Introduction – Ambient Controller - ACC 501 User Manual
Page 4

ACC501
www.ambient.de
2
1.
Introduction
Superseding the ACC101 the Clockit Controller ACC501 retains all its functions and serves as
a general purpose TC master unit which can read, generate and compare and tune to all kind
of TC rates.
It offers a variety of addtional features such as word clock output, dual TC display, enhanced
GPS modes and multiple I/O ports including USB ports for PC/Mac connectivity and TC-
conversion modes.
Although roughly half of the size of its predecessor the user interface has been vastly
improved using a graphical display and an enhanced keypad with dual navigational cursor
pads for easy two-handed operation.
Power can be provided over internal batteries, USB or an external source. One load of 4
good quality alkaline AA cells should achieve over 24 hrs. of continuous use (depending on
activity and brightness of display backlight), and many days in a typical scenario of
intermittent use. For increased battery lifetime a special standby mode has been
implemented. While the main MCU controls the main time code generator, keypad, display
and memory functions, a special low-power MCU monitors the power converters and an
auxiliary generator is maintaining frame accurate time code when put in standby for the full
battery life of the Controller (one week or more).
To allow for even more flexible implementation of future enhancements, the hardware has
been purposely designed to cater for new features without major hardware updates.
User-manageable software updates will become available from the product page on
http://www.ambient.de/en/products/ambient-recording/clockit-timecode/acc-501/acc-501-
software.html
so please check back for software updates and change logs.
Updating the software is done via a Windows PC over USB running a dedicated programming
tool also available from the aforementioned source.