PT3 Protocol Translator OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS and trouble-shooting guide LECTROSONICS, INC.
INTRODUCTION The PT3 Protocol Translator offers convenient and flexible control of LecNet™ equipment from an AMX®1 control system or a MIDI interface. Armed with intrinsic knowledge of all three protocols, the PT3 is simultaneously an AMX-compatible peripheral, a MIDI receiver, and a LecNet controller.
Protocol Translator FCC PART 15 NOTICE This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residen tial installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications.
REAR PANEL CONTROLS AND FUNCTIONS PWR AXP AXM GND MIDI LecNet EXPANSION AXlink PORT AXlink PORT The four pin AXlink connector is fully compatible with those used on other AMX-compatible equipment. When facing the rear panel with the PT3 right side up, the pins are, from left to right, GND, AXM, AXP, and PWR. MIDI JACK The MIDI jack is a standard MIDI input. Connect to any MIDI output jack with a standard MIDI cable (5 pin DIN, all pins connected straight through).
Protocol Translator PWR IN (CH40) 20 VAC M A S T E R EXPANSION S L A V E OUT IN RS232 IN RS232 IN RS232 AM8 (Master) Switch in MASTER Position PWR IN (CH40) 20 VAC M A S T E R EXPANSION S L A V E OUT AM8 (Slave) Switch in SLAVE Position PWR IN (CH40) 20 VAC M A S T E R EXPANSION S L A V E OUT AM8 (Slave) Switch in SLAVE Position AXP LecNet EXPANSION PWR AXM GND MIDI PT3 Rear Panel AXlink PORT LECTROSONICS PT 3 PROTOCOL TRANSLATOR PC PORT (RS-232) PWR (CH40) POWER/ PC L
The PT3 software comes with a large list of common LecNet actions for a wide variety of LecNet devices. This list is stored as a separate disk file (actions.ini) which may be updated from Lectrosonics’s web site as new LecNet devices are introduced (see ACTION AND MONITOR FILES in the ADVANCED CONCEPTS section for the web address). The list is also user-extensible, via the user-friendly Actions Master List editor.
Protocol Translator are provided to help organize the list cosmetically, however the order is not important to the functioning of the PT3. It is valid, and fairly common, to have an empty monitor map. The PT3 Status frame displays the current status of the connection between the computer and the PT3. The connec tion has three states, as explained in the table below. Not Connected The computer is not currently communicating with the PT3.
The File menu offers the usual commands, plus two special ones. New prepares the software for composing new settings by initializing all controls. Open reads settings in from a previously saved file. Save saves your work in the current file. Save As saves your work in any file you specify. Filenames are limited to 8 characters in length. Import from PT3 loads the current settings from an attached PT3. This is done automatically if a PT3 can be detected when the software is started.
Protocol Translator DEVICE LIST WINDOW The Device List window tells the PT3 what LecNet devices will be connected. These settings affect what options will be available in the other windows, and thus should be supplied first. On the left side is the Device Select frame, showing the device list itself. The New and Delete buttons may be used to edit the list. To change a list entry, select it in the list, then make edits in the Device Settings frame. LecNet ID must contain the official name of the device (e.
EDIT LECNET MONITOR MAP ENTRY WINDOW The Edit LecNet Monitor Map Entry window describes a single monitor map entry. At the top is listed the LecNet device and selected monitor. If the required device isn’t listed or if no device is listed, use the device list window to add devices. If the required monitor is not available, you may use the Monitors Master List window to create it. At the bottom the AXlink mapping is described. Three types of mapping are possible.
Protocol Translator On the left side of the window is an editable list of LecNet actions. The New and Delete buttons may be used to extend or shorten the list. Lectrosonics-supplied actions cannot be deleted or edited, but may be browsed here for informational purposes. User actions are added to the end of the list. To the right are the action details. The Device Type is the name identifying the LecNet device.
On the left side of the window is an editable list of LecNet monitors. The New and Delete buttons may be used to extend or shorten the list. Lectrosonics-supplied monitors cannot be deleted or edited, but may be browsed here for informational purposes. User monitors are added to the end of the list. To the right side are the monitor details. The Device Type is the name the LecNet device uses to identify itself.
Protocol Translator 2. From the Setup menu, invoke the Options window. Here, we will tell the PT3 its identity with respect to the MIDI interface and the AXlink bus. The default MIDI channel is 1. Channel 1 is probably acceptable, though you should select a different channel if you are aware of any conflicts. If you are simply testing the PT3 with a musical keyboard, you needn’t worry about conflicts. The AXlink device number setting has no effect if AMXcompatible equipment is not connected.
5. From the main window’s Action Map frame, click New... again. Change the settings to translate MIDI note 62 (the D above middle C) to the AM8’s Auto/Direct All Direct action, as shown. When invoked, this action will instruct the AM8 to set all inputs to Direct mode, lighting all eight channel status LEDs. Click OK when done. A summary of the new translation should appear in the main window’s action map, as shown in the figure for step 7. 6. From the main window’s Action Map frame, click New... again.
Protocol Translator 8. If the PT3 is connected, you may now transfer your new settings to it by clicking the Go Live button. The Power/PC LED on the PT3 will flicker while the transfer is taking place. It is necessary to perform this step if you wish to test the PT3 in the following steps. 9. If you do not wish to test your setup, you may skip to step 16. To test the PT3 settings as transferred in step 8, disconnect the PT3’s PC port cable and power connection.
