MRMC Pan Bars User manual

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Pan Bars
Quick Start Guide
QSG Product code: MRMC-1465-05
Product covered: MRMC-1512-00

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Pan Bars Quick Start Guide
QSG Product code: MRMC-1465-05
Date Updated: 14 May 2020
Product covered: MRMC-1512-00
© 2020 Mark Roberts Motion Control Ltd. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, or translated
by any means — graphical, electronic, or mechanical — including
photocopying, recording, taping, or storage in an information retrieval
system, without the express written permission of Mark Roberts Motion
Control.
Although every care has been taken to ensure that the information in this
document is accurate and up to date, Mark Roberts Motion Control
continuously strives to improve their products and may make changes to
the hardware, firmware, and software described in this document. Mark
Roberts Motion Control therefore cannot be held responsible for any
error or omission in this document.
All product names mentioned herein are the trademarks or registered
trademarks of their respective owners.
Contact information
Mark Roberts Motion Control Ltd.
Unit 3, South East Studios
Blindley Heath
Surrey
RH7 6JP
United Kingdom
Telephone: [phone]
E-mail: [email protected]m (sales and general enquiries)
[email protected]m (customer support)
Web: www.mrmoco.com
www.mrmocorentals.com

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Contents
Chapter 1 Quick Start..................................................................... 1
Safety........................................................................................1
Overview ................................................................................. 1
Pan Bars — With Ethernet Connectivity............................2
Connecting the cables ..................................................2
Enable button ................................................................3
Pan Bars — With Microsoft Surface Pro ............................4
Connecting the cables ..................................................5
Your first session...........................................................5
Turning off the system .................................................6
Chapter 2 Setting up the Pan Bars unit as a mimic device in
Flair .............................................................................. 10
System configuration and startup......................................10
Subsequent sessions.............................................................14
Chapter 3 Setting up the Pan Bars unit in MHC ......................... 16
System configuration and startup......................................16
Changing the axis settings ........................................19

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Chapter 1 Quick Start
Safety
•Do not use around flammable gas. All electrical equipment can
generate sparks that can ignite flammable gas.
•Keep the equipment dry. The system has not been made
weatherproof. Do not use with wet hands.
•Keep cables tidy. Use cable ties to keep them out of harm’s way. If
you have a head with slip rings then make use of them; avoid
running any cables between the base and the rotating head or
camera.
Overview
Thank you for using the Pan Bars from Mark Roberts Motion Control
(MRMC). Pan Bars is a Ethernet mimic controller for the MRMC camera
head. It gives you a smooth, precise and real-time control over your
choice of camera axes —pan and tilt, and camera control — zoom or
focus or both. Pan Bars are designed to work well with both Flair motion
control and MHC software systems by MRMC.
Pan Bars can have the following configuration:
Basic Pan and Tilt over Ethernet to either a FLAIR or MHC
computer with Zoom or Focus or both.
As a mimic encoder output to a Datalink system using a mimic
box (FLAIR): The Mimic Box is used to convert the raw
encoder data and provide Ethernet (redundant function as
already on basic Pan Bars) or Datalink which is needed for
legacy systems.
Pan Bars with Surface Pro (MHC): The Surface Pro is
networked to the Pan Bars via an Ethernet Hub and is just
mounted on the top of the Pan Bars for convenience of the
operator.
Pan Bars with an Ethernet or Datalink MSA joystick controller:
The Pan Bars provide mimic encoder inputs via Ethernet to the
MSA Joystick which then controls the Head via Ethernet or
Datalink.

Head connected
to pan bars via
Ethernet
Power
ETHERNET
Ethernet hub
Zoom
controller
Focus
controller
Power
(24VDC)
ETHERNET
Enable button
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Pan Bars — With Ethernet Connectivity
Connecting the cables
1. Connect the Focus controller cable to the
FOCUS port in the Pan Bars panel and Focus
controller. Ensure that the red markers on the
plug and socket are aligned.

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2. Connect the Zoom controller cable to the ZOOM port on the Pan
Bars panel.
3. Connect the Ethernet and power cables, as shown. Your Pan Bars
configuration can have an MHC or Flair PC which is in turn
connected to the head via Ethernet or you can use MSA Joystick
controller from MRMC via Ethernet which need not be connected
to a PC.
4. Add the Pan Bars as a device in MHC Admin login (if applicable).
For more information on this, refer to the MHC Quick Start Guide.
You can now use the Pan Bars to control the currently active head in
MHC.
Enable button
Enable is a toggle button; pressing it allows the head to be controlled by
Pan Bars. Releasing this button allows you move the Pan Bars without
changing the head position.
Note
If you are not using the Zoom controller, disable it in the software.

