TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION........................................................... 1-1
1.1 Overview ...................................................................................................... 1-1
1.2 Safety Instructions ........................................................................................ 1-2
1.3 Important Notes ........................................................................................... 1-3
1.4 System Requirements .................................................................................. 1-3

2 OVERVIEW .................................................................. 2-1

2.1 Overview of the RED Rocket Board .............................................................. 2-1
2.2 Overview of the SDI Panel ............................................................................ 2-3

3 INSTALLATION ............................................................ 3-1

3.1 Driver / Firmware Download ......................................................................... 3-1
3.2 Hardware Installation .................................................................................... 3-1
3.2.1 Preparing the Computer ................................................................... 3-1
3.2.2 Installation of the SDI Panel .............................................................. 3-2
3.2.3 Installation of the Board .................................................................... 3-3
3.2.4 Finishing the Installation.................................................................... 3-4
3.3 Driver Installation .......................................................................................... 3-5
3.3.1 Mac................................................................................................... 3-5
3.3.2 Windows ........................................................................................... 3-7
3.4 Upgrading Firmware ..................................................................................... 3-10
3.5 Validating RED Rocket Board Installation ..................................................... 3-10
3.5.1 Mac................................................................................................... 3-10
3.5.2 Windows ........................................................................................... 3-12

A APPENDIX................................................................... A-1
A.1 Technical Data ............................................................................................. A-1
A.2 Hardware Specifications .............................................................................. A-2
A.3 Video Rasters ............................................................................................... A-3
A.4 Signal In- and Outputs ................................................................................. A-4
A.5 Conformity Declarations ............................................................................... A-5
A.5.1 RoHS Compliance ............................................................................ A-5
A.5.2 EC Declaration of Conformity (CE Marking) ...................................... A-5
A.5.3 FCC Compliance Statement ............................................................. A-5
RED Rocket Installation Guide
May 14, 2010

1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 OVERVIEW
This guide instructs you in the installation of the RED Rocket board, SDI panel, driver, and firmware as
well as testing of the installation.
To use this guide you should have experience installing hardware components in a computer system and
be familiar with the hardware structure and interior of such a system. Additionally, you should have general knowledge in the field of digital video and be comfortable working with computer software.
In detail the chapters contain the following information:
1 INTRODUCTION

Includes system requirements necessary to run RED

Rocket, safety instructions, and important notes.

2 OVERVIEW

Provides an overview of the RED Rocket board and SDI

panel.

3 INSTALLATION

Describes the installation of the RED Rocket board hardware and driver/firmware as well as testing of the installation.

A APPENDIX

Provides technical details and general information about

the RED Rocket board.

INSTLLATION GUIDE DISCLAIMER

RED has made every effort to provide clear and accurate information in this Installation Guide, which is
provided solely for the users information. While thought to be accurate, the information in this document
is provided strictly as is and RED will not be held responsible for issues arising from typographical errors
or users interpretation of the language used herein that is different from that intended by RED. All safety
and general information is subject to change as a result of changes in local, federal or other applicable
laws.
RED reserves the right to revise this Installation Guide and make changes from time to time in the content
hereof without obligation to notify any person of such revisions or changes. In no event shall RED, its employees or authorized agents be liable to you for any damages or losses, direct or indirect, arising from
the use of any technical or operational information contained in this document.

2009-2010 RED.COM, INC.

All trademarks, trade names, logos, icons, images, and product names used in association with the accompanying product are the copyrights, trademarks or other intellectual property owned and controlled
exclusively by Red.com, Inc.

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1.2 SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

To use the RED Rocket board correctly please adhere to the following:
CAUTION: Please read the following safety instructions very carefully before attempting any installation and/or performing any work on the RED Rocket board.
If the RED Rocket board is not used in compliance with the safety instructions, the warranty and all
resulting liability claims will be void.

