The Menu Knob is used to navigate through an LCD menu used to configure the operational parameters of the ProTraXX. 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 13: 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 ProTraXX) RXD (data to ProTraXX) Ground March 23, 2012 • Alcorn McBride ProTraXX User’s Manual • Rev 1.4 • Page 13... -
Page 14: Gps In
The 6-pin mini-DIN connector is used for GPS connection. When a valid GPS source is connected and satellite lock is achieved, ProTraXX will use the GPS time to set the system clock once an hour. While using GPS to sync the system clock, make sure the time zone and daylight savings time mode is properly set on the unit. -
Page 15: Ethernet Rj-45
Ethernet RJ-45 This is a standard RJ-45 jack used to connect the ProTraXX to a network. UDP control uses port Control (UDP), file transfer (FTP), and time (NTP) protocols are supported. 2638. Network settings can be configured using the front panel menu. -
Page 16: Phantom Power Dip Switch
Setting this DIP switch to the ON position enables phantom power (48V) on the microphone input. Phantom power is on when the switch is up. In this photo, phantom power is turned off. Page 16 March 23, 2012 • Alcorn McBride ProTraXX User’s Manual • Rev 1.4... -
Page 17: Power
Power The power input is a 2.5x5.5x10mm threaded barrel connector with center pin (+) and the outer rim (-). The ProTraXX requires 9-36VDC at approximately 2 Amps. An external 115 or 230 VAC power supply is provided with the unit. -
Page 18: The Compact Flash Card
The Compact Flash Card Recommended Compact Flash Cards Included with your ProTraXX is a pre-formatted Compact Flash card. The formatting is a standard Microsoft FAT32 format, and any other card you use should be formatted as FAT32 using a PC. -
Page 19: File Naming
File Naming It is sometimes easiest to A specific file naming convention is used so that the ProTraXX can identify use the “numbered” the file type, as well as associate the supported file types with a number. style of file naming for... -
Page 20: Playback
Stereo versus Mono MP3 Playback ProTraXX is capable of up to 16 independent mono channels, but can also be used to play stereo MP3 files. When specifying playback of a stereo MP3 in a command, play the file to a channel pair (P1-P8) rather than an individual channel (C1-C16). -
Page 21: Transferring Files Via Ftp
PC, ProTraXX 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 ProTraXX are is used to resolve configured correctly. Network settings can be configured using the front hostnames into IP panel menu of your ProTraXX. -
Page 22: Additional Features
Additional Features Microphone Paging Using the rear microphone input of ProTraXX, you can page to any channel, channel pair, or channel group. The channel/group of channels that ProTraXX will route the microphone to is called the paging zone. The paging zone can be changed with an Ethernet or serial control command, or a command triggered by a rear input. -
Page 23: Spot Logging
“log_old.csv” and a new “log.csv” file will be started. Once the new “log.csv” reaches the size limit, it will replace the current “log_old.csv”. This means that at any one time, ProTraXX can have up to 4Mb of log data on its compact flash card. Depending on the length of your filenames, this is approximately 100,000 entries. -
Page 24: Control Methods
Control Methods For your convenience, Alcorn McBride distributes an application called AMI Terminal, which allows you to control the ProTraXX 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 ProTraXX can be controlled using the male DB-9 RS-232 connector on the rear panel. -
Page 25: Discrete Input Control
Discrete Input Control The ProTraXX 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 ProTraXX chassis. - Page 26 Manage Input Groups By default, the 16 discrete inputs on the ProTraXX act individually and are constrained to a total of 16 separate operations – one for each input. However, if you need to perform more than 16 operations using the parallel inputs, you can combine the 16 inputs into “Input Groups”...
- Page 27 Select one of the Groups and click Edit Selected Group to assign inputs to that group. For this example we have assigned Inputs 1-12 to Group #1. Click Save to save the assignments. March 23, 2012 • Alcorn McBride ProTraXX User’s Manual • Rev 1.4 •...
- Page 28 Manage Channel Groups You can have a total of 13 Channel Groups in the ProTraXX. 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 29 Select “Device Powered On” to make the event happen on bootup. The best way to make the ProTraXX to play a file on startup is to select the Device Powered OnTrigger Type. Once you have chosen where the event is being triggered from, you can select either an Active On or Active Off Trigger Edge.
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Page 30: Playlist Control
Overview A playlist file is nothing more than a list of ProTraXX 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 ProTraXX’s... -
Page 31: Special Playlist Commands
Special Playlist Commands In addition to regular ProTraXX 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 ProTraXX. -
Page 32: 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 ProTraXX will not advance to the next playlist command until file #1 has played to completion. -
Page 33: 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 ProTraXX Compact Flash card! March 23, 2012 • Alcorn McBride ProTraXX User’s Manual •... -
Page 34: 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 a ProTraXX 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 35 Start Date(D): January 1 2015 Event(E): COMMAND – Specifies that parameter 1 contains a ProTraXX command Parameter 1(1): The command string “1C12PL” will cause the ProTraXX to play file #1 to channel #12. Example 2 T:14:46 D:01/1/2015 E:COMMAND 1:"C12RJ" ;Stop CH 12 Playback Two things have changed in this example.
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Page 36: Fields In Detail
The Ending Time and Ending Date fields specify the time and date that the repeating will stop. In this example, the ProTraXX 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 37 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. Realistically though, you would specify repeating in years, if it got that large. March 23, 2012 • Alcorn McBride ProTraXX User’s Manual • Rev 1.4 •...
