quiz pro 2000

QUIZ PRO 2000 COMPUTERIZED QUIZ BUTTON LOCK OUT SYSTEM

E-mail: [email protected]

Computer Products for Education PO Box 1694, Kingston, PA 18704 USA

Telephone : 570-283-3627

Installation and Operation Manual August 2002

Computer Products for Education 2

Quiz Pro 2000 Installation Instructions The setup and installation of Quiz Pro 2000 (QP2K) involves several steps. First the hardware must be setup and second the software must be installed on two computers. Acronyms and Abbreviations QP2K Quiz Pro 2000 Com Communications port on the PC LED Light Emitting Diode – a red light indicator AC Alternating current – 110 volts AC DC Direct Current – the QP2K unit runs on DC voltage and current CD Compact Disk mm millimeter PC Personal Computer RCA Radio Corporation of America – the manufacturer of player plugs/jacks RS232 A method of serial communication used by the PC and QP2K. Information is

represented by a series of positive and negative voltages. HARDWARE INSTALLATION NOTE: Careful planning and thought should be given in locating the quiz button boxes, the main QP2K unit and the personal computers (PCs). The QP2K system consists of:

Quiz Pro 2000 main unit 8 or 16 switch/lamp boxes 8 or 16 switch/lamp box connecting cables 12 Volt DC power supply 9-volt battery RS232 serial cables

Power supply connection

The QP2K main unit contains all the electronics and control circuitry of the system. The unit is powered from two sources: a 12 Volt 1 Amp DC power supply and a 9-volt battery located inside the unit. The DC power supply has two cables attached. The first cable consists of an AC plug and 6 feet of line cord. The second cable consists of 6 feet of cord with attached DC power plug. Plug the AC plug into a 115 Volt AC outlet. Plug the DC power plug into the QP2K main unit. The plug goes into a jack (Power) mounted on the top of the main unit. See Photo.

Connection of 12 Volt Power Supply


The ON/OFF power switch should remain in the OFF position during installation.

Listed on the top face place are the numbers 1 to 16 identifying the 16 player Light Emitting Diodes. There are also 16 RCA phono jacks located on both sides of the unit (8 on each side). Number 1 identifies LED 1 and also phono jack 1. The numbers advance around the unit in a counterclockwise direction identifying the 16 player LEDs and 16 player input jacks. The main unit should be located in a central location to the players and QuizMaster so the connecting cables can reach everyone. Each player’s switch/lamp box is connected to the main unit using a cable with RCA phono plugs on both ends. The connecting cables are all 12 feet in length. Additional cables can be purchased from us (Computer Products for Education) or at most electronics type stores (i.e. Radio Shack). Even though the QP2K system has been tested with cable lengths as long as 100 feet, it is impractical to have players sitting at such distances.

A player’s switch/lamp box can be tested immediately after being connected, by pressing the red button. Observe the corresponding LED on the main unit. The LED should light. Note that the LED lights even though the ON/OFF power switch is OFF. This is normal.

There are two RS232 serial cables: one with two DB9 connectors and the other with a 1/8” miniature plug on one end and DB9 connector on the other end. A DB9 connector is D shaped and has 9 pins or holes in it. The first cable with the two DB9 connectors connects the Quizmaster’s computer to the QP2K main unit. The female (holes) DB9 plugs into the PC’s Com 1 or Com 2 port. The male (pins) DB9 plugs into the top of the QP2K main unit. Tighten the thumb jackscrews to secure the connectors. Take care in locating the

different pieces of equipment so that no one trips over the interconnecting cables.

Quiz Master's Serial Cable

QP2K Main Unit - Top View


The second cable connects the QP2K main unit to the second or monitor computer. The 1/8” miniature plug plugs into a jack located on the top of the QP2K unit and the DB9 (female) plugs into one of the Com Ports on the second PC.

There is a 9-volt battery installed inside the unit. The current supplied by this 9-volt battery is used to power the LEDs on the front face of the QP2K main unit. There is 1 LED for each player making a total of 16 LEDs. The LEDs indicate which player has pressed his/her button. The battery is always connected to the QP2K circuitry but only supplies current when a player’s red button is pressed. The battery is rated at 600maH and should last for over a year. If a red switch box button is pressed and its respective LED no longer lights or is dim then the battery needs to be replaced. It would be good idea to have an extra 9-volt battery available during a quiz contest. The bottom cover must be removed to replace the battery. Two Philips screws hold the bottom cover on. Replacing the battery is easily done although the battery

polarity (+, -) should be carefully observed. Use a small screwdriver to pry the battery apart from it connection in the battery holder. LAMP TEST SELF-TEST A system self-test feature has been built into the QP2K unit. To start the Lamp Test self-test make sure the QP2K unit supplied with power and is switched off. Plug in as many quiz button lamp boxes as you want to test. Locate quiz button number 1 and press its red button and keep it pressed. At the same time switch the QP2K unit on. Now release the red button. You should immediately see the LEDs turning on and off on the QP2K faceplate. You will also see the corresponding lamps on the individual switch boxes turning on and off. The self-test will keep cycling. To stop the self-test turn the unit off.

