Reader Instr

DESCRIPTION

The Radio Time Code Reader is designed to display time code as Hours, Minutes and Seconds, Frames. The unit has a built in radio receiver tuned to 434.075 MHz so is able to receive time code from our Black Box Video Time Code Transmitters, or from other manufacturers' transmitters operating on the same frequency.

The unit is robust and splashproof and is designed to be very simple to operate. It runs on a single PP3 type battery.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE

Fit a 9 Volt battery into the battery compartment on the right side of the unit. Alkaline MN1604 or Lithium types are recommended. Be careful to observe correct polarity.

Fit the UHF aerial to the BNC socket on the top of the unit.

Operation

Switch the unit on by pressing the green push button. The display should briefly read "Black Box Video TC Reader V1.2".

The blue LED should light up and the display should now show "00:00:00:00 25" if no time code is being received. The "25" indicates the default frames per second.

If time code is being transmitted the display will indicate the current code and the word "JAM" to the right of the time code. "JAM" indicates the Reader is jam-synched to the Transmitter.

To freeze the display, press the yellow button and the word "LOG" will replace the word "JAM" and the display will be static so you can log the code.

To return to the current code press the yellow button again. The display will run jammed to the Transmitter and the word "JAM" will appear in the display again.

Frame Rate

The unit will select its own frame rate automatically according to the code it receives from 25 or 29 drop frame. If required 24 frames per second can be manually selected by holding down the yellow push button whilst powering up the unit.

Battery Indicator

The blue LED indicates how much power is left in the battery. The indicator will gradually get dimmer as the battery runs down - when it is out the battery should be replaced as the unit will stop working shortly.

Battery life should be about 10 hours with a Duracell MN1604, or 30 hours with an UltraLife lithium or Zinc Air battery. This will be slightly less at night when the backlight comes on.

Current consumption is about 50mA. Minimum usable battery voltage is 7 Volts.

Time Code Out Socket

Time code out is available on the BNC socket on the right hand side of the unit by the battery compartment. The level is 1 Volt peak to peak. If no time code is being received by radio then time code can be plugged into this socket and be read on the unit. In this case the time code level should be between 1 and 3 Volts

Mounting Clips

Two mounting clips are provided on the back of the unit so it can be easily clipped to a clipboard.

Alternatively, the unit can be strung on some cord and worn around the neck. The back of the unit can be unscrewed and mounted the other way up if required so that the unit is the right way up when lifted to read the display.

TIME CODE PROBLEM SOLVING

Please see our separate problem solving page: