Ross® PIVOTCam

The information in this document applies to the PIVOTCam-20 and PIVOTCam-SE.

Note: The PIVOTCam-SE must be running firmware version 2.0C, including ARM 2.1A and ISP 263.

Cable Connections

Cable connections to the PIVOTCam depend on the model of PIVOTCam you have.

PIVOTCam-20

To control the camera from the switcher and/or DashBoard you must connect a serial cable to the 8-Pin Mini-DIN RS232 IN port on the camera to a Serial to Ethernet converter (such as the Moxa Nport® 5150A available from Ross®) and then an ethernet connection from the Nport® 5150A to the switcher and/or DashBoard.

The Moxa Nport® 5150A is a serial to ethernet converter that allows DashBoard and the switcher to connect to a serial device over ethernet, but any serial to ethernet converter device can be used.

PIVOTCam-SE

To control the PIVOTCam-SE from the switcher and/or DashBoard you must connect an ethernet cable to the LAN port on the camera that is connected to the same subnet as the switcher and/or DashBoard. You must connect on port 52381 for direct control from the switcher.

Note: The camera accepts PoE (Power over Ethernet) and can be powered either by the ethernet connection or the mains power connection. Both can be connected at the same time.
Tip: In DashBoard 8.7, or higher, you can use the DashBoard interface to a VISCA camera as a gateway to allow the switcher to control the camera through DashBoard.
Tip: You can also cable the PIVOTCam-SE the same as the PIVOTCam-20 using an 8-Pin Mini-DIN RS232 IN to a Serial to Ethernet converter (such as the Moxa Nport® 5150A).

PIVOTCam to Nport® 5150A Cabling

A serial cable (RS-232 Control Cable provided with camera) is used to connect the PIVOTCam to the Nport® 5150A. A standard ethernet connection is used between the Nport® 5150A and the switcher.

Table 1. PIVOTCam to Nport® 5150A
PIVOTCam (RS232 IN) Nport® 5150A (Port 1)
3 (Tx) 2 (Rx)
5 (Rx) 3 (Tx)
4 (GND) 5 (GND)

Switcher Communication Setup

The switcher must be set up to communicate with the robotic camera using specific protocol settings.

To Set Up Ethernet Communications

  1. Press MENU > SYSTEM > NEXT > NEXT > Device Config
  2. Press Add and use the Slot knob to select an ethernet connection (Slot #).
  3. Use the Type knob to select Camera.
  4. Press NEXT.
  5. Use the SubType knob to select PIVOTCam_1.1.
  6. Press NEXT.
  7. Use the Field knob to select the segment of the IP address you want to edit and the Value knob to select the number.
    • PIVOTCam-20 — the IP address of the Nport® 5150A that you are using to connect to the camera.
    • PIVOTCam-SE Direct — the IP address of the PIVOTCam-SE.
    • PIVOTCam-SE DashBoard Gateway — the IP address of the DashBoard computer.
  8. Press NEXT.
  9. Use the Option and Value knobs to complete the setup.
    Option Value
    Port
    • PIVOTCam-20 — 4001 (this is the default port assignment on the Nport® 5150A)
    • PIVOTCam-SE Direct — 52381
    • PIVOTCam-SE DashBoard Gateway — the port assigned to the camera in the VISCA Gateway on DashBoard
  10. Press the Option knob and Confirm to add the device.

Switcher Video Setup

The switcher must be set up to associate the camera controls with the video source coming into the switcher. When you select the source coming from the camera on a bus, the menu jumps to the camera controls for that camera.

To Assign a Camera to a Video Input

  1. Press MENU > CONFIG > Input > NEXT.
  2. Use the Input knob to select the input BNC that is connected to the camera.
  3. Press the Device knob.
  4. Use the Device knob to select the camera you set up for the input BNC.
  5. Press NEXT.
  6. Use the Option and Value knobs to complete the setup.
    Option Value
    Channel Select the channel, or address, that the particular camera head you want to control is on.
    Invert Tilt Tilt control using the positioner is inverted (Yes) or not (No).
    Invert Pan Pan control using the positioner is inverted (Yes) or not (No).
  7. Press the Option knob and Confirm to add the device.