GENERAL
The RED Rocket board has been built according to the applying safety regulations. To minimize the possibility of a faulty operation of the device all manuals and guides must be available at all times at the operation site. Before installing and/or using the RED Rocket board the manuals and guides available for the
RED Rocket board must be read and observed.
-

Use the RED Rocket board only in good working order.

The system you are trying to install the RED Rocket board in usually works with voltages that can be
hazardous to your health. Never work on the system or access its interior with the power cable(s) attached and plugged into a power source. Make sure the power supply is disconnected from the components you intend to work on.

Computer hardware contains components that are sensitive to electrostatic discharge. If you touch
them without precautionary measures, they can be destroyed. Use a wrist strap connected to ground
when accessing electronic parts and take care of grounding the video system. Avoid touching the
components of the computer system and the RED Rocket board whenever possible.

Computer hardware contains components that are sensitive to changing voltages. Connecting or disconnecting the RED Rocket board to or from peripheral hardware while any of them is switched on
may damage the hardware. Switch off all peripheral hardware before connecting or disconnecting anything.

Use the board only in compliance with the technical data outlined in section A-1 TECHNICAL DATA.

The RED Rocket board may not be misused, abused, physically damaged, neglected, exposed to fire,
water or excessive changes in the climate or temperature, or operated outside maximum rating.

Do not perform any changes or extensions to the RED Rocket board whatsoever.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS
For error-free working and a long service life, the RED Rocket board needs some basic environmental
conditions:
-

Do not expose the RED Rocket board to sources of heat, such as direct sunlight or a radiator.

The chassis of the computer system where the RED Rocket board is installed must be equipped with
sufficient ventilation for cooling reasons.

Avoid areas with high humidity or dust. Best operating conditions are given in an air-conditioned site.

Do not expose the RED Rocket board to strong electric or magnetic fields.

Avoid areas where The RED Rocket board will be subject to vibrations or shocks.

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1.3 IMPORTANT NOTES

The following provides information about the conformity of the product.

DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY
This product has been tested according to applicable national and international directives and regulations. Further information about this can be
found in section A-5 CONFORMITY DECLARATIONS.

1.4 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

REQUIRED HARDWARE
These are the minimum hardware requirements that the computer system has to meet if you want to use
the RED Rocket board.
-

PCI-e x16 physical slot providing at least 8 lanes (x8)

2048 MB RAM

SUPPORTED OPERATING SYSTEMS

The RED Rocket board can be used with the following operating systems:
-

Mac OS X 10.5
Windows XP SP2 or later (Vista coming soon)
Linux (Red Hat)

NOTE: Be sure that you have installed the latest System Updates and/or Service Packs for your
system; otherwise you may encounter software and/or hardware problems.

REQUIRED SOFTWARE
The RED Rocket board requires the RED Rocket driver and upgraded firmware to operate. The driver,
firmware and ROCKETcine-X! are available for download at http://www.red.com/support. Please contact third party software vendors about availability of RED Rocket enabled software.

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2 OVERVIEW
2.1 OVERVIEW OF THE RED ROCKET BOARD
3

PCIe x8 Connector
Figure 2-1: RED Rocket Board

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Table 2-1: RED Rocket Board Connector Description

NO.

ITEM

DESCRIPTION

DVI C/D

DMS-59 connector for an output of digital

RGB 8 bit video signals (channel C/D, used
for two single-link connections in quad display applications); it can be connected to a
breakout cable to provide two standard DVI
connectors; a pin-out of this connector can
be found in section A-4 SIGNAL IN AND
OUTPUTS.

DVI A/B

DMS-59 connector for an output of digital

RGB 8 bit video signals (channel A/B, two
single-link connections); it can be connected
to a breakout cable to provide two standard
DVI connectors; a pin-out of this connector
can be found in section A-4 SIGNAL IN AND
OUTPUTS.

SDI OUT A

MCX connector for an output of digital video

signals (serial digital interface, port A); either
output of YUV in single-link or first stream of
RGB in dual-link mode.

