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Windows XP® Setup for Direct Connect to your MegaTron®

This is a step-by-step procedure for setting up a computer running Microsoft Windows XP® for Direct Connection with an Advantage Controls MegaTron® that has the communications option.

Prerequisites:

1. Any equipment directly connected to the Megatron® must support IEEE 802.3 10Base-T Unshielded Twisted Pair connections. (The vast majority of Ethernet cards and equipment sold in the last several years does.)
2. You must have Microsoft Windows XP® and Microsoft Windows Networking (with TCP/IP) installed on your computer. Check your Windows XP® documentation if you are not sure how to do this.

Physical Connection:

To connect your Windows XP® computer directly to the Advantage Controls Megatron® you may use the special Ethernet "crossover" cable supplied or you can connect via an Ethernet hub, or switch. Any equipment connected directly to the Megatron® must support 10Base-T connections. Use the supplied RJ-45 "coupler" if necessary.

OR

Learning your MegaTron®'s IP Address and Netmask:

1. From the MegaTron® front panel, press the [SET UP RUN] key as required to display the HOME SETUP menu.
2. From the MegaTron® front panel, press the [CONFIGURE] soft key to display the CONFIGURE menu. (The "soft keys" are the 5 numbered keys to the left and the 5 numbered keys to the right of the display.)
3. From the MegaTron® front panel, press the [NETWORK] soft key to display the NETWORK menu.
4. From the MegaTron® front panel, press the [IP ADDRESS] soft key. This will bring up a dialog box which displays your MegaTron®'s IP Address and allows you to set it.
5. From the MegaTron® front panel, After making note of your MegaTron®'s IP Address press the [CANCEL] key or set your MegaTron®'s IP Address according to the instructions in the MegaTron® user's manual.
6. From the MegaTron® front panel, press the [IP MASK] soft key. This will bring up a dialog box which displays your MegaTron®'s IP Mask and allows you to set it.
7. From the MegaTron® front panel, After making note of your MegaTron®'s IP Mask press the [CANCEL] key or set your MegaTron®'s IP Address according to the instructions in the MegaTron® user's manual.
    
• An in-depth discussion of IP networking is clearly beyond the scope of this document. Instead, the factory settings for IP Address (192.168.254.50) and the IP Mask (255.255.255.0) are assumed. Following the example, in this document, you will be able to communicate directly with your MegaTron®

Setting up your PC for direct communication with the Megatron®

1. From the "start" menu on your Windows XP® computer, open the Windows XP® "Control Panel"
2. Locate the Icon labeled "Network Connections" in either the Classic View or the Catagory view of the "Control Panel" application.
3. Double-click the "Network Connections" icon to display the Network Connections dialog box.
4. From the "Network Connections" dialog box Right-click on the "Local Area Connections" icon to display it's "pop-up" menu. Using your mouse, left-click on "Properties" to bring up the "Local Area Connection Properties" dialog box.

If you don't see a "Local Area Connections" icon in your "Network Connections" dialog box, your Ethernet card is not installed properly. Please refer to your Windows XP® documentation and reinstall your Ethernet card.

5. From the "Network Connections" "pop-up" menu, select "Properties" to display the Local Area Connection Properties dialog box.
   
6. From the Local Area Connection Properties dialog box, with "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)" selected as shown, click the "Properties" button to display the "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties" dialog box.



7. Note the settings in the "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties" dialog box.
8. These settings permit you to communicate directly with the Megatron® using it's factory settings. Of particular significance for Direct Connection with your MegaTron® are the following settings:
• The "Use the following IP address:" radio button is selected.
• This defeats the use of DHCP on your LAN. If you are comfortable with the ramifications of using DHCP to configure your LAN connection it can be perfectly compatible with your Megatron
• IP Address: The first the numbers in the "dotted-quad" for IP Address (ie: 192.168.254) match the first three numbers in the "dotted-quad" for the IP address of the MegaTron® The final number in the "dotted-quad" must be different than the final number in the "dotted-quad" for the Megatron®'s IP address. We suggest numbers between 2 and 253 for the final digit.
• Subnet mask: The first 3 numbers in the "dotted-quad" for Subnet mask are "255.255.255" while the last digit is "0".
• If you are unfamiliar with Subnet masks, you can at least appreciate that it is the final zero in the Subnet mask that allows us to arbitrarily choose the final number on your PC's IP Address.
• Default Gateway: As the term Direct Connection implies, we need not route Ethernet traffic though a router or gateway to communicate with your MegaTron®. While routing is supported by the MegaTron® and your PC, it is beyond the scope of this document. If you're not sure what to enter for Default Gateway, we suggest you ask your system administrator. Just leaving the existing settings should also be fine.
• DNS: Strictly speaking, DNS is not required for a Direct connection to the MegaTron®. So either selection for DNS ("Obtain DNS server address automatically" or "Use the following DNS server addresses:") will work. If you're not sure what to do with these numbers, we suggest you ask your system administrator. Just leaving the existing setting should also be fine.
9. When you are finished making changes in the "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties" dialog box, click "OK". Likewise, click "OK" in the "Local Area Connection Properties" dialog box. You may also close any other windows left open by clicking the 'X' in the upper right-hand corner. There is no need to reboot your Windows XP® computer.

Launching your Web Browser:

1. From the "Start" menu of your Windows XP® computer, select " Internet Explorer".
2. Type your MegaTron®'s URL in the "Address" text box and hit return. (For the factory default Megatron® settings you would type: http://192.168.254.50)

You will be asked to enter the Admin password to your MegaTron® on the login screen of your Megatron®'s Local Mode website.

Trouble?

· Look at the "link" lights on your Ethernet interfaces to verify that your cables and connectors are working and are compatible.

· From a Command Prompt on your Windows XP® computer, type:

ping 192.168.254.50

Substitute your Megatron's IP address if you have changed it from the factory default. You should get something that looks like this:

Pinging 192.168.254.50 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 192.168.254.50: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.254.50: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.254.50: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.254.50: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64

Ping statistics for 192.168.254.50:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),

Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 1ms, Maximum = 1ms, Average = 1ms

If you don't get similar results to those above, recheck the IP Address of your Megatron® using the front panel.