Technical Support Document 010 - 11/96

SATELLITE UNIVERSAL SCANNER INSTALLATION AND SETUP

INSTALLATION

The Satellite column assembly comes fully assembled, regardless of which mounting configuration you will be using. This section covers the mechanical assembly of the machine, initial testing, and optical alignment.

I. PUTTING UP THE COLUMN

The Satellite column assembly is packed in the bottom of the crate. A couple of important considerations when handling the column assembly are:

• The column is very heavy, weighing about 160 pounds. Be very careful when lifting it. It is best to have one or two extra people on hand to help.

• Inside the column itself are two counterweights that are able to move freely along the length of the column. To stand the column upright when the time comes, lift it slowly from horizontal to vertical. At some point, the counterweights will shift, pulling the black cables taught around the pulleys in the top end of the column. If a stage starts to move due to the counterweights, let it go to the top, but push the other stage to follow it; do not let the two stages separate by more than about 15 inches.

1. When removed from the crate, the column will be capped on both ends with corrugated cardboard and tape. Remove these caps by peeling off the tape, or very carefully cutting it with a sharp knife.

2. In each end of the column is a piece of wood, put there to keep the counterweights stable during shipping. Pull these boards out of the ends of the column. Don't forget that there is a piece of wood in each end.

3. Once the wood pieces are removed, you can now mount the column to it's baseboard, wall brackets, or floor-standing drop table. Details for the Baseboard and Floor-Standing mountings are shown below. Please refer to the instructions with the Wall-Mounting brackets for instructions on their use.

II. ATTACHING THE LIGHT ARMS (BENCH-MOUNT MACHINES ONLY)

Satellites designed for use as a bench-top scanner will have a set of light arms included. These arms attach to the rear of the column using the rear two of the column base screw holes as shown below:

• Procedure:

1. Make sure that the rear two bolts on the bottom are only finger tight.
2. Remove the two screws at the rear of the column. Caution: This will cause the column to be a bit unstable; do not put pressure on the column that would cause it to lean forward.
3. Position the cross bar portion of the light arms such that the arms can angle up/down, and so the holes in the cross bar line up with the holes in the column.
4. Insert the two bolts supplied with the light arms, using the washers provided. Tighten when both have their threads engaged.
5. Re-tighten the two bolts on the bottom of the baseboard.
6. With the light arms installed, the machine is ready to be positioned in it's final location.

III. ELECTRICAL HOOKUP

The electrical hookup is as shown:

• The main power cord simply plugs into the AF Computer Box.
• The main interface cable (beige cable) goes from the connector on the bottom of the Camera Stage to the "SENTINEL" connector on the Junction Box.
• The keypad plugs into the "KEYPAD" connector on the Junction Box.
• The Rackover Footswitch plugs into any of the "ACCESSORIES" connectors on the Junction Box.

Once all these connections are made, the machine is ready for first power-up. The power will come on as soon as the main power cord is plugged in. After an opening message, there will be a delay of about 10-20 seconds, after which the keypad will read, "PRESS ANY KEY TO BEGIN REFERENCING." Check that the baseboard area is clear, then press any button on the keypad. The machine will go through a series of movements, after which normal operation and setup can begin.

SETUP

The first step in getting the Satellite up-and-running is to make sure that the viewing plane is aligned with the camera plane, which means that an image in focus in the viewing reticle will be in focus for the CCD field of the digital camera. After the Satellite is optically aligned, the lenses can be setup for normal autofocus operation.

I. OPTICAL ALIGNMENT

This procedure will guide you through the alignment of the Satellite's digital camera image plane and the reticle used for composing the image. Since this procedure requires the removal of the case enclosing the rackover stage and other mechanical adjustments, the following tools will be needed:

• A small (#1 head) Philips Screwdriver
• A 1/8" Allen (Hex) driver.
• A medium-sized blade-tip screwdriver.

1. Remove the rackover enclosure. You will need to remove the 11 small screws around it's base. (This is a one-time only procedure.) The location of some of these screws is shown below.

