LPT ViCAM Installation

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LPT ViCAM Installation

To install the Parallel Port ViCAM^® Color Video Digital Camera software and hardware onto your computer please follow this procedure:

Install the ViCAM Software Utilities and Drivers on to your computer
Insert the CD into the CD-ROM drive of your computer and follow the online instructions. Updated versions may be available and should be used if the version is newer than the version number stamped on your CD.

Install the ViCAM Hardware
The parallel Port ViCAM^® will operate on as little as a 386 computer, but to recognize some of the superior video performance and capabilities we recommend at least a 166MHz Pentium computer, since the speed of the computer determines the frame rate achieved through the parallel port. For example, on a 200 MHz Pentium achievable frame rates are 30 fps, and on a 300 MHz Pentium up to 40 fps.

The ViCAM^® connects to the parallel port of your IBM compatible PC with a Windows 3.1, 95, 98 or NT operating system, and shares the port with your ZIP drive, printer, CD ROM drive, etc., via our unique technology built into the cable adapter.

Having the ViCAM^® between the personal computer and the printer in no way interferes with the operation of the printer. The computer can communicate to the printer or storage device just as it did before the installation of the ViCAM^®.

To install the ViCAM^® hardware on the personal computer perform the following steps:

Note: We suggest not placing an extension cable between ViCAM^® and the computer. ViCAM^® has been designed to plug directly into the computer's parallel port. Placing a cable between ViCAM^® and the computer may effect the EMI emissions performance of the ViCAM^® unit, causing it to not comply with domestic and international requirements placed on consumer grade electronics in the manner ViCAM^® was designed)

First, turn off the power to the personal computer and follow the instructions below.

1. Remove printer cable from the PC, if installed. 2. Connect the camera cable to the printer port.

3. Connect the printer cable to the adapter cable. 4. Remove keyboard cable from PC.

5. Install cable from camera to PC keyboard port. For AT style keyboard connect 5 pin to PS-2 cable adapter into PC keyboard port. 6. Connect 5 pin to PS-2 cable into cable. For AT style keyboard connect PS-2 cable from camera to cable adapter.

7. Connect keyboard cable to adapter. 8. Position the camera in desired location, on top of monitor, on tripod, etc.

This completes the hardware installation of the Parallel Port ViCAM^® Color Digital Video Camera. You can now power-up your computer.

Testing the ViCAM^® Installation
Now that you have successfully installed the ViCAM^® Utilities and ViCAM^®, its now time to make sure everything is working properly.

First Test: Launch the ViVIEWER application which is located in the program group created during the ViCAM^® Utilities software installation process. If everything works you should see the main window of ViVIEWER, and after a couple of seconds the led located on the front of ViCAM^® will begin to blink and images will appear in ViVIEWER's main window.

When launched, the ViVIEWER program will determine the mode of your parallel port, i.e. uni-directional, bi-directional, ECP or EPP. The later two (ECP or EPP) allow for much faster data throughput, resulting in faster frame rates and lower computer over head. If you determine you are not in ECP or EPP mode you will need to change this in your computer's CMOS Setup Program. If you need assistance changing this please refer to your computer documentation and/or check our FAQ section.

ViVIEWER will initially display images in a 160 by 120 color format. You may need to adjust the focus on ViCAM^® to get clear images. Refer to the "Adjusting the Focus" in the Online Help. Play around with the menus and controls to see how easy ViCAM^® is to control. Now exit the ViVIEWER program.

Second Test: Launch the ViCAM^® VidCAP application which is located in the program group created during the ViCAM^® Utilities software installation process. If everything works you should see the window of VidCAP, and after a couple of seconds the led located on the front of ViCAM^® will begin to blink and images will appear in the VidCAP window. If you have another VFW device installed on your system, you may need to select the ViCAM^® under the Option menu once inside the VidCAP program.

If all of this happened, you're up and running.