Category: Hardware solutions

Warning IDentifier manual

Preventing your Podcatchers from going missing

Introduction

When a visitor uses a Podcatcher, you can expect them to return it after use. However, some visitors may neglect, or simply forget to do so. To lower the amount of Podcatchers ‘disappearing’ over time, there are two ways to activate a warning signal built into the Podcatcher to alert visitors they should return the device. The first is a special IDentifier called the Warning IDentifier, the second is a Podcatcher setting namely the “idle time Alarm”. You can use either, neither, or both, depending on what you think is appropriate.

Warning IDentifier

The Podcatcher can sound its warning signal when it receives a Warning IDentifier code. This is a special IDentifier that is typically placed near the building exit so visitors should be notified at the right time.

The advantages of this method are that Podcatchers are more likely to be dropped off over time (especially if you have a lanyard or wristband attached), and your staff will know to ask specific visitors to return the player before leaving the building.
The disadvantage is that the IR signal doesn’t go through much in the way of cloth or leather, meaning Podcatchers won’t sound the warning signal if it’s been put in a bag or pocket.

Installation of the Warning IDentifier

CAUTION: Avoid looking directly into the Warning IDentifier’s front at close range! The infrared LEDs in the device are invisible to the human eye but are very bright, especially at close range.

Testing:

  1. Plug the adapter into a power socket and the adapter plug into the 9V DC input on the Warning IDentifier. Although there also is a RCA connector on the back, you only need to connect the 9V DC adapter plug and nothing else.
  2. The 2 LEDs on the back will blink green for a couple of seconds.
  3. Then the Warning IDentifier will start transmitting alarm codes. The top LED should be red and the bottom led should flash green every time an warning signal code is transmitted (about 4x per second).
  4. Take a Podcatcher from the Docking Station. The warning signal should sound when you are in range of the Warning IDentifier. It will sound for about 120 seconds. You can stop the warning signal sound by pressing any of the buttons on the Podcatcher, but when you are still in range it will sound again!

Configuration:

You can change the Warning IDentifier transmission power by setting the red/white switches at the back of the device.
The change takes place immediately and each increase adds about 2-3 meters of range.

Switch 1 up, all others down = 25% intensity

Switch 1 and 2 up, all others down = 50% intensity

Switch 1, 2 and 3 up, all others down = 75% intensity

Switch 1, 2, 3 and 4 up, all others down = 100% intensity

Mounting:

Podcatchers can only react to the warning signal when they are in visible range of the Warning IDentifier. The Warning IDentifier sends infrared signals and infrared cannot pass through objects, therefore the Warning IDentifier works best when the Podcatcher is aimed directly at it. It is wise to place the Warning IDentifier in such a way that it is most likely to ‘reach’ a Podcatcher.

When mounting the Warning IDentifier near an exit, it is best to place it at the ceiling facing towards the visitors inside the building, so visitors that are walking towards the exit are most likely to get in range of the Warning IDentifier. When mounting near an entrance it is best to place the device in the other direction,thus facing outside of the building, because if it is facing inside, it is very likely that the Warnng IDentifier would trigger Podcatchers at the handout desk as well.

Please experiment which location and direction/angle works best to reach the Podcatchers, but not interfere with normal operations.

Warning signal after idle time

The Podcatcher can also sound an warning signal when it is engaged in a Tour but has not played audio for a while. By default this functionality is turned off, but you can set it up in the Podcatcher Site settings, under “Podcatcher idle time before alarm starts”.

The advantage of this method is that the warning signal will always sound after a while, unless properly handed in. The disadvantages are that if you set it to sound the warning signal too quickly, visitors may become annoyed; if you set it to sound the warning signal too late, the visitor may already be on the bus back home by the time it goes off. Further, if your site doesn’t collect Podcatchers in docks after visitors finish the tour (such as a drop-off box), they may start to produce a very annoying chorus over time.

Post-Alarm trigger

The Podcatcher can be made to play audio after sounding the warning signal using the Post-Alarm trigger in a stop. This will make the stop play its audio after the warning signal has stopped playing (either due to it playing for its full duration or a button being pressed). This is – as all content is – localized to the language of the tour.

