background image

18 

Controlling the AM-4 

 

Select File 

Description:   

This command causes the AM-4 Digital Audio Machine to select the specified audio 
track or Play List on the currently selected media. Once this command is sent, the 
next Play command causes the specified file to play from the beginning. The unit 
defaults to file #1 at power-up, unless an autoexec file exists. When receiving this 
command, the AM-4 Digital Audio Machine always looks for the file on the currently 
selected drive. 

Command Bytes: 

nSE<CR>   or   nnSE<CR>   or   nnnSE<CR> 

 

where n, nn, or nnn is the file number in ASCII. 

Message Response: 

R<CR> 

Comments:  

This is similar to the “Search to Address” command in chapter addressing mode used 
in Pioneer Laser Disc protocol. The maximum file number is 511. 

Examples: 

Select file 215. 

215SE<CR>  

 

Select file 4. 

4SE<CR> 

 

Play 

Description:   

This command causes the AM-4 Digital Audio Machine to play the file which was 
specified with the “Select File” command. If a track is paused, this command resumes 
play. If this command is issued while a Play List is being played, the AM-4 Digital 
Audio Machine will skip to the next track in the Play List and play it. This command 
sends a response when it is executed, and another when the playback is complete. 

Command bytes: 

PL<CR> 

Message Response: 

R<CR> 

Completion Response: 

<CR> 

 

Loop Play 

Description:   

This command causes the AM-4 Digital Audio Machine to play the file specified by 
the Select File command and loop back to the beginning. If the file is a Play List, all 
of the tracks in the Play List will be played and then the entire Play List will restart. 

Command bytes: 

LP<CR> 

Message Response: 

R<CR> 

 

Play File 

Description:   

This command is the same as the Play command, except the file number or name is 
specified as part of the command so no prior Select File command is required. 

Command bytes: 

nPL<CR> 

 

Where n is the file number or name (surrounded in quotes). 

 

Example: 3PL<CR> plays file number 3. 

 

Example: “bark.mp3”PL<CR> plays the file named “bark.mp3” 

Message Response: 

R<CR> 

Completion Response: 

<CR> 

Summary of Contents for 230-100978.00

Page 1: ...AM 4 Digital Audio Machine Hardware and Software Reference Manual...

Page 2: ...ii Welcome PLACE HOLDER FOR THE BACK OF THE FRONT COVER DO NOT PRINT...

Page 3: ...Welcome iii Digital Audio Machine User s Guide Alcorn McBride Inc...

Page 4: ...products for use in such applications do so at their own risk and agree to fully indemnify Alcorn McBride for any damages resulting from such improper use or sale This publication was created using Mi...

Page 5: ...Control Message Response 25 Scheduler 27 File Format Tutorial 27 Events 27 Fields in Detail 30 Restrictions 33 Comments Whitespace 33 Order of Operations 33 Double Occupancy 34 Schedule Builder 36 Upl...

Page 6: ......

Page 7: ...isc protocol or via an optional Ethernet connection Parallel control is also possible through the use of contact closures or voltage inputs Please browse the table of contents or index before jumping...

Page 8: ...Ethernet Optional Speaker Level outputs 20Wx2 Optional Balanced outputs Optional S PDIF Digital Audio output GPS positional triggering capability Technical Support You can obtain information about sp...

Page 9: ...side note to avoid damage to the unit never ship these units with the Compact Flash card inside the unit Connect the RCA jacks to an amplifier capable of playing line level in signals or if your AM 4...

Page 10: ...4 Quick Start Guide...

Page 11: ...uts and control connectors Depending on which option cards are installed the rear panel can also contain speaker level outputs or balanced and S PDIF digital audio outputs or an Ethernet jack Balanced...

Page 12: ...card If you hold in the test button while inserting the card a format operation will take place While formatting the Status LED will turn green The operation takes only a couple of seconds Important...

