Cognisys SCOUT User manual

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Owner’s Manual
Revision 1.0
Copyright 2021 Cognisys, Inc.

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Table of Contents
1. SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS .................................................................................................................................. 3
2. GETTING STARTED ......................................................................................................................................... 3
2.1 WHAT IS THE SCOUT REMOTE?............................................................................................................................4
2.2 WHAT IS INCLUDED ...........................................................................................................................................4
2.3 BATTERY INSTALLATION ......................................................................................................................................5
2.4 QUICK START GUIDE ..........................................................................................................................................6
2.5 CLEANING AND CARE .........................................................................................................................................7
2.5.1 Cleaning ...................................................................................................................................................7
2.5.2 Care and storage......................................................................................................................................7
2.6 USB CONNECTOR .............................................................................................................................................8
2.7 MODE BUTTON ................................................................................................................................................8
2.8 RECORD BUTTON ..............................................................................................................................................9
2.9STOP BUTTON ..................................................................................................................................................9
2.10 LED INDICATORS...............................................................................................................................................9
2.11 “PAIRING”TO YOUR CAMERA BOX .....................................................................................................................10
2.12 TURNING ON THE REMOTE ................................................................................................................................10
3. EXAMPLE ..................................................................................................................................................... 11
3.1 VIDEO RECORDING USING SONY CAMERAS...........................................................................................................11
3.2 VIDEO RECORDING AND STILLS FOR OTHER CAMERAS ............................................................................................11
3.3 THE CAMERA TRAPPING CARDINAL RULE .............................................................................................................13
4. INSTALLING THE REFLASH SOFTWARE (OPTIONAL)...................................................................................... 14
4.1 WINDOWS INSTALLATION .................................................................................................................................14
4.2 OS XINSTALLATION.........................................................................................................................................14
5. TROUBLESHOOTING .................................................................................................................................... 15
6. SPECIFICATIONS .......................................................................................................................................... 16
7. WARRANTY ................................................................................................................................................. 17
8. REVISION HISTORY ...................................................................................................................................... 18

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1. Safety Instructions
WARNING indicates a potentially hazardous situation which, if not avoided, could result in death
or serious injury.
Follow all CAUTION notices to reduce the risk of personal injury, prevent damage to the Scout
equipment, accessories, and devices (computers, cameras, flashes, etc). Failure to follow all
CAUTION notices may void your warranty. CAUTION may also indicate a potentially hazardous
situation which, if not avoided, may result in personal injury.
The safety alert symbol precedes a general CAUTION or WARNING statement.
The electrical hazard symbol precedes an electric shock hazard CAUTION or WARNING
statement.
CAUTION: Only use approved power sources for Scout equipment. Use of other power
adapters or batteries may damage the controller and/or attached equipment.
CAUTION: Misuse of Scout equipment could potentially damage your equipment. Cognisys, Inc.
will not be held liable for damage to your equipment. If you have questions about safety please
contact us!
2. Getting Started
The latest version of this manual is available on our website at:
Scout Remote Manual
Not big on reading manuals? (What? No thumbs-up? We worked hard on this you know!) We
have a few real world setups in the “3 - Example” section. You can always come back to the
technical details if you get stuck. You really should finish reading this section though – it goes
through battery replacement and the basic care of your Remote.

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2.1 What is the Scout Remote?
The Scout Remote is an accessory for the Scout Camera Box. It allows you to manually activate
the camera inside the Scout Camera Box.
The Scout Remote has several features:
•Wireless communication to the Camera Box
•Bi-directional communication to confirm a picture or video was taken
•Perfect for manual activation while hunkered down in a blind
•Can be used in combination with sensors
•Easy setup (Plug and Play)
•200+ days battery life
•Wide operating temperature range: -40C – 105C (-40F – 221F)
The Scout Remote requires that the Camera Box is running software version 1.0.05 or greater.
Note: Unlike other Scout equipment, the Remote is not weatherproof – so try and keep it dry!
2.2 What is Included
The Scout Remote includes:
•Scout Remote
•Quick-start guide insert
If you purchased the Scout Remote as a kit it may include additional accessories.

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2.3 Battery Installation
Battery installation is a simple process and because the Remote has excellent battery life – you
won’t have to do it often!
The Remote is designed to use AA/R6 batteries of any chemistry.
To install the battery:
1. Remove the back cover.
2. Install the batteries as shown.
3. Re-install the back cover.
You should remove the batteries if the Remote will not be used for an extended period.

