VOLAMP CamLinx II User manual

Document No. : UserManual_CII_1
VOLAMP
User Manual
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Document No. : UserManual_CII_1
Important
Powering up the Camlinx II
The Tramlines system takes u to 60 seconds to ower u .
During this time, video and audio assed by the system is unreliable and
should be ignored.
Disclaimer
All information contained in this manual is believed to be accurate and reliable.
However, Volam Ltd assumes no res onsibility for its use. Since conditions of roduct
use are outside our control, we make no warranties ex ress or im lied in relation
thereto. We therefore cannot acce t any liability in connection with any use of this
information.
This roduct is not intended for use in life su ort a liances, devices or systems where
a malfunction of the roduct can reasonably be ex ected to result in ersonal injury.
Use of any Volam roduct in such a lications is ex ressly rohibited.
Whilst every effort has been made to ensure that this document is correct, errors can
occur. If you find any errors or omissions lease let us know, so that we can ut them
right
Laser Safety
Invisible laser radiation. Class 1 lasers are used in this roduct for fibre o tic
communications. The wavelength used is in the infra-red band so the light emitted
cannot be seen. Although the levels are low and are classified as safe under all
conditions of normal use, we recommend that users avoid looking directly into the
beam.
Trademarks
Camlinx II is a trade mark of Volam Limited.
O ticalcon ® is a registered mark of Neutrik AG
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Volamp Camlinx 2™ User Manual
Table of Contents
Im ortant..........................................................................................................2
Powering u the Camlinx II...............................................................................2
Disclaimer .....................................................................................................2
Laser Safety...................................................................................................2
Trademarks....................................................................................................2
Volam Camlinx 2™ User Manual..........................................................................3
1.Introduction...................................................................................................5
1.1.Camlinx II : Block Diagram.........................................................................6
2.Camlinx II Units..............................................................................................7
2.1.Camlinx II : Base Unit...............................................................................7
2.2.Camlinx II : Head Unit...............................................................................8
2.3.Dimensions and Weights............................................................................9
3.Camlinx II Configurations...............................................................................10
4.Quick start guide...........................................................................................11
9.System should be o erational..........................................................................11
5.Camlinx II Features.......................................................................................12
5.1.Video ....................................................................................................12
5.2.Audio ....................................................................................................12
5.3.Dis lays.................................................................................................12
5.4.Thumb wheel Switches.............................................................................12
5.5.USB System U dates...............................................................................13
5.6.Battery Mounting Plate.............................................................................13
5.7.Tri-Level / Bi-Level sync...........................................................................14
5.8.Serial Data.............................................................................................14
5.9.Timecode...............................................................................................14
5.10.Ethernet...............................................................................................14
5.11.Power over Ethernet..............................................................................15
5.12.HDMI...................................................................................................15
5.13.Sync....................................................................................................15
5.14.Tally....................................................................................................15
5.15.Convergence.........................................................................................16
5.16.GPIO...................................................................................................16
5.17.Talkback..............................................................................................17
6.System Settings............................................................................................17
6.1.Screenkeys dis lay..................................................................................17
6.2.Fibre Level bars......................................................................................19
6.3.Base Unit : Settings adjustment................................................................20
6.4.Head Unit : Settings adjustment...............................................................22
7.Connectors...................................................................................................24
Talkback 5 way XLR connectors : Pin information..................................................24
7.1. Base - Serial 1 & 2 connector in assignments...........................................24
7.2.Base - 26 Way D-Ty e Connector in assignments.......................................25
7.3. Head - Serial 1 & 2 connector in assignments.........................................25
7.4.Head - +12V local ower connector...........................................................26
7.5.Talkback................................................................................................26
8.Power .........................................................................................................27
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8.1.Introduction...........................................................................................27
8.2.Base ower indication..............................................................................27
8.3.Hybrid fibre/ ower cable..........................................................................27
8.4.Camera low battery warnings with 52V ower.............................................28
9.Troubleshooting............................................................................................29
9.1.Fibre ....................................................................................................29
9.2.Power....................................................................................................29
10.Accessories.................................................................................................30
11.Ordering information : .................................................................................30
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1. Introduction
Camlinx 2 is a camera back system for multi lexing video, audio, talkback and control
signals onto fibre-o tic cables for transmission between a camera and a roduction
facility. This rovides the following benefits;
Hugely increased transmission distance over co er based cable
increased bandwidth / data rates
reduced cable thickness/bulk
reduced susce tibility to EM interference
Systems can be ordered with su ort for all common connection systems including
Neutrik and Lemo.
