BASIS 904zz 16 Output CobraNet Enabled Control and Monitoring Signal Processor Hardware Manual *TD-000152-00* TD-000152-00 rev.A IMPORTANT SAFETY PRECAUTIONS & EXPLANATION OF 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 equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the presence of important operating and maintenance (servicing) instructions in this manual. SAFEGAURDS Electrical energy can perform many useful functions. This unit has been engineered and manufactured to assure your personal safety. Improper use can result in potential electrical shock or fire hazards. In order not to defeat the safeguards, observe the following instructions for its installation, use and servicing. CAUTION: To reduce the risk of electric shock, do not remove the cover. No user-serviceable parts inside. Refer servicing to qualified service personnel. WARNING: To prevent fire or electric shock, do not expose this equipment to rain or moisture. 1- Maximum operating ambient temperature is 50°C (122°F). 2- Never restrict airflow through the device fan or vents. Please insure that the air intake and exhaust vents are unobstructed. 3- When installing equipment into rack, distribute the units evenly. Otherwise, hazardous conditions could be created by an uneven weight distribution. 4- Connect the unit only to a properly rated supply circuit. The BASIS 904zz is suitable for connection to 100 - 240 VAC, 47 - 440 hertz, with no special considerations other than the appropriate IEC power cord. 5- Reliable Earthing (Grounding) of rack-mounted equipment should be maintained. LITHIUM BATTERY WARNING THIS EQUIPMENT CONTAINS A NON-RECHARGEABLE LITHIUM BATTERY. LITHIUM IS A CHEMICAL KNOWN TO THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA TO CAUSE CANCER OR BIRTH DEFECTS. THE NON-RECHARGEABLE LITHIUM BATTERY CONTAINED IN THIS EQUIPMENT MAY EXPLODE IF IT IS EXPOSED TO FIRE OR EXTREME HEAT. DO NOT SHORT CIRCUIT THE BATTERY. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO RECHARGE THE NONRECHARGEABLE LITHIUM BATTERY. FCC INTERFERENCE STATEMENT NOTE: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a class B digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and if not installed and used in accordance to the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by switching the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures: - Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna. - Increase the separation between the equipment and the receiver. - Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected. - Consult the dealer or an experienced radio or TV technician for help. © Copyright 2004 QSC Audio Products, Inc. QSC® is a registered trademark of QSC Audio Products, Inc. "QSC" and the QSC logo are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 2 Don't want to read the entire manual? Just want to dig right in? Go to page 18.... Introduction The BASIS 904zz provides the digital audio transport, signal processing, control and status monitoring facilities needed to bind a group of amplifiers and loudspeakers into an integrated functioning system. In conjunction with QSControl.net software, the BASIS 904zz enables the user to design, test and deploy professional audio reinforcement and distribution systems ranging in size from one to hundreds of channels. Each QSC power amplifier connects directly to a BASIS 904zz via one of its eight QSC DataPorts. All mission-critical elements of the BASIS-driven sound system are monitored. User-selected events are logged and loudspeaker protection features unique to BASIS such as QSC's power limiter are made possible through the DataPort functionality. A standard Windows computer is the principle user-interface for controlling the overall BASIS/QSControl system. However, the BASIS 904zz also offers a front panel interface for accessing critical functions. A single QSControl server computer can support several clients running QSC's latest Venue Manager software. Thus, the sound system can be operated via several computers, roaming wireless laptops, tablets, etc., all at the same time, from anywhere a connection to the QSControl network is available. The QSControl network can also be managed from a single computer running both the client and the server. Once all BASIS devices in a system are configured, a computer is no longer required on that system's network. All basic functions of the BASIS 904zz continue to operate with or without a control computer connected to the network. Audio enters a BASIS 904zz from CobraNet source devices such as QSC's line of RAVE digital audio routers. Any combination of 24 CobraNet channels (selected from up to 4 bundles of 32 channels) can be routed into the 24 x 24 DSP engine. Any or all of the 24 DSP channels can also be routed to up to 32 CobraNet channels on the network. Unlike many configurable DSP boxes, the intrinsic processing latency of the BASIS 904zz is both short and fixed at 0.396 milliseconds. The delay does not change regardless of the DSP configuration, unless the configuration intentionally adds more delay. 1- Power indicator 2- Diagnostic indicator 3- Network status indicators 4- Port connection status indicators 5- Multi-function push buttons 6- Display 7- Rotary select/accept knob 8- Safe Mode push switch (recessed) 9- DataPorts 10- Monitor chain in/out 11- Relay outputs 12- Logic outputs 13- Omni inputs 14- RS-232 port 15- Network status indicators 16- QSControl 10BaseT receptacle 17- CobraNet 100BaseTx receptacle 18- IEC power inlet See page 14 for detailed descriptions. 