ESP Sting User manual

Users_guide_cover.fh8 8/13/04 12:48 PM Page 2
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Miniature Digital Recorder
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Table of Contents i
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION................................................ 4
Box Contents ...................................................... 5
TECHNICAL SPECS ............................................ 6
STING COMPONENTS ........................................ 8
Top View ............................................................ 8
Left- and Right-Side View ..................................... 9
Accessories......................................................... 9
GETTING STARTED.......................................... 10
1. First-Ti e Charging ....................................... 11
2. Installing STING Media Center......................... 12
3. Setting Current Ti e...................................... 14
4. For atting Microdrive .................................... 15
5. Connecting the A/V Cable ............................... 16
6. Connecting Ca era / Microphone .................... 18
RECORDING WITH STING BUTTONS & LIGHTS ....... 20
Recording Readiness Indication ........................... 21
Setting Recording Mode & Quality........................ 22

ii Table of Contents
Starting and Stopping a Recording....................... 26
Me ory Status Indication................................... 28
RECORDING WITH REMOTE CONTROL ............ 30
Starting and Stopping a Recording....................... 31
Low Battery & Low Me ory Indication........................ 33
Alar Indication................................................ 33
ALARM TRIGGER SWITCH ............................... 35
VIEWING AND MANAGING RECORDINGS........ 37
To Connect STING or Microdrive to PC........................ 37
Accessing STING Files Directly ............................ 39
Starting the STING Media Center......................... 40
MAINTENANCE AND TROUBLESHOOTING ....... 41
Caring for the STING ......................................... 41
Troubleshooting ................................................ 41
OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES ............................... 44

About this Document iii
About this Document
This user‘s guide explains how to install, connect,
and use the STING, a portable digital recorder. It is
intended for users of the device, and does not
require special technical knowledge.
The STING ships with a Windows software progra ,
STING Media Center, used for playing and
anaging recordings. For ore details on using this
progra , press Help in its ain screen.

4Introduction
Introduction
The STING™ (patent pending) is the s allest
video/audio digital recorder in the world. It is a
wearable recorder, able to record video and audio,
or audio only, using MPEG-2 for at. Recordings are
stored on Microdrive or Co pact Flash plug-in
cards. The STING™ ships with a 4GB Microdrive.
The STING is designed ainly for surveillance
purposes by law-enforce ent and govern ent

Introduction 5
organizations, for portable video/audio recording
featuring the highest quality available.
The STING accepts co posite video input fro any
video ca era.
Box Contents
A/V cable
Vibrating re ote control cable
6-foot USB cable
5-inch USB cable
4GB Microdrive
PCMCIA adapter
Multi-standard universal battery wall charger
Car battery charger
STING Media Center installation CD
User‘s guide

6Technical Specs
Technical Specs
P ysical
dimensions
78 X 60 X 32
(3.07" X 2.36" X 1.26")
Weig t Recorder net: 98g (3.45 oz)
Recorder w/drive: 114g (4 oz)
Memory type Microdrive or Co pact Flash
plug-in cards.
Storage
capacity
Shipped with a 4GB Microdrive.
Accepts any Microdrive or
Co pact Flash card.
Video storage
format
Digital MPEG-2.
Recording time 2-8 hours video (depending on
quality) or 75 hours audio.
Video
download time
Approx. 15 inutes for 4GB,
with USB 2.0 connection.

Technical Specs 7
Memory erase
time
10 seconds.
Internal
battery
Lithiu -iron. Provides approx.
3 hours of operation.
External
c arger
Accepts 90-240 VAC.
Connectors for Europe, US, UK.
Camera power
source
5V, 500 A output for a 5-V
ca era (2 hours recording
ti e). 1.3 connector.
External power
input
7-12V ( in. 800 A), 1.7
connector (center +).
Video input PAL / NTSC std. co posite
video. RCA / 3.5 connector.
Audio Input Line-level audio. RCA connector.
PC interface USB 1.1 or USB 2.0 (USB 2.0
reco ended).
Video/audio
playback
MPEG-2 co patible players
(e.g. Windows Media Player).