Head connected
to pan bars via
Ethernet
Power
ETHERNET
ETHERNET
ETHERNET
FOCUS
EXPANSION
ZOOM
Ethernet hub
Ethernet
Mimic Box
Network
port
Surface Pro
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Pan Bars — With Microsoft Surface Pro

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Connecting the cables
1. Connect the Focus controller cable to the
FOCUS port in the Pan Bars panel and Focus
controller. Ensure that the red markers on the
plug and socket are aligned.
2. Connect the Zoom controller cable to the
ZOOM port on the Pan Bars panel.
3. Use the Expansion cable to connect the EXPANSION port on the
Pan Bars panel and the Expansion port on the Ethernet Mimic box.
4. Connect Surface Pro, the Ethernet Mimic box, and the MRMC head
with the Ethernet hub using network cables.
5. Connect the power cable to the POWER
socket in the control box. Ensure that the red
markers on the plug and socket are aligned.
6. Connect the devices in the system – Surface Pro, Ethernet hub, and
head – to power.
Your first session
Instructions for using the head with a specific controller, are beyond the
scope of this manual. When you want to use the Pan Bars, you typically
Note
If you are not using the Zoom controller, disable it in the software.

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need to perform the steps given below. Refer to the manual that came
with your head for details.
1. Attach the cables to the Pan Bars, Ethernet Mimic box, Surface Pro
and head, as described in the previous section. Make sure the
relevant indicators light up; for example, the power indicator LEDs
on all 24Volt power supply bricks ( ), and the power indicator
LED on the head ( ).
2. Focus control has to be physically set to zero before booting up the
PC. To do this, fully rotate the Focus knob anticlockwise on the
joystick to zero the focus axis.
3. Press the POWER button on Surface Pro.
4. Set up the head using MHC software installed on Surface Pro.
Turning off the system
Turn off Surface Pro by pressing the power button. Remove the power
cable to turn off the Ethernet Mimic box.
Note
It is a good idea to attach the power cables last, after all the
other cables are in place.
It is also recommended that you power up Surface Pro last,
after powering up the head, as powering up two devices
simultaneously on the same Ethernet network can cause
communication problems.

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Notes

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Chapter 2 Setting up the Pan Bars unit as a
mimic device in Flair
System configuration and startup
You can use the Ethernet connected Pan Bars as mimic device in Flair.
You can add up to two mimic devices in Flair, which Flair refers to as
MimicBoard1 and MimicBoard2. Each mimic device has upto eight
mimic control axes allocated to it in Flair, and Flair automatically
numbers these using the next available numbers. For example Mimic Axis
9, Mimic Axis 10, etc.
The procedure below tells you how to configure Flair to recognise the Pan
Bars.
1. Make sure the relevant cables are attached as described in the
previous section except for the Pan Bars power cable. You must start
these procedures with the Pan Bars switched off.
2. Edit the file C:\Flair\Flairx\Flair.ini. This file is a text file
that you can edit with any text editor such as Notepad, either
directly or by using the Flair menu option Help >View .ini File.
You need to add or edit some lines in the file similar to the following
lines.
*NetworkBoards: 3
#*MimicBoard2: 2
*NodeProgram3: Uni6Ether_II.btl
*RICMimic:True
*MimicBoard1: 3
*Autorecalibrate:True
*LoadfromHC:True
Hint
When connecting a Flair PC with the Pan Bars using an Ethernet
connection, you might need to temporarily disable the Wi-Fi
connection on the laptop so that Flair does not try to use it to
connect to the Pan Bars. (In the laptop’s Network and Sharing
Center, click on Change Adapter settings, right-click on Wireless
Network Connection and in the pop-up menu choose Disable.)

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The keywords used in the above table are described below:
*NetworkBoards: The number of network boards (nodes) in
the system. You need to increase this by one (1) to cater for the
new board in the Pan Bars mimic device.
*NodeProgram3: For the node to which you assigned the
mimic (node 3 in this case), add a reference to the .btl file
that you want Flair to load into the mimic device on that node
when starting up. The .btl file is already supplied with Flair
so you don’t need to copy or download it from elsewhere.
*RICMimic: If this is set to True, Flair will reserve ports 1-8 for
RT-14 mimic inputs, and so ports 9-12 are assigned to Pan
Bars. It is recommended that this is set to True.
*MimicBoard1: Assigns each mimic board to an available
node. You need to specify a node that is not already used by
another board. In this example nodes 1 to 2 are already used by
other boards so *MimicBoard1 is assigned to node 3. There is
only one mimic device installed so *MimicBoard2 is
commented out.
Remember to save the file after you have edited it.
3. On the Pan Bars, move the BOOT MODE switch to the Centre
(Flair mode) position.
4. With the Windows PC running but with Flair not running, attach
the power cables to the Pan Bars, the head, and the RT-12 or RT-14
unit (if you are using one).
5. When the RT-12 or RT-14 unit has finished starting up (if you are
using one), start Flair by double-clicking on the Flair icon on the
Windows Desktop.
At this point, ignore any Flair error messages and Pan Bars LED
lights.
6. In the Flair menu, click on Setups >Network Setup.
7. In the pop-up, click on the Find button.
8. In the Find results, find the IP address of the Pan Bars
(192.168.1.236 in this example), and copy it into the node that you
assigned to the Pan Bars mimic device (Node 3 in this example):