SDI OUT B

MCX connector for an output of digital video

signals (serial digital interface, port B); output
of the second stream of RGB in dual-link
mode.

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2.2 OVERVIEW OF THE SDI PANEL

The SDI panel provides the SDI (Serial Digital Interface) connectors of the RED Rocket board.

Figure 2-2: SDI Panel

Table 2-2: SDI Panel Connector Description

ITEM

DESCRIPTION

SDI Output A

BNC connector for an output of digital video signals

(serial digital interface, port A); either output of YUV
in single-link or first stream of RGB in dual-link
mode.

SDI Output B

BNC connector for an output of digital video signals

(serial digital interface, port B); output of the second
stream of RGB in dual-link mode.

NOTE: When the RED Rocket Breakout Box is ON and connected to the RED Rocket board, the SDI
outputs of the RED Rocket board will become inoperative.

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3 INSTALLATION
This chapter outlines installation of the RED Rocket board into a computer. The installation is performed in
several steps:
1. Downloading driver and firmware
2. Preparing computer for hardware installation
3. Installing SDI panel
4. Installing RED Rocket board
5. Connecting audio/video equipment to RED Rocket board and SDI panel.
6. Installing driver
7. Installing firmware
8. Verifying installation of RED Rocket board

3.1 DRIVER/FIRMWARE DOWNLOAD

This procedure outlines downloading the RED Rocket board firmware and driver.
1. Go to http://www.red.com/support and locate the RED Rocket Installer.
2. Download the RED Rocket Installer to your desktop. The drivers, firmware and installation instructions for the RED Rocket board are located inside the installation package.
3. After downloading, you will see the new compressed (zipped) folder.
4. Open the zipped folder and extract the operating system specific folder (Windows or Mac) to the
desktop for the drivers and the firmware.
NOTE: On some Mac machines, when the file is downloaded, it will automatically be unzipped in
your download folder.
NOTE: It is OK to perform the driver installation prior to RED Rocket board installation; however, the
firmware must be upgraded before using the RED Rocket board but after the driver has been installed.
5. Shut down the computer.
6. Go to 3.2 HARDWARE INSTALLATION to install the SDI panel and RED Rocket board.

3.2 HARDWARE INSTALLATION

3.2.1 PREPARING THE COMPUTER
Before installing the RED Rocket board the computer system has to be prepared for the installation by performing the following:
1. Ensure computer is turned off and power is disconnected.
WARNING: The computer system you are installing the RED Rocket board in works with voltages
that can be hazardous to your health.

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WARNING: Never work on the system or access its interior with the power cable(s) plugged in.
Make sure the power supply is disconnected from the components you intend to work on.
2. Open the computer casing for access to the PCI slots. For details, please refer to computer manufacturers instructions.
CAUTION: Computer hardware contains components that are sensitive to electrostatic discharge
(ESD). If you touch them without precautionary measures, they can be destroyed.
Use a wrist strap connected to ground when accessing electronic parts and take care of grounding the video system. Avoid touching computer components and the RED Rocket board whenever possible.
3. The computer system is now ready for installation of the RED Rocket board. Go to 3.2.2 INSTALLATION OF THE SDI PANEL to continue installation.

3.2.2 INSTALLATION OF THE SDI PANEL

NOTE: When the RED Rocket Breakout Box is ON and connected to the RED Rocket board, the SDI
outputs of the RED Rocket board will become inoperative.
Install and connect the included SDI panel internally to the RED Rocket board.
1. Remove one free slot bracket from the computer for the SDI panel installation.
2. Insert the SDI panel into the empty slot and fasten it with the screw from the slot bracket.
CAUTION: Ensure SDI panel or connectors do not contact other components inside the computer.

