Axel Falcon 15 User manual

Operating manual
Rel. 1.8
Sede BOLOGNA: Via Caduti Di Sabbiuno 6/F –
40011 Anzola Emilia - Bologna - Italy
Tel. [phone] - Fax. [phone]
Sede BERGAMO: Via Italia 1 –
24030 Medolago (Bg) – Italy
e-mail: [email protected] -web site: www.axeltechnology.com
Falcon 15
FM & ST
Broadcast Digital Audio Processor

TABLE OF CONTENTS ENG
Page 3
1 TABLE OF CONTENTS
1TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................................................................................. 3
2INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................................... 6
2.1 FALCON 15 -AVAILABLE VERSIONS................................................................................................................... 7
3SAFETY WARNINGS / ISTRUZIONI PER LA SICUREZZA ................................................................................ 8
3.1 FOREWORD.......................................................................................................................................................... 8
4SAFETY WARNINGS .................................................................................................................................................. 9
5CONSIGNES DE SÉCURITÉ IMPORTANTES...................................................................................................... 10
6ISTRUZIONI IMPORTANTI PER LA SICUREZZA............................................................................................. 11
7WICHTIGE SICHERHEITSHINWEISE................................................................................................................. 12
8INSTRUCCIONES IMPORTANTES DE SEGURIDAD ........................................................................................ 13
9FIRST INSTALLATION RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................................ 14
9.1 POWER SUPPLY CABLE .................................................................................................................................... 14
9.2 AC MAINS VOLTAGE SETTING (230 V/115 V)................................................................................................... 14
9.3 FUSE REPLACEMENT ........................................................................................................................................ 15
9.4 PROTECTION AGAINST LIGHTNING.................................................................................................................. 15
9.5 VENTILATION...................................................................................................................................................... 15
10 BLOCK DIAGRAM (FM & ST VERSIONS)........................................................................................................... 16
11 FM VERSION DESCRIPTION ................................................................................................................................. 17
11.1 FRONT PANEL VIEW........................................................................................................................................... 17
11.2 REAR PANEL VIEW (FM VERSION).................................................................................................................... 18
11.3 AC CONNECTION................................................................................................................................................ 19
11.4 OUTPUT CONNECTOR ....................................................................................................................................... 19
11.5 SYNC-IN AND SYNC-OUT CONNECTORS ......................................................................................................... 19
11.6 AUXILIARY INPUTS............................................................................................................................................. 20
11.7 ANALOG AUDIO INPUT (FEMALE XLR)................................................................................................................. 20
11.8 DIGITAL AUDIO INPUT........................................................................................................................................ 21
11.9 SERIAL PORTS.................................................................................................................................................... 21
11.10 DIGITAL DATA PORT........................................................................................................................................... 22
11.11 THE MENU TREE................................................................................................................................................. 24
11.12 FRONT PANEL OPERATION............................................................................................................................... 25
12 IN & OUT SETTINGS (FM VERSION)................................................................................................................... 26
12.1 HOW TO CONFIGURE THE INPUT (INPUT SETUP)........................................................................................... 26
12.1.1 SELECTING THE INPUT (ANALOG OR DIGITAL)................................................................................. 26
12.1.2 ADJUSTING THE INPUT AUDIO LEVEL ................................................................................................ 26
12.1.3 CHOOSING THE PROPER AGC OPERATION........................................................................................ 27
12.2 THE VOICE OPTIMIZER ...................................................................................................................................... 28
12.3 HOW TO CONFIGURE THE MPX OUTPUT (MPX MODULE SETUP).................................................................. 29
12.3.1 SETTING THE PREEMPHASIS................................................................................................................. 29
12.3.2 MONO - STEREO OPERATION................................................................................................................ 29
12.3.3 ADJUSTING THE MPX OUTPUT LEVEL ................................................................................................ 29
12.3.4 CALIBRATING THE PILOT LEVEL AND PHASE.................................................................................... 30
12.3.5 ENABLING SYNC OUTPUT ...................................................................................................................... 30
12.3.6 NOISE GATE SETTING (Noise Gate)........................................................................................................ 31
12.3.7 BYPASS MODE.......................................................................................................................................... 31
12.4 ADJUSTING THE RDS /RBDS OUTPUT (RDS MODULE SETUP)...................................................................... 32

