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Cognisys SCOUT Owner's Manual

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Owner's Manual
Revision 1.2
Copyright 2019 Cognisys, Inc.
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  • Page 1 Owner’s Manual Revision 1.2 Copyright 2019 Cognisys, Inc.

  • Page 2: Table Of Contents

    Table of Contents SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS ..........................6 GETTING STARTED ............................6 ? ......................7 HAT IS THE COUT AMERA ONTROLLER ............................8 HAT IS NCLUDED ............................9 NSTALLING ............................9 UICK TART UIDE ............................ 10 ATTERY NSTALLATION ............................11 LEANING AND 2.6.1 Cleaning ..............................
  • Page 3 4.2.2.5 On time ................................. 26 4.2.2.6 Off time ................................. 26 4.2.2.7 On Time 2+ ..............................26 4.2.2.8 Off Time 2+ ..............................26 4.2.2.9 HP Limit ................................. 26 4.2.2.10 Final Off ................................. 27 4.2.2.11 Extend On..............................27 4.2.2.12 Extend Off ..............................27 4.2.2.13 Periodic Half-Press ............................
  • Page 4 .............................. 40 IRED LASHES ............................42 IDEO ECORDING ..........................43 AXIMUM ATTERY 5.5.1 AA Batteries ............................43 5.5.2 Li-Ion Pack .............................. 44 INSTALLING THE REFLASH SOFTWARE (OPTIONAL) ..................45 ..........................45 INDOWS NSTALLATION OS X I ............................45 NSTALLATION TROUBLESHOOTING ............................ 46 SPECIFICATIONS ............................
  • Page 5 Table of Figures Figure 1 - Connecting Windows ........................17 Figure 2 - Connecting OS-X ......................... 17 Figure 3 - Connecting Android ........................18 Figure 4 - Connecting iOS ..........................18 Figure 5 - Mac/PC Global Buttons (at top) ....................19 Figure 6 - Android Global buttons (under hamburger icon) ...............

  • Page 6: Safety Instructions

    WARNING indicates a potentially hazardous situation which, if not avoided, could result in death or serious injury. Follow all CAUTION notices to reduce the risk of personal injury, prevent damage to the Scout equipment, accessories, and devices (computers, cameras, flashes, etc). Failure to follow all CAUTION notices may void your warranty.

  • Page 7: What Is The Scout Camera Controller

    2.1 What is the Scout Camera Controller? The Scout camera controller finally answers difficult questions for long-term trail photography and videography: What do you do with the camera? How to keep it dry? How do you get the sensor to tell the camera it’s time to take a photograph? How do you control how many pictures are taken? Put a hole in a box and run wires? Critters love to eat and play with the wires.

  • Page 8: What Is Included

    Customizable foam or (optional) quick-release clamp kit • • 8xAA battery pack or (optional) Li-Ion battery and charger • ¼-20 mounting bracket Free PC/Mac application for setup • If you purchased the Scout Camera Controller as a kit it may include additional accessories.

  • Page 9: Installing Lens Tube

    4. Screw the lens tube onto the camera box until the lens tube just touches the sealing surface of the camera box. Then give the lens tube another ¼ turn. Do not overtighten! 5. Enable the Camera Control mode on your Scout Receiver: “Settings->System->Use CamCtrl” 6. Turn on the Camera Controller.

  • Page 10: Battery Installation

    5. Plug the battery pack into the camera controller. 6. Verify the camera box seal is clean prior to closing the lid to prevent water leakage. You can also power the Scout Camera Controller with external power using the optional power cable available here: https://www.cognisys-inc.com/store/3pin-extpwr-cable.html...

  • Page 11: Cleaning And Care

    2.6 Cleaning and Care We want your Scout equipment to last – so here are some brief steps to keep it happy! 2.6.1 Cleaning For cleaning we recommend a slightly dampened (not wet) micro-fiber cloth. Do not spray water directly into the inside of the equipment. Any liquid that goes into the controller may cause an electrical failure of the device.

  • Page 12: Maintaining Weatherproof Design

    2.6.3 Maintaining Weatherproof Design Scout equipment is designed to meet the most challenging environmental conditions. It does, however, require some care to maintain its weatherproof sealing. Do not twist the pressure relief valve in the top of the housing. It is designed to be permanently sealed.

  • Page 13: The Scout Camera Controller

    Green when power is on (and not in sleep mode). Red when activating the internal camera shutter release. 6. Flash sync in If using Scout flashes, this needs to be connected to your camera’s pc-sync port or to the camera’s hot-shoe. 7. Camera shutter release cable 3.5mm jack to control your camera.

  • Page 14: External Connections

    2.7.2 External connections There are several external connectors on the Scout Camera Controller that can be used to control or receive signals from optional equipment (left to right): 1. Auxiliary control Can be used with our Auxiliary box to power external devices such as LED or infrared lights.

  • Page 15: Camera Connection

    If, however, you are using one or more Scout Flash(es) you will also need to connect the Scout Camera Controller’s “flash sync in” RCA connector to your camera. If your camera has a PC sync connector on it, then all you need is a PC sync to RCA cable: https://www.cognisys-inc.com/store/pc-sync-cable-locking.html...

