OPCSETUP(DOCS) Optical Printer Control System OPCSETUP(DOCS)
NAME
opcsetup - opcs setup notes
VERSION OPCSK2.00
GENERAL
This text describes how to set up the OPCS software from scratch,
especially for a NEW installation. To greatly simplify this text,
it is assumed you know certain DOS techniques and terminology that
is available from your DOS manual, such as copying files to and from
floppies, what subdirectories are, how to create them, execution
PATHs, etc.
It is assumed you have:
o A KUPER or A800 stepper control card plugged in
o An IBM PC with ISA or EISA slots
o 512K or more of system memory.
o Running MS-DOS 6.xx or Win95 or Win98 to boot in DOS mode
o A hard disk (needed for the online manual pages)
o AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS (see below)
CONFIG.SYS
----------
Your CONFIG.SYS should at minimum have these (or similar) settings:
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\ANSI.SYS
DEVICE=C:\OPCSK200\BIN\OPCSBOLD.SYS
FILES=10
BUFFERS=20
> HIMEM.SYS pushes DOS into high memory (>640k) allowing apps like
OPCS to have more ram to run in the lower 640K. Use this if your
machine has extended memory installed (most computers do).
> ANSI.SYS provides text colors/highlighting which OPCS uses
> OPCSBOLD.SYS (OPCSK200 and up) provides the special character set
needed for 'bigcounters nixie' in OPCS version K2.xx and up.
(Leave this line out if your OPCS version is K1.xx)
> The FILES and BUFFERS lines help speed up disk access by allowing
ram caching to be used. Optional but generally recommended.
Note HIMEM.SYS and ANSI.SYS come with the operating system,
so they should be present already. OPCSBOLD.SYS comes with the
newer OPCS versions (K2.xx and up), so only include that line if
your OPCS version has that file.
AUTOEXEC.BAT
------------
Your C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT should add the OPCS 'BIN' directory to the PATH,
and start the correct driver for the stepper card you're using. For
instance, if you have the OPCS K2.XX version and an A800 card:
SET PATH=\OPCSK200\BIN;%PATH% -- add the opcs 'bin' to the PATH
SET MANPATH=\OPCSK200\MAN\MAP -- sets up the OPCS 'man' pages
A800DRV -- start the A800 driver with default settings
CD \OPCSK200\WORKA800 -- leave DOS in the A800's WORK directory
These are the different drivers OPCS supports for stepper motor
cards; use these in place of the A800DRV command above:
A800DRV.COM - for the OPCS a800 card
RTMC48.COM - for the Kuper RTMC48 or Kuper Industrial card
MDRIVE.COM - for the Kuper RTMC16 card
If started with no command line flags, the drivers assume the cards
are using the default jumper settings (usually baseaddr=300, IRQ=5).
OPCS K2.10 (and higher)
-----------------------
In K2.10 and up, the A800DRV, RTMC48, and MDRIVE motor drivers
support options to set the IRQ and/or BaseAddr to something other
than the defaults. Run the driver with the -help flag to view the
options:
a800drv -help
rtmc48 -help
mdrive -help
NOTE: If your driver doesn't show a help screen, that driver
ONLY supports the default jumper settings.
So if your A800 card has the BaseAddr jumpers set to 340
(instead of default 300) then you must specify the -b flag, e.g.
a800drv -b340
-----
|
Sets BaseAddr to 340
Similarly if you have the IRQ jumper on the A800 set to IRQ6
(instead of default IRQ5) then you must specify the -i flag, e.g.
a800drv -i6
---
|
Sets the IRQ to 6
On OPCS K2.10 and up, the RTMC48 and MDRIVE drivers have similar
option flags.
C:\MSDOS.SYS
------------
On Windows 95/98 machines, you should disable Windows from starting so
the machine boots directly to DOS. To do this, run these commands:
1) ATTRIB -R -H -S C:\MSDOS.SYS
..which un-hides the file so you can edit it.
2) EDIT C:\MSDOS.SYS
3) Under [OPTIONS], adjust so you have these settings:
BootGUI=0
Logo=0
BootDelay=0
Where:
BootGUI=0 -- disables Windows from starting automatically
Logo=0 -- disables the Windows splash screen
BootDelay=0 -- prevents any delay during booting:
4) Save changes
5) ATTRIB +R +H +S C:\MSDOS.SYS
..which re-hides the system file so it is used on boot.
VERIFICATION
To verify that the software is installed properly, reboot the
system (so changes to the AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS file take
effect), and watch for any errors, and fix them.
Then run OPCS. The software should start, printing the copyright
banner, and indicating the OPCSDEFS file loaded properly. Look
for error messages and fix them.
