Masterclock RC500 User manual

Masterclock RC 500 User Manual –v2014.01.01
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Masterclock RC 500 User Manual –v2014.01.01
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Table of Contents
Introduction ....................................................................................3
Installation ........................................................................................4
Wiring Solutions................................................................................5
Interface ............................................................................................7
Time Reference - Input/Output........................................................9
Control Button Details ....................................................................10
Count to Time .................................................................................12
Standalone Configuration...............................................................13
WinDiscovery ..................................................................................16
Time Zone Offsets ...........................................................................30
Freewheeling Accuracy...................................................................31
Telnet ..............................................................................................36
Specifications .................................................................................40
Problems - Trouble Shooting ..........................................................41
Limited Warranty and Service ........................................................46
Certificates of Conformity ..............................................................47
Contact Information .......................................................................50
The RC 500 is a remote control
timer that adds count-down and
count-up control to NTDS and
TCDS digital display clocks.
Thank you for your purchase of a
RC 500 remote control timer
from Masterclock
Here you’ll find instructions for
unpacking and installing your
device, proper care and
configuration.
We are here to help.
You can reach us using various
contact methods (phone, email,
etc.) found at our website:
www.masterclock.com
Before calling, please attempt to
find the answer to your situation
here. You’ll find this user manual
will handle virtually all of your
questions.
DISCLAIMER
The information contained in this
document is subject to change
without notice. Masterclock®, Inc.
(hereinafter Masterclock or MC)
makes no warranty of any kind
with regard to this material,
including, but not limited to, the
implied warranties of
merchantability and fitness for a
particular purpose. Masterclock
shall not be liable for errors
contained herein or for incidental
or consequential damages in
connection with the furnishing,
performance, or use of this
material. See important limited
warranty information starting on
page 38.

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Introduction
The RC500 is a programmable, single channel, timer
control unit. It remotely communicates with TCDS or
NTDS digital time displays, providing count-up, count-
down and count-to capabilities.
FEATURES
•Reference time input from NTP or stand alone with
internal oscillator
•Modes include count-down, count-up and clock
•Count-down mode includes a “to time” feature
•Current mode select indicated by illuminated buttons
•UTC, local, Daylight Saving Time or custom time
•Control up to 6 TCDS clocks and devices simultaneously
•Control an unlimited number of Ethernet
clocks and devices simultaneously
•All configuration settings are retained in non-volatile
flash memory during loss of power
•RTC (Real Time Clock) backup retains time during
loss of power or reference
•Uses RJ12 (6P6C) modular cable to interface with
remote displays
•Six-digit LED display counter
•Rubber feet for tabletop use
•Stainless steel or black powder painted case
Icons Used In This Manual
Caution: This icon signifies a potential hazard, and gives tips on how to avoid them.
Important Information: This icon indicates to an important step that must be followed.
Technical Note: This icon describes technical terms and actions.
Helpful Hint: This icon suggests the general setup and practice.
Printing
While optimized for onscreen viewing, the pages of this manual are formatted for printing on
8 1/2” x 11” and A4 sized paper, giving you the option to print the entire manual or just a specific page or
section.

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Unpacking and Installation
Supplied (Ship Kit)
The list below is for illustration purposes. Refer to your sales order for actual items shipped.
RC500
CD-ROM (WinDiscovery and User Manual)
Power
oAC power cord with IEC plug
oPoE uses the CAT5 Ethernet patch cable
Communications
oCAT5 Ethernet patch cable (NTDS series)
o6P6C modular cable (TCDS series)
Cat5 Ethernet patch cable || CD with user manual and software || AC power cord with IEC plug
____

