LasrPlay Programming

  PROGRAMMING THE LASRPLAY

  You only need to program the LasrPlay if it was not done for you when you ordered it or if you want to adjust some of the parameters.

  The LasrPlay comes with programs for MS-DOS (or PC-DOS) and for Windows95/98. Most newer PC's are running Windows95 or 98 while most older PC's are running DOS or Windows 3. If your machine is using Windows 3 then you must exit Windows and use the DOS program. Do not "shell" to DOS from Windows as this will not let the software find your serial port. Be very careful in choosing the modes and other parameters that you program into the LasrPlay. If you use modes or parameters that don't match your laserdisc disc, that channel will fail to work.

Programming in Windows95/98

  1. Connect the LasrPlay programming cable to a serial port on an IBM style PC computer. PC type computers have serial ports with either 9 pin connectors or 25 pin connectors. Most newer ones just have 9 pins. The LasrPlay programming cable has a 9 pin serial connector. If your computer is an old model with a 25 pin serial port, you will need to get a 25 pin to 9 pin serial adapter. They are available at most computer and electronic parts stores.

  2. Turn on the computer and let Windows 95 or 98 boot.

  3. Plug the power cord into the back of the LasrPlay, and plug it into the wall. If it is a rackmount version, turn on the power switch.

  4. Connect the LasrPlay programming cable to the LasrPlay channel to be programmed (each channel must be programmed separately). For multi channel synchronizers you should just start with the first channel and repeat this process for all channels.

  5. If you installed your software on your desktop, double-click it now. If you did a full installation, click the Start button, then Programs, Dave Jones Design, and select LasrSync. If you didn't install the software, put the disk in your floppy drive, double click on My Computer, then double-click on 3-1/2 Floppy, then double click on the LasrSync folder, and finally double-click on the LasrSync.exe icon.

  6. Once LasrSync opens, go to the Synchronizer menu and select Find Synchronizer.

  7. If you know which serial port your LasrPlay is connected to, select it. If you don't know, then select Auto Detect.

  8. Click on the Find Now button and hit the reset switch on the front of the LasrPlay. The software will test you serial ports and try to locate the synchronizer. If you get an error message, check the cable or try using the Auto Detect setting.

  9. If it finds your synchronizer it will load the parameters that are currently programmed into it and it will display them in a window that will let you change them.

  10. Read the section of this manual called Parameters To Change in order to understand the various parameters. Change them on this window to what you want.

  11. Once you have set all of the parameters the way you want, hit the Save To Synchronizer button. Until you do this the parameters have only changed on the screen, not inside the synchronizer.

  12. If you want to change more channels on the synchronizer, move the programming cable to the next channel, otherwise skip over the next step and go to step number 14.

  13. Hit the reset switch on the front of the synchronizer and wait for the LED to change from red to orange. This takes about 7 seconds. Now click the Load From Synchronizer button on the screen and go back to step 10 in these instructions.

  14. When you are done programming the synchronizer, simply disconnect the cable and click on the Cancel button on the screen. Then select Exit from the File menu to close the program.
 

Programming under DOS

  1. Connect the LasrPlay programming cable to a serial port on an IBM style PC computer. If the computer only has one or two serial ports, it doesn't matter which port you use. If it has more than 2 then you must find out which ones are COM1 or COM2. PC type computers have serial ports with either 9 pin connectors or 25 pin connectors. The LasrPlay programming cable has a 9 pin serial connector. If your computer is an old model with a 25 pin serial port, you will need to get a 25 pin to 9 pin serial adapter. They are available at most computer and electronic parts stores.

  2. Turn on the computer. The LASRCUST software is a DOS program, so if the computer comes up in Windows 3.x you need to close Windows (by double clicking on the box in the upper left corner of program manager and answering "yes" when it asks if you want to end Windows). You should not run a DOS shell under Windows, you should quit Windows. If the computer comes up in Windows 95 and you plan to use the DOS program, you need to restart in DOS only mode. Click on the Start button in the lower left corner of the task bar then select Shut Down, then Restart the computer in MS-DOS mode. Some customers have had problems programming on machines with specific Local Area Network cards. If you experience this, see the special note in the "Common Problems" section at the end of this manual.

  3. If your LasrPlay is in a rackmount box, make sure that the power switch on the front is off. Plug the power cord into the back of the LasrPlay, and plug it into the wall.

  4. Connect the LasrPlay programming cable to the LasrPlay channel to be programmed (each channel must be programmed separately). For multi channel synchronizers you should just start with the first channel and repeat this process for all channels.

  5. If you installed the software on your computer, change to the drive it is installed on by entering the drive letter followed by a colon and then hit Enter. If you didn't install the software on your computer, put the disk into the floppy and type in A: (or B: if that is your floppy) and hit enter.

  6. Now change to the directory the software is in by typing CD \LASRCUST and hitting Enter.

  7. If your LasrPlay is a rackmount version, push the power switch (it should light up). Smaller LasrPlays will already be on at this point.

  8. Enter LASRCUST at the keyboard but do not hit the Enter key yet.

  9. Hit the reset switch on the front of the LasrPlay. Wait for the lights on the front of the LasrPlay to change from red to orange (this takes about 7 seconds).

  10. As soon as the lights change to orange, hit the Enter key on the keyboard. This runs the software. It will now try to find the correct serial port and the LasrPlay connected to it.

  11. If everything has been done correctly, you should now see a list of the parameters programmed into the LasrPlay as well as the list of commands available to you. If instead, you see some error messages or were returned to the DOS prompt, check the cable connections and try again or see the Common Problems section at the end of this manual.

  12. When you first start the program, the first parameter in the list will be highlighted. Use the up and down arrow keys on the keyboard to move the highlight from parameter to parameter until you get to the one you want to change. See the "Parameters To Change" section before this section in this manual.

  13. When you have highlighted the parameter you wish to change, hit the "enter" key on the keyboard. For BAUD rate and Synchronize this will toggle between each of the choices. For the number or text items this will then let you enter that parameter. For number and text items simply hit the "enter" key again when done to accept the new data.

  14. Once you have set the parameters that you wish to change, you must hit the 'S' key on the keyboard to save the new parameters into the LasrPlay. Until you hit the 'S' key, the new parameters have not been sent to the LasrPlay.

  15. If you are finished programming all of the channels that you plan to change you can skip steps 16 through 19. Disconnect the programming cable from the LasrPlay and then hit the "escape" or "ESC" key on the keyboard. If you can't find this key then hit the "X" key. You can now turn off the computer and disconnect the other end of the programming cable.

  16. If you have more channels to program, you should now move the programming cable to a different channel on the LasrPlay.

  17. Hit the reset switch on the front of the LasrPlay and wait for the lights to change from red to orange.

  18. As soon as the lights change from red to orange, hit the "L" key on the keyboard and the program will read the current data from the new channel and display it on the screen. If there is a problem reading the new channel, you will see an error message. If this happens, try steps 17 and 18 again.

  19. Repeat steps 12 through 18 for each channel on the LasrPlay that you want to program.