Niles Audio iC2 - Manual (Page 11)

NILES AUDIO CORPORATION – 1-800-BUY-HIFI – 305-238-4373
9
SOURCE POWER STATUS CONNECTIONS
To properly automate home theater sources, the HT-MSU needs to “know” when the source is
powered On or Off. There are three ways that sources are powered on:
1. Toggle Power: A source via its remote control has one button for turning that source
On and Off. When trying to automate such a device, you must provide the HT-MSU the
“Power Status” as feedback using the Status connection on the HT-MSU’s top edge
(detailed below).
2. Separate On and Off Power: A source via its remote control has one button to turn
the source On and a different button to turn the source Off. When trying to automate
such an IR device, you should provide the HT-MSU the “Power Status” as feedback so
the iC2 System will act faster using the Status connection on the HT-MSU. If a source
is to be controlled via RS232 and it has separate On and Off codes, you do not need to
provide the HT-MSU feedback.
3. Latching Power: Latching power is an industry term that means the source has no
power command/s on its remote control. A latching power source may have a “hard”
power button on the front panel. To determine if a source is latching power, push its
“hard” power button in, take its power cord and plug it into a live AC power outlet. If it
turns on when plugged into the outlet and turns off when unplugged from the outlet,
it is a latching power source. Latching power sources do not need a Power Status
connection, but you will want to do one of two things:
a. Plug it into the switched outlet of the receiver, or
b. Use a Niles AC-3 Voltage Triggered Power Strip connected to one of the
assignable 12V outputs on the HT-MSU. Use the QuickConfig Software to
program the assigned 12V output to turn on when that source is selected.
(See QuickConfig
manual for more details on programming 12V outputs.)
Along the top edge of the HT-MSU are the source-specific status connections labeled
SRC1 through SRC6. These RCA jacks are designed to sense either 12 Volts or video
so the HT-MSU “knows” when the source is On or Off. You must use these connections
if the source you are trying to automate is IR controlled and uses toggle power
(see 1.Toggle Power above).
If the source has a video out jack, connect the video output to the corresponding SRC
Status RCA jack on the HT-MSU. If the source has no video output jack, you may use
one of the Niles external-sensing devices that provides 12V output (i.e., the CS12V
Current Sensor or the LS-1 Light Sensor) connected to the RCA Status jack.