Lights Alive MonsterEyes II User manual

Lights Alive
9227 E US Highway 36
Avon IN 46123
www.lightsalive.com
MonsterEyes IITM
User Manual

MonsterEyes IITM Quick Start
Although it has many advanced features, MonsterEyes II is quite easy to set up
and it is fully operational right out of the box. You will need to connect a 12
volt DC source to the power jack on the right rear side. Next, you must decide
if you will be connecting passive speakers to the speaker terminals or an audio
system to the RCA connectors. Eyeballs need connected to the eyeball output
connectors. Details about connecting eyeballs may be found on pages 6-8 of this
manual. You may connect a sensor or trigger to the terminals on the back le
side, if desired. Otherwise, just use the internal timer. Once power is applied, the
unit will immediately start working.
Now choose your ambient and scare sounds or choose RANDOM for one
or both audio selections. Out of the box, you will nd the timer control fully
counterclockwise which is the o position. If you’re not using a sensor or other
type trigger, rotate this control to the desired position for it to trigger itself. You
can tweak the speed and brightness as per your own taste. e speaker knob
will need to be rotated clockwise for the desired volume if you have connected
passive speakers to the speaker terminals. If using line level audio from the RCA
connectors, adjust the volume from your audio system to the desired level.
MonsterEyes IITM Controls
AUDIO SELECTION (AMBIENT)
is six-position rotary switch allows you to select one (1) of four (4) available
ambient sound tracks. You may also choose no ambient sound by selecting OFF
or you can have the four tracks play at Random by choosing “R”.
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AUDIO SELECTION (SCARE)
Much like the ambient sound switch, this switch allows you to choose one (1)
of the four (4) scare audio tracks provided, let the system choose the sound at
random or you can choose no scare sound.
TIMER
In addition to external triggers, your MonsterEyes IITM includes an internal
timer to trigger it at preset intervals. With the control fully counter-clockwise,
the timer is o. Rotate slightly for 10 seconds and up to 60 seconds in the fully
clockwise position. Top dead center (12 o’clock) is approximately 30 seconds
from the end of one scare until the unit triggers again.
BRIGHTNESS
e normal position for this control is top dead center (TDC), which yields
medium brightness of the eyeball LEDs. Rotating the control to the full coun-
terclockwise position decreases the brightness by 50% for scenes where you may
not want the eyeballs to be overwhelming. Rotating fully clockwise doubles the
brightness or situations where there is more ambient light or when you just want
MonsterEyes to be more prominent in a scene.
SPEED
e top dead center position of this control is the normal operating speed.
Rotating to the fully counterclockwise position (CCW) cuts speed by 50%, while
rotation it to the fully clockwise position doubles the speed.
SPEAKER VOLUME
e SPEAKER VOLUME control aects only the volume from the internal pow-
er amplier to passive speakers. It does NOT aect the line level output.
TEST
e TEST pushbutton allows you to conrm proper operation of the unit by
triggering it manually. Note, the trigger indicator will not light when this button
is pressed. See below for more details.
POWER
e green POWER indicator is on anytime appropriate power is applied to the
DC power jack on the rear of MonsterEyes IITM.
STATUS
e STATUS indicator will glow blue when the controller is in the normal/calm
mode. Once startled (triggered) the STATUS indicator will turn red along with
all the connected eyeballs. When the controller returns to the normal/come
mode the STATUS light will turn blue again. Triggering from any method (test
button, internal timer or external trigger) will cause the STATUS light to be red.
3

TRIGGER
e TRIGGER indicator lights (red) when an external device triggers Mon-
sterEyes IITM via the rear panel trigger connector. It does NOT light from the
internal timer or from pressing the TEST button.
MonsterEyes IITM Specifications
EYEBALL CHANNELS
16 Independent channels (4 channels per cat-6 cable) Up to 125 mA per channel
ENCLOSURE
5.25” x 9.18” x 1.68” Black, ame resistant ABS
ELECTRICAL REQUIREMENT
12 volt DC, 2-5 Amps
120vac desktop UL listed power supply included.
AUDIO SOURCE
Internal, user selectable digital audio • Four (4) ambient tracks
• Four (4) scare tracks
Select individual track, play in succession or at random
AUDIO OUTPUT
Internal 20-watt stereo Class-D power amplier
Line-level output for external amplier or powered speakers
SAFETY FEATURES
Power supply over voltage, over heat, over temperature protection Internal surge
suppression and voltage regulation
Reverse polarity protection
Master fuse for short-circuit protection
Individual channel over current / short-circuit protection
TRIGGERS
Trigger via any dry switch closure (pushbutton, pressure mat, motion sensor,
radio remote control, microwave sensor, prop controller, etc. Also includes user
adjustable internal timer for 0-30 second self-triggering.
CONTROLS, SWITCHES AND INDICATORS
Front panel controls include: Brightness, Speed, Timer and Speaker Volume
Switches include: Test, Ambient sound and Scare sound
Indicators include: Power and Status (clam or triggered)
4