RED Rocket Panel

SDI Panel

Figure 3-1: SDI Panel Installed (Mac Shown) with RED Rocket board installed in slot above

3. Go to 3.2.3 INSTALLATION OF THE BOARD to continue installation.

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3.2.3 INSTALLATION OF THE BOARD

Install the RED Rocket board in the computer by performing the following:
1. Remove the slot bracket from the PCI slot in the computer where the RED Rocket board will be installed.
IMPORTANT: On current generation Mac Pro Towers, install the RED Rocket board into one of the
two lower slots ONLY.
2. Connect the SDI panel cables to the RED Rocket board as shown.

Figure 3-2: Connecting SDI Panel to RED Rocket Board

CAUTION: During the next step use care not to break off any parts of the PCI video board. Apply
pressure to the slot panel and/or the printed circuit board only, not to any of its attached parts.
NOTE: The RED Rocket board must be installed in a slot providing at least eight lanes that are
PCIe x8 electrical in a physical x16 slot for power.

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3. Insert the RED Rocket board into the PCI slot. DO NOT use excessive force when installing to prevent damage to the board.

Figure 3-3: RED Rocket Board installed (Mac shown) with SDI Panel Installed and Connected

4. Fasten the board using the screw from the slot bracket.
5. The RED Rocket board is installed in the computer system.
6. Go to 3.2.4 FINISHING THE INSTALLTION to complete the installation.

3.2.4 FINISHING THE INSTALLATION

This procedure outlines final physical installation of the RED Rocket board and SDI panel before driver installation.
1. Close the computer casing.
2. Re-connect all cables to the computer system.
3. Connect your audio and video equipment to the RED Rocket board and SDI panel connectors.
4. Start the computer system.
NOTE: Once the computer system has finished the loading of the operating system, the installation
of RED Rocket hardware is complete.
5. Go to 3.3 DRIVER INSTALLATION to install the RED Rocket driver.

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3.3 DRIVER INSTALLATION

NOTE: If latest drivers have already been installed, proceed to 3.4 UPGRADING FIRMWARE procedure.

3.3.1 MAC OS X
This procedure outlines installation of the RED Rocket driver in Mac OS X operating systems.
1. Locate the RED Rocket driver icon on your desktop. Double click on the icon to begin installation.

2. The RED ROCKET INSTALLER window will open, click CONTINUE.

3. The license agreement will be displayed. Read the license agreement, if you agree, click AGREE, and
then CONTINUE.

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4. Driver installation can begin, click INSTALL.

NOTE: Depending on your system, you may be required to enter your user name and password to
begin installation.

5. During installation a progress window will be displayed.

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6. When installation is complete INSTALL SUCCEEDED will display.

7. Click CLOSE to complete the driver installation.

8. Restart the computer.
9. Go to 3.4 UPDATING FIRMWARE to update RED Rocket board firmware.

3.3.2 WINDOWS
When restarting the computer after hardware installation, Windows will automatically open the FOUND
NEW HARDWARE WIZARD window. This procedure outlines installation of the RED Rocket driver in Windows operating systems (XP SP2 or later ONLY).
1. In the Found New Hardware Wizard window, select INSTALL FROM A LIST OR SPECIFIC LOCATION (AVANCED), click NEXT.

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2. When the next window opens, select the options as shown in the figure.

3. Click BROWSE and locate the UNZIPPED RED Rocket driver folder on your desktop. Select the
folder and click OK.

4. Click NEXT to begin installation of the RED Rocket driver.

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5. During installation a Hardware Installation warning window will open, select CONTINUE ANYWAY to
continue installation.