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Connections
Network Installation
You may install the RC500 on your desk top. Attach
power and communication at the back according to
these specs:
If you ordered a PoE (Power over Ethernet) unit,
plug in the CAT5 Ethernet patch cable for power and
communication input/output to the RJ45 port.
If you ordered AC power, plug in the AC cord into its IEC
socket (customized for your country). All AC power cords
have a standard IEC female plug on one end and a
country specific male plug on the other.
When using AC power, do not also use PoE.
Instead use a 6P6C modular cable (TCDS series) for
communication input/output to the RJ12 port.
The enclosed CD contains a pdf of this User Manual and
discovery/communication/configuration Microsoft
Windows-based software called WinDiscovery. If you
have not already downloaded WinDiscovery for another
Masterclock product, you should do so now for your
RC500. See page 16.
On the following page (p.6) are two sample wiring
diagram solutions using the RC500, one for NTDS along
with a TCDS digital display clock and one for only NTDS
digital display clocks.
IEC socket
AC power (optional)
This socket will not
appear on NTP
models
RJ12 port
RS485 communications
(TCDS series digital
time display)
RJ45 port
Ethernet communications
(NTP series digital time display)
PoE (optional)
Some users will connect their RC500
to a network for external time
reference.
Others will use their RC500 ‘as is’ by
simply plugging it in. If you do not use
network inputs, please refer to the
Standalone Instructions on page 13.
The back of the RC 500 with power and
communication sockets

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NTDS digital display clocks
TCDS and NTDS digital display clocks

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Interface
The top panel provides immediate access to all major RC500 functions. The panel consists of a 6 digit, 7
segments LED display along with three sets of pushbuttons.
Status LED
The colons on the LED display are used to alert the user of lock to time reference.
Colons
Description
Flashing
Time is not able to be decoded from the time reference or the
reference is not present. Time displayed on the face of the unit is
based upon internal RTC and may not be accurate.
On Solid
The unit acquired valid time and has synchronized its internal RTC to
the time reference. The internal clock time is considered accurate.
Button Assignments
Modes
There are three mode buttons: CLOCK, UP and DOWN. Each mode performs a different operation and
is listed in the table below.
Mode
Description
CLOCK
Display UTC time plus any Time Zone and/or DST information.
{Standalone Menu} Exit standalone menu.
UP
Perform a count up or stop watch routine.
{Clear Preset} In current mode, press to set the preset to 00:00:00.
DOWN
Perform a count-down routine.
{Clear Preset} In current mode, press to set the preset to 00:00:00.
{Standalone Menu} Navigate the menu options (i.e. roll through).

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Interface
Set
There are three set buttons: HOUR, MINUTE and SECOND. Besides adjusting the counter preset,
the buttons are used to change settings in the standalone menu.
Set
Description
HOUR
Select a preset of 0 –24 hours.
{Standalone Menu} Select a negative (-) Time Zone offset.
MINUTE
Select a preset of 0 –59 minutes.
SECOND
Select a preset of 0 –59 seconds.
Action
There are three action buttons: START, PAUSE and STOP.
Set
Description
START
Initiate or resume the count routine.
PAUSE
Pause the running count.
STOP
Terminate the count routine and reset preset for next routine.

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Do not connect more than one RC
500 to the same splitter. The RC500
can control up to six digital clocks.
Operation –Input/Output
OVERVIEW
The RC500 is a programmable, single-channel, timer
control unit. The RC500 will communicate with single or
multiple TCDS and NTDS digital time displays or it may
stand alone.
RS485 COMMUNICATION
TCDS series of digital time displays are connected to the
RC500 using the RJ12 port and a 6 wire (6P6C) straight-
through modular cable.
Time stamps are sent to the RC500 every several
seconds. The accuracy of the time is dependent upon the
referenced time in the TCDS.
To control multiple remote clock displays using a single
RC500, connect each remote clock display and the RC500
to a 6P6C male splitter (shown at left). Any remote
display connected will receive commands sent from the
RC500.
6-WAY SPLITTER
RC500 - Connect one end of a 6P6C cable to the RC500
and the other end to a splitter.
TCDS - Connect one end of a 6P6C cable to a TCDS digital
time display and the other end to the same splitter
as the RC500.
NTP (Network Time Protocol)
NTP driven clock displays are connected to the RC500 on
a local Ethernet network using the RJ45 port and a CAT5
Ethernet patch cable.
Assigning the remote clock displays to your RC500 is
done within the software application, WinDiscovery
(page 16).
Please refer to the “Configuration” section of this
document for details on using WinDiscovery and
assigning remote clock displays to a RC500.