When properly operating, the large counters should show up on
the screen, and you should get a triangular arrow prompt.
At any time, you can type 'q' or 'qq' to quit the software to
return to DOS.
If you see any error messages, the software either cannot access
the OPCSDEFS.OPC file which should be in your current directory,
or there are errors in the file. Use the text editor to fix
or otherwise customize the OPCSDEFS.OPC file.
Execute 'man cam' from within the software to verify that the
online manual has been installed properly.
If so, documentation on the 'CAM' command should come up with
a MORE prompt at the bottom of each page. Hit 'SPACEBAR' to
advance a page, 'B' to go back a page, or 'Q' to quit.
Hitting RETURN will advance single lines. In newer versions,
Up and Down arrow and/or 'J' and 'K' will move up/down one line.
If you see any errors while trying to run the MAN command:
'Bad command or filename'
Either the 'MAN.EXE' command or 'MORE.EXE' is not in the machine's
execution path. Make sure these files are in your executable
\BIN directory, and the directory is properly specified in
DOS's execution PATH. Use the DOS 'set' command to check.
'man: could not open map'
The file 'map' is not in the \USR\CATMAN directory, or the
directory \USR\CATMAN does not exist.
NOTHING HAPPENS
MAN may be using DOS's inferior MORE program to view the manual
pages. Type ^C or ^BREAK to break out of DOS's MORE program,
and make sure the \BIN directory is in the execution path before
the DOS directory is. Example:
If your execution path is setup in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file to
check the DOS directory before checking the BIN directory,
such as:
PATH=C:\DOS;C:\OPCSK200\BIN
Then change the order so the opcs BIN directory is first, e.g.
PATH=C:\OPCSK200\BIN;C:\DOS
♀
TUNING THE SOFTWARE FOR NEW HARDWARE
It is probable that the software should now immediatly be able to
make motors spin round and round, assuming the hardware is connected
correctly. Maybe not smoothly, or making complete revolutions, but
that comes next.
You must now spend some time jumping in and out of the software,
tuning your OPCSDEFS.OPC file to suit your hardware. Keep in mind
that each time you make a change to the OPCSDEFS.OPC file, you
must either rerun the OPCS software, or execute 'ldefs opcsdefs.opc'
to force the software to recognize the changes.
The following checklist should help you correct most problems:
o If your motors stall when trying to run them at speeds that
they SHOULD turn at, you may want to tune the RAMP(OPCSDEFS)
and SPD(OPCSDEFS) values in your OPCSDEFS.OPC file
If you think the motors may just be running too fast, modify
the SPD(OPCSDEFS) commands in your OPCSDEFS.OPC file to run
the motor slower. See man pages on this command for details.
o If frame-oriented motors are not making complete revolutions,
alter the PPR(OPCSDEFS) command to change the number of pulses
in a revolution for your motor. Most shutters need 2000 pulses
to revolve one full turn when using micro stepper drives. For
those of you with VISTAVISION shutters, 4000 might be more
suitable.
o If a motor runs reverse when told to run forward, and vice
versa, change the DIRXOR(OPCSDEFS) value for that motor. (see
man pages on DIRXOR). This command allows you to invert the
direction of a motor without modifying the hardware.
o If your fader does not fully open, fully close, or does not do
linear dissolves properly, see the INTERP(OPCSDEFS) documentation
for setting interpolation positions for every 10 degrees on the
fader.
o If you dont like the initial speed the software comes up with
for the camera or the default running speed for the projector,
see the SPD(OPCSDEFS) documentation (which will come after the
SPD(OPCS) docs).
o If the fader appears to suffer from hardware slop (ie. the
sequence 'cls shu 150' and 'opn shu 150' do not send the
physical shutter to the exact same position, even though the
motor does not appear to stall) this is due to mechanical
hysterisis in the shutter mechanism, and can usually be
alliviated ENTIRELY by use of the SLOP(OPCSDEFS) command, even
in systems where slop of 5 to 10 degree deviations (typical of
most old printers) is found. SLOP is a cool command, and can make
really sloppy hardware work very accuratly.
Once you have tuned the system, and wish to start learning the
commands, type ? in the software to get a list of all available
commands, and read the online MAN pages for each command that
interests you.
SEE ALSO
OPCSDEFS(DOCS) - OPCS configuration file
OPCSHARD(DOCS) - hardware specifics (wiring, etc)
OPCSIFAC(DOCS) - OPCS interface boards (A800, PIO-100, SD-800..)
ORIGIN
Gregory Ercolano, Los Feliz California 11/29/89