8STING Components
STING Components
Top View

STING Components 9
Left- and Right-Side View
Accessories
PCMCIA
Adapter
Micro-
drive
V/A
Cable
USB
Cable
R/C wit
vibrating
cable
Battery
C arger

10 Getting Started
Getting Started
When you receive your STING, re ove it fro the
packaging, check that you have all the accessories
(see page 5), and then follow the instructions
below. Each step is explained in ore detail in a
following section.
To get your STING up and running:
1. Charge the unit.
2. I nstall STING Media Center.
3. Set the current ti e.
4. I nsert and for at the e ory card.
5. Connect the A/V cable to the STING.
6. Connectaca eraor icrophonetotheA/V
cable.

Getting Started 11
1. First-Time Charging
The STING ships with its battery uncharged. The
first ti e you charge the unit, a 6-hour charging
period is required. Afterwards, the unit charges fully
in 4 hours.
To charge the battery for the first time:
1. I nsert the charger plug into the unit, as shown in
the i age below. The green light co es on,
indicating that the battery is being charged.
2. Charge the battery for 6 hours.

12 Getting Started
2. Insta ing STING Media Center
STING Media Center is a software progra that
co unicates with your STING, and allows you to
preview, upload and delete recordings. The progra
also allows you to set the current ti e (see page
8).
For ore details on using STING Media Center,
refer to the help file, accessed by pressing Help in
the progra ‘s ain screen.
To install the STING Media Center:
1. Insert the STING™ ini-disk into the CD drive in
your co puter. The Visual Introduction screen
appears.

Note:
Getting Started 13
2. Press the button labeled Install STING Media
Center, located at the top-right of the screen.
The installation wizard starts.
3. Click Next, accept the license agree ent and
press Next again.
4. Press Install. A progress bar is shown.
5. When installation ends, press Finis .
The options at the botto -left of the startup
screen (Charging, Microdrive, etc.) show i ages
and instructions on how to operate the STING.

14 Getting Started
3. Setting Current Time
The e ory chip in the STING contains a real-ti e
clock, used to attach a ti esta p to each
recording. You ust set the current ti e after
receiving the unit, using the instructions below. The
ti e is saved to persistent e ory, so there is no
need to set it again, unless you ove to another
ti e zone.
To set the current time on the STING:
1. Turn on your PC and wait for Windows to start.
2. Connect the USB cable (supplied) to the Sting
device.
3. Turn on the STING using the On/Off Button (see
page 8).
4. Connect the other end of the USB cable to a
vacant USB port on your PC.
5. WaitforthedevicetoberecognizedbyWindows.
Usually, this is indicated by a bell sound and a
essage box.

Getting Started 15
6. Start the Sting Media Center by clicking its
desktop icon, or by clicking the Start button and
selecting Programs >STING >STING Media
Center.
7. Make sure your Windows clock is accurate. To
change it, double-click the clock at the botto -
right of the screen.
8. I n the Sting Media Center, in the Time
Management area, press the Current Time
button. The Windows clock ti e appears in the
ti e/date box above the button.
9. Press Set Time to set the current ti e on the
STING device.
10. Restart the STING.
4. Formatting Microdrive
The STING ships with a 4GB Microdrive card. Before
you can record, you ust for at the card, as
explained below.
If you switch to another card in the future, repeat
this procedure to erase the new card.

16 Getting Started
To format the Microdrive card:
1. Insert the Microdrive card, with the printed side
facing down, as shown in the image below. Push
it in until it latches.
2. With the tip of a pen or pencil, gently press the
ERASE Card until the green light, located on the right of the
REC button, ashes for 10 seconds as the disk is erased.
Wait for the light to turn o.
5. Connecting the A/V Cable
The A/V cable has two RCA-type sockets on one
end, and a 3.5mm plug on the other end, which
connects to the STING.

Getting Started 17
To connect the V/A cable to the STING:
Plug the 3.5 plug into the socket on the
STING, as illustrated below. Make sure it is
plugged all the way into the center hole.

18 Getting Started
6. Connecting Camera / Microphone
You can connect any video ca era to the STING. If
the ca era operates on 5VDC, it can draw its power
fro the Camera Power Out socket (see page 8, left-
side view), as long as the current consu ption does
not exceed 500 A. If the ca era does not co ply
with these require ents, it should be powered by
its own battery.
Alternatively, you can connect an a plified
icrophone, or any other device that sends out a
line-level signal. An a plified button icrophone is
sold separately.
The STING A/V cable has two RCA-type sockets:
Video socket (yellow)
- accepts co posite
video, PAL or NTSC fro a video ca era.
Audio socket (red)
- accepts line-level signal
fro an a plified icrophone.