Ravensclaw Talon File Transfer Description

This document describes the procedure to transfer move files between the Ravensclaw Talon remote head and a Windows PC.

Part 1: Install the USB driver

You will need a USB cable to connect the Talon Remote to any USB input on a PC running Microsoft Wondows.
The Remote uses a serial port protocol on the USB output,
because of this Windows will think the USB connection is a serial port after the driver is installed.

First, you'll need to download the Windows driver for the USB / Serial adaptor that the Remote uses.
Go to Silicon Labs' website and download and install the software found on that page under the link "VCP Driver Kit".

Connect the Remote to the Windows PC with the USB cable and apply power to the Remote.
Windows XP should recognise and install the new driver.

It is important now to find out which serial port is assigned to the USB input.
Go to the Windows Control Panel and select "System".
Select the "Hardware" tab, then click on "Device Manager".
Under the heading "Ports (COM & LPT)", you should see the new device:
"CP210x USB to UART Bridge Controller (COM4)"

The number after COM in the above line is the serial port assigned to the USB input.
If the serial port is COM5 or above, you may need to change it to COM3 or COM4
to properly communicate with the Remote.
Refer to the description below only if the serial port won't open in the Talon software.

To change the USB's COM port:
Right-click on the "CP210x" line in the Device Manager and select "Properties".
Click the "Port Settings tab, and click the "Advanced" button.
Select Com port 1, 2, 3 or 4.
If the system says "This COM name is being used by another device...",
click "Yes" to change it anyway, as long as you don't need to use the same serial port
for another application while you are running the Talon File Transfer software.

Part 2: Transfer files

Download the file "Talon.exe" to a local directory and run the file.

Under the "File" drop-down menu at the top of the program, select "Serial Port...".
Type the serial port number ( 1 to 4 ) found from the above directions into the box.
You are now ready to transfer files.

The Talon saves move files as ascii data with 1 row of data for every recorded frame.
There are 6 columns for every row: Pan, Tilt, Zoom Focus, Extra1 and Extra2.
The extra channels are for future encoder based axis recordings.
We also save a comment field with every move, so you can record metadata with every move.
This comment field is recorded as ascii data at the beginning of the move data.
You can add comments to a file and record the file back to the Talon with the comments included.

First, record a move on the Talon.

To save the move to the PC, make sure the correct Take number is showing on the Windows software.
Nothing needs to be done on the Talon Remote itself, the transfer procedure is controlled by the Windows software.
Press "Get move from Talon", and choose a file name to save the file to. The file extention ".mov" is a default,
but you can name the file anything you want. The ".mov" name is recongized by Maya software.
That's it, the move should transfer itself after that.

The move is now saved to disk under the new file name. In order to be recognized by 3D systems, however, the
file comments must be removed from the file to leave only ascii move data.
To do this, select "Clear notes from file", and the comments will be removed from the file.
The comments will remain in the comment field in the software
so you can copy them and restore them later to the same move file.

You can modify the move data in the file if you want and record it back to the Talon,
and the Talon will record the data as a new move.

To send a (possibly modified) file to the Talon, first select the file next to the "Move File:" heading.
Select the Take number that you want to record the take to, and press "Send move to Talon".
The file will be sent to the Talon and recorded as a new move.
If the take already exists on the Talon, you must select another Take number or delete the take on the Talon.

Happy Move Making!