3 Introduction (continued) The BASIS 904zz also supports the new optional lowlatency CobraNet feature that provides transport at only 2.66 milliseconds delay. Both software and firmware can be easily updated over the network. In the future, QSC will be adding new capabilities to both BASIS and QSControl.net. Our latest code releases and access to up-to-date information on BASIS and QSControl.net are available at www.qscontrol.net. We invite you to visit us there. We've applied our many years experience in supporting high-end installed sound with our previous system-building products such as RAVE, QSControl, CM16a, DSP-3, DSP-4, and DSP-30. The BASIS 904zz brings all that technology together in one compact, powerful, easy to use system. We are confident that your new BASIS 904zz will provide years of dependable service and we hope it will help you, the system designer and implementer, to express your creative audio system ideas. Block Diagram 4 Introduction - Networking the BASIS 904zz The BASIS 904zz has two RJ-45 network connection ports on the rear panel. One port is labeled "QSControl" and supports standard 10BASE-T Ethernet. The other port is labeled "CobraNet" and supports 100BASE-TX, also known as "Fast Ethernet". In the following we describe the use of these ports and show example network connection schemes. The BASIS 904zz supports two distinct kinds of network activity; the first is audio transport via CobraNet, and the second is control and monitoring via QSControl.net. The user can choose to install one network for CobraNet traffic and a second separate network for QSControl traffic. We call this the "Two Wire Interface". Alternately, it is possible to run both control and audio traffic over CobraNet via the CobraNet port. In this case the QSControl port is unused. We call this the "Single Wire Interface". Under the most demanding real-time control conditions and when using the lowest latency CobraNet settings, users may experience better QSControl performance using separate networks, especially when displaying a great many real-time meters. For most applications, separate networks won't provide any discernible benefits and will of course cost more. We therefore recommend using the Single Wire Interface when running CobraNet. Why CobraNet Needs Special Treatment: Ordinary Ethernet traffic has no guaranteed time of delivery. Packets of information may arrive at their destination out of order and some may be delayed more than others. This is fine for E-mail and even for downloading MP3 files over the Internet. Everything ends up properly reassembled at the destination, but how long this takes will vary according to network loading, span, etc. In contrast, CobraNet is "real time" - it delivers audio with a minimal, consistent transmission delay. CobraNet is designed to use as much of conventional networking technology as possible while providing both guaranteed time of delivery and isochronicity - maintaining a phase-locked sample-accurate clock across the entire network. These requirements mean that ordinary unregulated Ethernet data cannot be freely mixed with CobraNet information. The two can coexist on the same wire, but only by adhering to the proper rules. To learn more about CobraNet and appropriate network topologies, please visit http://www.qscaudio.com/products/network/ resources.htm and http://www.peakaudio.com/CobraNet/background.html. Notes on Network Systems Design: As with any communications system, the reliability and performance of a local area network is intimately related to the designer's skill and knowledge in implementing a topology that is robust, efficient and standards-compliant. Proper network design is even more critical in distributed multimedia systems. Therefore, it is important for the system designer to realize that some conventional network practices must be avoided. Although each network design is unique and may carry its own performance requirements, compliance to the following three points will assist in building an audio network that is trouble free and efficient. First, audio and conventional data communications deliveries should not exist on the same LAN or VLAN. The exception to this is the BASIS 904zz Single Wire Interface, which offers a solution for converging audio and QSControl.net onto the same LAN or VLAN. However, conventional communications, such as corporate networks, print services, e-mail and Internet access, should not exist alongside CobraNet audio and QSControl.net on the same LAN or VLAN. Further, CobraNet audio and QSControl.net data should not exist together on the same LAN or VLAN when implementing the Two Wire Interface. This is not to say that conventional communications cannot share the same network hardware with a BASIS 904zz. In fact, common network hardware, such as managed Ethernet switches and media converters, can service both BASIS 904zz products and conventional data communications equipment so long as the managed switch or media converter are partitioned into separate network domains. This is normally done by configuring a separate VLAN for each data type. (Some switches may allow individual port assignments or support partitions through DIP switch selection.) Second, CobraNet audio must traverse either a repeater domain or a network switch domain. The point here is that the CobraNet port on a BASIS 904zz must connect directly to, and only to, either a repeater LAN or a switched Ethernet LAN. Hybrid networks containing both repeaters and switches are not permitted on the audio segment. Connecting the CobraNet port to a repeater that is in turn connected to a network switch poses an illegal and non-compliant condition. We recommend always connecting the QSControl and/or CobraNet port(s) directly to network switch ports. 5 Third, the BASIS 904zz and QSControl.net system are targeted at network switch deployments. The consumer costs of Ethernet switches have continued to fall over the last several years and are now comparable with repeaters on a per port basis. In addition, the sophistication and scalability of network switches make them ideal for new installations. However, we do realize that designers may wish to add BASIS products to existing audio network installations that are built on repeater LAN topologies. This applies primarily to existing CM16a and RAVE networks. For this very reason we continue to support connectivity to network repeater hardware with the BASIS 904zz. Support for network repeaters exist only with the Two Wire Interface. That is to say that the QSControl port and the CobraNet port must be connected to ...