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12.5 SETTING THE SPLIT MODES.............................................................................................................................. 33
12.6 ADDITIONAL DATA AND SETTINGS................................................................................................................... 34
12.6.1 SERIAL PORT SETUP ............................................................................................................................... 34
12.6.2 SYSTEM INFO ........................................................................................................................................... 34
13 ST VERSION DESCRIPTION................................................................................................................................... 35
13.1 FRONT PANEL VIEW........................................................................................................................................... 35
13.2 REAR PANEL VIEW (ST VERSION) .................................................................................................................... 36
13.3 AC CONNECTION................................................................................................................................................ 37
13.4 DIGITAL AUDIO INPUT........................................................................................................................................ 37
13.5 SERIAL PORTS.................................................................................................................................................... 38
13.6 ANALOG AUDIO OUTPUT (MALE XLR) ................................................................................................................ 38
13.7 ANALOG AUDIO INPUT (FEMALE XLR)................................................................................................................. 39
13.8 FALCON 15 MENU TREE (ST VERSION)................................................................................................................ 40
13.9 FRONT PANEL OPERATION............................................................................................................................... 41
14 IN / OUT SETTINGS (ST VERSION)....................................................................................................................... 42
14.1 HOW TO CONFIGURE THE INPUT (INPUT SETUP)........................................................................................... 42
14.1.1 SELECTING THE INPUT (ANALOG OR DIGITAL)................................................................................. 42
14.1.2 ADJUSTING THE INPUT AUDIO LEVEL ................................................................................................ 42
14.1.3 CHOOSING THE PROPER AGC OPERATION........................................................................................ 43
14.2 THE VOICE OPTIMIZER ...................................................................................................................................... 44
14.3 HOW TO CONFIGURE THE AUDIO OUTPUT (AUDIO MODULE SETUP) .......................................................... 45
14.3.1 SETTING THE PREEMPHASIS................................................................................................................. 45
14.3.2 ADJUSTING THE AUDIO OUTPUT LEVEL ............................................................................................ 46
14.3.3 BYPASS MODE.......................................................................................................................................... 46
14.3.4 MONO - STEREO OPERATION................................................................................................................ 47
14.3.5 NOISE GATE SETTING (Noise Gate)........................................................................................................ 47
14.4 ADDITIONAL DATA AND SETTINGS................................................................................................................... 48
14.4.1 SERIAL PORT SETUP ............................................................................................................................... 48
14.4.2 SYSTEM INFO ........................................................................................................................................... 48
15 CHOOSING THE PROCESSING CURVE .............................................................................................................. 49
15.1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................. 49
15.2 THE FALCON 15 PRESET TABLE ....................................................................................................................... 50
15.3 CHOOSING ACURVE.......................................................................................................................................... 51
16 THE REMOTE PC CONTROL SOFTWARE......................................................................................................... 52
16.1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................. 52
16.2 INSTALLING THE PC CONTROL SOFTWARE.................................................................................................... 52
16.3 RUNNING THE PROGRAM.................................................................................................................................. 53
16.4 PC CONTROL SOFTWARE OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................. 53
17 ACCESSING THE TARGET FROM THE PC ........................................................................................................ 54
17.1 THE SETUP PANEL ............................................................................................................................................. 55
17.1.1 SELECTING THE PC SERIAL PORT........................................................................................................ 55
17.1.2 OTHER SETTINGS .................................................................................................................................... 56
17.1.3 FRONT PANEL ‘LOCK’ FUNCTION........................................................................................................ 56
18 RDS / RBDS SETTINGS (FM VERSION ONLY) ................................................................................................... 57
18.1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................. 57
18.2 CHOOSING BETWEEN RDS OR RBDS SYSTEM............................................................................................... 57
18.3 CHANGING THE RDS /RBDS OUTPUT LEVEL .................................................................................................. 58
18.4 RDS: CONFIGURING THE SERVICES PI, PTY, DI, RADIO TEXT, TP, TA AND M/S ........................................... 58
18.5 RBDS: CONFIGURING THE SERVICES PI, PTY, DI, RADIO TEXT, TP, TA AND M/S......................................... 59
18.5.1 RDS / RBDS SERVICES DESCRIBED....................................................................................................... 60
18.6 PROGRAM SERVICE NAME (PS)........................................................................................................................ 61
18.6.1 SCOPE ....................................................................................................................................................... 61
18.6.2 THE PROGRAM SERVICE NAME EDITOR ............................................................................................. 61
18.6.3 PS SEQUENCES ........................................................................................................................................ 62

