LINDY CPU Switch USB Installation and Use Part 32 341 Model LINDY CPU Switch USB PC Part 32 342 Model LINDY CPU Switch USB Mac LINDY CPU Switch USB Installation and Use First edition (January 2000)© 2000 LINDY Electronics Ltd.
About this manual LINDY CPU Switch USB - Installation and Use First edition (January 2000) Part No. 32341 + 32342 © 2000 LINDY Electronics Ltd. All rights reserved. Whilst every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this manual, LINDY Electronics Ltd assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.
Warranty LINDY Electronics Ltd warrants that this product shall be free from defects in workmanship and materials for a period of one year from the date of original purchase. If the product should fail to operate correctly in normal use during the warranty period, LINDY will replace or repair it free of charge. No liability can be accepted for damage due to misuse or circumstances outside LINDY’s control.
Radio Frequency Energy Shielded cables must be used with this equipment to maintain compliance with radio frequency energy emission regulations and ensure a suitably high level of immunity to electromagnetic disturbances. European EMC directive 89/336/EEC This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a class B computing device in accordance with the specifications in the European standard EN55022.
Contents 1. Introduction .................................................................................... 6 1.1 Key features........................................................................................... 6 1.2 Package contents (models 32 341 and 32 342) .................................... 7 1.3 Remote controller contents (part code: 32 255) .................................... 7 1.4 Product information ............................................................................... 8 2.
3. Using the LINDY CPU Switch USB ............................................... 18 3.1 Power on status ..................................................................................... 18 3.2 Front panel key ..................................................................................... 18 3.3 Switching between computers using the LINDY CPU Switch USB ....... 19 3.4 Status display ........................................................................................ 19 3.
1. Introduction Thank you for purchasing the LINDY CPU Switch USB. Your LINDY CPU Switch USB is a high performance keyboard, monitor, mouse and peripheral sharing device which supports a wide range of hardware and software platforms and connects to your computers via their USB ports. 1.1 Key features PC and MAC models • Enables a keyboard, monitor, mouse and range of USB peripherals to be switched between four USB-enabled computers. • Uses new innovative technology that is Patent Pending in the U.K.
• Supports monitor display data channel signalling (DDC1 & DDC2) enabling your computer to communicate with the monitor. • Supports autoscan for easy monitoring of computer activity. • Enables switching between all computer ports or just active computer ports for maximum convenience. PC models • PS/2-style keyboard and mouse ports enable a traditional style PC keyboard and mouse to be connected to the LINDY CPU Switch USB.
1.4 Product information Fig.
Fig. 2 - Remote control pad / display (optional accessory) (Part: 32 255) Fig.
2. Installation 2.1 What you will need • A suitable USB-enabled operating system running on each of your computers. Suitable operating systems are Windows 98 release 2 or later and Mac OS 8.6 or later. Earlier operating system versions are not recommended and may cause occasional problems. Other operating systems such as Windows ® 2000, HP® ® ® ® ® ® UX , Linux , SCO UNIX , and Novell NetWare have USB support or are likely to add it soon. DOS, Windows 3.
You may connect standard 2 or 3 button PS/2 or IntelliMouse compatible mice to the PS/2 mouse port on the LINDY CPU Switch USB PC model 32 341. The LINDY CPU Switch USB supports ‘Internet Mice’ that are compatible with the Microsoft IntelliMouse. These are fitted with a wheel or other scroll control and sometimes have additional buttons.
USB cable has different connectors on each end. This ensures that it connects to the correct ports. The type A connector (rectangular) plugs into the computer and the type B connector (square) plugs into the LINDY CPU Switch USB. USB cables should be no longer than 5 metres but this distance may be extended with the use of USB hubs. You should use tri-coax video cables to achieve a good video picture (the type of thick cable that you see on computer monitor connections).
Figure 4 - a typical LINDY CPU Switch USB installation whereby a range of peripherals are shared between four computers LINDY CPU Switch USB Installation and Use Page 15
2.4 Configuring the LINDY CPU Switch USB The LINDY CPU Switch USB is supplied pre-configured with factory defaults which are suitable for most applications.
