Alcorn Mcbride AM-4 Hardware And Software Reference Manual Download Page 8

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Welcome!

Features

The AM-4 Digital Audio Machine offers a wide range of features including:

•

Plays MP3 and WAV files.

•

Plays from Compact Flash Storage.

•

Near instantaneous access to files.

•

Stores over 500 Tracks.

•

Sophisticated Play List and Real-Time Clock scheduling capabilities.

•

Serial RS-232C, Parallel, or optional UDP control over 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 specifying, installing, configuring, updating and
programming your Alcorn McBride AM-4 Digital Audio Machine from several
sources:

For…

Contact…

When?…

Telephone Support

(407) 296-5800

M-F 9am–6pm (EST)

Fax Support

(407) 296-5801

M-F 9am-6pm (EST)

e-mail Support

[email protected]

Any Time

Firmware Updates

http://www.alcorn.com/support

Any Time

Summary of Contents for AM-4

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 Microsoft Word 2000 for Windows XP Version 9 0 4119 SR 1 Camera ready art and illustrations were produced using Corel DRAW Version 8 0 Digital Audio Machine is a trademark of Alcorn McBride Inc all rig...

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 Uploading New Schedules to the AM 4 40 File Types and Storage 41 Supported WAV File Formats 41 Making MP3 Files 42 Encoding 42 Quality 42 Compact Flash Media 42 Formatting the Compact Flash 43 Getting F...

Page 6: ......

Page 7: ...Disc 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 in as we have included valuable sections like one on getting started right out of the box playing audio Also we have included a section that discusses creating of MP3 material and where to get encode...

Page 8: ...r 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 specifying installing configuring updating and programming your Alcorn McBride AM 4 Digital Audio Machine from several sources For Contact When Telephone Support 407 296 5800 M F 9am 6pm EST Fax Suppor...

Page 9: ...a 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 is equipped with the speaker amplifier option connect non powered speakers 20W min power handling to the screw terminals on the back of the unit Make sure the volume control on the rear of the unit ...

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

Page 11: ...puts 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 Audio Module Option Amplifier Module Option Test Button Status LED Compact Flash Socket Parallel Control Connector Ethernet Jack option Configuration DIP Switch L R Line Level Audio Outputs Volume R...

Page 12: ...h 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 Formatting will result in the loss of all data on the Compact Flash card Status LED A dual color LED located on the front of the unit indicates status LED Behavior LED Meaning Steady green Playing St...

Page 13: ...to 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 on the 4 key DIP switch may be opened to isolate the AM 4 Digital Audio Machine s ground from its chassis For ground lifting push the DIP switch 2 to OFF Write Protect You can protect the contents o...

Page 14: ...and 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 this switch ON ...

Page 15: ...rol 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 be obtainable Balanced Outputs optional The balanced output level is 4dBu The S PDIF output is a standard IEC 958 signal The AM 4 Digital Audio Machine can be ordered with a module which supplies bala...

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 DO NOT EXCEED THE SPECIFIED INPUT VOLTAGE RANGE An external 100 250 VAC 50 60Hz input universal switching power supply is provided with the unit A plastic strain relief can be threaded through slots...

Page 17: ...d 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 for the return The pinout of the Control Connector is shown below Pin Function Pin Function 1 Mute 20 Ground 2 Pause see Note 1 21 Ground 3 Stop 22 Ground 4 Loop see Note 2 23 Ground 5 File Select 1 2...

Page 18: ...oop 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 5 24 Binary encoded input plays files 1 15 File Select 2 16 6 6 25 Binary encoded input plays files 1 15 File Select 4 17 7 7 26 Binary encoded input plays files 1 15 File Select 8 18 8 8 27 Binary e...

Page 19: ...rapped 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 is strapped it will play indefinitely The simplest possible configuration is to connect four switches to the unit s four file select lines These switches will play files 1 2 4 and 8 The missing file n...

Page 20: ...the 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 File Select 8 Decrease Volume This allows the use of just two toggle switches for playlist selection and volume control ...

Page 21: ...vious 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 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 2 21 1 20 4 23 3 22 6 25 5 24 8 27 7 26 10 29 9 28 12 31 11 30 14 33 13 32 16 35 15 34 18 37 17 36 19 Clip 3 1 2 Clip 1 1 2 Clip 2 1 2 C...

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 detects a fault condition You can also control these outputs with serial Relay commands One practical application of this is to embed the Relay commands in a playlist along with Play Sound commands This w...