1. Start the PT3 software. If a PT3 is connected, its settings (which may be blank) will be read in at this time. If a PT3 is not connected, an informational dialog appears, stating that no PT3 was detected, but that you may still work offline. If the software failed to detect a PT3 in spite of the fact that it is connected, refer to the TROUBLESHOOTING section.
Protocol Translator instruct the AM8 that the Auto vs. Direct status of each AM8 input shall be selected by LecNet commands, not by the dipswitches on the rear panel. If more than one LecNet device appears in the device list, you will need to select the proper device first, then the action, as only actions pertaining to the selected device appear in the action list. When the Edit LecNet Action Map Entry window is filled in as shown, click OK.
8. From the main window’s Monitor Map frame, click New... to invoke the Edit LecNet Monitor Map Entry window. Change the settings to monitor the AM8’s Chan Status 1 8, mapping to 8 AXlink channels, starting with channel 101, as shown. When active, this monitor will cause AXlink channels 101-108 to turn on and off automatically, tracking the AM8’s current channel status. When the Edit LecNet Monitor Map Entry window is filled in as shown, click OK. 9. Your main window should now look like this.
Protocol Translator command ECHO ON so you can see what you’re typing. Then enter SHOW DEVICE to see the list of connected devices. The Lectrosonics Translator should appear in the list. On older masters, it may appear as an unknown device type, recognizable as the PT3 from its AXlink device number. The PT3 will work properly even if it is identified only as an unknown device by the AMX master. The important thing is that the master must detect the device with the device number selected in step 2. 15.
the channel turn on briefly, then switch off again. Such a channel should use the AXlink Pulse mapping, so that the action happens only once when the channel switches from off to on, and not again when the channel switches from on to off. Sometimes it is desirable to have a channel remain on for as long as some state is active. A good example would be the use of a single button to toggle between muted and unmuted status.
Protocol Translator Note: For reliable operation, groups of 16 or more actions sharing a common trigger should be broken into groups of 15 or fewer actions, each with a separate trigger. INITIALIZING LECNET DEVICES Some LecNet devices require initialization before the normal action mappings will function. A good example of this is the Remote Levels On function of the AM8 mixer. This action must be sent once before any mute, unmute and volume settings will work.
This normalized trigger value is inverted (one’s complement: all bits complemented) if the action’s Value invert checkbox calls for it, then scaled to range from 0 to the action’s Max. Value parameter. The resulting number is plugged in to the action’s Value Byte and transmitted with the rest of the action. Due to the fact that LecNet com mands cannot contain bytes larger than 127, Max. Value is never larger than 127, and some adjustment to the normalized trigger value is always performed.
Protocol Translator TROUBLESHOOTING The following are just general guidelines and initial suggestions. If a problem persists, please refer to the section, SERVICE AND REPAIR. No MIDI communication Connect a known-good MIDI cable from the MIDI output jack of a musical keyboard to the PT3. Set the keyboard to OMNI mode and be sure the base MIDI channel matches the MIDI channel programmed into the PT3. If necessary, reprogram the PT3 with the base MIDI channel used by the keyboard.
SERIAL CABLE WIRING DIAGRAM The serial port on the LecNet device is a minimal RS-232 implementation. The figure shows the wiring diagram to accommodate interconnection with either a 9 or a 25 pin serial port on a PC or other serial device. LecNet Device to PC S R T 3.
Protocol Translator SERIAL PORT COMMANDS AVAILABLE All LecNet devices use a modification of the typical one-to-one connection between two RS-232 compatible devices. LecNet devices have both an RS-232 transmitter and receiver section. The transmitter section is “tri-stated”, or placed in a high impedance mode, until the particular device is addressed.
GENERAL DEVICE COMMANDS Get Device Name - Causes the PT3 to send its “name” string back. The first data byte is the length of the name string, and the rest of the data bytes are the device name. Host sends command - 1 Host receives data bytes: Byte 1 is the length of the name string (3 for the PT3), bytes 2 thru 4 are the ASCII values for “PT3”. Get Firmware Version - Causes the PT3 to send to the host the version number of the current firmware (times ten). For example, Version 1.
Protocol Translator SEND_COMMAND commands The ‘BANK0’ through ‘BANK7’ commands cause changes to levels 1-8 to be treated as different levels by the PT3, thus simulating 56 additional levels, as shown in the table below. Commonly these commands are sent at the same time a new touch panel page is displayed, to change the level assignments according to context. The bank setting affects the levels used for both actions and monitors.
MIDI DEVICE SPECIFICATIONS 1 3 5 2 4 Midi connector pinout The PT3 listens on a single MIDI channel (1-16, user selectable in the Options window) and may translate any program change, note-on, or controller message on that channel. Any MIDI program change may be translated. Program changes range from 0 to 127, though some MIDI devices number these as 1-128, and still others use more exotic schemes. Check the device’s MIDI implementation for details. Any MIDI note may be translated.
Protocol Translator SERVICE AND REPAIR If your system malfunctions, you should attempt to correct or isolate the trouble before concluding that the equipment needs repair. Make sure you have followed the setup procedure and operating instructions. Check out the intercon necting cords and then go through the TROUBLE SHOOTING section in the manual We strongly recommend that you do not try to repair the equipment yourself and do not have the local repair shop attempt anything other than the simplest repair.
LIMITEDONE ONE YEAR LIMITED YEARWARRANTY WARRANTY The equipment is warranted for one year from date of purchase against defects in materials or workmanship provided it was purchased from an authorized dealer. This warranty does not cover equipment which has been abused or damaged by careless handling or shipping. This warranty does not apply to used or demonstrator equipment. Should any defect develop, Lectrosonics, Inc.