Serial Monitor Cable


The picture above shows the switches and jacks on the top of the QP2K Main unit. The Reset button can be pressed to reset the unit. It is not used during a normal quiz contest. It can be used to switch a lamp off or end the lamp test. The fuse is a small 20-mm type with a 500 ma rating. The fuse may blow if the plug on the cable coming from a player's button/lamp box is shorted together. Always replace the fuse with the same type and current rating. Never install a fuse with a higher current rating as damage may result to the Quiz Pro unit.

Reset Button Power Switch Power Jack Fuse (500 MA) Power LED


SOFTWARE INSTALLATION If you plan to use two computers you will need to identify which computer will be the Quizmaster’s and which computer will be used as the mo nitor to display the quiz scores. You will also need to decide which software media you plan to use as the QP2K software comes on CD and also floppy disk. The CD contains the two programs: QuizPro and QP2KMon. QuizPro is the software program used on the Quizmaster’s computer. It is the program that displays the questions, tallies the scores and communicates with the QP2K main unit. QP2KMon is the program used on the second PC. Its purpose is to communicate with the Quizmaster’s PC by way of and through the QP2K main unit. It receives and displays team and individual player scores during the Quiz contest. It updates the score display every second. The communication is one-way from the Quizmaster’s PC through the QP2K main unit to the second PC. The monitor on the second PC is positioned so everyone can see it. The Quizmaster’s computer screen should be positioned so that only the Quizmaster can see it. To install the QuizPro software insert the CD into the CDROM drive on the Quizmaster’s PC. Using Explorer locate the CDROM drive and find two folders QPSetup and MonSetup. Open the QP2KSetup folder by clicking on it and then double-click on the Setup.exe file. Follow the instructions and the program will install itself on your hard drive. The most important configuration is the configuration of the Com Port. You need to determine which Com port you are using on the PC to connect to QP2K. To install the QPMon software insert the CD into the CDROM drive on the second PC. Using Explorer locate the CDROM drive and find the folder MonSetup. Open the MonSetup folder by clicking on it and then double-click on the Setup.exe file. Follow the instructions and the program will install on the hard drive. The only configuration necessary is configuration of the Com Port. You need to determine which Com port you are using on the PC to connect to QP2K. FLOPPY DOSK INSTALLATION The software can also be installed from floppy disks. There are two sets of floppies. The first is for the QPSetup. Locate the 4 floppies labeled Disk 1 to 4. Insert Disk 1 into the drive and run the setup.exe program. Follow the instructions and swap floppies when asked. The second is for the MonSetup. Locate the 2 floppies labeled Disk 1 and Disk 2. Insert Disk 1 into the drive and run the setup.exe program. Follow the instructions and swap floppies when asked.


SOFTWARE CONFIGURATION/OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS To run the QuizMaster software, click on the Start button and locate QuizPro. Click on QuizPro. To run the Monitor Program software, click on the Start button and locate QP2KMon. Click on QP2KMon. Two files control the QuizMaster software program: The Team Configuration file and the Question file. The Team configuration file identifies all the players and which team each player belongs to. It also assigns a jack/port to each player. The is the physical connection that a player’s button/lamp box is plugged into. The Question file contains all the questions and answers. It also assigns point values to each question and identifies the round it belongs to. If you have decided to use bonus questions in your contest then these must be entered into this file also. There are also two other configurations, which need to be setup before using the equipment. The Timer settings and Sound files. When the program is first run you can configure these two files to your individual preferences. TEAM CONFIGURATION FILE Clicking on the Teams command button in the main program accesses the Team configuration file. The Teams button is located on the right of the large toolbar in the center of the program window. NOTE - You can advance through the text boxes by pressing the Tab key. Before entering the information you should determine how many players you will have and divide them evenly among teams. If you have 12 players then you will have the following team combinations:

4 teams with 3 players each 3 teams with 4 players each 2 teams with 6 players each

Note: It is not necessary to have the same number of players on all teams. If you had 11 players for example you could have the following team combinations:

4 teams with 3 teams with 3 players each and 1 team with 2 players 3 teams with 2 teams with 5 players each and 1 team with 1 player 2 teams with 1 team with 8 players and 1 team with 3 players