Unlike other camera back systems, cameras can be owered directly from the
Camlinx2 head unit without the need for additional hardware or modules.
The Camlinx2 head unit can be owered from the cable (hybrid cable required) or it can
be owered from a local 12Vdc su ly at the head.
A Camlinx 2™ system com rises of a Base unit which resides in the roduction area
and a camera-mounted Head unit. The two units are connected by a fibre o tic cable
containing two fibres. Power is su lied to the head via a hybrid fibre cable
(incor orates co er conductors as well as the fibres), battery or a local 12V DC su ly.
The Camlinx2 system has a USB based u grade facility which allows users to u grade
their systems in the field from a USB stick . This feature allows the user to incor orate
new features and enhancements quickly and reliably.
Settings on the base and head units can be adjusted using three osition switches
mounted on the front of the units. These switches can be moved from left to right and
also have a centre ush osition. When using these switches the user must ress and
hold the switch in the desired osition until he sees the setting change on a dis lay.
Both the head and the base have a small 22mm x 22mm colour dis lay which is used to
dis lay system information. This dis lay also incor orates a large ush-button which is
used during adjustment of system settings and can also be used as a tally/call button.
In addition, the Base unit also has a 2 x 80 character dis lay used to adjust overall
system settings.
A basic Camlinx II system has a single bidirectional HD-SDI channel. Two additional
3G/HD/SD video channels can be added to the system at extra cost. With the addition
of two extra video channels, the system can handle a full 3D 3G camera.
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1.1. Camlinx II : Block Diagram
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2. Camlinx II Units
2.1. Camlinx II : Base Unit
The base unit is housed in an industry standard 1U / 19” rack enclosure with a cooling
fan mounted internally on the right hand side.
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2.2. Camlinx II : ead Unit
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2.3. Dimensions and Weights
Dimensions Width x De th x Height (mm) Weight (kg)
BASE 430 x 270 x 40 ( main 1U enclosure ) 2.5
485 x 270 x 40
(including front anel mounts and connectors)
HEAD 180 x 135 x 70 (main enclosure) 1
185 x 160 x 120
(including fibre od, connectors, dis lay,
battery lates, tally light)
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. Camlinx II Configurations
The standard Camlinx 2 system is designed to use 9 µm single mode fibre and will not
work with multi-mode cable. If an existing installation has 9um fibre, then using this
with Camlinx II should not be a roblem as long as cable lengths are not exceeded
(<300M for hybrid cable) and fibre connections are good.
The Camlinx 2 requires a direct o tical connection between base and head. The signal
will not ass through fibre o tic switching equi ment such as Ethernet hubs, SMPTE
video switches, etc.
The minimum fibre length for the Camlinx 2 is 5km however much greater distances are
ossible . Please contact Volam Ltd if longer distances are required.
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4. Quick start guide
1. Make system connections according to chosen system configuration. Ensure serial
and tally cables are connected to the system.
2. Turn on mains ower to the base. Ensure ower is resent at the head and the
base. Note that the head owers u several seconds later than the base to reduce
ower inrush loading on initial ower on.
3. Check the ower level indicator on the base, ensure the system is not overloaded.
4. Check fibre levels using the screenkeys dis lay at head or base.
5. Set camera number using the menus on the base.
6. Set the serial communications standard (RS232 by default). If a remote control
anel is used, check its o eration.
7. Set the head rogramme audio in ut levels - Line / Mic / Ph+ (Line by default).
8. Set the head head hone micro hone in ut level - line/mic/silent (mic by default).
Adjust the head hone volume level.
5. System should be o erational.
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6. Camlinx II Features
6.1. Video
The Camlinx II system su orts the following video standards;
Video Standard SMPTE Supported
Com osite NTSC/PAL 170M Yes
SD-SDI 270MBit PAL 259M Yes
SD-SDI 270MBit NTSC 259M Yes
HD-SDI 1485MBit 1080
50i, 25 , 60i, 30 , 24
292M Yes
HD-SDI 1483MBit 1080
59.9i, 29.9 , 23.9
292M Yes
HD-SDI 1485MBit 720 60 292M Yes
Dual Link HD-SDI 372M
3G-SDI 424M Yes with 3G and 3G-3D o tions
(See ordering info )
Ethernet 10/100Mb/s
HDMI Base only
6.2. Audio
Audio in ut and out ut connectors are mounted on the side of the Camlinx II head unit.
