Smarts Broadcast Systems 2002 issue Smartcasters are expanding again to keep up with the changing computer environment. We are always adding new features to the Smartcaster system, and this change is a big one. We are moving Smartcasters away from proprietary audio cards, and file formats. In short we are moving towards Linux as the operating platform of choice for robust, reliable automation systems. We are also opening the system up to a full range of file storage formats.
SMARTS BROADCAST SYSTEMS SMARTCASTER ENGINEERING MANUAL 2002 MODES OF OPERATION THE INSTALLATION COMPUTER SETUP ELECTRICAL SAFETY LAN NETWORK CAT-5 WIRING COMPUTER SETUP POWER LAN NETWORK KEYBOARD / VIDEO EXTENDERS COMPUTER TO RIDZ CONTROL AUDIO INTO AND OUT OF COMPUTER SATELLITE SOURCES-AUDIO EXTRA HOT AUDIO SOURCES SATELLITE SOURCES-CLOSURES SOFTWARE SETUP AND TESTING CONSOLE AUDIO AUDIO LEVELS SMARTCASTER CONTROLLER INSTALLATION THE RIDZ SWITCHER WIRING THE RIDZ GENERAL INFORMATION FOR THE RIDZ (8 X 2) S
Smartcaster Engineering Manual 2002 Modes of Operation There are currently two major modes for Smartcaster to operation; the most common is Music on Hard Drive (MOD). Running the systems for satellite automation is the second. There are a lot of clients that do both on a particular station, run some satellite programming, and switch into HD mode when there is not satellite programming available.
THE INSTALLATION Checklist for Installation 1. Computer setup 2. Power 3. LAN Network 4. Keyboard / Video 5. Computer to RIDZ control 6. Audio into and out of Computer 7. Satellite sources-Audio 8. Satellite sources-Closures 9. Software setup and testing 10. Console audio 11. Audio Levels 12. Smarttouch 13. Phone lines PRODUCTION STUDIO 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Computer setup Power LAN Network Keyboard / Video Audio into and out of Computer Console audio Server Room 1. Computer setup 2. Power 3. LAN Network 4.
Computer setup Unpacking There are a few important things to remember when unpacking your computer: • Keep all of the boxes and packing material. In case something goes wrong with your computer, you will want to send it back to Smarts • Check the packing list to make sure no parts are missing The Parts When you open those boxes, you will find the hardware of your new computer.
station from their desk to check on the system. Very handy! There is a collection of information on KVMs in the APPENDEX of this manual. In older stations, it is easier to place the computers in the studio because all the rest of the equipment is there. Because computers have gotten more powerful, the cooling requirements are tougher than ever. High performance computers need air flow to avoid overheating. More heat places more load on the HVAC in a studio, and adds more fan noise into the mix.
Figure 2 Typical small office UPS, (photo courtesy APC) http://www.apc.com/ The power the electric utilities provide to our homes and radio stations has some problems. The actual voltage is legally allowed to vary over a range of +/- 5% at the generating station. Large power loads going on- or offline can create voltage surges or sags called transients.
Far greater protection is available with an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS). A UPS starts off by having a very good quality surge protection circuit, and in addition contains one or more large rechargeable batteries. If the electric power goes off, or drops below a safe voltage, a high speed sensing circuit boosts or replaces it with battery power in a tiny fraction of a second preventing damage to the connected equipment or data loss, and gives 1you time to save your data, and shut down.
capacitors exist inside a computer. Further, safety agencies such as UL require that any capacitors that can supply a dangerous shock must have a bleeder resistance across them that will quickly discharge the capacitor to a safe level once supply power is disconnected. The only place you need to be worried about shock is inside a CRT based monitor where the anode and focus supplies are measured in the thousands of volts but at a very low current.
Get the wires lined up and nice and straight. Then clip off the top millimeter so that they are all the same length and stick out about half an inch from the insulated part. Figure 4-Attaching the RJ-45 Connector The best way to insert the cable into the RJ-45 connector is this: • Hold an RJ-45 connector so that the plastic release clip is facing away from you, and the opening for the wires is pointing down.