6. When driver installation is complete, the following window will appear:

7. Click FINISH to complete the driver installation.

8. Restart the computer.
9. Go to 3.4 UPGRADING FIRMWARE to update RED Rocket board firmware.

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3.4 UPGRADING FIRMWARE

This procedure outlines upgrading the RED Rocket board firmware.
NOTE: Make sure to upgrade the RED Rocket driver before upgrading the RED Rocket board firmware.
1. Open the folder containing the downloaded firmware [REDrocket_(OSX)(Win)_firmware_x.x.x.x].
2. Open the Install_Firmware file.
3. A terminal window (Mac) or command window (Windows) will open with ROCKETUP in the title.
NOTE: Your RED Rocket board serial number will be displayed in this window along with the current firmware version and the version to be installed during this procedure.
4. You will be prompted to confirm if you want to upgrade one or all installed boards (cards).

To confirm type in Y for ONE (1) or A for ALL and press Enter.

To abort, press any other key and press Enter.

5. Upgrade will begin. This procedure may take several minutes.

6. Upon completion of firmware upgrade, you will be instructed to fully shutdown the computer do not
reboot and power back up again.
7. Close terminal/command window.
8. Shut down the computer.
9. Wait a minimum of 60 seconds.
10. Restart the computer.
11. Go to 3.5 VALIDATIING RED ROCKET BOARD INSTALLATION to verify system recognizes RED Rocket board.

3.5 VALIDATING RED ROCKET BOARD INSTALLATION

After installation, verify the RED Rocket board is recognized by the computer.

3.5.1 MAC OS X
1. Click on the apple and select ABOUT THIS MAC.

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2. ABOUT THIS MAC window will open, click MORE INFO.

3. Under HARDWARE and PCI cards, the RED Rocket board is found.

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3.5.2 WINDOWS
1. Go to START and right click on MY COMPUTER.
2. Click MANAGE.

3. The COMPUTER MANAGEMENT window will open. Select DEVICE MANAGER in the left window.
4. Select SOUND, VIDEO AND GAME CONTROLLERS in the right window. RED Rocket will be displayed.

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5. Double click on RED Rocket to open the properties of the RED Rocket board.

6. Select CANCEL and exit out of COMPUTER MANAGEMENT.

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A APPENDIX
This chapter provides technical data and general information about the RED Rocket board.

A.1 TECHNICAL DATA

The following shows the technical data of the RED Rocket board.
CAUTION: The chassis of the computer system where the RED Rocket board is installed must be
equipped with sufficient ventilation for cooling reasons.

PCI bus requirements

PCI-e x16 physical slot providing at least

8 lanes (x8)

Board size

Approx. 10 length, single-slot

Electrical type

3.3/12 volt

Conformity

Specification 1.1

Operating environmental
conditions

5C (41F) to 40C (104F)

20% to 80% relative humidity,
non-condensing

Storage environmental
conditions

-17C (0F) to 70C (158F)

10% to 80% relative humidity,
non-condensing

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A.2 HARDWARE SPECIFICATIONS

The following table shows the hardware specifications of the RED Rocket board.

VIDEO

OUTPUT

DVI (Digital)

4 DVI-I via break-out cables

Serial digital 4:2:2 8/10 bit (single link)

1 BNC

Serial digital 4:4:4 8/10/12 bit (dual link)

2BNC

AUDIO

OUTPUT

Embedded audio

1BNC (via video out)

TIMECODE

OUTPUT

Vertical (VITC)

1BNC (via video out)

DATA FORMATS

Color Modes
Internal Processing
Audio Formats

YCbCr 4:2:2 RGB 4:4:4

Real-time REDCODE decoding, debayering and scaling
48 kHz, 24 bit

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A.3 VIDEO RASTERS

This section details the supported output and input video rasters and formats.