So there are many combinations. But it is usually better to try and make the teams have equal numbers of players. TEAMS - Enter the name of each team in the text boxes going across the screen. You can have a maximum of five teams. You can enter the names in either caps or lower case but when you are finished the text will be converted to all caps. PLAYERS - Once the team names are entered you can enter the individual player names. For the first team or Team 1, enter the names in the first column. For the second team or Team 2 enter the names in the second column and so on…….. Note - You can use the tab key to advance through the text boxes. ASSIGN PORTS - Each player must be assigned to a port or input jack. Clicking on the Assign Port command button does this. After you click on it notice that each player’s name now has a number next to it in the text box. This number identifies the input jack assignment. When you connect the hardware up make sure that Jeff's button box for example is connected to Jeff’s input jack assignment. OPEN/SAVE - Finally you should SAVE the Team setup by clicking on the Save button. You will need to decide what folder you wish to save the file in and also decide on the name for the file. If you have created Team files before then you can use the Open feature to retrieve the file. Click on Done to return to the main Quiz Pro 2000 program. QUESTION FILE Clicking on Run QuizMake on the File menu allows you to create the Question file. The following are menu options in the QuizMake program Window: FILE MENU - This is the Menu Bar with the words File and Help on it. Clicking on the File menu drops a list of choices:

Open - Opens an existing question file. Save - Save a question file.

Exit - Exit the program


Clicking on the Help menu accesses Help. The Question file can contain a total of 100 questions. Each question consists of three parts: the question, answer and point value. Every question is assigned a question number and is attached to a round. There can also be a bonus question however this is optional. The bonus question consists of three parts: question, answer and point value. Note - There is a counter that keeps track of the number of characters entered into the text boxes. Carriage returns (pressing Enter) are not allowed and the text boxes will not accept them. ROUND - A quiz game can be divided into rounds. For example in Round 1 all the questions might be worth 10 points. Then in Round 2 the questions might be worth 20 points. Round 3 might be the final round and the question might be worth 50 points. NAVIGATION BUTTONS - There is a set of buttons in the upper right corner which allow you to advance through your question set. You need to fill in several text box entries for each question. First select a Round by clicking on the up arrow on the spin button. Start with 1. Next enter the question. Click in the text box with your mouse pointer. You do not need to enter number 1. You can include a question mark if you desire. DO NOT press Enter. Next click on the combo box and select a point value. You can also type in a value if you don’t see the one you want on the list. Next click in the answer text box and type in the answer. Again do not press Enter. Repeat these steps for the Bonus Question if you want to include one. TIMER SETTINGS There are three timer settings, which can be configured. You access the Timer Settings by clicking on the Configure | Timer Settings on the Menu bar. It is recommended that until the QuizMaster becomes familiar with the equipment the answer timer settings should be set for at least 20 seconds. These are numbers 1 and 2 below. Setting these timers for less than 10 seconds makes the quiz contest difficult to manage. 1. The time period from the moment the Quiz Master finishes asking the question to the moment a player presses his button. Measured in seconds (default 20 seconds)


2. The time period a player has to answer starting from the moment he presses his button. Measured in seconds (default 20 seconds) 3. The time period for each round measured in minutes. SOUND FILES Sounds are associated with each event that takes place during the quiz contest. Each sound is stored on the computer in a wav file. It is possible to change the sounds in the quiz contest by changing the file that is associated with a particular event. You access the Sound Settings by clicking on the Configure | Sound Settings on the Menu bar. The sounds are listed in text boxes. You click on Browse to look for a different sound file. Select the sound file and click on Open. You can click on Play to hear the particular sound. QUIZ PRO MONITOR PROGRAM The program that runs on the second PC is called QP2KMon. This program receives information from the Main unit and displays the information on its monitor or display. This program must be installed on the second PC. To do this place the CD in the CD ROM drive. Use Windows Explorer to see the folders on the CD. Open the folder called MONSetup. Then find the setup program (setup.exe). Double click on setup.exe to run the program. It will create a folder called QP2KMon and place all the files in this folder. After the installation finishes click and the Start button and locate QP2KMon on the Start menu. Click on it to run the program. To use the QP2KMon program first click on Configure to select the Com Port. If you are not sure which Com port you're using look at the cable connection on the back of the computer. You will usually use Com 1 or Com 2. Next Click on Configure | Open Port to open the Com Port. Then click on Continue to start displaying information on the Monitor Screen. You should see the team names and scores.


