Mohler Lab
Rooms 355 and 356
July 2008

Equipment Description and Capabilities

This is a flexible teaching room with 48 chairs and 24 rolling tables. A movable partition allows the space to be used as one large room or two smaller rooms as needed. Two LCD Video projectors are set up to project from the following sources: the local computer, VHS VCR, and from the auxiliary jacks on the tie plates located in the front center of the room. The auxiliary jacks on the tie plate include a 9-pin male VGA connector with associated network jack and stereo ¼" mini jack (for portable computers) and RCA video connector with associated RCA audio jacks (for cameras, VCRs, document presenters, etc.). AC power is also available. These auxiliary jacks are provided for client's who wish to use their own special equipment and associated cables. Connection of PC laptops to this auxiliary input requires a special interface cable. Cables are attached to the tie-plates or may be borrowed from the media center.

The instructor’s station is located on the right side of the room and includes a computer. The Dell 755 Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66GHz computer is equipped with an 80GB SATA 10000rpm hard drive, 4GB RAM, a CD-RW/DVD+/-RW, and a graphics card. Both wired and wireless keyboards and mice are provided. The VCR is also located here. These devices, as well as the auxiliary audio ports located on the tie plate are connected to an amplifier and speakers. A SMART Board is provided and accessed through the computer at the instructor’s station.

Devices are selected and controlled from the LCD Panja/AMX touch panels, located towards the center of the room. The local computer is connected to the backbone network.

A wireless keyboard, mouse, and microphone are available for this room. Contact ITSS for information on these features

Assistance

Instructional Technology Support Services (ITSS) may be contacted at x83059 if you wish to arrange for training on this room's features prior to using the room. Trouble reports may be reported to the Help Desk at x8HELP (84357).

Usage of the Devices

This room may be used in two ways: In dual mode, with the partition in place, room 355 displays user provided devices attached to the auxiliary interface such as laptop, VCR, etc. Room 356 has a VCR and a computer at the instructor’s station. The SMART Board or the auxiliary interface may be used in this room as well. In single mode, with the partition open, the devices selected in room 356 are sent to the projectors in both rooms as well as the built-in sound system. Dual Mode Room 355

1. Power up the equipment rack and projector by touching the AMX touch-pad located in the front of the room (two touches may be required). Note that the projector does not turn on instantly. It can take as long as 30 seconds for a picture to become visible. Please be patient when selecting inputs.
2. Plug in your laptop using the special 9-pin VGA cable. Be sure your laptop is sending out video (there is usually some combination of function keys to do this). Plug in audio cable if needed. Plug in the LAN cord if needed (see below for LAN instructions).
3. Plug in and power up the VCR and load tape (if needed)
4. Press the "Source" button on the AMX touch-pad that corresponds to the device to be projected.

   "Aux. Video" displays the VHS VCR. Use the play, pause and other controls on the VCR as needed.

   "Laptop" displays the laptop connected with the special cable.

   "Aux. S" displays an S-VHS device if you have plugged one into the tie plate.

5. Adjust the volume by touching the Volume up or down arrows on the AMX touch-pad. The "mute" button turns off the sound.
6. Picture ON or OFF will turn off the picture. The projector will remain on and ready for your next image.
7. Press "System Power Off" button to turn off projection system when done. A confirmation message will appear. Please select the correct button to turn off the projection system.

Dual Mode Room 356

1. Power up the equipment rack and projector by touching the larger AMX touch-screen located on the front wall (two touches may be required). Please note that the projector turns on gradually and you may not see an image for 30 seconds. A message will display as the system turns on. Please be patient.
2. Select Dual Mode on the touch pad
3. Power up the computer CPU and monitor if being used (buttons on monitor and computer). You must complete a LAN login to use a public computer by typing your user name and password in the appropriate fields in the opening dialog box. Remember to log out when you are done. See the " LTS Guide to Public Computing Sites and Classrooms" for additional information on use of public sites.

4. Power up the VCR if being used (button on VCR)
5. Touch the button on the AMX touch-pad that corresponds to the device to be projected:

   "VHS" activates VHS VCR and displays the play, pause and other controls

   "Aux. Video" activates the Auxiliary video jack (RCA connector) and associated RCA audio jacks for client-supplied video device.

   "PC" activates local computer (and SMART Board).

   "Laptop" activates the auxiliary computer jack (special 9-pin male VGA and stereo mini audio jack) for client-supplied laptop.

   "Aux. S-Video" is for a client supplied S Video device.

   "Picture Off" blanks the projector’s image; "Picture On" reactivates the image

6. Adjust the volume by touching the Volume up or down arrows on the AMX touch-pad. The "mute" button at the bottom of this control turns off the sound.
7. Press "System Power Off" button to turn off projection system when done. A confirmation message will appear. Please select the correct button to turn off the projection system.

Single Mode Room 355 and 356

1. Power up the equipment rack and projector by touching the larger AMX touch-screen located on the front wall (two touches may be required). Please note that the projector turns on gradually and you may not see an image for 30 seconds. A message will display as the system turns on. Please be patient.
2. Select Single Mode on the touch pad
3. Follow instructions #3-#7 for room 356 above

Use of the SMART Board

A SMART Board has been provided in this room. It uses standard dry-erase markers to display writing on the projection screen and save notes written on the board to a computer file. These notes can be converted to text, edited, printed, e-mailed, included in course web pages, etc. To display SMART Board materials select the PC button on the AMX interface. The necessary Smart software is included on the instructor's PC. A separate guide will be provided for operation of the SMART Board.

Power Down the Equipment

1. Before leaving the room you MUST logout of the system. Double click the bright yellow exclamation point icon on the Windows Desktop. You may then select "Shutdown" or "Logout": one button clears the system and leaves the computer ready for the next user; the other turns off the computer. If you make no selection your account will be logged out and the system will return to the login screen. If you fail to logout, the next user of the system will have access to your account and files.
2. Remove your tape and power off the VCR, if used.
3. Press "System Power Off" button on the AMX touch screen to turn off the projector and related equipment. A confirmation message will be displayed. Select "Yes" to turn off the system.

Potential Problem Areas

• You must login to every public site computer. If you find a computer that is not displaying the login screen, the previous user failed to logout. Double click the bright yellow exclamation point icon on the Windows Desktop, select "Logout", and wait for the login screen.
• The system is currently set to turn off automatically at 12 PM EST if anyone fails to turn it off. Should the system turn off inappropriately users may turn it back on with the AMX touch panel although there will be a delay while the system resets.
• Remember that a special cable is required to run laptop computers with this system. It will not work with off-the-shelf cables and adapters. Clients must know how to feed VGA signal out of their laptops.
• Note that the projector does not turn on instantly. It can take as long as 30 seconds for a picture to become visible. Please be patient when selecting inputs.
• If there is no sound, check the audio mute button and the volume up arrow on the AMX touch-pad.
• If there is no picture be sure the correct input is selected and that "picture off" has not been selected.

Notes on Computer Usage

Upon power up, the computer will respond with "Do a complete software reload [Y/N]]". If you press Y within 8 seconds the computer will reload all software from the network and restore the computer to its original operating condition. The reload may take as long as 10 minutes and MUST NOT be interrupted. A system reload is recommended if you are having problems with operation of the computer or software. If you wait without entering any keystrokes, the computer will run Windows from the hard drive. The computer is set up with a base set of programs. Picture Taker may be used to load additional programs over the network. These programs will be lost if the system software is reloaded.