Gilderfluke&Co Br-miniBrick8 - Manual (Page 25)

Programming the Br-miniBrick8 with a Computer
This section of the manual is for those of you who arenʼt installing the MACs-USB Smpte
Card in their computer. If you do have a MACs-USB Smpte Card installed in your computer,
please refer to the appropriate sections of this or the PC•MACs manual. All of the real-time
features of PC•MACs are covered there.
The Br-miniBrick8 can be ʻProgrammed in Placeʼ using only the three buttons on its top,
or by connecting a RS-232 serial port and using Gilderfluke & Co.ʼs PC•MACs software. The
instructions in this section cover ʻPrograming-In-Placeʼ using our free PC•MACs software.
If you have ever drawn a ʻtiming chartʼ or schedule, this is exactly what you will be doing to
program the Br-miniBrick8. ʻTimeʼ is shown along the top of the page, and you draw in an
output where you want it ʻonʼ, and donʼt draw it in where you want it ʻoffʼ. All of the outputs can
change on every single update (typically there are 30 updates each second). The Br-
miniBrick8 just doesnʼt care if an output changes or not.
The next section of the manual gives an overview of programming using the PC•MACs Re-
alTime License. It assumes that you have already completed this section of the manual to
learn how to install the PC•MACs software, create a show, populate it with figures and chan-
nels, and perform rudimentary editing functions on the OffLine Editing Screen.
This section of this manual is excerpted from the (much larger) PC•MACs manual. Even
more commands and more details on the following commands can be found in other sections
of the PC•MACs manual. It can be downloaded from the Gilderfluke & Co. website.
Install the Software........
If the PC•MACs software has already been installed on the computer you are using,
you can skip this step.
PC•MACs is usually distributed on a CD-ROM, downloaded from our web page, or
received as a file attached to an Email. If you have the CD-ROM, just insert it in the ap-
propriate receptacle in your computer. The CD will bring up a menu which will allow you
to install PC•MACs and other Gilderfluke & Co. software. All Gilderfluke & Co.ʼs manu-
als are also on this disk, and can be read using the included Acrobat PDF reader.
If you have downloaded or received the PC•MACs software via Email, it will proba-
bly be compressed into a ʻ.zipʼ file. You will first need to decompress this file. Your
browser or Email program may do this for you automatically. If not, you will need a pro-
gram like unzip.exe or Win Zip to decompress them. Once this is done, just run the
ʻSetup.exeʼ program and follow the steps as it installs PC•MACs on your computer.
Getting started........
If the PC•MACs software is already running on the computer you are using, you can
skip this step.
The installation process will have left a shortcut to PC•MACs under the Windows
Start/Programs/Gilderfluke pulldown or on the desktop of your computer. You can start
PC•MACs by double clicking on either of these aliases, or navigating directly to the
PC•MACs.exe file and double clicking directly on it. If you tell the Windows registry
about PC•MACs, then it can start automatically any time you double click on a show or
site file.
Without the MACs-USB installed in your PC, you will be running in 'Software-Only'
mode. When you start the PC•MACs software, it will display the ʻmainʼ window, with a
message at its bottom that the Smpte Card hasn't been found, and the program is oper-
ating in ʻHardwarelessʼ mode.
Gilderfluke & Co.• 205 South Flower Street • Burbank, California 91502 • 818/840-9484 • 800/776-5972 • fax 818/840-9485
Br-miniBrick8 v3.+ Manual / 8/17/12 / page 19 of 36