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Control Button Details
Control Button Detail
THREE BUTTON SETS ON THE FACEPLATE
The “MODE” set controls whether you want simple clock
operation, count-up, or count-down.
The “SET” set controls the hour, minute and second.
The remaining (lower row) set starts, pauses and stops
the other two modes.
Examples
There are four modes of operation.
Clock
Count-up
Count-down
Count to Time
Below are a few scenarios of how to program and run a routine.
Clock
Press [CLOCK] to exit the “Up” or “Down” mode or the standalone
configuration menu.
Please refer to the “Configuration” section of this
document for details on the standalone menu.
Count Up
Select the mode of operation by pressing the button labeled [UP].
Enter the end number (preset) by pressing the [HOUR], [MINUTE]
or [SECOND] buttons. With each corresponding button pressed,
the digit on the display will increment.
Press [START] to send a command to the remote display and start
the routine. The display will show the running count. At the end of
the routine, the display on the RC500 and remote display will flash
three times and hold for a command.
The combination of
LED display and
illuminated buttons
indicate the selected
mode and current step
being performed.

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During a routine, press [PAUSE] to freeze the running count. To
continue, press [START] and the routine will continue from its
paused count.
To end a running count before its end number is reached; press
[STOP] and the count will reset back to the preset (i.e. end
number) and hold for the next command.
Count-down
Select the mode of operation by pressing the button labeled
[DOWN].
Enter the start number (preset) by pressing the [HOUR], [MINUTE]
or [SECOND] buttons. With each corresponding button pressed,
the digit on the display will increment.
Press [START] to send a command to the remote display and start
the routine. The display will show the running count. At the end of
the routine, the display on the RC500 and remote display will flash
three times and hold for a command.
During a routine, press [PAUSE] to freeze the running count. To
continue, press [START] and the routine will continue from its
paused count.
To end a running count before its end number (i.e. 0) is reached;
press [STOP] and the count will reset back to the preset (i.e. start
number) and hold for the next command.

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COUNT TO TIME
Select the “Count to Time” mode by pressing and holding
the [DOWN] button for 2 seconds. The [DOWN] button
should begin to steadily flash.
Enter the end real time of the count up by pressing the
[HOUR], [MINUTE] and/or [SECOND] buttons. With each
corresponding button pressed, the digit on the display
will increment. Enter the Real Time that you want to the
display to count-down toward in a 24 hour timescale.
(e.g.: if the current time is 1:05pm and you want to
count-down towards 1:30pm program the unit to 13:30.
At the end of the routine, the [DOWN] button will
continue to flash indicating the RC500 is currently in
Count to Time mode.
Press the [START] button to send a command to the
remote display and start the Count to Time. The display
will show the running count to time displaying the count-
down or remaining hours, minutes, and seconds until the
preprogrammed real time. The preprogrammed real
time may reference local or UTC or whatever “real time”
was programmed into the RC500 prior to the
initialization of the count time.
You cannot freeze the Count to Time routine.
To abandon the existing Count to Time, press [DOWN]
again.
To release the display device, press [CLOCK].
RC500 will auto adjust for Daylight Savings Time and
Leap seconds. Therefore, if the RC500 is counting down
towards a time between 0200 and 0259 on the first
morning of Daylight Savings Time, the count will
advance 24 hours to the first “available” time of 02**;
because that time does not exist on that morning.
The Count to Time feature will automatically count
down towards the next real time programmed into the
RC500. Depending on the settings in WinDiscovery, the
RC500 will then perform a Count-end flash and
commence a negative count upwards from zero
removing leading zeros. Or, will then infinitely flash all
zeros.

