PolyVision Webster Wireless User manual

Part Number 370-0137-00
©2002 PolyVision Corporation
All rights reserved
Printed in the China
Webster Wireless
User Guide
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Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Reproduction in any manner without written permission of
PolyVision Corporation is forbidden.
PolyVision Corporation reserves the right to make changes in
product design, or detail, and to discontinue any product or
material without notice.
Webster, a Steelcase company, is a trademark of PolyVision.
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Webster Wireless
1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Welcome to Webster Wireless . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Webster Wireless Quick Start. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
What to Expect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Installing Webster Wireless . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
What Comes in the Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
General Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Connecting to your Whiteboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Mounting the Pod on the Whiteboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Connecting the Serial Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Connecting Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Connecting to your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Using Webster Wireless . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
What the Pod Lights Mean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Establishing a Link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
When a Link Breaks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Re-establishing a Broken Link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
FCC Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
CE Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
VCCI Compliance (Japan) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
International Model Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Warranty. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
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Webster Wireless
2 WELCOME TO WEBSTER WIRELESS
WELCOME TO WEBSTER WIRELESS
Welcome to Webster Wireless, your quick and easy solution to avoid
wires running between your Webster whiteboard and your computer.
This manual provides instructions for installing and operating
Webster Wireless between your Webster whiteboard and your
computer.
Webster Wireless works with all Webster Products: Webster TS and LT
whiteboards, and Webster IRP and IPD display systems.
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WEBSTER WIRELESS QUICK START 3
WEBSTER WIRELESS QUICK START
Step 1:Remove the serial cable that connects your computer to your
whiteboard.
Step 2:Place the transceiver pod with the long cord on top of your
whiteboard.
Step 3:Plug the pod into the whiteboard where the serial cable was
connected.
Step 4:Plug one of the power supplies into the wall.
Step 5:Plug the power supply cable into the back of the serial
connector.
NOTE:note:
On TS boards, you can use the power sharing cable to power both the
board and the pod with one power supply.
Step 6:Place the transceiver pod with the short cord near your
computer.
Step 7: Plug the pod into the computer where the other end of the
serial cable was connected.
Step 8:Plug the other power supply into the wall.
Step 9: Plug the power supply cable into the back of the serial
connector.
Step 10:Green lights on both pods indicate Webster Wireless is ready
to go.
Step 11: Use your Webster Whiteboard.
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Webster Wireless
4 WEBSTER WIRELESS QUICK START
What to Expect
Webster Wireless simply replaces the serial cable that connects your
Webster whiteboard to your computer. Green lights on both of your
transceiver pods tell you Webster Wireless is ready to operate. Write
on your Webster whiteboard and your writing appears on your
computer screen in the Webster software. All of the functions on
most Webster systems will operate just as they always have.
NOTE:note:
Webster Wireless disables the wakeup button on some LT boards. You
must wakeup your LT board from your computer.
Sometimes you may see an amber light on a transceiver pod instead
of a green light. Amber lights mean that your transceiver pod is
receiving power, but it is not getting a signal from the other
transceiver pod.
An amber light comes on in the center of each transceiver pod when
it is first connected to wall power, before it “sees” the other pod.
These lights also turn amber at anytime during operation when the
link between the pods is broken. The link can be broken in several
ways: by disconnecting power from one of the pods, by covering or
“shadowing” one of the pods, or by placing the pods too far apart.
Your Webster software may also notify you if the link becomes
broken while you are using your whiteboard.
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INSTALLING WEBSTER WIRELESS 5
INSTALLING WEBSTER WIRELESS
Webster Wireless is simple to install. Just remove the cable that
currently connects your Webster whiteboard to your computer, plug
one of the Webster Wireless transceiver pods into the serial
connector of your board and one into your computer, connect the
power supplies, position your pods and you are ready to go. The
following chapter gives you all of the details and discusses the
things you might want to consider to optimize performance when
installing Webster Wireless.
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Webster Wireless
6 INSTALLING WEBSTER WIRELESS
What Comes in the Box
11-whiteboard transceiver pod (with long cord)
21-computer transceiver pod (with short cord)
32-power adapters with cords
41-power sharing cable
51-strip of double sided, foam mounting tape
61-User Guide (this guide)
71-registration card
General Considerations
Webster Wireless uses reflected infrared (IR) light to communicate
between your whiteboard and your computer. A direct line of sight
between the transceiver pods is not needed for reliable
communication. Both transceiver pods are designed to shine IR light
on the ceiling and to detect light reflecting from the ceiling.
1
2
3
3
4
5
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INSTALLING WEBSTER WIRELESS 7
Install Webster Wireless so both of your pods have an unobstructed
view of the area of the ceiling between the two pods. This allows the
IR from each pod to bounce over the heads of people writing on the
board and sitting near the computer.
Webster Wireless works best when the two pods are within 24 feet of
one another. A quick way to measure the distance between the two
pods is to count ceiling tiles. Acoustic ceiling tiles usually come in
one of two sizes, 2-foot squares and 2-foot by 4-foot rectangles. The
diagonal width of a 2-foot square tile is about 2.8 feet. The diagonal
width of a 2x4 foot tile is about 4.5 feet. Count the squares between
the two pods then multiply by the appropriate distance above to
determine the approximate distance between the pods.