- Page 38 Repeat Number section for details. You can also specify sunrise or sunset. In order to take advantage of sunrise/sunset calculations in the ProTraXX, 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 ProTraXX.
- Page 39 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. March 23, 2012 • Alcorn McBride ProTraXX User’s Manual • Rev 1.4 •...
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Page 40: Schedule Builder
Builder. Open the Schedule Builder application Select the ProTraXX 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 41 For the sake of this example, we are going to repeat this command every hour. March 23, 2012 • Alcorn McBride ProTraXX User’s Manual • Rev 1.4 •...
- Page 42 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 ProTraXX’s Compact Flash card. Page 42 March 23, 2012 •...
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Page 43: Command Protocol
Alcorn McBride Enhanced protocol. This protocol implements nearly all of the Pioneer Laser Disc player command set, but adds commands to access advanced features of the ProTraXX as well. This section discusses the most commonly used commands in detail. The protocol is ASCII-based. Upper or lower case characters can be used interchangeably. -
Page 44: Play - Pl
Move the playlist on Channel Pair 1 to the next entry >P1PL Loop Play - LP Description: This command causes the ProTraXX to play a sound file, automatically looping it back to the start when the sound finishes. Command Bytes: <n><d><i>LP or "<filename>"<d><i>LP Parameters: <n>... -
Page 45: Play Toggle - Pt
Play Toggle - PT Description: This command causes the ProTraXX to toggle playback of a file on the specified channel. If currently stopped, the file will play. If currently playing, the file will stop. Command Bytes: <n><d><i>PT or "<filename>"<d><i>PT Parameters: <n>... -
Page 46: Play Directory - Pd
Play all the files in the “music” directory, sorted ascending, on ch. 2. "music"C2APD Play all the files in all directories, sorted randomly, on all channels. *?RPD Page 46 March 23, 2012 • Alcorn McBride ProTraXX User’s Manual • Rev 1.4... -
Page 47: Search - Se
Search - SE Description: This command causes the ProTraXX 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. - Page 48 Channel numbers range from 1 through 16, Channel Pairs from 1 through 8, and Channel Groups from 1 through 13. Use “*” for All Channels. Message Response: R Examples: Stop Channel Pair 2. P2RJ Stop Channel Group 1. G1RJ Page 48 March 23, 2012 • Alcorn McBride ProTraXX User’s Manual • Rev 1.4...
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Page 49: Aux Input To Channels
Aux Input to Channels Description: This command will route the audio being received on the ProTraxx’s auxiliary inputs to the specified channel, channel pair, or channel group. Command Bytes: CL<d>PL Parameters: <d> is either C followed by a channel number in ASCII, P followed by a channel... -
Page 50: Playlists
Playlists Play System Playlist Description: This command causes the ProTraXX 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 51: Paging Commands
Set the microphone PTT button to be the paging trigger. TKZN Set rear input #3 to be the paging trigger. TI3ZN Set front panel button #12 to be the paging trigger. TB12ZN March 23, 2012 • Alcorn McBride ProTraXX User’s Manual • Rev 1.4 • Page 51... -
Page 52: Start Paging
If using the paging trigger to initiate microphone paging, this command is not required. Command Bytes: Minimum OS Version: TraXXOS 1.2.4 Message Response: Examples: Stop paging to the selected paging zone. Page 52 March 23, 2012 • Alcorn McBride ProTraXX User’s Manual • Rev 1.4... -
Page 53: Control Commands
Control Commands These commands control some of the operational modes of the ProTraXX. 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 ProTraXX. -
Page 54: 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. Page 54 March 23, 2012 • Alcorn McBride ProTraXX User’s Manual • Rev 1.4... -
Page 55: Mute/Unmute/Volume Control
Mute/UnMute/Volume Control Description: This command causes the ProTraXX to mute, unmute, or set the volume level of the specified Channel, Channel Pair, or Channel Group. Command Bytes: <v><d>AD Parameters: <v> is one of the following (in ASCII): M - Mute... -
Page 56: Send String
Send String Description: This command sends an ASCII string from ProTraXX to the specified destination. Command Bytes: "<s>"<d><o>SS Parameters: <s> is the string to be sent <d> is the destination, one of: S – Serial U – UDP(over Ethernet) B – USB Serial <o>... -
Page 57: 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 ProTraXX User’s Manual • Rev 1.4 • Page 57... -
Page 58: Completion Acknowledge Mode
Completion Acknowledge Mode Description: This command is used to select the Completion Acknowledge mode. When the ProTraXX 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 ProTraXX is powered. -
Page 59: How To Update Firmware
Standard Firmware Update 1. Download the latest firmware for the ProTraXX product from http://www.alcorn.com/support/firmware.html 2. Copy the new firmware file to your Compact Flash card. The file must be named “OS.NEW” if updating only one unit or “FACTORY.NEW”... -
Page 60: Troubleshooting Guide
Microsoft FAT32. Q: Audio playback is too fast or too slow. A: All files played on the ProTraXX 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 61: Specifications
Size: 19” W x 1.75” H x 10.88” D (48.3 cm W x 4.5 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 ProTraXX User’s Manual • Rev 1.4 • Page 61... -
Page 62: Index
Manage Channel Groups, 28 uninterruptible, 20 Manage Input Groups, 26 UnMute, 55 Menu, 12 Update Firmware, 59 Menu Knob, 10 Version Request, 54 MPEG-1 Part 3, 18 Page 62 March 23, 2012 • Alcorn McBride ProTraXX User’s Manual • Rev 1.4...
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