If everything went well, it should look like this: Right: See how the end of the insulation sits snug inside the RJ-45, and how the wires go all the way to the end? Below are two examples how it should NOT look. In the example on the left the wires were left too long, which leaves wires unprotected between the RJ-45 and the insulation. In the example on the right, the wires were cut too short and now don't reach far enough to make contact.
Figure 5-Crimp tool in action Now repeat this entire procedure to put an RJ-45 plug on the other end of the cable. Use the exact same wiring scheme as on the first end, which will make it a straight-through cable. Note: If you decided to spend a couple extra bucks on the strain relief sleeves, be sure to put them on and facing the correct direction before you crimp the second end.
Connect a keyboard to the Smartcaster control computer. Connect the VGA monitor to the Smartcaster Control Computer. Note that there is often a keyboard and mouse supplied for the RSHD box, these are included by the supplier, and not strictly needed, but can be put away as spare parts. Power Connect the Main CPU, RSHD CPU, the VGA monitor and Wall Wart for the RIDZ to the surge suppressor, and then the surge suppressor to the UPS.
CON2 is the interface for the satellite closure inputs. It runs from CON2 of the Smartcaster to the small blue terminal board. Notice that the method of constructing the cable involves trapping the flat wire in a connector. After the connector is crimped, the excess wire is trimmed, a inspection of the raw end of this cable may show some excess wire still there, if the edge of that wire comes in contact with the case of the computers, false closures can appear, or a short will re-boot the computer.
Satellite sources-Audio In the appendix of this document is a section on some satellite receivers. The audio from these and other sources needs to be wired to the RIDZ switcher. It is recommended that this wiring be done for any source that you expect the computer to route either to air, or to the record bus. Please consult the section of this manual called “Wiring the RIDZ” for specifics on this step. Pay close attention to the parts about balanced and unbalanced audio.
Here, the most common arrangement is to have the console’s output wired into the RIDZ and that output either direct to the transmitter, or a simple manual A/B switch to select that output or the console’s output. This method completely removes the console from the air chain in bypass mode. Some people prefer to dedicate the air bus of the console, and a pot on that console to route the Smartcasters fully produced feed to the air chain. This works just fine too.
This file represents the loudest sound that your audio cards can reproduce without splatter. If you open this file with your audio program, you will see it is very loud. I recommend setting up the audio cards in your system so that this file is a source on the console, and adjust all the meters in the system to this file.
Smartcaster controller Installation All New (7-2002) Smartcaster systems are split into two components: The Smartcaster control unit, and the audio device, (RSHD). The Smartcaster unit no longer handles the audio file playback and recording for the system. It controls the audio device (RSHD) via a serial control cable. Both boxes connect to the LAN for file sharing as well. The RIDZ audio switcher is connected to the Smartcaster controller. Audio from the RSHD is also routed to the RIDZ.
one of two directions. The switcher may send the audio source to the air, or to the record bus. Wiring the RIDZ A wire stripper and a standard blade screwdriver are needed to wire the female screw plugs. These screw plugs can accommodate 14 to 22 AWG wire. The lighter gauge stranded wire (22 AWG) is preferred because it is more flexible and easier to use. Strip back the insulation on the wires about 1/4". The audio input connections can be wired as balanced inputs or as unbalanced inputs.
All of the inputs on the RIDZ Switcher are balanced audio. If the SMARTCASTER or the networks have unbalanced outputs, they need to be wired from unbalanced to balanced. The RIDZ is electronically balanced. The output circuit drives the "+" signal (HOT) of the balanced lines with a signal that matches the signal coming from the innards of the box, but that's half the volume level.
Fig. 1.2. The back panel of the RIDZ Switcher showing The J1 Connection and the grounding post. On the back panel, the control cable from the SMARTCASTER will attach to the J1 Connector. The connector is snug, and is notched so it will only fit in one way. The wing locks should be secured to make sure the connector is tightly fastened. The Ground Post is above the J1 Connection. The grounding wire may be wrapped around the post or inserted into the hole in the post.
channels one through eight from being routed to record, and 19 ( Clear Both ) which does a combination of 17 and 18. If there are more then one RIDZ switchers, the numbers run from 1 to 16, and if there are 3 RIDZ switcher they run from 1 to 24. Then the routing for the record bus commands are next, finally the clear commands. Notice that you can apply the real names of the device to the channels of the RIDZ for reference. Because most receivers can be multi channel, it is helpful to note the source device.