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Webster Wireless
8 INSTALLING WEBSTER WIRELESS
Ceiling height and material make a difference in performance. The
higher the ceiling, the closer together the receiver pods will need to
be. A non-IR reflective ceiling will reduce range. The 24-foot range
assumes a typical office conference room with a ceiling height of
between 8 and 12 feet and a light-colored, acoustic tile ceiling. If
your ceiling is not IR reflective, try using one of your walls. Do this by
mounting one pod on the side of your whiteboard and pointing the
other pod toward the wall on that side of the whiteboard.
Connecting to your Whiteboard
There are three basic steps to installing the Webster Wireless
transceiver pod on your whiteboard:
1Mounting the pod.
2Connecting the serial communications cable.
3Connecting the power cable.
MOUNTING THE POD ON THE WHITEBOARD
We recommend mounting the board side pod on top of the
whiteboard above the upper-left corner of the board. The pod with
the long cord mounts on the whiteboard. The pod is held in place
using double-sided foam tape. However, we recommend that you set
up both the board side and computer side of Webster Wireless and
check that you have a working communications link between the two
pods before using the foam tape. The foam tape is not reusable.
There are two basic considerations for mounting the transceiver pod
on the board. The most important of these considerations is assuring
there are no shadows cast on the receiver section of the pod.
Transmitter area
Receiver area
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INSTALLING WEBSTER WIRELESS 9
In most circumstances, the best position for avoiding shadows is to
mount the pod as far forward as possible on the top of the
whiteboard’s frame. If your ceiling does not reflect IR well, try
mounting the board side receiver pod on the left side of the board
near the top of the board. This arrangement uses the left wall of the
room as a reflector instead of the ceiling.
The second consideration is minimizing the slack in the cable that
runs from the pod to the serial connection at the lower-left corner of
the board. This consideration is most important on mobile boards
where a loose wire might be snagged while the board is being
moved. The slack can either be coiled behind the whiteboard, or the
pod can be moved along the top of the board until the slack is taken
up. It is best to plug in the serial connector before making the final
adjustment to take up any slack. Note that the cable should come
away from the serial connector in a smooth curve, not at a sharp
angle. Bending cords at sharp angles can damage the cords.
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Webster Wireless
10 INSTALLING WEBSTER WIRELESS
CONNECTING THE SERIAL CABLE
The 9-pin serial plug at the end of cable on the transceiver pod plugs
into the 9-pin serial socket below the lower-left corner of the board.
The serial connection uses D connectors. D connectors only fit
together one way. Align the wide side of the D connector on the cable
with the wide side of the connector on the board and push them
together. They should fit snugly together. Tighten the thumbscrew on
the plug to prevent it from falling out of the socket.
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INSTALLING WEBSTER WIRELESS 11
CONNECTING POWER
The exact method of connecting power to your Webster Wireless
Transceiver Pod and Webster Whiteboard differs between laser
tracking (LT, IRP, IPD) and touch sensitive (TS) boards. Laser tracking
boards plug directly into AC current wall sockets. TS boards use an
external power supply that plugs into a wall socket and connects to
the board by means of a thin wire and a barrel connector.
Transceiver pods are powered using an external power supply. The
transceiver pod power supply plugs into a barrel connector socket
located on the back of the serial plug.
For laser tracking boards, simply plug the barrel connector from the
power supply into the serial connector after the serial connector is
plugged into the board.
For TS boards use the Webster Wireless power supply to power both
the pod and your board. Take the following steps:
1Remove the power supply that came with the TS board and set it
aside.
2Connect the power sharing cable to both the board and the
serial connector.
Serial Plug
Webster LT (laser tracking) Board
Transceiver Pod Power
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Webster Wireless
12 INSTALLING WEBSTER WIRELESS
NOTE:note:
The right angle barrel plug was designed to plug into the board with
the cable passing through the plastic hook on the bottom of the
whiteboard. However, the power sharing cable can be connected with
either barrel plug in the board.
3Connect the power supply cable to the barrel socket on the
power sharing cable.
When your transceiver pod is properly connected to power, the light
in the center of the pod will come on.
Plastic Hook
Webster TS (touch sensitive) Board
Power Sharing
Cable
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INSTALLING WEBSTER WIRELESS 13
Connecting to your Computer
The Webster Wireless pod with the short cord connects to the 9-pin
serial port of your computer. If necessary, you can connect the pod
using a USB to 9-pin serial adapter available from your Webster
dealer.
Connect the barrel plug from the second power supply to the back of
the pod’s 9-pin serial connector and plug the power supply into the
wall.
Position the pod so the curved edge of the transceiver pod is pointed
towards the pod on the board.
Adjust the position of the computer side pod until you have a green
light on both the board and computer side pods. You may also adjust
the board side pod. Once in place use the double-sided tape to stick
it in place.