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Custom Time Menu
There are situations where the end-user needs to display time differently than from a time reference.
When the custom time is used, the time displayed will not have Time Zone offsets or DST applied.
However the time can be displayed in 12 or 24 hour format.
Please refer to “Standalone Menu Display Properties” in the previous section of this document for
configuration of display settings.
To use the custom time feature, any external time reference (i.e. time stamp) has to be
removed or disabled. If the RC500 is receiving time stamps, it will display this time, not the
custom time entered.
To enter the custom time menu, press [CLOCK]. If you entered the
custom time menu accidently, press [CLOCK] to cancel and return to
clock mode.
Enter the time, in 24 hour format, by pressing the [HOUR],
[MINUTE] and [SECOND] buttons until all dashes (--) are replaced
with digits. With each corresponding button pressed, the digit on
the display will increment. Press and hold to enter a rapid
movement.
Press [CLOCK] to exit the menu and display the custom time.
If dashes (--) are displayed, the time will not be set and the display will revert back to the
internal RTC time.
When the custom time is no longer needed, there are three ways to restore time.
Receive time stamps from TCDS or lock to a NTP time server
Cycle power by removing the AC power cord for a few seconds
Reset RC500 to factory defaults
Please refer to “Reset Configuration to Factory Default” in the next section of this document for
details on resetting the RC500. All user configurations will be cleared.

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Standalone Menu Display Properties
The RC500 can be customized to display time in a variety of formats
and brightness levels.
To enter the configuration menu press and hold [CLOCK] for
approximately 2 seconds.
Press [DOWN] to cycle through the configuration menu.
Press [HOUR], [MINUTE] and [SECOND] to change settings.
Press [CLOCK] to exit the configuration menu.
Each menu setting will be saved until a user makes a change to the
setting or the unit is reset to factory default.
Factory default settings are:
Brightness:
4
Speaker:
On
Time Display Format:
24 hour
Time Zone Offset:
0
Daylight Saving Time:
Off
Time Displayed:
Local
Leading Zero:
Off
Default Settings
br::
SP::on
hr::
L::
dS::off
t ::Loc
::off
Brightness
This setting controls the brightness of the LED display and
illuminated buttons.
There are four levels of brightness.
Brightest:
4
Bright:
3
Dim:
2
Dimmest:
1
br::
___________:_
___________:
___________:
Speaker
When enabled, the unit will emit a short audible tone (3.7kHz)
during initialization and at the end of each timer count.
When speaker is set to off, the unit will continue to emit a
short audible tone during initialization.
SP::on
_____ ___:off

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Time Display Format
hr::
_______ _:
The unit can display time in 24 or 12 hour formats. When set to 12
hour format, the AM/PM indicator will be on during the PM hours.
Time Zone Offset
To have the unit display time other than UTC, press [HOUR] to
select positive (+) or negative (-), press [MINUTE] to select the hour
and press [SECOND] to select the minutes.
Do not adjust for DST in Time Zone Offset. Set DST from
the next menu setting, Daylight Saving Time.
L::
_::
__ ::
Daylight Saving Time
There are three options for DST settings. For information of
standards for United States/Canada and European Union DST,
please refer to the section, “Daylight Saving Time” in the previous
section of this manual.
dS::off
________ :EU
________ :US
Time Displayed
In addition to time zone offset, the display can show UTC or local
time (i.e. time zone offset + daylight saving time).
t::Loc
______:UtC
Leading Zero
This feature will allow a “0” to be displayed for the first digit,
between the hours of 1 and 9.
0::off
_______:on
The RC500 “Display Properties” will not affect the
remote clock display settings.
Changes made using WinDiscovery will over-write the standalone settings and vice
versa.