Fig. 1.5. The front panel of the RIDZ Switcher showing The Record Output Level adjustments and The Program and Record channel LED’s. The program light will go out and the channel will be muted when audio is being played from the SMARTCASTER. The Manual/Auto switch should be in the Auto position at all times unless there is sporadic switching or no switching at all. The switcher can still be manually switched even while in Auto mode by selecting a channel with the knob and pressing the REC or PRGM button.
CON2 is the interface for the satellite inputs. This will be plugged into a 2m20 board or Fan Out Card that has 20 screw terminals for wiring closures. As a side note, this input card is referenced by the name “780 Board” based on the original manufacturing part number. As you can see in the photos, this card is actually called 2m20FC by the current manufacturer. This has changed so often, we just call it a 780 card. The TTL card uses dry contact closures so no external power is needed.
Fig. 3.1. Fan Out (780) card with wiring For satellite closures. The engineer wiring the closures to the 780 boards should keep a list of each input from each service and its function. Example: Input 1 is a local break closure for ABC NEWS. Now, the closure is wired so that when the tone decoder detects a closure from ABC NEWS it will close a normally open relay that will make contact with pins 1 and 17 on the 780 board when it closes.
Software Input Mapping in the SMARTCASTER: For the SMARTCASTER to recognize a closure, it must first be mapped. Please read this document thoroughly before calling the Support Line. While not a manual for software operation, there are some features you need for the installation of the Smartcaster, mapping inputs is one of them. Fig. 4.1. One of eight Input Mapping screens for network inputs. Directly related to the Fanout (780) board.
Fig. 4.2. Diagram of RIDZ 8x2 Switcher With example inputs. When the engineer hooked up the networks to the RIDZ Switcher, they also had to connect the relay closures from the network to the 32 digital inputs for the SMARTCASTER.
Fig. 4.3. One of eight channel screens for input mapping of the network closures. Right now, none of the 32 inputs are mapped. Except for number 1, which has the Global Time Update, they all have 'N' under them. Looking at the list, the engineer hooks SMN's magic call to Input 1. If, for example, magic calls for SMN are recorded using Function 0, then the user needs to map Input 1 to Function 0. Using the arrow keys, place the cursor underneath the '1', and press 1. Now a '1' appears underneath Input 1.
Below are the inputs mapped for the other networks on the 8x2 Audio Switcher: Inputs Network 2 On Air ABC: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N Inputs Network 2 On Air 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N Inputs Network 3 On Air Mutual: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 N N N N N 0 5 6 N N N N N N N N Inputs Network 3 On Air 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N Inputs Network
Fig 5.1. The Global Input screen showing the Time Update under input 1. As before, the user simply arrows over to the input that needs to be mapped, and selects the corresponding number for the event to trigger. For example, if Input 14 should fire a local break, regardless of which network is on the air, place a 0 underneath Input 14. A 'T' can be placed under an input to signify a Time Update closure.
Final Notes... If a station has a very "busy" Timed Events schedule, it is wise to write down the schedule on paper before entering it into the computer. By planning ahead, fewer mistakes are made. Note: Build slowly! Try each event out once before entering all of them. For example, try switching to news at the top of the hour at 1 PM before entering the other 23 hours. The user may find that the news feed comes down 1 second earlier or later than expected.
Setup Screen for the RIDZ Switcher There are three software setup screens that will affect the operation of the RIDZ Switcher. They are OPTION SETUP, ADDRESS SETUP, and MISCELLANEOUS SETUP. OPTION SETUP number 6 is the default switcher input for recording to SMARTCASTER. When the operator enters the Record Screen, the system will automatically switch the record bus on the switcher to that input. Normally, this is the channel the production board is connected to on the RIDZ.
Fig. 7.2. The Address Setup screen. Number 5, the First Smart (RIDZ) address was set during assembly. Fig. 7.3. The Miscellaneous Setup screen. Number 8 designates the number of switchers in the system. Three is the maximum number.