2. With the enclosure removed, you will see something similar to what is pictured below. Use the blade-tip to remove the single white screw at the front edge of the viewing reticle. The two similar screws at the rear of the reticle do not need to be removed.
   

3. Carefully remove the viewing reticle from it's position under the viewing mirror by lifting up at the front edge, and pulling towards you. Be extremely careful not to scratch the mirror. It is a front-surface type, and scratches very easily.
   

4. Place the reticle into the camera back holder. There is a machined surface on which the reticle will rest. In this position, the reticle is at the same height that the CCD array of the digital camera will be when installed.
   
5. Use the Rack-over Footswitch to move to the "taking" position. The Taking position is when the rackover stage is positioned to the left, with the camera holder located over the lens. Warning: keep clear of the exposed rackover stage when in motion.

6. Place some form of subject matter on the baseboard. The Focusing Target supplied with the Satellite is ideal. This article you use here is not important, but it should have enough detail to easily see whether or not the machine is in focus. Focus the machine using the keypad, as follows:

1. Rotate the lens turret to the shortest lens.
2. Press the MANUAL key until the keypad reads "MANUAL" in the upper right corner.
3. Use the right-hand arrow keys on the keypad (the set located under the Enter and Cancel keys) to move the Satellite to as large a size as possible where you can still view the reticle in the camera holder. These arrows move both the camera stage and the lens stage together and are always used for sizing the image. Press the Fast key along with either arrow to get faster movement.
4. Use the other arrow keys (under the number pad area) to focus the image. These keys move only the camera stage, and are used for focusing whenever you are in "Manual" mode. You can tap these keys to achieve very fine movements. After tapping a key, wait for a few seconds for the Satellite to settle into position.
5. Double check to make sure that the focus is perfect.
   

7. Examine the image in the reticle very closely, and note whether all corners of the image area are in focus. If they are not, you should level the Satellite chassis by means of the thumbwheels located on the runner plate of each stage. These thumbwheels are used to adjust the tilt and droop of each stage. There is not any single method of determining perfect level, but several systems are available for leveling photographic enlargers, which will work well for the Satellite. You can also do it visually by trial and error.

8. Once this image is perfect in all areas, the next step is to level the image in the viewing area. For this, you will need to re-install the reticle into the viewing position under the mirror. This is basically the reverse of the procedure of removing the mirror. Be careful of the corners of the reticle when lying it flat into the recess. If, for some reason, you need to remove the mirror, this can be done by pulling down on the front ends of the two mirror retainer clips and pulling the mirror out. Do not remove the mirror entirely unless absolutely necessary. Re-install and tighten the white screw removed in step #3.
   

9. Activate the Rackover Footswitch to bring the rackover stage into "viewing" position. This is the position where the viewing reticle and mirror are positioned over the lens. An image should be in view in the reticle. From this point on, do not move the machine at all using the keypad. Working on the stages will not cause problems, since the computer is constantly monitoring the positions of the two stages.
   
10. You will probably notice that the image is slightly out of focus, or not in focus in the corners. You can adjust the position of the reticle stage using the three hex-drive screws that hold the mirror frame down. The front two screws, in relation to each other, adjust the left-to-right tilt of the reticle. The rear screw, in relation to the other two, adjusts the front-to-rear tilt. All three screws together adjust the overall height of the reticle.
    

11. When satisfied that the reticle image is perfect, re-install the rackover enclosure. This procedure is now complete, and should not have to be done again.

II. LENS SETUP

The calibration of a lens for autofocus operation is a matter of "showing" the computer perfect focus in two positions and telling it the exact magnification at each location. This procedure requires the use of the Focusing Target on the baseboard.

1. Rotate the lens turret so that the lens about to be setup is in position at the front of the machine. Be sure that the keypad is displaying the main screen when this is done, so that the computer will know that the lens has been changed. You should hear a small chirp sound indicating that the lens is changed.
   
