Questions about Procyon

[RedCairo]

If it is inappropriate for me to post this publicly please delete it. I didn't want to bug you privately if the answer would help others and should be here.

Hi Marisa,

I see from reading archives here that you are something of an expert on this subject, and equally importantly, the Controlling Canadian Goddess of North American Procyon imports.

I have a couple of questions about the units my boyfriend (on Maui) and myself (in Oklahoma) just ordered (from mindmodulations).

1. I found reference that said the editor software did not work with Vista. Then I just now found reference (after 3 days of the former) that the new editor works with Vista. Can you clarify?

2. I see a lot of references to people updating their software. Will we need to do this or will it be shipping with the most current version?

3. I see that for an AC power supply we need to buy a USB/AC power cord. All those I find are full sized USB ports. Many small electronics use the mini-USB ports, so I'm not sure if that will work, or if I'll need some kind of adapter. Can you clarify?

4. I'm still wading my way through a whole lot of different model brand names, version names, file format acronyms, technology reference names, etc. so forgive me if I am slightly lost here. Is there a way or place for something like the downloadable BWGen to produce something that works with Procyon? Or would it just work with the audio (which I suppose would defeat the point of the Procyon as surely one could just use earbuds in that case!).

5. This is probably really a stupid question but I've read days of archives where people are referring to headphones. Why wouldn't this use earbuds? Most of which have in-line volume controls? You can use anything you can plug in and it's a standard plug, right?

Thanks for any advice.

Best,
PJ (RC)

[Marisa]

Hi Red Cairo,

If it is inappropriate for me to post this publicly please delete it. I didn't want to bug you privately if the answer would help others and should be here.

You made a good decision. Shipping details (if I could help you) would best be handled privately but techy questions are perfect for the forum.

I see from reading archives here that you are something of an expert on this subject, and equally importantly, the Controlling Canadian Goddess of North American Procyon imports.

Falling from grace here ... my "expertise" is more on the mind than on the technical aspects of the machine. For that, we have Andy. I sent a message to him and asked him to address your questions.

I have a couple of questions about the units my boyfriend (on Maui) and myself (in Oklahoma) just ordered (from mindmodulations).

Those will be coming directly from Mind Mod in the U.S. I ship to Mind Mod and they are shipping to you. Sometimes the "dealer" wants drop shipments but not in this case.

M.

[Andy]

Hi PJ;

I'll do my best to answer your questions.

1. I found reference that said the editor software did not work with Vista. Then I just now found reference (after 3 days of the former) that the new editor works with Vista. Can you clarify?

There was a time when the editor didn't work with Vista. Now it does. Sometimes outdated information still floats around on the 'Net for a very long time!
The drivers do not however work with any x64 version of Windows (XP or Vista). We are working on a solution but have not quite solved that one yet.

2. I see a lot of references to people updating their software. Will we need to do this or will it be shipping with the most current version?

Assuming the place you purchase from is sending you recent stock, it will have the latest OS installed. If they happen to have stock from a long time ago, then it's possible that it might have an older OS in it. Updating is very easy, though, as long as you have a PC with an x86 (32-bit) version of Windows available to you. (Or a Mac with Windows on it)

3. I see that for an AC power supply we need to buy a USB/AC power cord. All those I find are full sized USB ports. Many small electronics use the mini-USB ports, so I'm not sure if that will work, or if I'll need some kind of adapter. Can you clarify?

You do not need to buy a power supply. The device runs from batteries, or you can use the included cable to power it from your USB port on your computer. If you would like to power it from the wall, then a USB power supply would work well. The cable you need to go from a normal (large) computer USB connection to the smaller connection on the Procyon is included in the Procyon package.

4. I'm still wading my way through a whole lot of different model brand names, version names, file format acronyms, technology reference names, etc. so forgive me if I am slightly lost here. Is there a way or place for something like the downloadable BWGen to produce something that works with Procyon? Or would it just work with the audio (which I suppose would defeat the point of the Procyon as surely one could just use earbuds in that case!).

I'm not really familiar with BWGen, but I know that many people use NP2 (Neuro-Programmer) with the Procyon to generate sounds and audiostrobe signals for it. Typically an external audio source needs to be AudioStrobe-encoded for it to trigger the lightframes.

5. This is probably really a stupid question but I've read days of archives where people are referring to headphones. Why wouldn't this use earbuds? Most of which have in-line volume controls? You can use anything you can plug in and it's a standard plug, right?

Earbuds are great. They're small, block out outside sounds, etc. I highly recommend using them. Some people however find them uncomfortable, so prefer headphones.

Thanks for any advice.

Best,
PJ (RC)

You're very welcome!

-Andy.

[RedCairo]

Thanks Andy. So what's the difference between 'the editor' and 'drivers'? What do each do that is different?

Best,
PJ

[Andy]

The editor is the software that you use to create and edit programs (sessions) on the Procyon. The driver is the software from the manufacturer that allows the computer to "see" the Procyon. There are currently 2 Procyons, the Rev1 and the Rev2. They use different chipsets so they need different drivers, but the editor and functions are the same. The current model is the Rev2, the Rev1 came out a few years ago and has been replaced by the Rev2.

-Andy.

[RedCairo]

The editor is the software that you use to create and edit programs (sessions) on the Procyon. The driver is the software from the manufacturer that allows the computer to "see" the Procyon. There are currently 2 Procyons, the Rev1 and the Rev2. They use different chipsets so they need different drivers, but the editor and functions are the same. The current model is the Rev2, the Rev1 came out a few years ago and has been replaced by the Rev2.

-Andy.

Thank you. I am not normally this dim but I think this speaks to the need for some kind of overview doc not written by the programmer LOL. (I'm a programmer [of sorts] so I say this with utmost sympathy...)

So the editor lets you do stuff for ('on') the Procyon.
But the driver lets the computer 'see' the Procyon.

How can you do stuff on the computer for the Procyon if the computer cannot see the Procyon? Clearly I am missing something about context here.

Thanks in advance,
PJ