  • Page 16: Waking The Camera Controller

    – especially if you just want to look at how many pictures have elapsed. You can optionally wake the camera controller by quickly pressing the power button on a Scout PIR or by navigating on the Scout Receiver to Settings->Wake CamCtrl and pressing enter.

  • Page 17: Android Connection

    Figure 1 - Connecting Windows Figure 2 - Connecting OS-X 2.11.2 Android Connection Android has this nice feature that allows apps to control the Wifi. Once you connect up to the camera controller the first time the ScoutCam app will be able to automatically change your network connection for you.

  • Page 18: Ios Connection

    Figure 3 - Connecting Android 2.11.3 iOS connection Connecting to your iOS device is simple. You will have to connect to the camera controller each time Wifi is started unless you tell the operating system to “automatically connect”. The device may prefer a different network (if available) for auto-connect since the camera controller doesn’t have active internet.

  • Page 19: Navigating The App

    3. Navigating the app In this section we’ll go into the basics of adjusting settings for the Scout Camera Controller. If you find your eyes glossing over with all the technical discussion you can always skip to the “5 - Examples”...

  • Page 20: Find Devices

    (and periodically) but if you forget to wake up a device it might get missed. Some devices, such as the Scout Receiver and PIR don’t always have their wireless active in order to conserve battery. To make the Scout Receiver activate its wireless go to Settings->Wake CamCtrl.

  • Page 21: Write Config

    3.2.3 Write Config This will take any app changes and permanently save them to all the active devices. Any time you make a change to a setting it will be sent down to the applicable device but it will not be permanently retained (after a power-cycle) unless you press the “Write Config” button.

  • Page 22: Settings

    4. Settings The settings are grouped under collapsible categories. Press the button to expand or collapse the settings. This will reduce the number of settings visible at any given time and decrease “configuration fatigue”! 4.1 Settings Navigation Map Below is the navigation map for all the settings. The links are “clickable” to get you to the specific details about the setting.
  • Page 23 Time Settings Window Enabled On Time Off Time Wireless Settings Channel Wakeup Speed Wifi Settings Security Channel Timeout Flash Settings Ready Wait Power Settings Camera Power Camera Wake LED Debug Infrared Settings Enabled Mode Time lapse Settings # pics Elapsed Interval Sensor Starts Software Version...

  • Page 24: Setting Descriptions

    4.2.2 Camera Settings The Scout Camera Controller gives you plenty of flexibility for controlling your camera. You can choose how many pictures you want, how long the half-press is held (focus or wakeup), how long the shutter button is pressed, and even the time between each shutter button press.

  • Page 25: Input Source

    You can currently select between the Scout Receiver or PIR. If using multiple receivers and PIR’s make sure that each device is set to its own unique ID. You can have a Scout Receiver and a Scout PIR with “ID: 1”, but not two Receivers with “ID: 1”.

  • Page 26: On Time

    The “off time” is how long the shutter button is released. If your “# pics” is greater than one, this will be the duration between pictures. Once this time expires, the Scout Camera Controller will start looking for another subject detection signal.

  • Page 27: Final Off

    Why would you want to do this?!? When shooting video with some Canon cameras you can’t give them a long half-press or else it will bring up a “'Push the Start/Stop button to activate Movie Shooting” screen. The camera needs a quick half-press, but also a little more time to “warm up”.

  • Page 28: Aux Settings

    *poke* to make sure it doesn’t do something as silly as leaving video mode! It can also be used for some setups to recharge flash capacitors. The green LED will light on the Scout Receiver when the camera receives a half-press. 4.2.2.13.1 Enable Selecting this will enable or disable the Periodic Half-Press feature.

  • Page 29: Limit Window

    taken within the time set in “Window”. See the two other settings below. Note: The Camera Controller will no longer take photos while the shot limit is reached. Two reset the shot limit manually (instead of waiting for it to time-out) you can press “Outputs Off”...

  • Page 30: Time Settings

    4.2.5 Time Settings The Camera Controller can limit when it will activate the camera (or wake up other Scout equipment) based on the time of day. If you are only interested in night photographs or you want to decrease “interest” in your equipment from two-leggeds during the day you can use the “time settings”...

  • Page 31: Wireless Settings

    This determines what frequency the Receiver operates on. All Scout equipment for a given setup must be on the same channel to operate properly. If using more than one Scout setup in the same area (within 100 meters / 330 feet) you should assign each setup its own unique channel.

  • Page 32: Open

    Controller ships with security disabled. You must “save settings” and then power-cycle your Camera Controller for these new settings to take effect. 4.2.7.1.1 Open No security measures are in place. This is easiest for you to connect up to your Camera Controller –...

  • Page 33: Flash Settings

    The “Flash Settings” only apply when using Scout Flash(es). 4.2.8.1 Ready Wait The Scout Camera Controller has the capability to wait for the flashes to be ready (charged) prior to telling the camera to fire (flashes on first exposure). This helps prevent the subject from being “spooked”...

