Compex Systems AP4530 manual

USER GUIDE Publication AP4530 iDR-8 Digital Audio Mix Processor[...]

2 IDR-8 User Guide This product complies with the European Electromagne tic Compatibility directives 89/336/EEC & 92/31 /EEC and the European Low Voltage Directives 73/23/EEC & 93/68/EEC. This product has been tested to EN55103 Parts 1 & 2 1996 for use in Environments E1, E2, E3 , and E4 to demonstra te compliance with the protection re[...]

iDR-8 User Guide 3 Important Safety Instructions – Read First Read instructions: Retain these safety and operating instru ctions for future referenc e. Heed all warnings printed here and on the equipm ent. Follow the operating instructions printed in this User Guide. Do not open: There are no user serviceable parts inside. Refer any service work [...]

4 IDR-8 User Guide Introduction This user guide is intended for the technical engineer in charge of the installation and configuration of the audio system. It is not intend ed for the day- to-day operator who shoul d be provided with operati ng instructions specific to the application by the inst aller. The function, application, installation and t[...]

iDR-8 User Guide 5 Contents Important Safety Instructions .......................................... 3 Welcome to the iDR-8 ..................................................... 6 Main Features .................................................................. 7 Front Panel Overview ...................................................... 8 Rear Pane[...]

6 IDR-8 User Guide W elcome to the iDR-8 The Allen & Heath iDR system is a set of components whose hardware, control an d signal processing flexibility make it well suited to many inst alled, li ve sound and special project applications. The 2U r a c k o r d e s k m o u n t iDR-8 is the main unit in the iDR system having all the DSP (digital si[...]

iDR-8 User Guide 7 Main F eatures • iDR-8 main processing unit 2U, 8 mic/line in, 8 line out audio mix processor with 16x16 channel matrix. The hea rt of the iDR system, it features 2 24bit Motorola DSPs. • Daisy chain iDR-8 uni ts A n y n u m b e r m a y b e interconnected via the 8 channel digital bus using C A T 5 c a b l e . M a n y p o s s[...]

8 IDR-8 User Guide F ront P anel Overvi ew Shown with face plate removed. 1 Rack ears Mount the unit into a standard 19” equipment rack. Can be remove d for stand alone desk or shelf mounting. 2 Rubber feet P r o v i d e d s e p a r a t e l y . P r e s s these into the base holes for stand alone desk or shelf mounting. 3 Write-on label strip T o [...]

iDR-8 User Guide 9 Rear P ane l Overview 1 Mains input U se t he I E C l e a d w it h m ou l de d mains plug suitable for your lo cal voltage. The protection fuse rating is marked on the rear panel. The on/off switch is positioned on the rear pan el to prevent accide ntal operation. 2 N e t w o r k p o r t RJ45 socket for connection to an Ethernet [...]

10 IDR-8 User Guide System Processing O verview The iDR-8 has 8 analo gue inputs and 8 analogue outputs. Howeve r, it has the onboard processing for a full 16 input and 16 outputs when operating in normal 48kHz mode . The extra 8 inputs and/or outputs are available when the iDR-in and/or iDR-out au dio expanders are added. Only one of each may be a[...]

iDR-8 User Guide 11 Physical inputs and outputs These are the hardware audio connections including XLRs, digital expanders, headphones and monitor. Input and output channels These are processing channels. The input channels can be sourced from any physical input. The physical outputs can be sourced from any output channel. The input and output chan[...]

12 IDR-8 User Guide Delay Each input and output channel provides d e l a y f r o m 0 u p t o 3 4 0 m s . I t c a n b e a d j u s t e d i n ms, metres or feet an d has compensation fo r temperature. PEQ The input channels each provide a 4 band fully parametric equaliser, the output channels an 8 band equaliser. Compared with the graphic EQ these are[...]

iDR-8 User Guide 13 Getting Started - Check the Contents Keep the product packing in case you need to ship the product in the future . You should find the followin g components: 1x iDR-8 UNIT. This is packed with its face plate removed and rack ears fitted. The ears can be removed for desk mounting. 1x iDR-8 F A C E P L A T E . S e p a r a t e l y [...]

