There are a couple of CANJAS lectures scheduled while I'm gone, and Dr. Iles will be handling the hardware. He asked me to write up a brief outline of what to do:

Placement.
In the boardroom, the optimal location is at the window end of the room; the curtains are not sufficient to stop glare on the screen.
I generally need to get in to the room a bit ahead of schedule to move the table and chairs around to fit the VC equipment in to the space.

Network.
The boardroom is already sorted out, network wise, and should just work. That said, the network port is at the opposite end of the room from the best location for the VC equipment. There is a long network cable for this (the end of which is sticking out of a blue-grommeted hole in the bottom left side of the cart). I run it under the tables to keep it out of the way.
*** Networking note: If another node is dialing (cascade call from UofA or similar) in you'll need to know your IP address beforehand and give it to the dialer. If you dial out (make your own call to another node) your IP doesn't matter.

Audio.
in the boardroom, you should be able to get away with a single microphone, but if you have a full house you might want to use two. I run the cable (sticking out of the same hole as the network cable) down the middle of the table (on the floor, running it up to the mic's location). Remember that the mic displays a green light when broadcasting and a red one when turned off. They can be manually turned on and off with the switch on each mic, or through the remote mute function.
*** Audio note: the mic cables plug in to the mic only one way. It's a bit like an S-Video cable in that it requires a delicate touch to attach. Take a close look at the cable end and the mic before trying to connect them.

Video.
The VC equipment is plugged in to the S-Video plug on the TV (which displays as "AV1" on the TV screen). Use the "Source" button on the TV remote to adjust the input.

The bigger VC box (on the right) has a power (toggle) switch that should already be on. When you plug in the cart and turn on the power on the VC remote (silver one) the camera should turn around a bit and settle in a forward position (away from the TV). If the TV is on the right input you should see a view of the room on the TV screen.

If the blue Sony IPELA screen is displaying on the TV, you'll notice in the lower middle section of the screen some info about the network connection. It should display an IP address here - if it doesn't, you don't have a connection. Fix this first!

To dial in to a node, use the IPELA remote and choose "Phone Book" in the top right of the main screen. When you click it, you get a new screen with about 6 big, cryptically titled, icons (Sony, Clare@UofA etc.). Look at the bottom left of the screen and you'll see the IP address that will get dialed if you choose one of the icons. (***Remember, if UofA is going to do a cascade call (dials you) you need to know your IP address and make sure the outside caller knows what it is.)

If you need a separate monitor for a Powerpoint presentation, you need to make sure that it's working ahead of time. I normally dial up UofA and ask to do a test to make sure everything is functional.
To connect things, put the small LCD monitor where you want it and connect the VGA extension cable to the one already on the monitor. The extension cable is already attached to the SONY box; you'll find the cable inside the cart.