HELP CENTER

QUICK START CHECKLIST

1. Install SPECTER on a Windows 10/11 field unit with USB 3.0 ports.
2. Plug in your depth sensor before launching the app (D435i, Orbbec Gemini 335, or Kinect v2).
3. On first launch, pick your sensor type on the setup screen.
4. Wait for the WARMING UP overlay to clear (RealSense sidecar, can take 30-90 seconds).
5. Press S if you need to change source, always pick the sidecar entry for RealSense, never the bare UVC camera.
6. All detectors start OFF each session, enable them when you are ready.
7. Activate your license in Settings → License (or use the 10-minute demo).

FEATURE GUIDES

Deep-dives on every part of the system - sensors, thermal, EVP, nodes, depth, gallery, and recording:

• Technical Field Guide - the complete operations manual with downloadable print PDF.
• Thermal Control Center - connect the P2W camera, thermal views, and detectors.
• EVP Audio Lab - record, review, and export audio evidence.
• Remote field tools - phone monitor, trigger, and remote EVP mic.
• SPECTER Node - wireless field sensor: readings, traces, per-node thresholds, orientation calibration, direction finder, trajectory & convergence, audible mute, and node sync.
• Remote displays - Evidence Wall and Instrument Bay on a second screen.
• Global timecode - one project clock across every capture and recording.
• Remote & multi-screen monitoring - the mobile remote, Evidence Wall, Instrument Bay, and the 2x2 Control Center grid.
• Security system / IP Camera Wall - connect a Lorex or any RTSP / ONVIF NVR and run detection across four camera feeds at once.
• Detection alerts to your phone - get notified the moment SPECTER flags something, even with the screen off.
• Monitor from anywhere - a secure internet link to your live feed and readings over cellular.
• Using the SPECTER Node in the app - pairing, per-node thresholds, live traces, orientation calibration, direction finder, node trajectory & convergence, audible mute, node sync, expanded field vector view, RF interference filter, multi-node diagnostic capture, per-node portal diagnostic log, internet relay, and the full settings portal reference.
• EVP Audio Lab - review session audio and export a snippet share pack.
• Detection types reference - what each anomaly label means.
• Build Your Own SPECTER Node - wiring diagram, parts list, live interface simulator, and the full Arduino sketch to copy.
• View modes & performance presets - the V-cycle and Light / Balanced / Show.
• DEPTH & 3D depth controls - RANGE, DEPTH COLOR, orbit, saved viewpoint.
• Gallery: RGB / DEPTH / 3D & Save view - review and re-grade detections.
• Recording (MP4) - F9, smaller files, transcode bar.
• Troubleshooting index - depth, gallery, performance, recording, licensing.

FIRST LAUNCH & SENSOR SELECTION

SPECTER asks you to choose a primary sensor on first run:

• Kinect v2, depth + RGB + 25-joint body skeleton (Windows, Kinect SDK required).
• Intel D435i, depth + RGB via the RealSense sidecar (recommended for most installs).
• Orbbec Gemini 335, depth + RGB + IMU via the Orbbec sidecar, no SDK to install.
• Webcam / HDMI, RGB only, no depth views.

A guided startup tour walks through every control. Replay it anytime from Settings → Interface.

INTEL REALSENSE D435i

Requirements

• USB 3.0 port (blue port or SS marking), USB 2.0 will not stream reliably.
• Intel RealSense SDK 2.0 installed on the field unit (see below).
• D435i plugged in directly, avoid unpowered hubs when troubleshooting.

Install RealSense SDK

1. Download Intel RealSense SDK 2.0 for Windows from Intel’s site.
2. Run the installer, include the depth camera drivers.
3. Verify in the Intel RealSense Viewer that depth + color streams work.
4. Close RealSense Viewer before launching SPECTER (exclusive camera access).
5. Launch SPECTER, the sidecar starts automatically and shows WARMING UP until ready.

Source picker, critical

Warming up / no feed

• The sidecar may take 30-90 seconds on cold boot, this is normal.
• SPECTER retries silently; no action needed unless it exceeds several minutes.
• Try a different USB 3.0 port or cable.
• Reboot the field unit with the D435i already connected.
• Settings → restart sidecar (if available) or relaunch SPECTER.

Depth views (DEPTH, point cloud, room map)

Press V to cycle views. If you see “CONNECTING TO DEPTH SENSOR”, the sidecar is still booting or the device is unplugged.

ORBBEC GEMINI 335

Requirements

• USB 3.0 port (blue port or SS marking), USB 2.0 will not stream reliably.
• No SDK or driver install, the Gemini 335 runs over plain USB3 out of the box.
• Gemini 335 plugged in directly, avoid unpowered hubs when troubleshooting.

Setup

1. Plug in the Orbbec Gemini 335 before launching SPECTER.
2. On first launch, choose ORBBEC GEMINI 335 in the sensor picker (or switch to it later from the source menu, Change sensor type).
3. Select the RGB camera entry in the next step, as prompted.
4. Launch SPECTER, the sidecar starts automatically and shows WARMING UP until ready.

Warming up / no feed

• The sidecar may take 30-90 seconds on cold boot, this is normal.
• Try a different USB 3.0 port or cable.
• Reboot the field unit with the Gemini 335 already connected.
• Settings → restart sidecar (if available) or relaunch SPECTER.