2.4.1 Setting the USB enumeration guard time (option switches 5 and 6) A USB-enabled computer detects and configures USB peripherals when they are connected to or disconnected from its USB ports. This process is called enumeration. You can often see when the enumeration process is in progress as the computer will usually display a timer or hourglass for a few seconds after the connection of a USB peripheral whilst the device is being enumerated.
2.4.3 Setting the LINDY CPU Switch USB to scan all ports or just the active ports The LINDY CPU Switch USB’s front panel button may be used to select the required computer. To avoid the need to press the key more times than necessary the LINDY CPU Switch USB may be set to scan just the ports that have powered computers attached. When the LINDY CPU Switch USB has been set to scan these ‘active’ ports, only these ports may be selected using the front panel button.
disabled using option switch 3. If the third button is being used to switch the LINDY CPU Switch USB then it is not available for use with PC software although the function of an IntelliMouse wheel is not affected. If you wish to use the full function of a 3 button mouse or IntelliMouse for your PC software then you should disable mouse channel switching. 2.5 Powering on the LINDY CPU Switch USB The LINDY CPU Switch USB is powered from the supplied mains power adapter.
has been disconnected and triggers the automatic recovery system. Plug in the LINDY PS/2 mouse and the LINDY CPU Switch USB will re-initialise it.
3. Using the LINDY CPU Switch USB This section explains the general operation of the LINDY CPU Switch USB. We recommend that you read this section before starting to use the product. 3.1 Power on status At power on the LINDY CPU Switch USB selects computer number 1 and displays ’1’ on the front panel numerical display. 3.
3.3 Switching between computers using the LINDY CPU Switch USB When you select a new computer using the LINDY CPU Switch USB, the peripherals that were connected to the old computer will be disconnected and allocated to the new computer regardless of whether they are currently servicing jobs on the old computer. For example, if you are printing from the old computer and you switch to a new computer before the print job is complete then only part of your print job will actually be printed.
3.5 Keyboard hotkey control (model 32 341 only) The LINDY CPU Switch USB may be conveniently controlled by pressing keyboard hotkey combinations on the keyboard attached to the PS/2 style keyboard port (see figure 4). All of the hotkey control commands are invoked by holding down the two hotkeys and then pressing a command key. By default, the two hotkeys are ‘CTRL’ and ‘ALT’, although other combinations can be selected (see section 2.4.4).
the command key before a new hotkey command is accepted by the LINDY CPU Switch USB. HOTKEYs + TAB is an exception and this allows you to ’tab through’ the ports by holding down the hotkeys and repeatedly pressing TAB.
3.6 Mouse control (model 32 341 only) The LINDY CPU Switch USB’s channels may be changed using a three button mouse or IntelliMouse. In order to switch to the next channel simply hold down the central mouse button or wheel button and click on the left hand mouse button. The channel will then change to the next channel. The next channel may be the next active channel or the next channel in numerical sequence depending on the setting of option switch 8 (see section 2.4.3). 3.
3.9 Querying the LINDY CPU Switch USB’s firmware version For technical support reasons it may sometimes be desirable to know the firmware version of your LINDY CPU Switch USB. If the front panel key is held down whilst the LINDY CPU Switch USB is powered on then the firmware version will be displayed as a sequence of numbers and characters. The three digits of the firmware version are shown in sequence on the 7-segment display, one at a time, alternating with the letter F.
Appendix A. Cable specifications Shielded cables must be used with this equipment to maintain compliance with radio frequency energy emission regulations and ensure a suitably high level of immunity to electromagnetic disturbances. A1. USB cables The construction and maximum length of USB cables is specified in the USB standard. You should only use cables that conform to this USB standard. These cables will be shielded and no longer than 5 metres in length.
if you wish to extend the distance between the LINDY CPU Switch USB and the monitor then you may use a tri-coax video extension cable. This cable should preferably be no longer than 10 metres although cable runs up to 20 metres long may also give acceptable video quality. A3. PS/2 style keyboard and mouse extension cables PS/2 style keyboards and mice will plug directly into the LINDY CPU Switch USB model 32 341.
Appendix B. Problem Solving Problem: Peripherals hang after the LINDY CPU Switch USB’s channel is changed. Action: Ensure that you are using a suitable operating system (see section 2.1). Operating systems such as versions of Mac OS earlier than 8.6 are known to have associated problems. Ensure that you are not reading from or writing to USB connected disk drives whilst you are switching between computers.
