VF2-4S

Operator's Manual
for the VueTech® VueFinder II™
Transport Control Panel

ver 1.0

Introduction
The VueFinder II transport control panel provides basic transport control for video tape recorders and harddrive-based video recorders. This one version of the control panel plugs into any 9-pin remote control connector that supports the industry-standard RS-422 protocol. Many video machines support this protocol, including Sony, JVC, Panasonic, and some video disks units. Our RS232 versions of the VueFinder connect into the 9-pin male or 25-pin female remote control connector found on many Panasonic and some Sony VTRs.

The control knob enables the operator to have fingertip control over the Reverse Shuttle, Forward Shuttle, Reverse Jog, and Forward Jog functions. Switching is automatic between the shuttle and jog modes.

Installation
A single 9-conductor cable connects the control panel to the transport. This cable transfers power to the control panel and control data back to the deck. Simply plug one end of the supplied cable into the VueFinder II control panel and the other end into the video deck. Set the remote control switch on your video transport to "REMOTE" or "9-pin" to enable the serial port. The VueFinder II should be active at this point.

Many VTR connectors use metric thread (2.6mm) rather than the more familiar #4-40 SAE thread. VueTechâ includes the 2.6mm metric screws with all orders. All metric-threaded screws are colored on the caps to help distinguish them from SAE-threaded screws (red for 2.6mm). Be sure to install the cable with the colored jack screws, if the cable is so equipped, towards the VTR for proper thread matching.

Panel Layout and Operation
The control panel includes five pushbuttons for direct control of the Pause, Stop, Play, Record, Rewind, and Fast Forward functions. Pushing any of these buttons causes the appropriate serial command to be sent to the transport.

Stop and Pause share the button labeled Stop. One press of the Stop button causes the video transport to go into still frame mode. In the case of VTRs, the tape is still against the video playback heads. A quick, double press of the Stop button causes the video transport to stop and go into Standby Off mode. In the case of VTRs, the tape unthreads from the playback heads; some VTRs also turn off the rotary head motor.

A simultaneous push of Stop and Record buttons causes the tape cassette to eject. A simultaneous push of Stop and Rewind buttons causes the tape counter to reset to zero. This supports the Preroll option on some tape machines.

The Record button, by itself, does nothing. To record video, the Record button must be held down while pushing the Play button. This two-button lockout is intended to prevent undesired media erasures. Once a Record or Play operation has been commanded, the jog/shuttle knob is disabled so that any inadvertent bumps to the knob will not abort a record operation. As soon as the Record is terminated with a Pause or Stop, the jog/shuttle knob becomes active again for awhile. After about 90 seconds, the jog/shuttle knob will go inactive to prevent inadvertent deck actions. Pushing the Stop, Rewind, or Fast Forward buttons will reactivate the jog/shuttle knob again.

Jog/Shuttle Knob
The jog/shuttle knob is a combination of a shuttle ring with an embedded jog disk. To provide wide latitude of control, the shuttle ring has two speed ranges and always starts off in the low range. To access the high range, press the << (Rewind) or >> (Fast Forward) buttons while shuttling. Once PLAY or STOP is pressed, the speed range reverts back to slow speed. The low range includes shuttle speeds between 1/14x to 2x play speed; the high range includes shuttle speeds from 1/4x to 20x play speed.

The jog/shuttle knob is active only when in Pause, Rewind, Fast Forward, Jog, or Shuttle modes. This prevents an inadvertent bump to the jog/shuttle knob from interrupting a VTR Play or Record function. After about 90 seconds, the jog/shuttle knob will go inactive to prevent inadvertent deck actions. Pushing the Stop, Rewind, or Fast Forward buttons will reactivate the jog/shuttle knob again.

The shuttle ring is spring-loaded such that it returns to the neutral Still position when released. Rotating the shuttle ring counter-clockwise causes the VTR to move into ever-faster reverse shuttle speeds. Rotating the shuttle ring clockwise causes the VTR to move into ever-faster forward shuttle speeds. The low-speed shuttles use the following tape speeds: 1/14, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, 1, and 2, in both forward and reverse directions. The high-speed shuttles use the following tape speeds: 1/4, 1/2, 1, 2.2, 4.5, 9.3, and 20, in both forward and reverse directions.

Inside the shuttle ring is the jog disk. The jog disk turns completely in either direction, with clockwise rotation causing a slow forward creep of the VTR video. The VueFinder's Jog/Shuttle knob will remain active until a Stop, Record, or Eject is commanded.

Cabling
All VueFinder II control panels are shipped with cables suitable for direct connection to the VTR. Should you wish to use custom cables (e.g. - to increase length), use the following wiring charts:

RS422 Cable

 

Panel 9 pin D:

 

Direction:

 

VTR 9 pin D:

 

 

Mandatory Signals:

pin 2

 

<=

 

pin 2

 

Receive -

 

pin 3

 

=>

 

pin 3

 

Transmit +

 

pin 4

 

--

 

pin 4

 

Ground

 

pin 7

 

<=

 

pin 7

 

Receive +

 

pin 8

 

=>

 

pin 8

 

Transmit -

 

 

Panel 9 pin D:

 

Direction:

 

VTR 9 pin D:

 

 

Optional Signals:

pin 1

 

--

 

pin 1

 

Shield

 

pin 5

 

--

 

pin 5

 

Undefined

 

pin 6

 

--

 

pin 6

 

Ground

 

pin 9

 

--

 

pin 9

 

Shield

For the edit pass-through connector, an identical pin-for-pin cable is used between the edit controller and the VueFinder II panel.

GPI Connections
The GPI input pins need to be connected to ground via a switch for the assigned function to occur. Use only as long a GPI cable as necessary; longer cables are more susceptible to noise than shorter cables. The use of shielded cabling will also help reduce the effects of electrical noise. Intermittent and unexplained deck control might be due to electrical noise. If the VueFinder II control panel works well only without the GPI cable attached, the GPI cable is likely at fault.

The pin assignments are as follows:

Pin

 

Function

4:

 

Play

5:

 

Pause

7:

 

Record

8:

 

Preroll

9:

 

Ground

(All other pins are reserved for future use.)

The above functions work in the same manner as the corresponding front panel buttons, with Pause being the same as a single push of the Stop button.

 

 

NOTE: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful interference in which case the user will be required to correct the interference at his own expense.

 

Should you encounter any troubles or have any suggestions, please contact the technical service number listed below.