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18.6.4 PS SCROLLING ......................................................................................................................................... 63
18.7 ALTERNATIVE FREQUENCIES .......................................................................................................................... 64
18.8 AF METHODS AAND B........................................................................................................................................ 65
19 HARDWARE SETTINGS .......................................................................................................................................... 68
19.1 CHANGING THE INPUT AUDIO IMPEDANCE (FM VERSION)............................................................................ 68
19.2 CHANGING THE INPUT AUDIO IMPEDANCE (ST VERSION) ............................................................................ 68
20 FIRMWARE E SOFTWARE UPGRADES.............................................................................................................. 69
20.1 FIRMWARE UPGRADE ....................................................................................................................................... 69
20.2 PC SOFTWARE UPGRADE................................................................................................................................. 71
21 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS ............................................................................................................................ 72
22 WARRANTY ............................................................................................................................................................... 73

INTRODUCTION ENG
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2 INTRODUCTION
Thanks to its long experience in the DSP audio field, Axel Technology is proud to present Falcon 15, a 3 band
audio digital processor for FM radio broadcasting.
Falcon 15 offers the proven competitive advantages of all-digital processing: operation versatility, instantaneous
preset recall, Pc control, upgrade capability, consistent high quality, easy installation / configuration…
Typical applications for the Falcon 15 are small and medium radio stations, radio relay stations and advertising
splitting systems.
Falcon 15 comes with an user-friendly and reliable Pc control software which allows easy operations and a
constant monitoring of all processing and modulation parameters.
Falcon 15 has been refined over a period of years by an experienced team of technicians, psycho-acoustic
experts and designers specializing in the development of professional audio equipment based on DSP
technology
The Falcon 15 processing stage provides for analog stereo audio inputs (a digital input is available as an option).
You can choose between two Falcon 15 models, featuring two different Output types: analog stereo or composite
MPX (i.e. suitable for a direct transmitter connection or a STL radio link).
Falcon 15 processing is based on 3 compressors related to Bass, Mid and High audio bands. The wide range of
preset curves and the sophisticated AGC stage allows all users (even unskilled) to achieve astonishing results for
density, richness and colour of the sound… An unique ‘signature’ for Yr radio sound !
Main Features
The digital MPX stereo coder (built-in) makes adjustements easy. The Falcon 15’s performance is enhanced by
the addition of the Stereo Coder which ensures the best ratio between signal density and modulation level.
Together with the automatic composite clipper (always included), Falcon 15 MPX Stereo Coder ensures a
modulation quality much better than that presented by external coders.
The Digital audio input (optional) supports a wide range of numerical formats (including AES3/EBU and
S/PDIF) with several sample rates. Thanks to its automatic recognition of the injected signal and connection type
(optic or coaxial), the Falcon 15 digital input doesn’t require any specific configuration.
The Digital RDS & RBDS coder (optional) provides the services PS, PI, PTY, M/S, AF, RT, DI, TP, TA. Program
service Name (PS) may be broadcast in a sequential mode (up to 8 different words) and with scrolling effect.
RDS programming is achieved through the Pc software which comes with the unit.
The Analog Audio Output provides bi-channel (stereo) audio output electronically balanced on XLR male. It
provides the L and R processed audio signals on which it is possible to enable/disable pre-emphasis. The level is
set via menu.
The Falcon 15 processor comes with Windows software specifically designed for remote monitoring and control
of all the processor sections (from the generation of the MPX signal to the level of AGC), as well as message
editing and enabling RDS services.