SUPPORTED OUTPUT VIDEO RASTERS

The following table shows some of the supported output video rasters, i.e. rasters that can be directly
output by RED Rocket. All frequencies indicate the framerate. The # of columns show the number of
connectors that will be available in the respective raster.
TOTAL
LINES PER
FRAME

x SIZE

y SIZE

ASPECT
RATIO

# OF
DVI

# OF
SDI

720p / 23.976 / 24 / 25 /
29.971 / 301 / 501 /59.941 /
601

750

1280

720

16:9

1/2

1080p / 23.976 / 24 / 25 /
29.971 / 301

1125

1920

1080

16:9

1/2

1080psF / 23.976 / 24 / 25
/ 29.971 / 301

1125

1920

1080

16:9

1/2

2048p / 23.976 / 24 / 25

1125

2048

1080

16:9

1/2

2048psF / 23.976 / 24 / 25

1125

2048

1080

16:9

1/2

2048p / 23.976 / 24

1600

2048

1556

4:3

2048psF / 23.976 / 24

1600

2048

1556

4:3

3840p2 / 23.976 / 24

2250

3840

2160

16:9

4x23

4096p2 / 23.976 / 24

2250

4096

2160

16:9

4x23

RASTER

1) Frames may be repeated for certain input raster sizes.

2) Quad HD-SDI or DVI.
3) Only via breakout box.

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SUPPORTED INPUT FORMATS

The following table shows the supported input video formats, i.e. formats of the R3D material that can be
passed to RED Rocket by an application.
FORMAT

FREQUENCIES

4096 2304

/23.98/24/25

4096 2048

/23.98/24/25/29.97

3840 2160

/23.98/24/25/29.97

3072 1728

/23.98/24/25/29.97/30

3072 1536

/23.98/24/25/29.97/30

2048 1152

/23.98/24/25/29.97/30/50/59.94

2048 1024

/23.98/24/25/29.97/30/50/59.94

A.4 SIGNAL IN AND OUTPUTS

Digital Video Interface (DVI-I Output Connectors on Breakout Cable)

(External view; female on breakout cable, male on cable)

PIN

SIGNAL

PIN

SIGNAL

PIN

SIGNAL

/TX_2

11

DVI_CLK_B

21

TX_5

TX_2

12

/TX_3

22

GND

GND

13

TX_3

23

TX_CLK

/TX_4

14

+5V

24

/TX_CLK

TX_4

15

GND

DDC_CLK

16

HP_DETECT

C1

ANALOG_RED

DDC_DAT

17

/TX_0

C2

ANALOG_GREEN

ANALOG_VSYNC

18

TX_0

C3

ANALOG_BLUE

/TX_1

19

/DVI_CLK_B

C4

ANALOG_HSYNC

10

TX_1

20

/TX_5

C5

GND

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A.5 CONFORMITY DECLARATIONS

RED Rocket board has been tested according to the applicable national and international directives and
regulations. The following states further information about the compliances and conformities.

A.5.1 ROHS COMPLIANCE

The EU directive 2002/95/EC Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) prohibits the use of certain
substances in electrical and electronic equipment.

A.5.2 EC DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY (CE MARKING)

RED herewith declares that the following product(s) according to the provisions of the mentioned EC Directives including their relevant revisions at the time of this declaration is (are) in conformity with the
detailed standards or other normative documents:

RED Rocket Board

EC Directives:
- EMC Directive 2004/108/EC
- Low-Voltage Directive 2006/95/EC
Applied Harmonized Standards:
-

EN55022
EN55024
IEC 61000-4-2
IEC 61000-4-3
IEC 61000-4-4
IEC 61000-4-5
IEC 61000-4-6
IEC 61000-4-8

A.5.3 FCC COMPLIANCE STATEMENT

RED herewith declares that the following equipment has been tested according to the applicable valid
FCC regulations:
-

RED Rocket board

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FCC NOTICE
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device, pursuant
to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful
interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This equipment generates,
uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. Operation of this equipment
in a residential area is likely to cause harmful interference in which case the user will be required to correct
the interference at his own expense.
NOTE: Connecting this device to peripheral devices that do not comply with Class A requirements
or using an unshielded peripheral data cable could also result in harmful interference to radio or
television reception. The user is cautioned that any changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the users authority to operate this
equipment. To ensure that the use of this product does not contribute to interference, it is necessary to use shielded I/O cables.

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