14 IDR-8 User Guide Installing the iDR-8 The iDR-8 and its expanders are supplied read y for 19” rack mounting. For desk top or shelf mounting remove the rack ears and fit the 4 press- in rubber feet provided. Use Torx (star head) screwdrivers. Fit the face plate once you have configured the settings with the front pan el menu system and fitted a[...]

iDR-8 User Guide 15 Earthing The connection to mains earth ( ground) in an audio system is important for two reasons: Safety - To protect the operator from a high voltage shock as sociated with the AC mains supply feeding the system. Audio Performance - To shield the audio signal s from interference pickup and to minimise the effects of ground loop[...]

16 IDR-8 User Guide Starting Offline with iDR System Manager Software You need to install the iDR Syst em Manager software on you r P C . T h i s r e q u i r e s W i n d o w s ™ 95, 98, NT, ME , 2K or XP. Although the software c omes with the resource CD provided we recommend that you check the Allen & Heath web site for the latest version. W[...]

iDR-8 User Guide 17 Checking the iDR-8 Opera ting Code V ersion With the face plate removed, press and hold the ESC key to view the current version of operat ing code running in the unit. Check that this code is the same versi on as the iDR System Manager software you have installed on your PC. View this by clicking on the software Help menu About [...]

18 IDR-8 User Guide DR-8 AUDIO MIX PROCESSOR REMOVE THESE SCREWS PRESS AND HOLD FOR 2 SECONDS The iDR-8 Setup Menus *1 Patch Select Scroll through the available patches and recall the one you want. This can be useful for recalling test patches for system checking without the need for connecting to a PC. *2 Clock Change the ti me of the internal c l[...]

iDR-8 User Guide 19 Accessing the iDR-8 Setup Menus Before your PC can take control of the iDR-8 you need to set up its unit name and communication settings. This is done using a simple front panel menu system. Once communication is established between the PC and iDR-8 you use the iDR System Manager software to configure and control the unit. To ac[...]

20 IDR-8 User Guide Getting Started – Checking the Hardware The iDR-8 is supplied with its settings pre-config ured so that you can turn it on and immediately get audio passing through it. This can be useful when you are installing a unit on site and need to carry out ini tial tests on the hardware before the custom configurati on sof twar e is l[...]

iDR-8 User Guide 21 Communicating with the iDR-8 The iDR- 8 is configured using a PC running the Allen & Heath Windows™ iDR System Manager application. You need to connect your PC to t he iDR-8 . To get them to communicate you must fi rst access the front panel Setup menus and set up a few communi cations settings. You al so need to set up y [...]

22 IDR-8 User Guide Communicating Using A TCP/IP Connection The iDR-8 u s e s T C P / I P t o c o m m u n i c a t e w i t h a P C o r distributed network via a CAT5 Ethernet link. It can also communicate over a dial-up connection using PPP via its RS232 port. The faster Ethernet connection is recommended for iDR configur ation purposes. Note th at [...]

iDR-8 User Guide 23 Connecting the iDR -8 Direct to the PC 1 Connect the PC to the iDR-8 Plug the PC Ethernet port into the iDR-8 rear panel NETWO RK port using the CAT5 UTP cable provided. Power up the PC and iDR unit. 2 Set the MDI/X swit ch in T h i s i s l o c a t e d n e x t t o t h e NETWORK socket. Press the switch in for dire ct connection.[...]

24 IDR-8 User Guide Communicating Using a Dial Up Connection A front and a rear RS232 connect ion is provided. You choose which one to use by setting the front panel switch. Only one can be active at any time, in dicated by a green LED. The RS232 port is selected as one of the communication options in the iDR System Manager Preferences item. The fr[...]

iDR-8 User Guide 25 Connecting the iDR -8 to a Modem 1 Connect th e iDR-8 to the modem Use the rear pan el RS232 (MODEM) port. Check that the ‘active’ indicator next to it is lit. If it is not then select the RS232 communication op tion as described previously. Use a standard RS232 cable. Make sure that the mo dem is plugged into the telephone [...]