This allows the Camlinx II system to ass audio without additional hardware. Audio
in uts can be set to Line or Micro hone level and also have the ability to su ly
' hantom ower' to a micro hone.
Embedded audio is assed trans arently by the Camlinx II system.
6.3. Displays
Both the Head and Base units have small colour dis lays (referred to as the screenkeys
dis lay) which resent system information to the user. There are fields on the head
screenkeys dis lay that are not resent on the base dis lay (see table on next age.)
In addition the Base has a 2 x 16 character LCD dis lay.
6.4. Thumb wheel Switches
Settings on the Base and Head units are adjusted using two thumb wheel switches
(SW1,SW2). These have three ositions which are to the left, to the right and centre
ush. When using these switches the user ust press and hold the switch in
the desired position until the LCD display changes.
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On the base, the two front rocker switches are used to change settings on the LCD
dis lay only. On the head, the switches are used to adjust settings on the screenkeys
dis lay.
6.5. USB System Updates
The Camlinx2 system has a USB u grade facility which allows users to u grade their
systems in the field from a USB stick.
System u grades files are available by;
a) USB stick from Volam or Volam Distribution
b) Email attachment from Volam or Volam Distribution
c) File download from the website.
To u grade a Camlinx II unit, files must be loaded onto a USB stick. The main
rogramming file will have a .jic extension and contains a hardware and software
configuration.
A ly ower to the head or base unit and allow it boot u as normal. Insert the USB
stick and the LED on the USB stick will start flashing, leave the system for 5 minutes,.
After the unit has reconfigured it will automatically reboot itself so the system is ready
for use. Remove the USB stick.
Volam recommend the use of SANDISK USB sticks for this ur ose.
6.6. Battery Mounting Plate
Camlinx II can be su lied with different battery mounting lates on the head unit.
This is s ecified when ordering. The following lates are su orted;
1. Anton Bauer
2. PAG PagLok
3. Sony V-lok
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6.7. Tri-Level / Bi-Level sync
This feature allows gen-locking of cameras. A sync signal connected to the sync in ut
on the base will a ear at the sync out ut on the Camlinx II head for connection to the
camera. Both bi-level and tri-level (HD) syncs are su orted.
6.8. Serial Data
Camlinx II rovides three full-du lex serial channels with a maximum data rate of
500KBit/second. All channels can be configured as RS232 or RS422 using the menus
on the base. Please contact Volam if su ort for RS485 is required.
Serial channels 1&2 have dedicated connectors on the base and head units, the third
serial channel is located in the 26 way D-ty e connector.
Note the crossover of the serial signals between the head and the base.
6.9. Timecode
The system asses Time Code (LTC) between the head and the base.
Frequency of o eration 960hz – 2.4 kHz.
24,25 or 30 frames of timecode er second with 80 bits er frame.
6.10. Ethernet
10/100 Ethernet is assed trans arently between head and base for ;
Com uter networking
Camera control
Pan and tilt control
LAN / WAN access.
RJ45 connectors are resent on the head and base units.
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Cam Linx
Camera Head
Cam Linx
Base Station
Rx
Tx
Rx
Tx
Rx
Tx
Rx
Tx
Data In
Data In
Data In
Data In
Data Out
Data Out
Data Out
Data Out

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6.11. Power over Ethernet
48V u to a maximum of 20W is available at the base Ethernet connector for owering
control anels.
6.12. DMI
The HD-SDI in ut video channel from the head is out ut on the HDMI connector at
the base .
6.13. Sync
This feature allows gen-locking of cameras. A sync signal connected to the sync in ut
on the base will a ear at the sync out ut on the Camlinx II head for connection to the
camera. Both bi-level and tri-level (HD) syncs are su orted.
6.14. Tally
Camlinx II incor orates a bidirectional Tally system used to rovide an on-air indication
at either the head or the base. Connections to the Tally system a ear on the 26 way
D-ty e connectors resent on the head and base units. The head has a dedicated Tally
LED indication on the to of the unit which incor orates a ush-button switch so it can
be manually disabled.
In addition, there is an 'o tical Tallly' light out ut on the head which will be illuminated.
A 'light guide' (OT-CAMLINXII) can be connected to this out ut which can be mounted in
the camera eye iece (or elsewhere) so the o erator can always see the the Tally
indication.
Passing a current between IN+ and IN- closes the connections between Common1 /
On1 and Common2 / On2 which can be used to drive indications.