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Webster Wireless
14 USING WEBSTER WIRELESS
USING WEBSTER WIRELESS
Once Webster Wireless is installed and while a wireless link is
established between the two Webster Wireless pods (green lights on
both pods) most Webster systems function just like they did with the
serial cable in place. Webster Wireless disables the wakeup button
on some LT boards. You must wakeup your LT board from your
computer.
Under certain circumstances it is possible to break the link between
Webster Wireless pods. This chapter describes what occurs when the
link breaks, how to detect a broken link and how to re-connect a
broken link.
What the Pod Lights Mean
There is a small light in the center of each Webster Wireless pod. This
light tells you the current condition of the pod. The light has three
states: off, amber and green.
OFF: Pod is not receiving power.
AMBER: Pod is receiving power.
GREEN: Pod is receiving power and a signal from the other pod.
The lights on both pods must be green for Webster Wireless to work
properly. It is possible for one pod to have a green light when the
other pod only has an amber light. Be sure to check the lights on
both pods before trying to use your whiteboard. It is also possible to
have two green lights without the pods being plugged into the serial
ports of the board or the computer and when either the board or the
computer is not turned on.
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USING WEBSTER WIRELESS 15
Establishing a Link
Webster Wireless pods attempt to establish a wireless link
automatically whenever they are powered on. Connecting power to a
Webster Wireless pod does two things:
•The pod starts sending out a signal that the other pod can
receive
•The pod starts looking for a signal from the other pod.
The green light comes on when the pod with the green light can see
the signal from the other pod.
When a Link Breaks
Several things happen when a link breaks. The light on one or both
of the pods turns amber. Data stops flowing between your
whiteboard and your computer. Your Webster software may give you
an error message.
It is possible to get the Webster software error message even when
both pod lights are green. This means that one of the two pods has
come unplugged from the serial connection on the board or the PC or
that the board itself has lost power.
Re-establishing a Broken Link
It is possible to break the link in several ways. The two most obvious
ways are to cover one of the pods or to unplug one of the pods from
power. It is also possible to break the link by “shadowing”one of the
pods. Because you can’t see IR light, you can’t see a shadow in the
IR light being sent from one pod to another. A shadow usually occurs
when a large object, like a person, is placed very close to one of the
pods so it cannot see or bounce light off of the ceiling.
Remove the cause of the broken link and the link will automatically
restore itself. The troubleshooting section gives you a list of
symptoms, probable causes and cures for broken links.
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Webster Wireless
16 TROUBLESHOOTING
TROUBLESHOOTING
PROBLEM CAUSE SOLUTION
Both pod lights are
GREEN, but your soft-
ware says communica-
tion has been lost.
One or both pods are
not plugged into the
serial port of their
respective equipment
(board and computer).
1Check the serial
connections at both board
and computer.
2Some computers have
multiple serial ports. Your
whiteboard software may
be trying to use a different
serial port that the one
your pod is connected to.
Try connecting to a
different serial port.
3Try disabling other
software that may be
using the same com port,
such as Palm HotSync.
One pod light is GREEN
and the other is
AMBER.
1The pod with the
AMBER light is
shadowed.
Move the AMBER pod away
from any tall or overhanging
objects such as computer
monitors.
2The pod with the
GREEN light is
blocked.
Reposition the GREEN pod
away from any tall or over-
hanging objects. If the board
side pod is GREEN look for
objects hanging from the ceil-
ing above and in front of the
pod such as drapes or signs.
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TROUBLESHOOTING 17
Both pod lights are
AMBER.
The pods are too far
apart or are shaded
from one another.
1Move the pods closer
together.
2Move the pods out from
under any overhanging
objects.
3Move the pods away from
tall, wide objects that are
between the two pods.
The light on one pod is
OFF.
This pod has lost
power.
1Check that the cord from
the power supply is fully
plugged into serial
connector
2Check that the power
supply is plugged into the
wall.
3If a switch controls the
wall plug, make sure the
switch is on.
The connection keeps
breaking and re-con-
necting while using the
board.
Something moving in
the room is periodi-
cally shadowing one of
the pods. This is likely
to be someone stand-
ing in front of the
whiteboard, or walking
in front of or sitting
near the computer
pod.
On the whiteboard side, move
the pod higher on the wall.
On the computer side, move
the pod away from any aisles
or walkways. Particularly,
move the pod away from any
place where a person is likely
to sit in front of the pod.
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Webster Wireless
18 TECHNICAL SUPPORT
Technical Support
For technical support check the PolyVision web site for support at:
www.polyvision.com
Contact PolyVision Corporation at 888-388-0995 or e-mail us at:
[e-mail]
To order Webster Wireless parts, contact PolyVision at:
[phone]
[phone]
[email protected]
FCC Compliance
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits
for a Class A digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules.
These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against
harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a
commercial environment. This equipment generates, uses, and can
radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in
accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful
interference to radio communications. Operation of this equipment
in a residential area is likely to cause harmful interference in which
case the user will be required to correct the harmful interference at
his own expense. Modification of this device in any manner not
approved by PolyVision Corporation may void the user’s authority to
operate it.
CE Compliance
Webster Wireless has been tested and found to comply with safety,
radiation, and immunity standards defined in EN60950, IEC 60 825-
1, EN55024, and EN55022.
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