Page 13: ...o configure the AM 4 Digital Audio Machine s switches before rack mounting the units or the switches may be inaccessible In the event of AC hum or noise caused by potential ground loops the second key...

Page 14: ...nd Indicators Serial Port Mode Refer to the GPS section in this manual for details For normal serial port control turn off the fourth key on the 4 key DIP switch To enable GPS mouse operation turn thi...

Page 15: ...ol the volume via serial or UDP commands When using the serial or UDP commands to control volume you might want to set the manual volume control knob at maximum otherwise full output volume will not b...

Page 16: ...4 Digital Audio Machine requires 12 0 VDC to 25 0 VDC at 2 Amp This is useful for mobile applications where an automotive battery is used to power a Compact Flash Card or Compact Flash Card hard drive...

Page 17: ...to light external LED indicators and an extra power supply input exists so that the 37 pin connector can be used to supply power instead of the barrel jack Any of the ground connections may be used f...

Page 18: ...op indefinitely from beginning to end If the file is a Play List all tracks will be played and then the file will loop The state of this input is examined at the start of each file File Select 1 15 5...

Page 19: ...apped to automatically play a file on power up That file number takes precedence over any autoexec files that may be on the drive see power up operation If an autoexec file exists and the loop input i...

Page 20: ...he File Select inputs operate as Playlist and Volume Increment Decrement as shown here File Select 1 Increment Playlist Number File Select 2 Decrement Playlist Number File Select 4 Increase Volume Fil...

Page 21: ...ious errors in the diagram Use logic to verify your setup is correct If you find errors with this diagram please notify Alcorn McBride You can help us help other customers with the same question 1 2 1...

Page 22: ...are dry contact closures rated at 24 VDC and 0 9 amp max Their function is described below Function Pins Description Playing 9 28 Closed when the unit is playing Fault 10 29 Closed when the unit detec...

Page 23: ...used to control the AM 4 as well as other Alcorn McBride equipment It is available on the Alcorn McBride Website at http www alcorn com support software html amiterm zip The control protocol is ASCII...

Page 24: ...d with the Select File command If a track is paused this command resumes play If this command is issued while a Play List is being played the AM 4 Digital Audio Machine will skip to the next track in...

Page 25: ...mmand causes the AM 4 Digital Audio Machine to pause The file will resume from where it left off whenever another Play command is issued The LED will glow orange when in Pause mode Command bytes PA CR...

Page 26: ...le name or number R CR upon receipt CR upon loop point Automatically loops at end of track Select File nSE CR nnSE CR nnnSE CR R CR Only file number or name addressing is supported not frames or time...

Page 27: ...CR dd degrees longitude or latitude mm mmmm minutes and decimal minutes Set Date mDA CR R CR m mm dd yyyy ex 12 12 2003DA use slashes dashes or periods 2 digit years are accepted also Set Time mTI CR...

Page 28: ...0 baud n 3 2400 baud n 4 4800 baud n 5 9600 baud n 6 19200 baud n 7 38400 baud n 8 57600 baud n 9 115200 baud SendString string SS CR R CR Sends string out serial port See note 1 below Set Real Time C...

Page 29: ...mmunication Error Check your serial connections E04 Feature Not Available Yet Have you entered the correct command Check for avail E11 Media Not Present Is the Compact Flash inserted Formatted A recom...

Page 30: ...M4 Control Message is as follows 0xF1 0x01 0x04 Pioneer AMI Serial Command Checksum 0xF2 The only bytes that change from message to message are the Command bytes and the Checksum The command correspon...

Page 31: ...eceives The user data in these responses exactly match those in the Pioneer AMI control command descriptions For example you ll receive an R contained when you send a PL contained in the AMINet wrappe...

Page 32: ...26 Controlling the AM 4...

Page 33: ...io Machine The text file can be edited in a text editor like notepad The schedule filename is schedule scl Events A schedule contains a list of events Each event consists of a command usually used to...

