beautypg.com

Dc voltage monitoring – Studio Technologies 42A 2013 User Manual

Page 15

background image

Model 42A User Guide

Issue 2, December 2013

Studio Technologies, Inc.

Page 15

A pushbutton switch, located on the front

panel, serves two purposes: selecting the

IFB output channel to be monitored and

enabling the auto scan feature. To select

an IFB output channel to be monitored,

press and release the IFB Circuit Select

pushbutton. Each press of the button

will advance the channel to be monitored

by one. A delay is built into the channel

selection process allowing a user to move,

for example, from channel 1 to channel 3.

By pressing the button twice in rapid

succession channel 2 will be automatically

skipped.
Unique to the Model 42A is its auto scan

feature. Pressing and holding the button

for two seconds will cause this feature to

begin operation. In this mode the monitor

source automatically “steps” through each

IFB output, pausing for eight seconds

before moving on to the next. Ideally, this

will allow technical personnel to observe

a problem through casual viewing of the

Model 42A’s front panel.

DC Voltage Monitoring

The Model 42A’s microcontroller inte-

grated circuit, under software control,

“watches” to ensure that the DC voltage

present on pin 2 of each IFB output con-

nector pair is at an acceptable level. The

low-voltage threshold for the Model 42A’s

30 volt DC output is 24 volts. As discussed

in the previous section, the four LED

indicators display which IFB channel is

currently selected for audio monitoring. In

addition, the LEDs provide an indication of

the DC voltage status on the IFB outputs.

An LED will “flash” at a moderate cadence

if the voltage on pin 2 of its associated IFB

output falls below the acceptable value.

This can be caused by a temporary over-

current or short-circuit condition, such

as when interconnecting user devices to

Model 42A IFB outputs using faulty por-

table cabling.
An under-voltage condition that’s pres-

ent for a continuous 4-second period will

cause a fault condition to be recognized.

The status LED associated with the prob-

lem IFB output channel will indicate this

condition by flashing at a faster rate. In

addition, the output voltage on that spe-

cific IFB output channel will automatically

shut down to an essentially off condition.

A 10-second “cool-down” period will then

take place, after which the output voltage

will again become active. As soon as the

output is enabled normal output voltage

monitoring will again take place. A con-

tinuous short-circuit presented to an

IFB output will result in a continuous

4-seconds-on/10-seconds-off error cycle.

Figure 7. Detail of front panel showing headphone

section

Figure 8. Detail of front panel showing four status

LEDs and associated pushbutton switch