Alcorn Mcbride AM-4, Hardware And Software Reference Manual

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Scheduler 33
Restrictions
Since the Scheduler is very flexible, it is easier to explain what you cannot do, than to
explain what you can.
1. When using BOOT as the Repeat Period, the Repeat Number can only be one.
The unit does not keep track of the number of times hit has rebooted. You can
put in other numbers, but it will ignore them.
2. Whatever combination you choose between Repeat Number and Repeat Period
should not multiply out to be greater than a century. For example, don’t repeat
an event every 102 years.
3. One event executes per minute. If you want more and you haven’t already
purchased a small show controller, like the InterActivator, then get one of these.
It can increase the amount of events you can generate from 1per minute to 30 per
second * 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 own line, if you like.
You can use spaces or tabs to organize your schedule. They both are ignored.
Examples:
;This is a comment on its own line
T:1:00 D:1-1-01 E:
Command
1:"5PL" ;this is a comment too
Order of Operations
Here is a listing of times when The AM-4 checks the schedule and the operations
afterwards.
1. AM-4 loads the schedule from schedule.scl (default) at:
a. Boot up
b. After an FTP transfer (with optional Ethernet module installed)
c. After a new Compact Flash card is installed with a schedule.scl file.
d. Every night at midnight.
2. The AM-4 gets today’s date (or already knows it) from built in RTC.
3. The AM-4 parses the schedule and loads all of today’s active events.
4. If it is a bootup that caused the schedule load, the Bootup event gets loaded.