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Installation
The WinDiscovery software application is a program designed to run under the Microsoft Windows
operating system and is supplied with the network clock. To install the WinDiscovery program on your
server/workstation/personal computer, complete the following steps:
1. Insert the CD that shipped with your network clock.
2. Run the “setup.exe” application from the CD.
3. By default, the setup utility will suggest installing files to
C:\Program Files\Masterclock\WinDiscovery.
4. Click the [OKAY] button

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WinDiscovery Installation and Operation
Using WinDiscovery
Open WinDiscovery from the “Start Menu” or by double-clicking the shortcut icon on the desktop.
Once you click [Discover], shown below, all network clocks accessible on the network will announce
their presence and the status bar will display the count of devices found. When complete, a list of
device families and groups will be displayed in the left pane of the WinDiscovery window. RC500 will
be displayed along with any other devices that are on the network
.
Click [Discover] to view NTP devices on your network.
Each clock is configured with a device name from the factory. This name includes the model name and a
“MAC address” (Media Access Control) extension. You can change the device name to one convenient for
your site –preferably one that helps you to later identify the exact physical location of the device.
It is highly recommended that only one user uses WinDiscovery at a time and other methods
should not be used to manage the network clocks while using the WinDiscovery software
application.

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Click on the plus [+] sign to the left of any family or group to open and view device types that were
found. Click on the minus [-] sign to close and not show the device family or group.
Click on any device group and it will list the devices in the right pane with all devices of that type
found. To configure another device group, click on the device name in the left window and the
device names will then appear in the right window, ready to be managed.
Right click the device name and the properties window will open. Click on a menu choice to open
the window for that function.
The choices are:
Properties
Network Settings
Device Settings
Set Password
Set Time/Date
Status
Reset Device
Use the [Cancel] button to exit the screen without applying changes.

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INSIDE THE DROP DOWN MENU WINDOW:
PROPERTIES
Click the [Properties] button to view the “Properties”
window (middle left). This presents a summary of the
current Network Configuration and cannot be changed
except through the other windows.
NETWORK CONFIGURATION
The network configuration (middle right) may be viewed
in summary by clicking the [Network Configuration]
button.
DEVICE SETTINGS
The “Device Settings”window (pg. 22) configures the RC
500 to receive and display in the format that you prefer,
using Time Zone offsets and DST settings to completely
customize it relative to UTC time.
The top right section of the “Device Settings” window
shows a list of the firmware and options associated with
your RC 500.
The rest of the “Device Settings” window includes access
to all configuration options for the network. These
include time reference inputs and outputs, display
properties, relay control and administrative functions,
such as password. There is also a status display to
monitor remote clocks and devices from your computer
screen using the free, included WinDiscovery software
application.
Any changes made in this window, including all the
buttons thereon, will not be applied until you click the
[Save] button or the [Save and Close] button, prior to
clicking the [Exit] button.
SET PASSWORD
Each Masterclock device in your network may have its
own password (see the “Properties” window to [Set
Password]) or you may create a Global Password on the
“Discover”window. The default password is “public”.
Your custom password should be one to eleven
characters and is case-sensitive. For added password
strength, you should use both alphanumeric and special
ASCII characters.
The password must be entered twice to confirm the
entry. Click [Change Password] to save it.
Below: This menu appears following a
right click on device name.
Properties Window
Network Configuration

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When a password is set for a device, each time you click
[OK], [Apply] or [Apply and Close] for that device you
will be asked for the password. You can select the
[Remember this password for the session] button and
you will not be prompted for the password, until you
restart WinDiscovery. Or you can use the Global
Password feature (see below).
If you enter the wrong password and selected the
[Remember this password for the session] checkbox,
you will receive an error upon clicking [OK], [Apply] or
[Apply and Close] to any configuration changes. You can
close the WinDiscovery session to forget the wrong
password(s). However, this will require entering the
password(s) again for each device.
You can also remove the incorrect password entry during
a WinDiscovery session by going to the drop-down menu
for the device (right click to see this) and selecting the
[Forget memorized password]button.
Global Password
The global password feature allows the user to enter a single password for all NTP devices using the same
password. During this session and subsequent sessions of WinDiscovery you will not have to enter the
password.
To use global password, click [Global Password] from the main window of WinDiscovery.
The global password being used must match the password on all the devices being administered.
For example, on any new system being installed, the factory default password on all devices is
“public”.