INTRODUCTION ENG
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2.1 FALCON 15 - AVAILABLE VERSIONS
Falcon 15 ST featuring processed stereo (bichannel) output only (i.e. separated
Left and Right channels). No stereo coder built-in
Falcon 15 FM featuring built-in stereo Coder and (optional) RDS / RBDS coder.
No stereo (bichannel) audio outputs available.
OPTIONAL FEATURES DESCRIPTION
Falcon 15 P DG-IN Digital audio input (optical and coaxial)
Falcon 15 P Split Audio splitting control system (for FM version only)
Falcon 15 P RDS Digital RDS / RBDS coder (for FM version only)
NOTE: the present manual describes Falcon 15 in its MPX (FM version) and STEREO OUT (ST version)
configuration. Depending on the chosen configuration and on the chosen options, Yr actual equipment
might not provide some of the here-below described features or controls.

SAFETY WARNINGS / ISTRUZIONI PER LA SICUREZZA
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3 SAFETY WARNINGS / ISTRUZIONI PER LA SICUREZZA
SAFETY WARNINGS
CONSIGNES DE SÉCURITÉ IMPORTANTES
ISTRUZIONI IMPORTANTI PER LA SICUREZZA
WICHTIGE SICHERHEITSHINWEISE
INSTRUCCIONES IMPORTANTES DE SEGURIDAD
(Rel. 1.1)
3.1 FOREWORD
For your own safety and to avoid invalidation of the warranty all text marked with these Warning
Symbols should be read carefully.
Information in this manual is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part
of the vendor.
The manufacturer shall not be liable for any loss or damage whatsoever arising from the use of information or
any error contained in this manual, or through any mis-operation or fault in hardware contained in the product.
It is recommended that all maintenance and service on the product should be carried out by the manufacturer or
its authorised agents. The manufacturer cannot accept any liability whatsoever for any loss or damage caused by
service, maintenance or repair by unauthorised personnel.

SAFETY WARNINGS
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4 SAFETY WARNINGS
The installation and servicing instructions in this manual are for use by qualified personnel only.
- Read All Instructions. All safety and operating instructions must be read before operating the product. They also
must be retained for future reference, as it contains a number of useful hints for determining the best combination of
equipment settings for Yr particular application.
- Heed All Warnings. All warnings on the product and those listed in the operating instructions must be adhered to.
- Heat. This product must be situated away from any heat sources such as radiators or other products (including
power amplifiers or transmitters) that produce heat.
- Power Sources. This product must be operated from the type of power source indicated on the marking label and
in the installation instructions. If you are not sure of the type of power supplied to your facility, consult your local
power company. Make sure the AC main voltage corresponds to that indicated in the technical specifications. If a
different voltage (ex. 110/115 VAC) is available, open the equipment closure and set the voltage switch on the main
supply circuit, located behind the AC socket
- Power Cord Protection. Power supply cords must be routed so that they are not likely to be walked on nor pinched
by items placed upon or against them. Pay particular attention to the cords at AC wall plugs and convenience
receptacles, and at the point where the cord plugs into the product
- Use only with a cart, stand, tripod, bracket, or table specified by the manufacturer, or sold with the apparatus.
When a cart is used, use caution when moving the cart/apparatus combination to avoid injury from tip-over.
- Lightning. For added protection for this product during a lightning storm, or when it is left unattended and unused
for long periods of time, unplug it from the AC wall outlet and the audio connections. This will prevent damage to the
product due to lightning and power line surges
- Installation. Configuration and installation should only be carried out by a competent installation engineer
- Cabling. Using high quality wires, well protected. Make sure the cable integrity.
This symbol alerts you to the presence of dangerous voltage inside the closure – voltage which
may be sufficient to constitute a risk of shock. Do not perform any servicing other than that
contained in the operating instructions. Refer all servicing to qualified personnel
The exclamation point within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the presence of
important operating and maintenance (servicing) instructions in the literature accompanying the
appliance.
Do not change the voltage setting or replace the mains fuse without first turning the unit off and
unplugging the mains cord.
Make sure the AC main voltage corresponds to that indicated in the technical specifications.
THIS APPARATUS MUST BE EARTHED !
To avoid risk of fire use the correct value fuse, as indicated on the label stuck on the right side of
the unit.
This apparatus uses a single pole mains switch and does therefore not separate the unit
completely from the mains power. To completely separate from mains power (f.i. in the event of
danger) unplug mains power cord. As the MAINS plug is the disconnect device, the disconnect
device shall remain readily operable.