WORKING Audio into and out of Computer 14. Console audio 15. Audio Levels 16. Smarttouch 17. Phone lines Starguide 2 and 3 information A lot of our systems are interconnected to the Starguide receivers. In setting up these units, I thought to put in a few items to help. The first few I dealt with were difficult. Wiring the Starguide First, let me say that the following information is from a Version 1.10 manual, and could have changed by the time you read this. Always use the latest information provided.
Auxiliary Output connector (Also labeled DIGITAL IF) Notes: Be aware there is no common ground for the relays, relay one has one contact at pin 2 and the other side of the relay is pin 10. You will need to common one side of all four relays as you interconnect to Smartcaster’s 780 cards. Testing STAGUIDE Relays First, navigating the menus needs a little explanation. You use the LEFT, RIGH, UP, DOWN, and ENTER keys to get around.
The next important thing is that the relays will STAY THIS WAY until you clear them with the manual steps. I have never seen relays set active in test mode relax, even after the satellite calls for a pulse of that relay. That means if you turn a relay “ON” you MUST go back in and turn it back “OFF” to restore functionality. Some ABC programming is provided on cards with these four relays no used, those receivers have a relay card that has 16 relays in it, and no audio.
Using the above outlined tests you can determine if the Starguide is correctly wired to the fan out card. MONITORING STARGUIDE RELAYS From the RELAY PORT menu, a LEFT ARROW key will bring you the RELAY STATUS menu, when this is active, you normally see four underscores on the display. When the home office calls for a relay, you will see the line change into a number for the most part of one second, and then revert to the dash.
Mutual's "bee-doops" must have been introduced in the early 1970's. CBS/Westwood (the current owner of what was called Mutual) still "bee-doops" on its feeds of CNN news and "Westwood" programs on what used to be satellite channels of what was formerly known as the Mutual Broadcasting System. There were several frequency sequences of "beedoop"-ing.
take a commercial here, the network will play some ads or play a song. Now is time to start building the clock. First, start by moving to a clock template that is empty. Move from template to template by pressing the F9 and F10 keys. Once you're ready, press the F1 key to add an event. You will see a white line appear at the top of the screen, and a cursor in blue. The computer is waiting for you to enter a title. I named my event "Loud." Press ENTER to go to the next entry.
For this you need to use either the Assign Satellite Clocks Screen (located under Programming on the toolbar) or the Set Active Screen (located on the Supermenu.) Here you will see a chart of every hour of the week. All you have to do to schedule a particular clock for a particular hour is to put that letter on the graph corresponding to the day of the week and the hour that it is suppose to be scheduled. Use the arrow keys to place the cursor over the designated hour and day.
correct. If the code is not entered within 30 seconds, Smarttouch hangs up. If the code is entered correctly within that time frame, you will hear air cue fed back down the line. This tells you that you are now connected to the Smartcaster. At this point, the Smarttouch waits for the next 3 digits, and will interpret these three digits as the remote number.
Smart Touch TTL logic Conditionals On Software versions in the 11’s and later, there is a feature to suppress the display of Smart Touch connections to avoid interference with the sound and input diagnostics. To trouble shoot the cable, you must turn “Off” the Smart touch option in User Setup, question #4.
How do you troubleshoot a Smartcaster computer problem? Do you ever wonder how some people are successful at troubleshooting various computer problems, while others seem to be unable to find a direction to even look? Successfully resolving a computer problem is not a special gift; it does not require a unique talent, it does not take years of experience. While experience helps, everybody can resolve PC issues as long as one keeps a few simple, but important things in mind.
Don't get locked into a narrow-minded approach or solution that you are sure is "IT". All too often, it isn't and when you have locked yourself into that solution, you make it much more difficult to correctly identify the problem. To stick with the example of the monitor not working, don't assume it must be the monitor and just focus on the monitor.
Troubleshooting Software Problems So far, I have focused on hardware problems, but we should note that software could also cause problems. Software issues can cause problems that can be difficult to solve. The same principles apply though. Understand the problem, record the symptoms, isolate the problem area, and eliminate each possible cause via a methodical step-by-step approach until the problem is solved.