2. From the Satellite main menu, select SATELLITE PREFERENCES. In this sub-menu, the last item is SET SECURITY LOCK. Point to that item using either set of arrow keys on the keypad, then press ENTER to select it. The display will read SECURITY LOCK ON. Press any number key to flip to an OFF setting. Press ENTER. This will let you actually perform the lens calibration routine.
   
3. Go back into the main menu, and select the SATELLITE CALIBRATION item. In the Calibration menu, the first item is SETUP LENS. Point to it, and press ENTER.
   
4. You will be presented with a screen that lets you type in the length of your lens. Enter the advertised focal length here. (Keep in mind that this number is only a name for this lens in the computer, it is not used in any calculations.) Press ENTER to continue.
   
5. The keypad will issue the instruction: FOCUS AT SMALL SIZE AND PRESS ENTER. Do this by using the arrow keys to focus at a lens position near the bottom of the column. (For a review of focusing with the arrow keys, see step #6 in the previous section.) You do not have to be at the end of travel-the computer's calculations will work beyond the point at which you focus here. Take the time to be sure that the focus is perfect. When satisfied that it is, press ENTER.
   
6. The keypad will prompt: ENTER MAGNIFICATION. At this point, view the Focusing Target through the reticle. The Target is graduated to read the magnification right from the image, using a 2-cm reference length on the reticle. This reference length can be derived from the printed lines on the reticle glass, which divide the reticle into 1cm squares. Position the center of the Target on the baseboard at the center crosshairs in the reticle. Reading either to the left or right, determine the magnification by reading where either of the lines that are 2cm away from the center fall on the Target's graduated scale. See the picture below for an example:

In this view, we see the reticle divisions (in grey) and the image from the Focus Target on the baseboard (in black). The two scales are aligned so that the center crosshairs of the reticle graduations falls directly on the center of the Focus Target image. Looking to the left or right of center, the first vertical reticle line is 2cm from center. Reading where this line crosses the horizontal axis of the Focus Target, we see that it falls just short of 1.2cm. In this case, we would determine the magnification to be 1.190. This kind of accuracy is paramount to a good lens setup.

7. Once you have determined the magnification, enter the number by typing it's digits, then adding zeroes at the end to get the decimal place in the correct location. For our example of 1.19 magnification, we would type 1, 1, 9, 0, ENTER. The two zeroes at the end change our entry from 0.119 to 1.190. It is very important to mind the decimal point location. Also note that an inaccurate measurement here will make the newly-setup lens be out of focus, just as not focusing accurately will.
   
8. When you press ENTER after typing the magnification value, you will be asked to FOCUS AT LARGE SIZE, THEN PRESS ENTER. This step is a repeat of step #5, but at a large size near the top of the column. Again, you do not have to be at the limits of travel; the computer can calculate beyond where you did this setup.
   
9. After focusing and pressing ENTER, again determine the magnification as explained in step #6. Then press ENTER.
   
10. The machine will now perform a "reference" procedure. The stages will eventually move to the bottom of the column, then back up. When this has finished, the new lens is ready for autofocus operation. You should be able to move up and down the column using the sizing arrows (the arrows under the enter and cancel keys). Wherever you stop movement, the machine should bring the image into focus within a few seconds. If the focus in not correct, you will need to perform this procedure again until it is. (It is normal for a first-time operator to need a few tries before a perfect setup is achieved.)
    
    You can also enter a magnification or target size by pressing the GOTO key on the keypad. You will be prompted for either a "MAGNIFICATION" or a "PRINT SIZE." Press GOTO again to toggle between the two. Start with MAGNIFICATION, by pressing the GOTO key until that word appears. Enter any value at which your current lens is able to focus, then press ENTER. The Satellite will then move to that size, and bring the image into focus.

This completes the initial setup of the Satellite autofocus system. For more information, consult the user's manual, or contact ZBE at the phone, address or e-mail below.

This document written by Rod Martinez. © 1996, ZBE, Inc.