26 IDR-8 User Guide W orking with the iDR Syste m Manager Having established a connection between your PC and the iDR-8 you can run the iDR System Manager application and start to confi gure the unit.  Start the iDR System Mana ger from the Start / Progra ms / Allen & Heath menu. To open a new session click on the blue icon, press Ctrl+N, or[...]

iDR-8 User Guide 27 XLR Analogue Inputs and Outputs MIC/LINE Inputs Plug analogue microphone and lin e sources in these inputs. The connections are differentially balanced XLR with pin2 hot (+), pin3 cold (-) and pin 1 ground. For unbalanced sources link pin 3 to pin 1 at the iDR input. Phantom power +48 V DC c an be sw itc hed t o XL R pi ns 2 a n[...]

28 IDR-8 User Guide Monitor Inputs and Outputs Monitor TRS Input and Out put T h e m o n i t o r i s available as a line level signal on t h e r e ar p an e l. A p a i r o f TR S jack sockets accept an external stereo source as the input, and another pair present the stereo output. The L and R signals have separate sockets. Maximum level available [...]

iDR-8 User Guide 29 Daisy chaining iDR-8 monitors The active monitor bus can ripple through multiple iDR-8 units so that th e la st in the cha in ca n b e u sed to li st en to a ny au dio sig na l i n t he system. With no acti ve monitor selected the sign al from the previous unit is passed on to the next. Selecti ng an active monitor overrides th [...]

30 IDR-8 User Guide Adding the iDR-in and iDR-out Audio Expanders iDR-in and iDR-out are add -on audio expander units for the iDR-8 audio mix processor. They provide additional analogue audio i nputs and outputs to add to those on the main unit. The iDR-in has 8 mic/li ne inputs, the iDR-out has 8 l i n e o u t p u t s . O n l y o n e o f e a c h m[...]

iDR-8 User Guide 31 Fully expanded iDR-8 Thi s dia gr am s hows the iDR-8 with both the input and ou tput expander fitted. Note the connection of DR- Link which is daisy chained from one unit to the next. If an iDR-switch uni t is also fitted then daisy chain DR-Link from the last expander to t h e s w i t c h b o x . M a k e s u r e you plug into [...]

32 IDR-8 User Guide Linking iDR-8 Units Several iDR-8 units can be dais y chained together such th at audio is passed between them using the 8 channel expander bus. An iDR-in expander can be added to the first unit in the ch ain, and an iDR-out expander can be added to the last unit. This provid es a flexible solution for co mplex installations, fo[...]

iDR-8 User Guide 33 Loop back system This example sh ows two units connected with the audio bus loop ed back from the last to the first. This means that all i nputs are available to both units using the patchbays and mat rix. Note that each unit must have it s own session of iDR System Manager running for configuration. The loop back system uses th[...]

34 IDR-8 User Guide Adding the iDR-switch Expander The iDR-switch is an add-on control expander for the iDR-8 audio mix processor. It prov ides an additional 24 switch closure control inputs and 16 lo gic contro l outputs in a 1U high rack or desk mount case. Up to three units can be connected providing up to 72 additional switch and 48 additional [...]

iDR-8 User Guide 35 Important Note: T h e iDR-switch provi des contact closure switch inputs and open- collector logic outputs. How the se are wired to external equipment is the respon sibility of the installer. Specification details are provided here for the iDR-switch inputs and outputs. It is important that the installer is suitably qualified an[...]

36 IDR-8 User Guide Using the logic outputs E a c h o u t p u t i s o p t o - coupled to isolate the iDR-switch from the connected equipment. It provides an open collector output with floating collector (+pin) and emitter (-pin) . Each 10way connector provides 4 open collector pairs as well as an internal +10V DC suppl y and ground pins. Do not us [...]

iDR-8 User Guide 37 MIDI, SysNet and PL -Anet Ports Together with RS232, the MIDI, SysNet and PL-Ane t serial ports are part of th e communications options available. The iDR -8 offers huge flexibility by offering a ll these popular ports. H owever, they are not all available at the s ame time. The iDR all oca tes two ports A and B. You need to sel[...]

