|
|
|
The following is 2001 information we received from Westwood. Specific information about configuring WireReady (the original NewsReady DOS program) to receive the data follows at the end of this document. Note if you use WireReady32 and WINCAP, do not follow the procedures for running SETUP, rather run SETUP32 directly from WIRE\INSTALL. NETWRITER II INSTALLATION Power The NETWRITER II data demodulator has been fully tested and configured to receive the data associated with your Westwood One network affiliation(s). Please save the shipping carton for reuse in the unlikely event that return of the unit becomes necessary. Along with the NETWRITER II data demodulator is a plug-in transformer power supply. Plug the transformer into an AC receptacle and plug the power connector into the NETWRITER II jack labeled "12 VDC". The green front panel LED should now be illuminated. Data Input The NETWRITER II demodulator receives data from the StarGuide II receiver’s audio interface cards. A connection is made between the audio card’s "Digital IF" DB15 connector: pin 6 is ground and pin 9 is data out. This connection runs to "Data In" pin 5 (ground) and pin 2 (data in) of the DB9F on the back of the NETWRITER II box. The use of shielded cable (Beldon 8450 or equivalent) is highly recommended. StarGuide II Receiver (Digital IF DB15)NETWRITER II (Data In DB9)Pin 9< --------- >Pin 2Pin 6< --------- >Pin 5To receive NETWRITER II data, your StarGuide II satellite receiver must be on Westwood One’s East Coast carrier ("WestwoodEast _") and the provider "WW1Nets _". The data output connector should be plugged into the audio card you use for your standard news or talk affiliation (and has thereby already been permissioned by the Network). The audio port’s ASYNC PORT must be set to 4800 bps. To do this, go to the front panel and go to the audio port you have elected to use for NETWRITER II. Once there, press the right arrow key until CARD SETTINGS appears on the display, then press ENTER. Press the right arrow key until ASYNC PORT appears; press ENTER. The display will change to SET BAUD RATE; press ENTER. Press the right arrow key until 4800 appears; press ENTER. Press the up arrow until the word TRACKING appears. Printer Connection The NETWRITER II requires a serial printer for proper operation--parallel printers are NOT compatible. Typically, parallel printers are distinguished by a 36 contact Centronics connector, while a serial printer will have a 25 pin DB25 connector. To connect the serial printer, the DB25 connector on the rear of the NETWRITER II box labeled "RS232 OUTPUT" must be connected to the DB25 serial input of your printer as follows: NETWRITER IISerial PrinterPin 3<Transmitted data-----Received data>Pin 3Pin 7< ------------- Signal ground ------------- >Pin 7Pin 20< -------- Data Terminal Ready -------- >Pin 20A standard DB25 Male to DB25 Male cable can be used for this connection and is widely available at most computer stores or electronics distributors. Printer Configuration The printer must be configured as follows: 9600 bps, 8 bit, No Parity Once this is done and all connections are made, the "TEST" button on the rear of the NETWRITER II box can be pressed to verify that the printer is connected properly. The following test message will print on the printer: x-x-19- Westwood One Radio Networks................ Netwriter II Test ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ....... 1234567890!@#$%&* Version 2.x Serial Number xxxxx If the printer is offline or not properly connected, nothing will print. If the Print Ready/Busy is not connected or configured correctly, text will be missed or garbled. If either is the case, recheck the connections and your serial port configurations. The connections shown above are generic and will work for most printers. If it does not work for yours, consult your printer’s instruction manual and verify that the settings are correct and that the proper pins have been connected. Normal Operation Once you have completed all steps above, your NETWRITER II is ready for data transmissions that are sent out at various times throughout the day. During normal use, nothing has to be done to the system other than feeding paper to the printer and changing ribbons as necessary. Interfacing with a computer It is possible to interface NETWRITER II with a news computer system (such as Basys or NewsDesk) or a PC. To facilitate this, each NETWRITER II "story" contains control codes. A Start of Header (SOH, Hex=01) is transmitted at the beginning of a story and an End of Transmission (EOT, Hex 04) is sent as the end of each story. Computers can use these characters to separate the stories into different files. If All Else Fails... If you are sure everything is connected correctly and you still can’t get NETWRITER II to work, please call our Operations Desk at 1-703-413-8400 and we will try our best to assist you. There are NO user-serviceable components inside the NETWRITER II box, and breaking the seal will void your warranty.
WIREREADY SPECIFIC INFORMATION
Actual cabling information for the starguide to your computer.
The instructions refer to connecting Netwriter to a Printer, but you can disregard them. If the Computer's COM port is 25 pins Connect Pin 3 on the NetWriter to Pin 3 on the computer Connect Pin 7 on the NetWriter to Pin 7 on the computer Connect Pin 20 on the Netwriter to Pin 20 on the computer. If the computer has a 9 Pin port Connect Pin 3 on the NetWriter to Pin 2 on the computer Connect Pin 7 on the NetWriter to Pin 5 on the computer Connect Pin 20 on the Netwriter to Pin 4 on the computer. With the merger/consolidations of several WestWood, CBS and other radio network feeds, the actual data format has been somewhat in flux as network operations continues to make computer adjustments on their front-end.
Therefore you may have luck capturing Westwood, using one of three different driver choices available in WireReady
WireReady has a CBS format choice, which will separate stories based on a FF (Formfeed character). This looks like an anch symbol in any terminal program. WireReady has an ANPA choice called AP (also ABC) which can capture the feed assuming the feeds end in a single diamond character (EOT Ascii 4). WireReady also has a driver choice called WestWood (#96) which expects there to be two EOT diamond characters at the end of the feed. (ASCII 4) CONFIGURING WIREREADY: In the WIRE directory, run SETUP. Hit enter on the installation path C:\WIRE Choose SELECT SERVICE TYPE AND SPEED
You will see that your system is configurable for one or more wire services. Assign a port, or reconfigure a service port to match the COM port (i.e COM1) baud rate (9600) etc, for the service. As mentioned you can select AP or ABC, CBS, or WestWood and try each one for size.
(Note, if you do not see CBS or Westwood as choices, you can edit a file called WIRE\$ser.dat)
Add the following lines to $ser.dat using any text editor like EDIT CBS TZ
After you setup your Port hit F4 to save. Exit from SETUP restart WireReady by typing WR and hitting ENTER.
After a while, you'll see CBS stories coming in. IF they are stuck together and not separating properly, try one of the other driver choices in SETUP and repeat. Headline, Category and Priority may or may not look good, the program may just say Unknown Headline MISC MISC, but if the stories are atleast separating correctly, this may be the best driver available at the current time.
SEEING THE SERVICE DIRECTLY:
When you are in the SELECT SERVICE TYPE AND SPEED, you can highlight the service line you setup and hit F7 to VIEW the SAMPLE. When stories come across you'll see them. As mentioned if you see the ANCH symbol at the end of stories, use the CBS driver. If you see a single diamond character (EOT) use AP or ABC, if you see two diamond characters back to back use WESTWOOD.
You can also monitor incoming raw text within the WireReady program. From the WIRE BROWSER, hit CTRL-F10, select the port, i.e 3f8 is COM1, 2f8 is COM2 etc. Then hit F7 to view data.
|
|
Email
Sales - Home - Products
- Tech Support - Email
Support |