Nport® 5150A Setup

Note: This information in this procedure is provided as a guide and is based on the current version of hardware and software that was available at the time of testing. For the most accurate and up-to-date information, refer to the documentation that came with your device.

Refer to the documentation that came with your Nport® 5150A for safety and setup information.

Use the NPort Administrator application to set up the Nport® 5150A as listed below.

Operation Mode

  • Operation Mode — TCP Server Mode
  • Max Connection — 2 (or more)

Serial Parameters

  • Baud rate — 9600
  • Data bits — 8
  • Stop bits — 1
  • Parity — None
  • Flow control — RTS/CTS
  • FIFO — Enable
  • Interface — RS-232

Ethernet Parameters

  • IP Address — the default IP address is shown on the bottom of the device
  • Local TCP Port — 4001 (default)

Robotic Camera Setup

Note: This information in this procedure is provided as a guide and is based on the current version of hardware and software that was available at the time of testing. For the most accurate and up-to-date information, refer to the documentation that came with your device.

PIVOTCam-20

On the PIVOTCam-20, the following changes must be made on the SYSTEM menu:

  • PROTOCOL — set to VISCA
  • RS485 — set to OFF
  • BAUD RATE — set to 9600

PIVOTCam-SE

Tip: If you are controlling the PIVOTCam-SE over a serial connection, use the setup information for the PIVOTCam-20 and set VISCA to OVER COM.

On the PIVOTCam-SE, the following changes must be made on the SYSTEM menu:

  • PROTOCOL — set to VISCA
  • VISCA — set to OVER IP for ethernet control

Daisy Chaining

If you are daisy chaining multiple PIVOTCam cameras together, use the following pinouts to connect the one camera to the next.

Table 2. Camera to Camera Cable Connections
RS232 Out RS232 In
1 (DTR) 2 (DSR)
2 (DSR) 1 (DTR)
3 (Tx) 5 (Rx)
4 (Gnd) 4 (Gnd)
5 (Rx) 3 (Tx)

DashBoard Gateway Setup

Note: This information in this procedure is provided as a guide and is based on the current version of hardware and software that was available at the time of testing. For the most accurate and up-to-date information, refer to the documentation that came with your device.

Before setting up the gateway, you must set up control of the VISCA camera in DashBoard. Refer to the DashBoard documentation for information on controlling a camera from DashBoard.

  1. On the camera tab in DashBoard, click Config > Gateway.
  2. In the Port field, enter the port number you want to use to control the camera from the switcher. This is the port number that you will enter in the device setup on the switcher.
  3. Select what control you want the gateway to pass on to the camera from the switcher.
    • Focus Mode — select whether the gateway passes focus mode selections made from the switcher on to the camera (Pass), or if the gateway blocks these messages (Block). An external controller can still read the current focus mode when set to Block.
      Tip: The switcher automatically sets and updates the focus mode when controlling the camera. This can prevent other controllers from changing the focus mode when the switcher is controlling the camera and the Focus Mode is set to Pass.
    • Presets — select whether the gateway stores camera shots on the camera (Camera), or on the DashBoard computer (Local).
      Tip: If you store the presets locally on the DashBoard computer they are also available to the camera control interface in DashBoard on the same computer.
  4. Click a Control button to allow the switcher to use the gateway to control the camera (Enable) or block the switcher from controlling the camera through the gateway (Disable).

The Status field shows the current state of the gateway.

  • Closed — the port is closed or DashBoard isn't connect to the camera.
  • Ready — the port is open, but there are no controllers currently connected to it.
  • Connected — the port is open and one or more controllers are connected to it.
  • Error — an error has occurred. The port may be used by a different service or is being used by a different gateway.