38 IDR-8 User Guide The iDR-8 Memory System The iDR-8 has onboard flash memory. This is n on-volatile memory that re tains its settings when power i s removed. Although the unit is configured using a PC, it ho lds its own operating code and settings in this memory for stand alone o p e r a t i o n o n c e t h e P C i s r e m o v e d . T h e memory [...]

iDR-8 User Guide 39 Starting with th e P atches The patch system is the key to the iDR system’s unique flexibil ity. Unlike some systems wh ich simply ta ke a ‘snapshot’ of all the current settings, the iDR-8 can s tore and recall any number of ch osen se ttings from a huge list of paramete rs. These include not only the channel levels and p [...]

40 IDR-8 User Guide T echnical Specification S1 TRIM LEVEL DR-8 For connection to PC com por t L3 L2 S2 L1 S3 CODE UP DATE active S4 L4 S5 L5 FRONT/REAR RS232 S6 L6 S7 L7 ext sync lock slave 96k S8 L8 scroll < < ESC ENTE R > MENU network setup day & clock diagnosti cs patch sel ect audio monitor S9 L9 S10 L10 S11 L11 i S12 L12 S13 L13 [...]

iDR-8 User Guide 41 DR-8 AUDIO MIX PROCESSOR AUDIO INPUT EXPA NDER power lock link iDR-in lock link power AUDIO OUTPUT EXPANDER iDR-out link power 24 IN 16 OUT SWITCH CONTROLLER iDR-switch iDR-switch iDR-in iDR-out PL-Anet iDR-8 Sys-Net MIDI DR-Link REMOTE CONTRO LLERS MODEM RS232 NETWORK AUDIO EXPANDERS AUDIO MO NITOR iDR System Manager software P[...]

42 IDR-8 User Guide Description iDR-8 8 mic/line in 8 line out mai n processor iDR-in 8 mic/line in audio expander iDR-out 8 line out audio expander iDR-switch 24 switch, 16 logic output expander PL Range of wall pl ates and remote controllers iDR-8 Operator Front Panel Face plate fitted 2x16 character assignable backlit LCD display 16x installer a[...]

iDR-8 User Guide 43 Network Port For system configuratio n and control using iDR System Manager and PL Client software RJ45 TCP/IP Ethernet MDI/X switch for hub or direct to PC connection Setup DHCP on/off, IP ad dress, subnet mask CAT5 UTP cable up to 10 0 metres (330 feet) Communicati ons Port Options Always available – TCP/IP network, DR-Link [...]

44 IDR-8 User Guide Software Downloadable from Allen & Heath web site iDR-8 operating code – can be updated via RS23 2 Uses Windows™ HyperTerminal iDR System Manager configuration software Uses Wi ndows™ PC On and off line operation Required only for system configuration PL Designer virtual cont roller design s oftware Uses Wi ndows™ PC[...]

iDR-8 User Guide 45 Level Control Input channels, output channels, monitor, signal generator Linear fader range off to + 5dB in 51 steps Controls – mute, polarity reverse Fader Groups Channel faders can be assigned t o master faders Fader range off to 0dB in 51 steps 8x input fader groups 8x output fa der groups Groups can be named – up to 8 ch[...]

46 IDR-8 User Guide Factory default unit settings Unit name – iDR Unit Name Network settings DHCP – No IP address – 192.168 .0.1 Net mask – 255.255.25 5.0 PPP settings Host IP address – 192.168.0.1 Client IP address – 192.168 .0.2 User name – iDR Password – A&H Factory default configur ation settings Input channel names I/P 1…[...]

iDR-8 User Guide 47 Template for Allen & Heath iDR-8 Front Panel Key Label File: iDR-8_label.dot fo r Microsoft ™ Wo rd Each label section is a table. Yo u can format it in the usual way. Edit the text to id entify the key an d LED functions. Overall size of each label is 144 x 10 mm. Remove the iDR-8 fr ont face plate (4x 2mm hex screws). Ad[...]