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2.4 Quick Start Guide
Want to be up and running in two minutes or less? Here’s the quick-start guide in case you
misplaced it:

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2.5 Cleaning and Care
We want your Scout equipment to last – so here are some brief steps to keep it happy!
2.5.1 Cleaning
For cleaning we recommend a slightly dampened (not wet) micro-fiber cloth. Do not spray
water directly into the inside of the equipment. Any liquid that goes into the remote may
cause an electrical failure of the device. Do not use a flammable liquid/solvents or cleaning
agents on the controller – just a micro-fiber cloth (dampened if needed).
2.5.2 Care and storage
Scout equipment is designed to handle normal wear and tear but there are some things to
avoid:
Do not get the unit wet internally.
Do not drop the unit (the housing is made of a thick walled plastic so it can take
some reasonable abuse but it DOES have its limits)
Remove the batteries prior to long term storage.
The product warranty does not cover water damage resulting from user error.

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2.6 USB Connector
There is one internal USB-B connector on the Scout Remote for updating software. The four
Philips screws holding the remote together can be removed to get access to this USB port. Your
remote shipped with the latest available software.
2.7 Mode Button
The Mode button changes the behavior of the Scout Camera Box and Remote. There are three
modes:
Mode 1: Pressing the record button will leave the camera boxes shutter press active.
Pressing the stop button will turn off the shutter press. This is useful for recording video with
cameras that need to have the record button held (like Sony, when using our Sony Video
Switch).
Mode 2: Follow the Camera Box parameters for delay and pulse length – video duration will be
left up to the remote operator. The first time the record button is pressed (camera sleeping)
the remote will wake up the camera and wait the specified delay and then assert and de-assert
the shutter signal according to the pulse one timing. Recording will be started. Then pressing

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the stop button will send the pulse programmed in the Camera Box to stop recording. Use
this mode for recording video on Canon or Nikon cameras.
Mode 3: Follow the Camera Box internal programming. If the camera box is set for “# pics: 2”
then you’ll get two pictures every time you press the record button. You do not need to
press the stop button in this case unless you want to abort the programming.
Press the mode button to change the mode and you’ll get one green LED flash for Mode 1,
and two flashes for Mode 2. Each mode button press will change the mode button. It ships with
Mode 1 as the default.
2.8 Record Button
Depending on the current mode, this button will either set the camera’s shutter active or follow
the camera box’s programming. The Remote’s LED will indicate what the camera box is
currently doing (half-press: green, recording: red). If you get a fast flashing red LED that
indicates that communication wasn’t successful with the camera box.
2.9 Stop Button
This button will turn off the camera’s shutter or stop the currently running program.
2.10 LED Indicators
The LED will follow what the camera box’s camera settings are. If it is recording, the light will
turn Red. If it is waiting for the “Delay” time to expire, it will turn green. Just exactly like the
camera box.
If the LED flashes red that means that there was no communication with the camera box, or you
did something that didn’t make sense – like pressing the stop button without first pressing
the record button.

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2.11 “Pairing” to your Camera Box
The Scout Remote needs to know which Camera Box you would like to use it with. This pairing
process only needs to be done once. The process is easy:
1. Turn on your camera box (it’s okay if it goes back to sleep).
2. Make sure only one Camera Box is turned on and within wireless range.
3. Press the record button on the Remote.
4. The Remote will scan all available wireless channels looking for the Camera Box. Once it
finds one the process is complete!
Note: This process is very quick – less than a quarter of a second! If you see your Remote LED
indicator ramping up and down slowly in intensity that means it can’t find the Camera Box.
Double-check that you’ve turned the Camera Box on!
If you ever change the “Wireless Channel” of your Camera Box or you want to change the
Remote to use a different Camera Box on another “Wireless Channel” you’ll need to start the
pairing process over. To do this:
1. Start with the Remote turned off.
2. Press and hold the mode button until the red LED flashes (about 5 seconds).
3. Release the mode button.
4. Repeat the “Pairing” process above.
2.12 Turning on the Remote
To turn on the Remote simply press any button. It will say on long enough to get its job done
and turn off automatically. Upon power-up, the Remote will attempt to connect to the Camera
Box. If the Camera Box is out of range or turned off, the Remote will flash (on/off) the red LED
indicator a few times to let you know it can’t communicate. The flashing LED is just to help you
know that maybesomething isn’t quite right with the camera trap setup.
Note: You don’t have to turn on the Scout equipment in any order – the indicator is just a
helpful reminder.