REAR PANEL CONNECTORS
2.1mm DC power jack, 4x RJ-45 eyeball outputs, speaker spring connectors,
trigger screw terminal.
MonsterEyes IITM FAQ
Q: Can MonsterEyes IITM be used in mobile applications like a car, truck or
tractor?
A: Absolutely. MonsterEyes IITM is designed for a nominal 12vdc, 5 amp power
supply. Operation from vehicle power is fully supported.
Q: What about use overseas?
A: No problem. Just use a 12vdc, 5Amp power supply that matches the AC mains in
your area.
Q: What if I accidentally apply higher voltage than recommended?
A: e controller has over-voltage protection. Once you reach 14.5vdc (+/- ) an
internal (user replaceable) fuse will blow, preventing damage to the unit.
Q: How about reverse polarity?
A: Reverse polarity input power will be ignored. It will not damage the controller,
but the controller will not operate until polarity is corrected.
Q: What if the voltage is too low.
A: Reasonable results are possible down to about 10vdc. However, the eyeballs will
not be as bright. Also, the output power of the internal audio power amplier will
be reduced.
Q: What if an eyeball connection gets short-circuited?
A: A current sensing circuit will shut down the channel that gets shorted. Once the
short is eliminated, the channel will resume normal operation once the controller
is shut down and powered back up. A shorted eyeball connection will not harm the
controller.
Q: Can I use the internal audio amplier and the line-level output simultane-
ously?
A: Yes, absolutely. e speaker output and line level outputs are independent of
each other. Please note that the line level output is a xed level, which depends
upon your audio system to adjust volume. However, the speaker level outputs are
controlled by the front-panel volume control.
5

Q: Can I connect multiple “eyeballs” to a single channel?
A: Absolutely! Using our iSocket board, you can easily use MANY pairs of eyeballs
on each of the controller’s sixteen (16) channels. e exact number is dependent
upon the type and power requirements of the eyeball LEDs used, but the number is
huge. You may use up to ve (5) pairs of Lights Alive brand eyeballs per channel.
Q: Can I use my own LEDS?
A: Sure. We’ll give you details on how to connect them and we can supply any (or
all) of the parts needed to do so. While we highly recommend our eyeballs for nor-
mal use, the ability to make your own is oen helpful when building eyes into props.
Connecting MonsterEyes IITM,
iSocket Boards and eyeballs
Connecting iSocket boards to the MonsterEyes II controller is as simple as
plugging in a cat-5 or cat-6 network cable to the controller and the iSocket. Both
RJ-45 jacks on the iSocket board are identical, so it makes no dierence which
one you use. If you wish to connect more eyeballs to those same channels, simply
daisy-chain up to ve (5) iSocket boards using additional cat-5 or cat-6 cables.
We recommend not exceeding 100’ total per channel on the network cabling,
based on the math. e fact is that we tried using 1000’ of cable and there was
no perceptible dierence. While cat-5 cables are ne for short runs, it is highly
recommended that you use
cat-6 cables for long runs as
the wire is heavier and there
is less voltage drop.
Eyeballs are connected to the
iSocket board via the supplied
24AWG stranded zip cord.
You may also use your own 22
or 24AWG stranded or solid
wire. e wire we supply is
color coded. e silver wire
is negative (-) and the copper
wire is positive (+). Polarity
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7
is extremely important for proper operation. Simply split, then strip the wire as
shown in the illustration. Make sure to twist each wire as tightly as you can with
your ngers.
Split wire 5/8” and strip 1/4” in-
sulation for both eyeball boards
and iSocket boards.
Next, insert the wires into the
proper hole in the wire-to-
board connector. You must
push harder than you might
expect. In addition to the bare
wire, you are pushing a bit of
the insulation into the connec-
tor. When inserted properly,
it’s nearly impossible to remove
without damaging the wire or
connector. If you didn’t press
hard enough, the wire may ac-
tually fall out of the connector.

82821
If you need to remove a wire, simply put a pointed, but blunt, tool in the indent-
ed area on the top of the connector (see photo). We have found several items
around our shop and homes that will work ne. If you don’t have something
appropriate, a ballpoint pen will do the trick. Press hard on the release and the
wire should come out relatively easily.
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