QSC Audio RAVE 88 manual

27 RA VE USER MANUAL ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ RA VE 80 Digital Audio Router (8 AES3 outputs) ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ RA VE 81 Digital Audio Router (8 AES3 inputs) ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ RA VE 88 Digital Audio Router (4 AES3 inputs + 4 AES3 outputs) ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ RA VE 160 Digital Audio Router (16 analog audio outputs) ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ RA VE 161 Digita[...]

1 T able of Contents RA VE Digital Audio Router User Manual Warning Notices ................................................................................................................................................ 2 I. Introduction ...............................................................................................................[...]

2 EXPLANATION OF GRAPHICAL SYMBOLS The lightning flash with arrowhead symbol, within an equilateral triangle, is intended to alert the user to the presence of uninsulated dangerous voltage within the products enclosure that may be of sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of electric shock to humans. The exclamation point within an equi[...]

3 I. Introduction RAVE Digital Audio Router products provide a means of transporting audio signals over a data network. Using common Fast Ethernet as the physical medium, a RAVE system has a maximum capacity of 64 channels on a 100baseTX network. RAVE transports the audio signals over the network in a 48 kHz 20-bit digital format. Each unit has a f[...]

4 GLOSSARY Below are some terms used in this manual that RAVE users should be familiar with. AES3 —A technological specification for inter-device conveyance of a dual-channel (stereo) digital audio signal. Also called AES/EBU. Crossover cable —A type of twisted-pair Ethernet patch cable, but somewhat analogous in function to a null modem cable.[...]

5 Therefore, the CobraNet™ technology used in a RAVE system employs a regulated, deterministic system of packet timing to ensure consistent and reliable transmission without dropouts or glitches. The RAVE devices on a common network will auto- matically negotiate the time slots among them- selves. For efficiency, the sample data from eight audio [...]

6 Channel routing A RAVE network handles routing in groups of eight audio channels, and each group of eight transmitted on the network makes up one network channel. Each RAVE device handles two network channels—two sent, two received, or one of each. For example, a RAVE 161 unit, with 16 analog audio inputs, represents two transmitted groups, and[...]

7 Two nodes with a 100baseTX hub Advantages: greater network size—up to 200 meters (656 feet); high reliability; readily expandable; uses standard Ethernet patch cables Disadvantages: higher cost This network is similar to the previous one, but with a hub in between, breaking up the network into two segments which can each be up to 100 meters lon[...]

8 Star topology Advantages: greater network size—up to 200 meters (656 feet); high reliability; readily expandable; uses standard Ethernet patch cables Disadvantages: higher cost Add nodes—i.e., RAVE units—to the previ- ous net layout and you have the classic star topology. This name comes from the hub being at the center and the nodes radiat[...]

9 Data signals sent over optical fiber don’t degrade as much as they do over copper wiring, and they are immune to induced interference from electromagnetic and RF sources, fluorescent lighting fixtures, etc. Consequently, a Fast Ethernet fiber optic network segment (100baseFX) can be up to 2 kilometers (6560 feet, or 1.24 miles) long, twenty tim[...]

10 The illustration at right shows a simple 2-node network similar to the one decribed before, except nearly all of the interconnecting UTP cable between the RAVE devices has been replaced by a pair of 100baseTX-to-100baseFX converters and a length of fiber optic cable. This conversion to a fiber optic medium allows the distance between the RAVE un[...]

11 in that its deterministic nature affords a bit more tolerance of delay than unregulated, non-deterministic network traffic can handle: a network span or diameter of up to 2560 bit periods (with Fast Ethernet, 1 bit period = 10 nanoseconds), or 25.6 microseconds. Unless you are designing very large and complicated RAVE networks, though, you’re [...]

12 III. Installation PRE-INSTALLATION PREPARATION: ANALOG SIGNAL LEVELS (RAVE 160, 161, AND 188 ONLY) The RAVE models which handle analog audio inputs and/or outputs require a signal level set-up to achieve optimum performance. This configuration should be completed before rack-mounting the units. (The digital AES3 models, however, do not require a[...]

13 Input Level Sensitivity (RAVE 161 and 188 only) Input level sensitivity is the rms analog signal level at which a sinusoidal waveform will produce a digital full scale signal in the device. The available settings are +24dBu, +18dBu, and +12 dBu (reference: 0 dBu = 0.775 volt), which are 12.3, 6.1, and 3.1 volts rms, respectively. These correspon[...]