Replacing A Power Supply The power supply is one of the most important, but also most ignored pieces of a computer. You plug it into the outlet and turn it on, what's the big deal, right? Wrong! The power supply has to work hard to provide a constant and stable level of electricity to the devices in your computer without fluctuations. It has to be strong enough to feed all the devices in your machine. What if it fails? A power supply doesn't last forever. Sooner or later they'll fail.
the motherboard. The AT style has two identical looking 6-wire connectors, usually labeled P8 and P9 that plug right next to each other into a special connector on the motherboard. The ATX style has one 20-wire connector. But the easiest way to find out what you need is to take the cover off your computer and look at the power supply. It usually has a sticker on it that documents the type and power.
This is a typical ATX style motherboard power connector. You notice that on one side it has a little clip that secures it in the socket on the motherboard. Make sure you push this clip when removing it so you don't yank the entire socket off the motherboard. Note: The older AT style connectors actually consist of two identical looking plugs 6-pin plugs, usually labeled P8 and P9. They plug in right next to each other.
Before you install the new power supply, take a look at the back of it. There should be a red switch right underneath the plug for the power chord. Be sure that this switch is set to the correct voltage. For example, if you live in the U.S. it should be set to 115V. Most of the time they are set correctly by default, but you don't want to take any chances, so take the extra second and check to be safe. Now carefully insert the power supply into the case and position it in the proper position.
supply to turn the power on and off. On ATX-style cases the power button connects to the motherboard instead. The replacement AT-style power supply probably came with not only the cable to the power switch, but also had a new power switch attached to it. This will leave you with two choices: 1) Use the new switch - This means you have to remove the old switch and install the new one instead.
Useful telephone devices: The first device is a way to create multiple extensions from one incoming phone line. This is useful for sharing one phone line between a Smarttouch, and other devices like remote controls. TELEPHONE LINE SWITCH The PBX allows as many as 7 devices to share a single line for both incoming and outgoing calls.
BROADCAST TOOLS There are two boxes that really make life with the Starguide nice, these are the Programmable Schedule Controller, (PSC), can store and control up to 160 events. Events may be programmed with Hour/Minutes/Seconds and Day/Month/Year or Day of Week, along with Daylight Savings Time. Each event may control any one of twenty spst relays provided with the PSC and/or 32 serial custom commands.
The DSC-20 may be configured to control any combination of the two devices listed above. When the DSC-20 is controlled from a PC's serial port, twenty - 48 character ASCII serial strings and/or 100 memory selections are provided for the above-mentioned devices. Advance programming of the DSC-20 is accomplished with a NON-DEDICATED computer. With these two devices you can control a lot of the switching externally of the Smartcaster.
9-pin D-Sub connector on any Starguide II or III Audio Decoder Module. The COP is equipped with an eight-position removable screw terminal for connection to the balanced left, right, monaural outputs, audio and chassis ground. Left and right multi-turn trimmers are provided for level adjustments. The COP has approximately 1-db of insertion loss, allowing level adjustments from - 1db to off from program reference.
Hubs and switches. A hub is really nothing more than a wire directly connected to each and every port. What goes in one port is sent out all ports at the time of transmission. If two or more nodes (a node is anything capable of sending data on the network) transmit at the same time a collision occurs -the data collides on the wire, becomes scrambled, and has to be retransmitted later.
signal. If they never have to listen for collisions, then they can send and receive data at the same time that will increase performance. KVM Devices KVM devices include methods to control computers located in central server rooms, as well as sharing one monitor, keyboard and mouse between several computers. Figure 8 Extend your keyboard, mouse, and monitor up to 500 feet away using standard CAT5 cable The CAT5 KVM Extender allows users to control their computer or KVM switch from up to 500 feet away.
Figure 9 Select between multiple computers from one location (two ports) • Manage 2 computers with one keyboard, PS/2 mouse, and monitor. • Serial mouse conversion for connecting PCs with PS/2 or serial ports from one PS/2 mouse. • Guaranteed security with a one-year warranty. • Press the “Hot” key to quickly change between computers. This device (F1D102) listed at $200 on the Internet.