Prevent missing Podcatcher

There are a number of ways to minimize the risk of losing Podcatchers. Below in the spec-sheet you’ll find a number of tips and best practices.

Prevent missing Podcatcher

Specsheet Syncbox

The Syncbox is a compact computer, designed by Guide ID to charge and synchronize Podcatcher audio guides. You can connect up to 10 dockingstations (100 Podcatchers) to one Syncbox.

Specsheets:

Syncbox advanced network configuration

1. Wireless LAN (WiFi)

We recommend using a wired network connection whenever available. In cases where it isn’t, but you have a WiFi network available, you can connect the Syncbox to it using a USB WiFi dongle.

Only specific types of dongles are supported, so please contact our helpdesk if you are in need of one. Configuration must be repeated for each USB dongle. If you have more than one Syncbox, you may be provided with a WiFi access point instead, to simplify the configuration and provide the best reception.

1.1. USB WiFi dongle

Connecting the Syncbox to WiFi using a USB dongle is an easy one-time process. Follow the steps below.

1. Insert the USB dongle into the front USB port that is below the Ethernet port, and startup you Syncbox.
Note: Do not use any of the 10 USB ports on the rear of the Syncbox for the WiFi dongle. The device will not be found.

Step 1: Connect the WiFi dongle

2. Wait for about 2 minutes, until the connection LED starts flashing red. This indicates that the Syncbox has started a WiFi hotspot.

3. Search for WiFi networks on you phone (or another WiFi capable device). Select the network named after the label on you Syncbox, and connect to it. The WiFi password is “podcatcher”.

4. When you are connected to the hotspot, a popup should be shown: “Sign in to network”. Click on it to open the WiFi configuration page.

5. Select your WiFi network from the drop down list. Enter the passphrase, and click “Connect”. The WiFi hotspot will be disabled, and the Syncbox will connect to your WiFi network.

To check if the connection is succesfull, observe the connection LED. The LED should be blinking orange, and become green after about one minute. If there is an error connecting to the WiFi network, the LED will return to blinking red and the hotspot will be restarted. You can then go back to step 3.

1.2. WiFi access point

Instead of using a WiFi dongle for each Syncbox, it is possible to use an access point in client mode to connect many Syncboxes to your wireless network at once. The Syncboxes connect to the access point by means of Ethernet cables, and the access point is configured to connect to your wireless network. To help plan your setup, please contact our helpdesk.

Configuration using a WiFi access point is similar to the procedure for connecting a single USB dongle. But, you will only have to configure the access point.

2. Proxy server

On some locations it is required to access the internet through a proxy server. The Syncbox supports proxy servers through automatic and manual configuration. There are however some requirements on the type of proxy server used.

2.1. Proxy server requirements

Your proxy server must meet the following requirements:

  1. Support HTTPS connections to websites. Or in technical terms: support the HTTP CONNECT method, where the proxy server sets up a direct connection between the client and the website.
    As most websites today use HTTPS, most proxy servers support this feature. Some proxy servers however require clients to install a special certificate, instead of using HTTP CONNECT. This is currently not supported by the Syncbox.
  2. If your proxy server requires entering a username and password to access the internet, this is supported by the Syncbox, but currently only through the HTTP basic authentication scheme. Other existing types (e.g. HTTP Digest, HTTP NTLM and HTTP Negotiate) are currently not supported.

2.2. Automatic configuration (WPAD)

The Syncbox supports automatic configuration of a proxy server by means of the Web Proxy Auto-Discovery Protocol (WPAD). If your network is configured to support this, proxy server configuration of the Syncbox is done automatically and will work out of the box.

For more information on WPAD follow this link.

If your proxy server requires entering a username and password to access the internet, automatic configuration will normally not provide the Syncbox with these credentials. To enter them you would need to resort to manual configuration. As an alternative you can include the credentials in the the proxy URL in the PAC file. An example PAC file in this format is shown below.

function FindProxyForURL(url, host)
{
return "PROXY username:password@192.168.1.1:8080; DIRECT";
}

Note: Including the username and password for the proxy server in the PAC file will make it available to all users on the network, unless access to the PAC file is regulated by for instance IP address. The MAC address of the Syncbox is printed on its label to allow to assigning it a specific IP address.

