Z-Distribution ZHC Utility Software

Z-Distribution ZHC Utility Software

Setting up the ZHC and Downloading the Drivers:

  1. The drivers required to interact with the ZHCs are FTDI chip D2XX Direct Drivers which can be found on the website here. 
  2. Download the drivers as per the website's instructions before continuing.
  3. In addition to the driver, you will also need a ZIP utility tool like 7Zip to extract and combine the downloaded files 7Zip can be downloaded from the website here.
  4. To download the ZHC Utility program for your Z-Distribution ZHC, please contact Z-Band technical support team for a download link. Follow the steps below once you have access to the software download link.
    1. When you are on the 'Software Download' page, make sure to download files titled "Z-Distribution ZHC Utility Part 001" and "Z-Distribution ZHC Utility Part 002". You can right click on each of the links and select "Save link as" option to download it to a specific folder. 

    1. Make sure to download both the parts and ensure that both of those files are in the same directory.
    2. To extract the file from the two parts, right click on the file titled "GEN5UTIL_V6.exe.001" and then select "Extract Here" option.

    1. The .exe file should appear once the extraction process is done, as shown below. Wait to open the file until the ZHC unit is connected to the PC.

  1. Make sure the ZHC is powered with the provided power supply, ensuring the flat side of the cable is facing up. The ZHC front panel will light up when the unit is powered on.
  2. The ZHC Unit should then be connected to a PC using a USB-A to micro-USB cable (please verify that the cable is a USB-MICRO DATA capable cable and not CHARGING ONLY). 
            
Back of the ZHC - Power on top, Micro USB on bottom

Using the GUI:

       To use the GUI, the COM Port must be selected from the Device Manager software’s “Ports (COM & LPT)” tab. Inside the tab, the COM Port number can be found on the “USB Serial Port (COM#)” port sub- tab.

   

Open the extracted executable file. Below is the screenshot of the program when it is first opened.




Enter the COM port number that was noted from the Device Manager in the “Select a COM Port” section and press the Submit button.
After the button is pressed the other boxes will be enabled in addition to the unit's serial number and the firmware version will being displayed on the "ZHC Serial Number and Firmware Version" section. 

This program has three functions:  change the input type (ie Fiber to Auto, Fiber to Coax (Master or Cascade), toggle DHCP between ON & STATIC,  and toggle the pilot tone ON/OFF.



When a checkbox is selected and the “Apply” button is hit, it will send a command to the ZHC. To select a new option, the current checkbox must be unselected and the new option must be selected and “Apply” button must be hit.

 

The user can also read the total  RUN TIME (or UP TIME) that the  ZHC unit has been running by pressing the “Read Up Time button” on the GUI.



The GUI can be closed by hitting the “X” in the corner, like a normal program. This will leave the ZHC with the currently applied settings.    


**The Z-Distribution ZHC Utility Software's "Read Up Time" feature will not work for Firmware version 2.17 and 3.00 





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