  • Page 34: Enabled

    4.2.11.4 Sensor Starts If selected then the Scout Receiver or PIR must detect a subject before the time lapse will start. Note: You must still press the start button to enter time lapse mode. Then once the sensor detects a subject it will begin the time lapse.

  • Page 35: Software Version

    Camera Controller. You can use this to determine if it is time to replace the batteries. If using the AA battery pack the lowest usable voltage is 7.2V. For the Scout Li-Ion pack it is 12V. Replace the batteries before coming close to this lower limit.

  • Page 36: Examples

    5.1 Camera Settings Here are some suggested camera settings. Drive Mode: Single or Continuous. If set for “Single”, then you can have the Scout Camera Controller control how many shots are taken and how much time there should be between the shots (Off time).
  • Page 37 Definitely don’t use auto-focus if doing night-time photography. Because of those variables we’d recommend sticking with manual focus. If you’re only interested in day-time photography you can always have the Scout Camera Controller operate just during the day. See section “4.2.5 – Time Settings” for details.

  • Page 38: Full Wireless

    2. The Receiver/PIR wakes the Camera Controller and tells it that a subject has been detected. 3. The Camera Controller will wake the Scout Flashes or LED video lights and wait for them to become quick-charged (if Flash Settings->Ready Wait is selected). The LED’s are instantly ready.
  • Page 39 To enable this functionality on the Scout Receiver you need to do the following (this assumes the Receiver is starting with its default settings loaded): 1. Go to Settings->System Settings->Use Camera Ctrl and make sure it is checked. 2. Make sure the Wireless Channel matches the Camera Controller: Settings->System Settings->Wireless Settings->Channel (by default it does)

  • Page 40: Wired Flashes

    Wired flashes have the advantage of being guaranteed to receive the flash sync signal – but the significant downside of tripping hazards and enthusiastic wildlife eating the cables. Should you go this route the Scout Camera Controller supports wired flashes. Here are the physical connections: The Scout system follows this process: 1.
  • Page 41 To enable this functionality on the Scout Receiver you need to do the following (this assumes the Receiver is starting with its default settings loaded): 1. Go to Settings->System Settings->Use Camera Ctrl and make sure it is checked. 2. Make sure the Wireless Channel matches the Camera Controller: Settings->System Settings->Wireless Settings->Channel (by default it does)

  • Page 42: Video Recording

    You might come back to a full memory card if this happens… The Cognisys Sony Video Switch does not require two shutter activations. You only need to set the “On Time” to the duration of the video you’d like to record. Most Sony cameras do require at least 0.5 seconds of pre-trigger time, with older models like the A6000 in excess of one...

  • Page 43: Maximum Battery Life

    4. If possible keep the Camera Controller box out of direct sunlight. Electronics tend to draw more current when warm. Following these steps can help you get in excess of three months of battery life from the Scout Camera Controller! 5.5.1 AA Batteries...

  • Page 44: Li-Ion Pack

    5.5.2 Li-Ion Pack Rechargeable Lithium Ion batteries are a great alternative to AA batteries. They’re lighter weight per watt than AA batteries and can significantly increase the run time of the Camera Controller. If you are using the Camera Controller to power your camera (or other accessories) we highly recommend using our Li-Ion pack.

  • Page 45: Installing The Reflash Software (Optional)

    6. Installing the Reflash software (optional) What is “reflash”? It’s a small program that allows you to update the firmware on your Scout Products. You do not need this program to use your Scout equipment. Rest assured if you just purchased your Scout it ships with the latest software available.

  • Page 46: Troubleshooting

    7. Troubleshooting Problem Cause Solution Does not turn on when power Batteries not installed. Insert a battery pack. button is pressed Battery polarity is incorrect. Verify all batteries are installed correctly. Batteries are low or a bad Verify the quality of the batteries battery cell.
  • Page 47 Optionally you can load the defaults from the settings page. See section 4.2.14. If you cannot resolve a problem with your Scout Camera Controller, please contact us at support@cognisys-inc.com. We want to make sure that you are completely satisfied!

  • Page 48: Specifications

    8. Specifications Specifications are intended for reference only. The design may be modified to improve features or functionality without notice. Specifications UNITS Input Voltage Input Current – Full on (8AA batteries / Li-Ion pack) 60/33 mAdc Input Current – Sleep (8AA batteries / Li-Ion pack) 0.65/0.44 mAdc Shutter/Aux Output Current Sink...

  • Page 49: Warranty

    All electronic products are warranted to be free from defects in materials or workmanship for two (2) years from the date of purchase. Within this period, Cognisys Inc. will, at its sole option, repair or replace any components which fail in normal use. Such repairs or replacement will be made at no charge to the customer for parts or labor, provided that the customer shall be responsible for any transportation cost.

  • Page 50: Revision History

    Change 02/15/2018 Initial Release 08/10/2018 Update for SW Rev 1.0.02. Added “Any” for input source and input ID. Added “Camera Wake” 10/29/2019 Removed any references to the flash being “pending” since it has launched. Added references for the Scout LED...

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