# Installing a smartboard at Penn State tomorrow



## zwodubber (Feb 24, 2011)

Mounting board and projector, fishing wires, etc...

It's been a while since I've been to happy valley :thumbup:











http://www.smarttech.com/us/Solutio...d+interactive+whiteboards/885ix+for+education


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## stuiec (Sep 25, 2010)

wow. That one looks way easier than the ones we did. Then again, they were in portable additions to the school (all wiremold), and they had the ceiling mounted projectors. That one looks like a snap! Good $$?


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## zwodubber (Feb 24, 2011)

stuiec said:


> wow. That one looks way easier than the ones we did. Then again, they were in portable additions to the school (all wiremold), and they had the ceiling mounted projectors. That one looks like a snap! Good $$?


Yeah they have come a long way, this is my first one of this style. The install should be pretty straightforward, it's the software I'm looking forward to. I love doing full installs.


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## stuiec (Sep 25, 2010)

zwodubber said:


> Yeah they have come a long way, this is my first one of this style. The install should be pretty straightforward, it's the software I'm looking forward to. I love doing full installs.


 
I've only ever installed the hardware and run cables. What is the software setup like? Whats involved?


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## zwodubber (Feb 24, 2011)

stuiec said:


> I've only ever installed the hardware and run cables. What is the software setup like? Whats involved?



It's not bad, I did IT for years before switching over. As long as the hardware is correctly installed it's like installing Microsoft Office (OK, maybe a little more in depth). But it's really not bad, I just happen to still like jobs where I get to do this kind of thing.


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## zwodubber (Feb 24, 2011)

Woke up at 4 am and we were on the road at 5 for Penn State. 3 hours later we arrive.












It's not until we get there that I find out we are installing the boards at the Air operations squadron for the National Guard, not the University.

Pulling up to the first gate

Force protection condition Alpha












2 gates later we are heading in












Now as soon as you enter everyone is in fatigues, and we are greeted as non authorized guests and escorted in. We actually had two units to mount which again was news to me. 

We start on the first floor which is pretty loose and everyone is really polite and helpful. We get the board up and tested and are now ready to go to the second floor for the second board.

Now things are a little different... as we get to the top of the stairs we are told to leave all communication devices in a bin. General hits intercom and announces non authorized guests entering. Red lights start flashing on the walls notifying everyone we are there and to basically not talk "business" while we are there. We are escorted to the room with the new smartboard and a soldier grabs a chair and sits about ten feet from us for the install. We got the board mounted and I headed back downstairs to do the software setup while my co worker finished up the second floor install. Phones are allowed downstairs and I was allowed a picture of the board (it's a little blurry because I didn't want to take to long). 












I head back up and go through the same process, then set up the software on board 2.

All in all it was a cool experience and everyone was cool and interested in what we were doing.

The boards had to be calibrated and then allowed full touchscreen capabilities, pretty cool tech.


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## goose134 (Nov 12, 2007)

Nice install. I did one of those where the whole assembly could slide up and down to accommodate presenters in wheelchairs. Those smart boards are pretty incredible.


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## AVARCHITECH (Sep 2, 2011)

These things are really nice. I've been using the Hitachi smartboards and like them. Easy to install after you've done one or two and integrate easily with crestron.


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