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 based and many commands are identical to Pioneer Laser Disc protocol Upper or lower case characters can be used interchangeably The most commonly used serial commands for playback are Command Functio...

Page 24: ...ed 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 Descri...

Page 25: ...ommand 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 Message Response R CR Comments If a Select File command is issued while in Pause mode playback will start from the beginning of the selected file whenever another Play command is issued Reset Descri...

Page 26: ...ile 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 Play PL CR R CR upon receipt CR upon completion File needs to be Selected first using the SE command Loop LP CR R CR File needs to be Selected first using the SE command Play Next see note 3 nPN CR w...

Page 27: ...R 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 R CR m hh mm ssTI ex 01 02 56TI military time Set Daylight Saving Time Support On Off nSD CR R CR n 1 use DST n 0 don t use DST Set Daylight Saving Time Type nnnDT CR R CR nnn USA UTC or AUS for now...

Page 28: ...00 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 Clock Calibration nTC CR R CR n ss or ss where 0 ss 59 number of seconds to advance or retard real time clock each day Get RTC Calibration TC CR n CR n ss see above Set Device ID nID CR R CR n number ...

Page 29: ...ommunication 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 recommended brand E12 Search Error Selecting the correct file Is the file on the card Is it named correctly Ethernet Control Note This section only applies only if your AM 4 is equipped with the optional ...

Page 30: ...AM4 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 corresponds exactly to an Addressed Pioneer AMI serial command Control Message Checksum The Checksum is the summation of the hexadecimal value of all of the bytes in the Control Message except the first byte ...

Page 31: ...receives 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 wrapper The responses are sent to the IP Address and UDP Port number found in the UDP packet that contained the original Control Message As with the Addressable serial protocol any Control Message sent to ...

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

Page 33: ...dio 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 start or stop playback of a particular file or playlist at a particular time It essentially executes the same serial commands used for external control of the AM 4 except that it does so on a schedul...

Page 34: ...arameter 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 necessary S Repeat Set special case usage described below Although not a field this marks a comment Now that we have seen a table of the event fields let s look at Example 1 Here are its fields Star...

Page 35: ...30 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 Anything found after a semicolon is ignored by the scheduler You can place a comment on its own line if you like The Repeat Number acts as a multiplier of the Repeat Period They should be read in co...

Page 36: ...uted 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 active simple means gets executed You specify it in a variety of ways You can use periods slashes or dashes to separate the fields of the dates Dates from the year 2000 to the year 2099 are supported ...

Page 37: ...s 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 an example of holidays to explain what using a set can do for you Over the period of a year you may want to schedule events for some holidays Unfortunately not all holidays land on the same date eve...

Page 38: ...od 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 present For example in order to create a monthly schedule you can specify the Repeat Set as month Sets can be one of the following Month January February March April May June July August September Oc...

Page 39: ...ond 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 o...

Page 40: ...t 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 Profile an event s startslot endslot type defined below Double Occupancy two events in the same slot The following types of events exist in the AM 4 One shots One time events with no repeat Loops Repeati...

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 unintentionally line up Ex A 3hour infinite and a weekly infinite will eventually overlap if programmed on same timestamp of the day but not necessarily the same datestamp One shot Overrides one shots tha...

Page 42: ...your 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 interface Select File New and choose your product from the pop up dialog box The Add Edit event Window appears ...

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 Play We have also selected file number 5 in the next box ...

Page 44: ...Repeat 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 the dialog box or manually edit the events yourself ...

Page 45: ...ule 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 on errors etc Then press OK and press Run ...

Page 46: ...AM 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 then name your schedule schedule new before uploading it The AM 4 will rename your current schedule to schedule old rename schedule new to schedule scl and load it into memory Important The actual up...

Page 47: ...ded 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 sample rates Supported Sample Rates Khz 8 11 025 16 22 050 32 44 1 48 Note that a WAV file can take up a considerable amount of storage space on your Compact Flash card compared with its MP3 encoded ...

Page 48: ...Go 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 consumes about ten times as much storage space per minute This is based on a 128Kbps sample rate You CAN get better than CD quality audio in an MP3 file you just have to make sure your source material i...

Page 49: ...o 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 The card included with your AM 4 has already been formatted and contains a sample audio file so it is not necessary to reformat it unless you re filling it with new sounds The easiest way to do this...