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9. In the Network Setup pop-up, click on the buttons Save, Apply, and
Exit.
10. Restart Flair.
Flair should now automatically recognise the Pan Bars and load the
.btl file into them.
11. Check that Flair is receiving data from the encoders in the Pan Bars
by using Flair menu option Setups >Test Mimic Inputs and
making sure that the relevant mimic axes numbers change when you
move the Pan Bars:
Hint
The IP address of the Pan Bars in Normal mode (and possibly
printed on a sticker on the Pan Bars) is different from its IP
address in Flair mode, hence the need to use the Find facility to
find out the IP address of the Pan Bars when used with Flair.

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12. In the Flair window, right-click on one of the axes buttons along the
top of the screen, such as Pan, and in the pop-up menu choose Axis
Setup.
13. On the Control tab, specify which wheel you want to use to control
this axis, by setting the Controller to the mimic axis that you want
to use, for example Mimic 9:
(The mimic axis numbers are the same ones listed earlier in the
Setups >Test Mimic Inputs pop-up.)
14. Specify the other Mimic Settings that you want to use for this
control (in the same section of the pop-up), then click on Save,
Apply, and Exit.
15. In the Flair window, right-click on one of the axes buttons along the
top of the windows, such as Pan, and in the pop-up menu choose
Mimic Setup. You can also access this through the menu option
Mimic >Axis Mimic.
16. Specify Live for the axes that you have assigned the Pan Bars to, then
Apply. After you have tested the mimic operation you can use other
settings; see the Flair manual for details.
Moving the Pan Bars should now move the associated axis and change the
axis position numbers on the Flair screen. You can access the Axis Mimic
Setup dialog box again to assign the third and fourth mimic axis
whenever device is plugged into the ZOOM and FOCUS ports, such as a
Zoom controller and a FIZ pot.

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Subsequent sessions
Once you have configured Flair to work with the Pan Bars, the start-up
procedure for subsequent sessions is as follows:
1. Make sure all cables are attached except the power cable on the Pan
Bars.
2. Power up the Windows PC but do not start Flair yet.
3. Power up the Pan Bars in Flair mode.
4. Start Flair.
5. Enable the mimic controls in Flair, either by right-clicking on the
relevant axes buttons at the top of the Flair window and choosing
Mimic Setup in the pop-up menu, or by using the main menu
option Mimic >Axis Mimic.
Hint
Flair does not store the Mimic >Axis Mimic settings from one
session to the next, so you need to do this step at the start of
every session. This is for safety reasons, as it would be
dangerous to start up a robotic system with the mimic devices
in an unknown state and fully enabled.

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Notes

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Chapter 3 Setting up the Pan Bars unit in
MHC
System configuration and startup
Two types of Pan Bars can be added in MHC v2.3: Pan Bars with an
internal Uniboard and Pan Bars with an external Quad box. There is only
a slight difference in the way they are added in MHC. The uniboard Pan
Bars are added as an Ethernet connected device in MHC. The Pan Bars
with external quad box are added as a mimic device in MHC. Once
added, they operate and function in exactly the same way.
Pan Bars can be assigned to a single user, and NOT All users. Only that
user can then use the Pan Bars to control a selected head in MHC. As of
MHC v2.3, you can add only one Pan Bars for each MHC system; in other
words, one per MHC Server installation.
The procedure below tells you how to configure MHC to recognise the
Pan Bars.
1. Make sure the relevant cables are attached as described in the
previous section.
2. Log in to the MHC Client as Admin.
3. In the Network Setup page, click the FIND button.
Hint
When connecting an MHC Server PC with the Pan Bars using an
Ethernet connection, you might need to temporarily disable the
Wi-Fi connection on the PC so that MHC does not try to use it to
connect to the Pan Bars. (In the PC’s Network and Sharing Center,
click on Change Adapter settings, right-click on Wireless Network
Connection and in the pop-up menu choose Disable.)

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4. Click ADD for the IP address of the Pan Bars and click DONE.
5. For uniboard Pan Bars: Note that the rig Type is auto selected as Pan
Bars.
For Pan Bars with external quad box: Select the Rig Type as Pan
Bars.
Rig type selected
Select Pan Bars

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6. Assign a user in the User drop-down.
7. Log out and log in as the user that you assigned the Pan Bars to You
should now be able to control the active head with Pan Bars.
Note
If you have assigned the Pan Bars to a user without assigning any
heads to that user, the User login page will show an error message.