Depth views (DEPTH, point cloud, room map)

Press V to cycle views. If you see “CONNECTING TO DEPTH SENSOR”, the sidecar is still booting or the device is unplugged.

MICROSOFT KINECT V2

Requirements

• Windows 10/11, Kinect for Windows v2 sensor + power adapter.
• Kinect for Windows SDK 2.0 installed.
• USB 3.0 controller (Kinect v2 is bandwidth-heavy).

Install Kinect SDK 2.0

1. Download and install Kinect for Windows SDK 2.0 from Microsoft.
2. Connect Kinect power supply first, then USB 3.0.
3. Open Kinect Studio or the SDK configuration verifier, confirm all streams green.
4. Launch SPECTER and select Kinect v2 on the setup screen.
5. In the source picker, choose Microsoft Kinect V2 (built-in).

Common issues

• Not available in picker, SDK not installed, USB 2.0 port, or Kinect still booting (wait 5 s and press S).
• Image backwards, Settings → enable Kinect horizontal mirror.
• Low FPS, Settings → reduce Kinect JPEG resolution / interval.
• No skeleton, ensure body tracking enabled in Settings; stand 1.5-4 m from sensor.

WEBCAM / HDMI CAPTURE CARD

RGB-only mode, no depth, point cloud, or room map. Useful with a capture card feeding a live HDMI source into the detection pipeline.

• Enable Decouple RGB from depth in Settings to run a USB capture card for RGB while Kinect/RealSense provides depth in the background.
• Set USB resolution/FPS to match your capture device (1080p30 typical).

DETECTORS & DEMO MODE

Every session starts with all detectors OFF (Face, Body, Spectral, SLS wireframe). Toggle them on when ready.

Demo mode (unlicensed)

• 10 minutes total demo time from first launch.
• All detectors active on the live sensor feed at their standard thresholds.
• DEMO MODE badge shown at the bottom of the viewport.
• After expiry, purchase at specter-imaging.com and activate in Settings.

Licensed mode

1. No time limit, run sessions of any length with no DEMO MODE countdown.
2. Unlimited session time, no 10-minute cap and no DEMO MODE badge.
3. Detector sensitivity is set entirely by your choices in Settings.

THERMAL CONTROL CENTER (P2W CAMERA)

SPECTER brings the HSFtools P2W network thermal camera into the same live workspace as your depth sensor. Thermal runs alongside RealSense, Kinect, or HDMI - not instead of them.

1. Power the P2W and join its network (or connect it to your Wi‑Fi). The default hotspot address is 192.168.0.145.
2. SPECTER → Settings → P2W Network Camera → press SCAN FOR CAMERA to auto-discover it on the local network.
3. Confirm the filled-in Camera IP, then press SAVE + CONNECT.
4. Switch to THERMAL view. If the stream stalls, press RETRY to rescan and restart it.

• Detectors - from THERMAL view, the DETECTORS button jumps to hot / cold / humanoid / orb / vortex / residue controls in Settings.
• Views - thermal, RGB, blend, or the 4‑up Control Center grid.
• Captures - thermal snapshots are paired into the gallery with the visual and depth context.

EVP AUDIO LAB & REMOTE MIC

Record and review Electronic Voice Phenomena inside SPECTER, from either a local microphone or a phone used as a wireless field mic.

1. Record local mic audio during a session, or open the phone remote EVP mic (see Remote field tools below) and grant the microphone prompt on the phone.
2. Open the Gallery and select an EVP session to review.
3. Loop a region, change playback speed, apply EQ, or reverse playback to isolate a voice.
4. Visual and thermal capture markers sync to the audio timeline, so you can see what the room was doing when a hit landed.
5. Export WAV, MP3, or a full investigation bundle.

LICENSE ACTIVATION

1. Purchase at specter-imaging.com ($399 one-time).
2. Check email from support@specter-imaging.com for key SPTR-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX.
3. SPECTER → Settings → License → enter email + key → Activate.
4. Each key binds to one computer. Offline use works after first activation.

REMOTE FIELD TOOLS & RECORDING

Turn a phone on the same Wi‑Fi into a remote monitor, trigger surface, or wireless EVP microphone. Scan the QR code SPECTER shows, or open the URL from Settings.

• Remote monitor - watch the live feed and fire triggers from the phone.
• Remote EVP mic - the phone streams audio into the EVP Audio Lab with live level meters (grant the mic prompt on the phone first).
• F9 - toggle session recording (MP4).
• F7 - snapshot to the detection gallery.
• G - open the gallery.
• Recordings and detections folders: Settings → paths (open in Explorer).

PERFORMANCE TIPS

• Close RealSense Viewer and other camera apps before SPECTER.
• Lower Kinect JPEG quality / interval on i3-class hardware.
• Disable 3D views if not needed (Settings → 3D views off).
• Use wired power on the field laptop; disable battery saver.
• Room map / point cloud are GPU/CPU heavy, use on capable hardware only.

THE SETTINGS MENU

Open the Settings menu with Ctrl+Shift+G. It is organized into seven tabs with a live search bar that filters cards by name. Changes save when you click Save and apply immediately to the running session.

STILL STUCK?

Email support@specter-imaging.com or open a ticket:

Include your sensor type, Windows version, and what you see on screen (e.g. WARMING UP, no feed, sidecar timeout).