CONSIGNES DE SÉCURITÉ IMPORTANTES
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5 CONSIGNES DE SÉCURITÉ IMPORTANTES
- Lire ces consignes
- Conserver ces consignes
- Observer tous les avertissements
- Suivre toutes les consignes
- Ne pas utiliser cet appareil à proximité de l’eau
- Ne pas obstruer les ouvertures de ventilation. Installer en respectant les consignes du fabricant
- Ne pas installer à proximité d'une source de chaleur telle qu'un radiateur, une bouche de chaleur, un poêle ou
d'autres appareils (dont les amplificateurs) produisant de la chaleur.
- Ne pas annuler la sécurité de la fiche de terre, la troisième branche est destinée à la sécurité. Si la fiche fournie
ne s'adapte pas à la prise électrique, demander à un électricien de remplacer la prise hors normes.
- Protéger le cordon d'alimentation afin que personne ne marche dessus et que rien ne le pince, en particulier aux
fiches, aux prises de courant et au point de sortie de l’appareil
- Utiliser uniquement les accessoires spécifiés par le fabricant
- Utiliser uniquement avec un chariot, un support ou une table spécifié par le fabricant ou vendu avec l’appareil. Si
un chariot est utilisé, déplacer l’ensemble chariot–appareil avec précaution afin de ne pas le renverser, ce qui
pourrait entraîner des blessures
- Débrancher l’appareil pendant les orages ou quand il ne sera pas utilisé pendant longtemps.
- Confier toute réparation à du personnel qualifié. Des réparations sont nécessaires si l’appareil est endommagé
d’une façon quelconque, par exemple: cordon ou prise d’alimentation endommagé, liquide renversé ou objet tombé
à l’intérieur de l’appareil, exposition de l’appareil à la pluie ou à l’humidité, appareil qui ne marche pas normalement
ou que l’on a fait tomber.
- NE PAS exposer cet appareil aux égouttures et aux éclaboussements. Ne pas poser des objets contenant de
l'eau, comme des vases, sur l'appareil
Ce symbole indique la présence d'une tension dangereuse dans l'appareil constituant un risque de
choc électrique.
Ce symbole indique que la documentation fournie avec l'appareil contient des instructions
d'utilisation et d'entretien importantes.
Avant de modifier le commutateur de changement de tension ou replacer le fusible il faut débrancher
l’appareil de la prise électrique. Pendant son usage, l’appareil doit etre branchee à la prise de terre
Utiliser le fusible principal AC avec le valeur qui est indiquée sur l'étiquette collée sur le coffret.
Assurez-vous que la tension principale AC correspond à celle indiquée dans les spécifications
techniques.
L’interrupteur d’alimentation interrompt un pôle du réseau d’alimentation excepté le conducteur de
terre de protection. En cas de danger, debrancher le cordon d'alimentation. Parce que la prise du
réseau de alimentation est utilisée comme dispositif de déconnexion, ce dispositif doit demeuré
aisément accessible.