The T470 is similar to the T440 controller, but using a custom injection-molded case (still fitting Australian/NZ power point mountings), with a new keyboard mechanism and customisable key text.
This product is a re-visit to the T440 and T430 family, updating it after 5 years and bringing new flexibility to configuration of a system.
It also offers a "looks" upgrade, so it will feel at home in high-end corporate board and meeting rooms, churches and senior schools where smart architectural looks are important. (It usually supplied in a white finish, but a metallic finish is also available.)
As a stand-alone control panel, it has one RS232 port for display control, and one output pin, which can be used as a PIR (Passive InfraRed detector) in, an IR out (for display device or auxillary device control) or a voltage output for relay or screen trigger functions. If needed, the "-R2" option adds two relays (N-FETs to ground) which can be programmed to control various screen types, as well as switchers, etc. by channel or from keyboard buttons.
The ouput RES pin can be configured to control auxillary RS232 devices such as HDMI switchers etc
Keyboard and LED functions of the T470
The buttons are all normally white with black lettering and the background area around the keys is light silver metallic like the T460M.Key backgrounds could be customised as to colour.
The keys are customisable at JED for lettering, function and number (4, 6, 8 and 10) and LEDs are providedabove each key, lighting in white when a function or channel is selected. This gives up to nine channels EACH WITH THEIR OWN BUTTONS and LEDs.
The currently active source has a lit LED above it, which flashes during message transmission.
Volume LEDs blink when the volume keys are pressed, and hold-down "auto-repeat" flashes the LEDs for each step, going steady at the limits.
Toggle keys like mute, blank and freeze have the corresponding LED indicating the active state.
The red LED above the OFF key blinks once or three times indicating projector communications "OK". (Coms OK/No Coms).
Keys can be allocated to operate relays.
These relays can be used to operate screens, dippers, room light dimming, screen casings, or be used via the channel buttons to operate front-end switchers or scalers. (Screen, dipper and dim relays are able to be linked to the On/Off cycle of the display device. Separate buttons can be allocated for these functions as well.
Thus screens or lights or blinds can be raised and lowered before the display device is turned on, or taken up while the display device is running.
Relays for other functions (e.g. switcher control) can operate when keys are pressed (blinking the LED) (and off when released), can operate and stay ON when released (with the LED staying ON) and then go OFF on a second press, or can operate in a "radio button" mode where two, three or four buttons are linked so when one is pressed, it turns off the others in the group (e.g. for source switchers.)
During "warmup" the channel key flashes (or the ON key LED if a separate ON key is provides). The red OFF key LED flashes during "cool-down".
There are also enough keys for simplecontrol of a DVD player or set top box TV tuner or the TV functions of a LCD-TV (see suggestions below). Aux IR commands have been included for this.
Keys use a "Duraswitch" technology, rather than membrane switches, with a superb tactile click and feel to a touch, with a magnet behind each key providing the action ... no more "spongy" keys.
This layout could have three Source / On keys, or one source key and Volume Up/Down keys.
(The lower-left key is always the OFF key, in all layouts.
Six key layout
This layout could have up to five source keys, or a mix of source, volume and special functions such as "Pixel align", screen Up/Down, etc. Volume keys usually at the right-hand end as shown.
Eight key layout
This layout could have up to seven source keys, or a mix of source, volume and special functions such as "Pixel align", Mute On/Off, Freeze On/Off, Screen Up/Down, etc.
Ten key layout
This layout could have up to nine source keys, or a mix of source, volume and special functions such as "Pixel align", Mute On/Off, Freeze On/Off, Screen Up/Down, Microphone or CD, etc.
Ten key layout: DTV
This layout could have several source keys, and a TV source as well as channel Up/Down and volume Up/Down. The TV tuner can be IR or RS232 controlled.
This could also be used with an LCD TV/Panel.
Ten key layout: DVD
This layout could have several source keys, and a DVD source as well as Play/Pause, and Forward and Back keys. The DVD player can be IR controlled.
T470 Setup program for a PC
This program allows users to set up all the functions of the T470. A serial connection to the PC is established and pressing "setup" on the screen allows all the pararmeters in the T470's non-volatile memory to be selected and stored.
A setup can be read back from an existing T470, altered, and written back, and also saved to the PC's disk for archiving. (Thus a school could save a standard setup on disk for, say, a science wing, where all rooms are the same, and then if another room is setup later it can be loaded from the archive, maybe with an alteration to add, for example, a new camera input source.)
The boxes in the above screen have labelled functions:
The Device box allows choosing of the 4-digit hex code for the display device. These codes are in sequential order in the user's manual ... the "Options" select variations such as different baud rates, volume ranges, etc. The text box reads back a description string for that device, including options. The Inc and Dec arrows move the selection up and down the alphabetically-ordered list.
The Configure box has commands to communicate the selection to the connected T470 and get the default options back for that device selection. The Monitor button moves to a serial display mode (see next screen image below).
The Keypad box shows the current keypad code (in red) and keypad configuration as setup on the connected T470. Clicking on any Source key pops up a menu customised to the display device, allowing any one of 16 sources identified as valid for that device family to be selected and allocated to that particular key. Thus, for example a source key physically labelled as Computer 1 to be linked to a VGA input, a DVI-D input or an HDMI channel. A source key labelled DVD could be linked to a Video input, or a Component input.
The Timers box (initially) shows the default times for that device. The numbers in the boxes can then be altered, for example, if a display takes more or less time to warm up. The PIR Run Timer can be set up here for the run time until a PIR input resets the T470 runtime to avoid a closedown.
The Relays box allows relay functions to be set by relay number. This allows relays to be setup for a number of screen motion types, room lights dimming, screen case control, or linked to specific keys (A ... D) for operation manually or when a particular source key is pressed.
The RES Pin box box allocates the function of the RES pin, which is used for PIR input, for IR or RS232 output or for a third Relay output.
The Firmware update box allows updating a T470's resident flash memory to a new release. (The current version is shown in the Firmware version box.)
The Progress box is a bar showing transfers as a moving bar graph.
When the Monitor button in the Configure box in clicked the following screen pops up:
(Baud rate and comms format is automatically set up from the display device.The Blue text is ASCII data, the red hex codes in "<>" is hex data (here, a CR)
When keys are pressed on the connected T470 the code sent to the display device is displayed in ASCII and/or Hex on the Monitor screen above. (This sequence is for a Sharp LCD panel, "Power On", warmup, sending several sources, including DTV, setting various volumes, and DTV channel Up/Downetc, and then doing a Power Down.)
Australian / NZ Power point mounting compatability
The T470 keeps the concept of compatibility with Aust/NZ power-point standard mountings, but has the advantage in school applications (particularly in Qld and SA) of not having a clip-on front.
The whole unit is released from the spring metal U-bracket using a pin into small holes in the side.