14 Connecting to Ethernet IV . Connections ETHERNET CONNECTION (ALL MODELS) A female modular RJ-45 jack on the rear panel is for connecting the RAVE unit to a 100baseTX Ethernet. • To connect the network cable to the RAVE unit, insert the RJ-45 male connector—with its locking tab facing down, the only way the connector will fit into the jack—[...]

15 To connect balanced inputs, insert the +, -, and shield into the header as shown at left. To connect unbalanced inputs, connect the signal conductor to the + terminal and the shield to the - terminal, with a jumper to the ground/shield terminal, as shown at below left. The analog RAVE models (RAVE 160, 161, and 188) use normal analog balanced au[...]

16 RAVE 81 This model features eight AES3 input channels, a total of 16 audio channels. The AES3 inputs are labeled 1 through 8 on the rear of the unit. RAVE 80 This model features eight AES3 output channels, a total of 16 audio output channels. The AES3 outputs are labeled 1 through 8 on the rear of the unit. AC POWER A RAVE unit will operate on l[...]

17 SLAVE INPUT The slave input is another BNC jack. Its use is to allow a RAVE unit to “slave” itself to another RAVE unit, as a backup in mission-critical applications. To slave one RAVE unit to another, connect a BNC jumper cable from the sync output of the main unit to the slave input of the redundant unit. Select the same network channel(s)[...]

18 V . Operation STATUS INDICATORS The eight status indicator LEDs display the operating condition of the RAVE unit and its Ethernet network. They are color coded such that green LEDs, when lit, signify something good or normal, while red ones signify a problem. The “Conductor” LED is yellow because it doesn’t signify good nor bad; it’s sim[...]

19 The RAVE units in a common network select a conductor according to three priorities. The priorities are, from highest to lowest: 1. Models 161 and 81 2. Models 188 and 88 3. Models 160 and 80 When a unit is connected to the network, it first looks to see if there is a conductor with lower priority already present. If so, or if there is no conduc[...]

20 ROUTING A RAVE network routes audio sig- nals in groups or groups of 8 chan- nels, as the group diagram of a sample RAVE network illustrates at right. Behind the removable panel on the face of a RAVE unit are two pairs of hexadecimal switches (see the illustration below) for assigning network addresses to the groups. The left two switches assign[...]

21 VI. FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions CAN I BUY HUBS, CABLES, AND OTHER EQUIPMENT FOR MY RAVE NETWORK ANYWHERE? Yes. One of the design goals of RAVE technology is that aside from the specialized RAVE devices themselves, all other network-related equipment is common computer equipment available from many sources, including local retail computer sto[...]

22 WHAT HAPPENS IF I RUN OUT OF CHANNELS? Network channels automatically drop when available network bandwidth is exhausted. The network channels with the highest address numbers will be the first to be dropped. The “TX Error” indicator will light when a transmitting unit cannot send due to insufficient bandwidth. If this occurs when the networ[...]

23 VII. Specifications Analog Audio Sample rate 48 kHz A/D converters 20 bits D/A converters 20 bits Network transmission 20 bits T HD 0.007% worst case, 0.004% @ 1 kHz Signal to noise RAVE 161 and 188 inputs: 104 dB typical; 102 dB worst case, 22 Hz–22 kHz RAVE 160 and 188 outputs: 101 dB typical; 100 dB worst case, 22 Hz–22 kHz Network Data F[...]

24 VIII. Appendix ETHERNET CABLING This diagram shows the pinout for standard unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) network cable. Both ends of the cable are wired identically. A crossover cable has the RX and TX wire pairs switched around at one end. There are only two likely situations that would require a crossover cable: to connect two RAVE devices dir[...]

25 IX. Address & T elephone Information Address: QSC Audio Products, Inc. 1675 MacArthur Boulevard Costa Mesa, CA 92626-1468 USA Telephone Numbers: Main Number (714) 754-6175 Sales Direct Line (714) 957-7100 Sales & Marketing (800) 854-4079 (toll-free in U.S.A. only) Technical Services (714) 957-7150 (800) 772-2834 (toll-free in U.S.A. only[...]

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28 QSC Audio Products, Inc., 1675 MacArthur Boulevard Costa Mesa, California 92626 USA PH: (714) 754-6175 FAX: (714) 754-6174 RAVE is a trademark of QSC Audio Products, Inc. “QSC” and the QSC logo are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office[...]