3. Manual configuration

Manual configuration of Syncbox network settings is possible using a USB mass storage device. Please follow the steps below.

3.1. Prepare the USB stick

  1. Format a USB stick in FAT format.
  2. Create a new text file on it named “config”. The file must not be placed within a directory.
  3. Add configuration entries to the file as specified below.

3.2. Network configuration entries

The configuration file “config” can contain a combination of the following configuration entries, each on a separate line.

3.2.1. General

Clear all network profiles
config_net_reset=1

Note: The reset can be combined with other entries and will be handled first.

3.2.2. Wireless LAN

WiFi ssid to apply settings to (if omitted, configure Ethernet)
config_net_wifi_ssid=My WiFi Network

WiFi password to install
config_net_wifi_pass=password

WiFi auth-alg:
– open: Open System
– shared: Shared Key
config_net_wifi_auth=open

WiFi key management:
– none: WEP
– ieee8021x: Dynamic WEP
– wpa-psk: infrastructure WPA-PSK
– sae: SAE
– wpa-eap: WPA-Enterprise
config_net_wifi_mgmt=wpa-psk

3.2.3. Proxy server

Note: Proxy configuration applies to wired Ethernet, unless it is combined with wireless LAN configuration entries. To manually configure a proxy server for WiFi, you must also manually configure the WiFi settings. If you have already used the hotspot method to configure WiFi, you must clear the existing profile using the reset option listed above.

Proxy server host
config_net_proxy_host=192.168.1.1

Proxy server port
config_net_proxy_port=8080

Proxy server username
config_net_proxy_user=username

Proxy server password
config_net_proxy_pass=password

3.3. Apply settings on a Syncbox

Using the following steps you can apply the configuration to a Syncbox. You can repeat these steps on multiple Syncboxes, using the same USB stick.

  1. Power off the Syncbox, by holding the “Shutdown” button 10 seconds until the system LED starts blinking orange and finally switches off.
  2. Insert the USB stick into the front USB port below the Ethernet connector.
    Note: Do not use any of the 10 USB ports on the rear of the Syncbox for the USB stick. The device will not be found.
  3. Press and hold the “Shutdown” button for 10 seconds to start it in recovery mode. The Syncbox should apply the settings, and automatically reboot to normal mode.
    Note 1: Release the button when the system LED becomes orange. If you hold it too long it becomes red and will start in a different mode.
    Note 2: If applying the settings failed or no settings were applied, the Syncbox will stay in recovery mode and the system LED will stay red. In this case check the USB device, and restart at step 1 to retry.

Specsheet Warning IDentifier

The Podcatcher can sound an warning beep when it receives a signal from the Warning IDentifier, which might help preventing Podcatchers from going missing. In the specsheet you’ll find more information about the Warning IDentifier.

Specsheet Warning IDentifier

Specsheets IDentifiers

Underneath you find the specsheets of our newest model IDentifier (V3) and our older model IDentifier (V2).

Specsheet IDentifierV3
Specsheet IDentifierV2

Note; the IDentifier V2 will no longer be available in our product range as of the 1st of  January 2021. Customers can keep using them on location, but we cannot replace them or send out additional ones.

Replacing the battery of IDentifiers

After a while – a year or two in indoor environments – an IDentifier’s battery will eventually run dry. When this happens, replacing it is fairly simple. This page aims to teach you how to do so.

Object IDentifier

The process of replacing batteries is as follows, depending on the type of IDentifier you have;

V2 – IDentifier

  1. Remove frontside using a fine flat screwdriver.
  2. Carefully take out the PCB with transmitter and batteries.
  3. Replace the 2 CR2032 lithium coin cells (batteries) off the transmitter.
  4. Re-assemble the IDentifier.

Instruction-sheet Instruction IDentifierV2 Battery

V3 – IDentifier

  1. Remove frontlabel using a fine small knife.
  2. Remove the 4 screws with a T6-screwdriver
  3. Remove the top cover whilst keeping the sealing in the front side.
  4. Carefully take out the PCB with transmitter and batteries.
  5. Replace the 2 CR2032 lithium coin cells (batteries) off the transmitter.
  6. Re-assemble the IDentifier.

Instruction-sheet Instruction IDentifierV3 Battery_

Done!