Page 50: ...d 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 are still in Windows Whenever possible use DOS because DOS uses the same naming convention as the AM 4 Digital Audio Machine but Windows does not Change directories to the directory where your files ...

Page 51: ...g 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 0 254 at the command prompt without the quotes with the IP address replaced by the AM 4 s IP address You should get a connection to the AM 4 and it should ask for a username Type the username It shou...

Page 52: ...PLY00002 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 are invaluable in stand alone applications If PLY00000 LST contains only a SH command it will shuffle play all the audio files on the media on power up File 00000 is an autoexec file A file numbered 0...

Page 53: ...h 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 List is being used the commands are processed in the order in which they appear in the list The Play List is an ASCII text file and can be made using any ASCII text editor like notepad or DOS edit or us...

Page 54: ...ing 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 Play List reactivating the same File Select inputs or sending the serial play command take on different meanings depending upon whether the unit is playing paused or waiting Here is how they behave M...

Page 55: ...anged 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 line where a carriage return is encountered 5PL 60PL The i character places the AM 4 Digital Audio Machine into interruptible mode which means that the unit will respond to discrete Select inputs and...

Page 56: ...ode 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 background track In other words if the fourth 1LP in the above example playlist was replaced with a 10LP then Sound Number 10 would then become the new Background sound Example Play List with Output Rela...

Page 57: ...oducts 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 get a firmware version back from the unit Compare that to the version number listed on the website If you need an upgrade continue Also if you have a serial connection you ll get status info during t...

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 it contains are continuously compared to the incoming GPS data As each coordinate or waypoint in the playlist is matched the AM 4 responds by executing the next line of the playlist While the AM 4 is ...

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 Set Background command which tells the AM 4 what sound to play and loop while waiting for the next sound to be triggered After the triggered sound plays the background track picks up from where it l...

Page 61: ...direction 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 trigger independently of direction remove the direction parameter and the point will trigger no matter which direction you re going Tolerance The amount of tolerance at which a particular trigger occurs f...

Page 62: ...ion 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 on the Update Map button Note you may have to scroll down to view the map GPS Setup If you are having trouble getting a connection to your GPS input source click on the GPS Setup button to change bau...

Page 63: ...ound 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 Step 2 select the fade in time in the Data2 column Step 3 Select an initial Tolerance by clicking on the next to the Tolerance box This number will normally depend on how fast the vehicle is traveling f...

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 Latitude box on the first line and hit the Space Bar GPS Builder records the coordinate and advances to the next line After this point all you need to do is hit the Space Bar each time you want to log an...

Page 65: ...tputs 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 detected The LED will blink RED while the GPS sensor is acquiring GPS satellite data The diagram below shows the proper connection using the Alcorn McBride GPS Kit Place the GPS sensor on top of the vehicl...

Page 66: ...passed 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 next playlist Note also that you do not need to play a sound at the point where the new playlist takes over All you need to do is call up the new playlist at which time it will take over and start lo...

Page 67: ...l 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 t play them A Did you ever use Windows instead of DOS to copy the files over If so reformat the Compact Flash in the AM 4 Digital Audio Machine and go back through the steps Q Can I control the AM 4 ...

Page 68: ...o 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 together pins 2 and 3 on your computer s serial port cable It should echo back to you the keys you type from a terminal emulator like Hyperterminal o Are you using the correct commands listed in the Advan...

Page 69: ...ction 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 should be set for GPS operation 2 Verify that your GPS receiver mouse is connected 3 Make sure that the receiver has acquired the GPS satellites LED will blink RED until acquision has occurred ...

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 connectors left and right audio Rear Panel Barrel connector 2 5 mm x 5 5 mm x 10 mm for power Optional Rear Panel Screw Terminal Speaker Connectors 20Watts 8ohms Rear Panel XLR 1 4 inch Combo Connectors ...

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 00000 47 8 3 Format 47 File Select 12 File Types 42 Firmware iv 3 23 52 Firmware Version 23 Format 22 Formatting 7 44 Frequency Response 70 FTP 11 23 34 41 45 46 62 G Getting Files Into Your Box 45 ...

Page 77: ...ime 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 Search 19 serial cable 11 Serial Control 18 Serial Port 9 11 Serial Port Mode 9 Serial Protocol 21 SND 47 Specifications 70 Start Date 29 30 31 Start Time 29 30 31 35 Stop 12 Storage 22 strain relief 11 s...

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