PROBLEMS 1. If it isn't working, first check all the cable connections. The first serial cable (beige) must run from the QuizMaster's PC to the Main Unit. The (grey) serial cable must be connected from the Main Unit to the Monitor PC. 2. Make sure power is going to the Main Unit. Just because you can see the LEDs light when you press a button doesn't necessarily mean the Main Unit is receiving power. There are two sources of power: a 12-volt power supply and a 9-volt battery. 3. Make sure you clicked on Port Open on both the QuizMaster's PC and the Monitor PC. 4. Remember the software must be running on the QuizMaster's PC for there to be anything displayed on the Monitor PC. 5. If you have added any extension cables, remove them and try running the QP2K system with only the original cables. OPERATION MENU BAR - THE FOLLOWING ARE MENU OPTIONS File - If you click on File you are given three options: Open Queston File Open a Question File Run QuizMaker Allows question Files to be Edited/Created Save Final Scores Saves the final scores to a file Exit Exit the program Configure - If you click on Configure you are given three options: Port Open Open the Com Port Comm Settings Choose which Com Port to use Choose Sounds Choose which Sound will be attached to what quiz event Timer Settings Set the times for each timer Events - If you click on Events you are given three options: Oops Allows points to be added/subtracted in the case of an error Ding Sounds the buzzer Yeah Team Changes the monitor display to Yeah Team


GAME PLAY Three things have to be done before the quiz contest can begin. Load a Question File. Click on File | Open Question File. Select the file you want to use. Click on Open. You should see the name of the file in the Title bar if all goes well. Load a Team File. Click on the Team command button. Click on Open. Select the file you want to use. Click on Open. Click on Done to return to the main window. Note: If you typed in the names of the players and teams from scratch you will need to Click on Assign Ports before using the file. Be sure to click on Save to save the file. Return to the main window by clicking on Done. Finally Click on Configure | Select Com port to select the Com port you are using. Next Click on Configure | Open port to open the Com port and start communication with Quiz Pro 2000. Start the quiz contest by clicking on Start. Note: All the command buttons have a letter underlined in their caption. As in all Windows programs you can either click on the command button or hold down the Alt key and press the letter that is underlined. For example to use the keyboard to acknowledge a Correct answer press Alt C. After clicking Start, there is a round timer, which will start counting down. If you set the timer for 10 minutes then there will be 10 minutes in each round. At the end of the round there will be a message saying End of Round X and a sound will be heard. Normally the end of the round occurs without any problems. However if a player is in the middle of answering then the QuizMaster must decide if the player will be allowed to continue answering. On the End of Round window that pops up there are three buttons. The QuizMaster is given three choices: Add Points - Award the points for a correct answer Deduct Points - Subtract the points for an incorrect answer Ok - Do nothing and continue the game The rules of the game should be stated before the quiz contest begins. When a player presses his button all the other players are locked out. His lamp will light and he will have X seconds to answer. A similar situation occurs as before with the round timer. The answer timer may time out. The QuizMaster again is presented with the same Window and must decide what to do as before. Add Points - Award the points for a correct answer


Deduct Points - Subtract the points for an incorrect answer Ok - Do nothing and continue the game The QuizMaster can also start a timer to time how many seconds the players have to answer. This timer is started after the QuizMaster finishes asking a question. Pressing on either of the shift or control keys does this. So there are 4 possible keys that can be pressed. Pressing the key momentarily start the timer. A window will appear when this timer times out. Click on Ok to continue the game. Having short timer times (5 seconds or less) will make the quiz contest more difficult to manage for the QuizMaster. The QuizMaster can always click on Next to advance to the next question to avoid having the timers' time out. At the end of a game the QuizMaster should click on File | Save Final scores to write the final scores to a file for reference. This is a text file and can be opened with Word or Notepad. Any word processing program can be used to view this file. BONUS QUESTIONS Bonus questions can be entered into the QuizMake module when you create a question file. The program will ignore the bonus questions until you check the Bonus Question checkbox. When a player answers a question correctly he gets to answer a Bonus question. Only the player/team who answered the question correctly can answer the Bonus question. There is no need for a player to Buzz or press his red button to answer. All the other players will remain locked out as long as the player's lamp is on. Notice that the Correct, Incorrect and Next buttons remain enabled during a Bonus question and that the word BONUS appears in the frame at the bottom of the screen. The QuizMaster again has three choices. He can click Correct, Incorrect or Next to add points, subtract points or do nothing.


NEW FEATURES (September 2002) AUTO COM PORT LOCATOR When the QuizPro program is started you will be asked if you want the software program to locate the com port that the Quiz Pro 2000 main unit is connected to. This feature tells you the number of the com port in case you are not sure. There are two possible com port numbers: 1 and 2. The Quiz Pro 2000 main unit must be powered up and connected to one of the PC’s com ports to make use of the feature.

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