Page 34: ...rameter 3 for the event 4 Parameter 4 for the event R Repeat Number repeat after this number of periods has expired P Repeat Period Time to wait between executions used with Repeat Number and Set when...

Page 35: ...0 Repeat Period minute Ending Time 3am in the morning 3 00 military Ending Date January 3rd 2010 Comment We also stuck a comment Repeats a while at the end of the line by prefixing it with a semicolon...

Page 36: ...ted upon every reboot after the start time and start day have been reached Example T 13 30 T Boot D Start Date The Start Date is the month day and year your event becomes active For most cases being a...

Page 37: ...should be read in conjunction like this Repeat this event every repeat number repeat period in set Ex Repeat this event every 4th Thursday in November Although there are many possibilities we can use...

Page 38: ...d operate Together they act as an index into the Repeat Set Please read the Repeat Number section above for a detailed explanation of the different behaviors they take on when the Repeat Set field is...

Page 39: ...nd 60 seconds per minute 1800 events per minute Comments Whitespace Comments are prefixed with a semicolon Anything found after a semicolon is ignored by the scheduler You can place a comment on its o...

Page 40: ...T and D Datestamp date portion of the event s start point T and D Slot the event s timestamp datestamp Startslot slot when the event begins required Endslot slot when the event ends not required Prof...

Page 41: ...same startslot When Double Occupancy is Legal There are times that two events can legally occupy the same slot These are expected to occur as Overlaps When two or more loops finites or infinites unint...

Page 42: ...our Schedules Go to http www alcorn com support software html to download a copy today You also should have read the previous section for a tutorial on how the engine works Here s how to operate the i...

Page 43: ...date and time by clicking the down arrows on those controls If you have an end date and time do the same for those fields Choose the Event the command from the drop down menu Here we have selected Pla...

Page 44: ...epeat frequency Here we have selected Every Day Add a comment if you like telling us what this does Press OK and here is the resulting event You can also select Edit Edit Event to edit this entry with...

Page 45: ...le and test it with the built in tester Select File Test Schedule Press the Options button to set your simulation time With this dialog box you can set simulation time start date and time what to do o...

Page 46: ...M 4 has the current schedule in memory At midnight or after a fresh reboot the new schedule scl will get loaded into memory If you want to cause an immediate update of your schedule without rebooting...

Page 47: ...ed and compressed into an MP3 file to save storage space but the AM 4 can playback the uncompressed WAV version The AM 4 can playback any 8 or 16 bit WAV file either stereo or mono with the following...

Page 48: ...o to the Tools window in Windows Media Player for details Quality The 16 bit linear PCM format like a WAV file can provide higher quality audio playback than the MP3 format but at the same time it con...

Page 49: ...format the Compact Flash card If your Compact Flash card is 2G or smaller in size you should always format it in the AM 4 before using it Compact Flash larger than 2G should only be formatted in a PC...

Page 50: ...into the PC s socket and look for the drive letter Windows has assigned to your Compact Flash Card drive The computer sees it as an extra drive like F for this example Open a DOS shell yes while you...

Page 51: ...the files you want to transfer to the AM 4 AMI Terminal is a Windows application used to control Alcorn McBride equipment It is available at www alcorn com Begin an FTP session by typing FTP 192 168...

Page 52: ...LY00002 LST and SND00002 MP3 on the same drive The two files should have different numbers If more than one file has the same number the first file found in the directory will be used Autoexec files a...

Page 53: ...are identical to those that would be issued through the serial port These commands are usually play commands which cause the AM 4 to play audio tracks or other Play Lists on the media When a Play Lis...

Page 54: ...ng the special command characters normally used in the Play List File Select inputs and serial Play command change functions when using a Play List When the AM 4 Digital Audio Machine is processing a...

Page 55: ...nged all on the same line as shown above or vertically as shown below I 1PL You can comment your Play List file by using 6PL semicolons All text after a semicolon is 37PL ignored until the end of the...