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Tally indications can also be driven by the Screenkeys ush-button. The screenkeys
button has a dual function, rimarily to configure the audio settings but it will also drive
the Tally indication when the system is on air. This is in addition to the Tally in uts
being able to drive the Tally indication.
6.15. Convergence
Provides an analogue voltage from the base to the head for setting the convergence
oint on 3D cameras. This voltage is sam led and u dated 20 times er second and is
in the range 0 to +5V.
The Convergence ins a ear on the 26 way D-ty e connectors resent on the head
and base units.
6.16. GPIO
There are 4 digital GPIO (General Pur ose In ut Out ut) ins in each direction across
the fibre link.
Signals onto the GPIO ins must be at TTL levels
In ut Low < 0.7V
In ut High >3V u to a maximum of 6V
Maximum switching frequency of 500KHz.
The GPIO ins a ear on the 26 way D-ty e connectors resent on the head and base
units.
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6.17. Talkback
Camlinx II can su ort one or two channel talkback systems. The base unit acce ts
two five in XLR connectors, one for channel A and the other Channel B. The Head has
one five in XLR connector for a standard headset. Audio from both channels can be
received into the headset either as a single channel in each ear or both channels mixed
and into each ear iece (see section on head settings).
A talkback controller is available which lugs directly into the Camlinx II head. This
allows the user to adjust the head hones volume remotely from the head unit. It also
includes a ' ush to talk' button which enables the headset micro hone. If a Talkback
controller is not used, the sound is continuously enabled and volume control is adjusted
using the three way rocker switch SW1 on the head unit.
The head hones' micro hone can be disabled using SW2 on the head unit.
7. System Settings
7.1. Screenkeys display
Screenkeys colour dis lays are resent on both the head and the base units and rovide
system information to the user. As the head unit does not have an 16x2 LCD, additional
information is dis layed on the head dis lay. See following table.
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Description Colour Notes
0Camera Number Black Set at base
1Fibre Level % - Local Green
2Fibre Level % - Remote Blue
3Fibre Driver Temperature Yellow
4Audio CH1 : Head only
P antom Orange
Line Blue
Mic Purple
5 Audio CH2 : Head only
P antom Orange
Line Blue
Mic Purple
6Headp ones : Head only
Individual Cian Channel 1 in right head hone, channel 2 in left head hone.
Combined Pink Channels 1 and 2 mixed and driving both head hones
7Mic Level : Head only
Silent Grey
Line Blue
Mic Purple
8Core temperature Red
9Call Indicator Blue
10 Tally Indicator Green
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873
0
456
910
2
1
FIBRE LEVEL
local
re ote
Numbers on t e screen refer to
entries in t e table below.

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7.2. Fibre Level bars
7.3. At the to of the screenkeys dis lays are two horizontal bars which give an
indication of fibre light levels. The local level is the received level at the unit on which
the dis lay is mounted (could be head or base). The Remote level is the receiver light
level at the unit at the far end of the fibre.
7.4. The fibre level bars should lie between 20 – 90% for correct o eration.
7.5. If the level falls too low, the bar will change to red in colour and reliable
o eration cannot be guaranteed.
7.6. In addition, if communications between the head and base are not locked, the
bars will change to grey in colour. (see below)
7.7.
7.8.
Fibre level low indication
A red indication on the fibre level bars means the level is
too low for reliable o eration.
Action :
1. Ensure fibre connectors are correctly inserted.
2 Check and clean fibres.
3. Check for damaged or broken fibres.
4. Ensure correct fibre in use.
Fibre Co unication not locked between head and
base.
A grey indication on the fibre level bars means the system
is not locked.
Action :
1. Turn the system off and on (cycle the ower).
2. Check fibre connections.
3. Contact Volam or authorised distributor.
7.9.
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7.10. Base Unit : Settings adjustment
In addition to the screenkeys dis lay, the base unit has a 16x2 character LCD which is
used when adjusting system settings.
The left switch (SW1) navigates u and down through the ain enu o tions while
the right switch (SW2) navigates through the sub enu o tions.
System settings and system information are accessed via these switches.
Once the correct sub menu has been selected, the user must ress and hold the centre
button on SW2 until ( ) a ears. The sub menu can then be adjusted with SW2. To→
confirm the setting, ress and hold the centre button of SW2 until ( ) disa ears.→
The following table lists the o tions available using the base LCD.
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Base : Switches and LCD display
MENU
SEL
MAIN SUB 16 x 2 c aracter
LCD DISPLAY
SW1 SW2
FIBRE LEVEL
local
remote