Page 56: ...de is enabled Sound Number one will pick up from where it left off when it was interrupted by the intermediated Play commands If a different sound is selected to loop then it then becomes the new back...

Page 57: ...ducts AM4audiomachine firmware html To update your firmware do the following Establish a serial connection with the machine with a laptop or PC and verify you need an update Type V and press Enter to...

Page 58: ...52 GPS Operation GPS Operation...

Page 59: ...to geographical points stored in a playlist The playlist used for GPS operation is a normal playlist described in the Playlist Files section of this manual except the Longitude and Latitude commands i...

Page 60: ...play a particular spiel or sound at a specified location Other commands such a Relay ON OFF or Set Background commands are available Set Background Many times the first command in a Playlist will be a...

Page 61: ...irection of travel North is 0 degrees and South is 180 degrees The AM 4 will use the acquired direction to qualify a GPS trigger The tolerance is 45 degrees 22 5 degrees If you want the point to trigg...

Page 62: ...on is present you can view the location of your GPS point on a map Click on the map tab at the bottom of your screen Put your cursor in the row of the latitude and longitude you wish to display Click...

Page 63: ...und track to play between triggers If you don t want a background track select a Play command Step 2 Specify the sound number or file name in the Data1 column If you selected a background track in Ste...

Page 64: ...your car Place the GPS sensor on the roof or other mounting location recommended by the GPS sensor manufacturer Drive to the first desired trigger point Once you re there click the mouse into the Lati...

Page 65: ...puts a NMEA 0183 data stream at default 4800 baud You can change the baud rate using the BR command in your GPS playlist The AM 4 will steadily blink the Green LED whenever a valid GPS input is detect...

Page 66: ...assed the AM 4 switches to the new playlist and abandons the old one You can do this for as many different messages you want for the same point You just need to decide where you want to switch to the...

Page 67: ...and renaming the file or use a DOS editor actually create the file Q I ve done all the stuff listed in the Copying Files section to get sound files into my AM 4 Digital Audio Machine but it just won...

Page 68: ...Have you validated you are communicating through the serial port correctly Chosen the right PC comm port Using 9600 8 N 1 If you want to validate the comm port is right use a paperclip to short toget...

Page 69: ...tion information in which case it is omni directional and will trigger in any direction Is the LED blinking GREEN on the front of the AM 4 If not 1 Check the DIP switch in the back of the unit It shou...

Page 70: ...64 Troubleshooting Guide FAQ...

Page 71: ...Mechanical Information 65 Mechanical Information Mechanical Dimensions Surface Mounting...

Page 72: ...66 Mechanical Information Surface Mount Kit Part Number 230 100979 Qty Part Number Description 2 306 100711 Mounting Flange 6 500 000566 Screw 6 32 x 3 8 Pan Head Black Ox SS...

Page 73: ...Mechanical Information 67 Rack Mounting You can mount one or two AM 4 Digital Audio Machines in a 1U rack mount space Rack Mount Kit 1 Unit Part Number 302 100703...

Page 74: ...68 Mechanical Information Rack Mount Kit 2 Unit Part Number 302 100704...

Page 75: ...lift input type write protect and GPS mode Rear panel volume control Connectors Rear Panel DB 9M serial I O connector Rear Panel DB 37F parallel and serial I O connector Rear Panel RCA type Phono conn...

Page 76: ...Ground Lift 8 Voltage Contact Closure 8 Directory 22 Distortion 70 DOS 47 Double Occupancy 35 36 Dynamic Range 70 E End Date 31 End Time 31 Ethernet Module 11 F FAQ 62 Fault 7 12 17 File MP3 48 LST 48...

Page 77: ...me 70 Resume 20 49 50 RS 232C 11 18 RXD 11 12 S S PDIF 3 6 10 70 sample rate 70 Schedule Schedule Builder 37 schedule txt 28 34 41 scheduler 22 28 29 30 34 Scheduler 21 22 28 34 35 36 Builder 37 Searc...

Reviews: