Axel Falcon 50 FM User manual

Operating manual
(Rel. 1.3)
PART ONE: INSTALLATION
Via Caduti Di Sabbiuno 6/F - 40011 Anzola Emilia - Bologna - Italy
Tel. [phone] - Fax. [phone]
e-mail: [e-mail] - web site: www.axeltechnology.com
Falcon 50 FM
6 Band DIGITAL audio PROCESSOR

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FOREWORD ENG
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1 FOREWORD
F rom all of us at Axel Technology, thank you for choosing the Falcon 50 FM digital
audio processor.
A great deal of effort went into the design and construction of this precision device.
With proper installation and calibration the processor will give you the most
accurate results for audio processing and modulation.
Take the time to go through the steps provided in this manual to ensure you get the
most out of your equipment.
Used properly, the Falcon 50 will give you many years of enjoyment.
Measurements of the Falcon 50 yield excellent results by any standards. However, the Falcon 50 audio quality can not
always be represented only by measures. We therefore invite You to a complete and enjoyable listening session...

ENG
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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.
Axel Technology 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 Axel Technology
or its authorised agents. Axel Technology cannot accept any liability whatsoever for any loss or damage
caused by service, maintenance or repair by unauthorised personnel.

TABLE OF CONTENTS ENG
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2 TABLE OF CONTENTS
1
FOREWORD.........................................................................................................................................3
2 TABLE OF CONTENTS........................................................................................................................5
3 INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................................................6
3.1 APPROACHING AN FM AUDIO PROCESSOR..........................................................................................8
4 INSTALLATION CONSIDERATIONS ...................................................................................................9
5 BLOCK DIAGRAM ............................................................................................................................. 10
6 SAFETY WARNINGS......................................................................................................................... 11
7 FOREWORD....................................................................................................................................... 12
8 SAFETY WARNINGS......................................................................................................................... 13
9 CONSIGNES DE SÉCURITÉ IMPORTANTES.................................................................................... 15
10 ISTRUZIONI IMPORTANTI PER LA SICUREZZA........................................................................... 17
11 WICHTIGE SICHERHEITSHINWEISE............................................................................................. 19
12 INSTRUCCIONES IMPORTANTES DE SEGURIDAD..................................................................... 21
13 UNPACKING AND INSPECTION.................................................................................................... 23
14 FIRST INSTALLATION RECOMMENDATIONS.............................................................................. 24
14.1 POWER SUPPLY CABLE .........................................................................................................................24
14.2 AC MAINS VOLTAGE SETTING (230 V / 115 V).....................................................................................24
14.3 FUSE REPLACEMENT.............................................................................................................................25
14.4 PROTECTION AGAINST LIGHTNING ....................................................................................................25
14.5 VENTILATION .........................................................................................................................................26
15 AUDIO AND MPX GENERAL SETTINGS ....................................................................................... 27
15.1 AUDIO INPUT IMPEDANCE....................................................................................................................27
15.2 MPX OUTPUT SETTINGS........................................................................................................................28
16 GENERAL DESCRIPTION.............................................................................................................. 30
16.1 REAR PANEL VIEW.................................................................................................................................30
16.2 FRONT PANEL SOCKETS AND SIGNALLINGS .....................................................................................32
17 AUDIO I/O WIRING......................................................................................................................... 33
17.1 ANALOG AUDIO INPUT..........................................................................................................................33
17.2 ANALOG AUDIO OUTPUT ......................................................................................................................33
17.3 AUDIO CABLING.....................................................................................................................................34
17.4 DIGITAL AUDIO INPUT...........................................................................................................................34
10.2.1 Converting between AES/EBU and S/PDIF interfaces..........................................................................34
17.5 DIGITAL AUDIO OUTPUT.......................................................................................................................34
17.6 DIGITAL AUDIO SYNCHRONIZATION INTERFACE............................................................................35
18 COMMUNICATION PORTS, AUDIO JACK AND GPI/O WIRING.................................................... 36
18.1 SERIAL PORT ...........................................................................................................................................36
18.2 USB PORTS...............................................................................................................................................37
10.2.1 INSTALLING USB DRIVERS ..............................................................................................................37
18.3 ETHERNET PORT*...................................................................................................................................39
18.4 GP INPUT INTERFACE ............................................................................................................................40
18.5 GP OUTPUT INTERFACE.........................................................................................................................42
18.6 FRONT HEADPHONE SOCKET...............................................................................................................43
18.7 MPX AND AUX CONNECTIONS.............................................................................................................44
19 INSTALLING THE REMOTE CONTROL SOFTWARE.................................................................... 45

INTRODUCTION ENG
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3 INTRODUCTION
Congratulations on your purchase of the Falcon 50 FM. The Axel Technology design team is confident you
will enjoy the outstanding performance of the DAP for many years. In case you are interested in technical
details, what follows is a brief outline of some of the key technologies in your new processor.
A brief overview
Relying on Axel Technology’s extensive know-how in audio processing techniques, the Falcon 50 FM has
been designed and built using a new approach that incorporates the most up-to-date components and
technologies. Its efficient design allows the Falcon 50 to produce top-level results in a cost-effective way.
The largest control set allows you to paint a truly unique and competitive on-air sound: from detailed and flat
to heavy and loud. Its exceptional audio quality is maintained even at extreme settings.
The largest connection capabilities
Whether your audio system contains analog, digital or both formats, the Falcon 50 FM can be configured to
fit in perfectly. A sophisticated module allows flexible switching between inputs, e.g. for emergency purpose.
Fail-safe operation is assured by an internal bypass on all the audio and MPX I/O circuits.
Two Composite Baseband Outputs are provided, each with independent level control. The MPX clipping
stage is user-enable and adjustable. MPX power can be limited accordingly to ITU R-BS 412 Specification.
Two serial RS232 ports, an USB port and a TCP/IP Ethernet connection (the latter available as an option)
permit remote control and monitoring from almost any location through the use of a standard PC and the
dedicated control software which comes with the unit.
User-friendly controls
Falcon 50 FM set-up is quick and easy, thanks to a wizard based on less/more controls. User-configurable
remote control functions (including preset programming) are available through optocoupled inputs. For more
convenience, a complete day-part automation is also completely self-contained.
Control from anywhere
The Falcon 50 can be remotely controlled, either from a locally attached computer, or from anywhere in the
world.
There are many ways to do this.
- Using Falcon 50’s IP connection or modem connection you can control processor from any where in the
world using the provided remote Control Software.
- Falcon 50’s serial and USB interfaces allow you to connect any PC running the provided remote Control
Software.
- Falcon50’s programmable TTL inputs give you six “contact closure” inputs that can be used to control
certain functions, like ‘switch audio input’ or ‘change audio curve’.
State-of-art circuitation and plenty of headroom
Falcon 50’s analog and digital audio input and output circuits are state-of-the-art for high quality, low noise
and low distortion audio. The processor’s levels on analog input assure plenty of headroom for all
applications without the need for audio limiters. Professional quality AES/EBU digital audio input and output,
with internal high-quality rate converters are standard.

INTRODUCTION ENG
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Built-in automatic audio changeover
The Falcon 50 features two inputs: analog and digital.
The selection between inputs may be achieved manually or the programme source may be forced to either
input Analog or input Digital by activating one of six GP Input, accordingly to Source Selection menu.
The Falcon 50 also incoporates an audio detector stage, which can be used to automatically select between
two identical stereo programme paths (Analog or Digital), in the event the main program runs under-
threshold (set at – 35 dB), extinguishes or the difference on levels between Left and Right channels exceeds
20 dB.
Once the Falcon 50 has switched from Main to Stand-by input, the Main input may be kept monitored till the
Main audio input resumes. Also when Main audio appears, a settable time may be awaited before inverse
switching (from B to A) is performed.
OPTIONAL FEATURES DESCRIPTION
TCP –IP The TCP IP interface allows users to view/take control of Falcon 50 from any
Windows machine networked with the processor.
NOTE: the present manual describes the processor in its complete 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.

INTRODUCTION ENG
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3.1 APPROACHING AN FM AUDIO PROCESSOR
An audio processor is a nonlinear process, that is, even if the ouput signal might be slightly more attractive in
respect to the input signal, it has surely more distortion respect to the input.
For this reason, always try to use the cleanest possible audio material to get the cleanest ouput audio and
remember that the correct adjustment of a multiband processor is a quite complicated task, so, don’t be
frustrated if after thirty minutes you still cannot get your sound.
Remember also that “extreme loudness” settings are well suited only for certain kinds of music (pop, disco,
rap…) while are awful for other kinds of music; so always adapt the processor to the format of your radio.
General settings often sound well with most music formats even if they have not the same loudness.
The output sound is always a trade-off between loudness distortion and cleaness and you must choose the
trade-off between them according your taste.
Another last tip is that you might avoid the use of high stereo expander levels expecially with low bitrate
MP3s; MPEG compression puts a lot of “trash” into the stereo image so, often, enhancing the stereo image
you could enhance just “MPEG noise” (a sort of “tingling” you may hear at medium-high frequencies).
Last recommendation is to use a good quality audio board with a “flat” output, that is no further bass or treble
equalization must be added. This is the only way you may expect to have a good peak control and a
satisfactory audio quality.

INSTALLATION CONSIDERATIONS ENG
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4 INSTALLATION CONSIDERATIONS
Installing the Falcon 50 requires a bit more than mounting it in the rack, connecting some cables, and then
putting it on the air.
Among the factors you should consider are:
1. Monitor Location. You should have a good location in which the system, once on the air, can be
monitored. We suggest a good tuner, with good reception, feeding a set of studio monitor speakers
to be sufficient. While car radio and other “typical listener situation” settings are important, they
should not be the main reference points.
2. Good, Clean Source Material. If you are using poor source material, or poor performing playback
equipment, you will not get maximum sonic benefit from your equipment. Anomalies that you
perceive to be processing problems, may be source problems that the processing is exaggerating!
Make sure that you start out with a good first step - good source material!
3. Mic Processing. This may appear trivial, but the perceived sound of “live” voices over the air can
change dramatically with different processing systems. Whatever the effect your on-air microphones
will probably change when you change your processing. If you utilize mic processing, you may have
to adjust it to suit the operation of the new processing system. Most announcers develop a “comfort
zone” with respect to the sound of their voice over the air. When that “comfort zone” is changed or
modified, the common response is that something is wrong. Mic processing can be a very important
part of your overall station sound.
4. Operating Levels. This is another simple area where trouble can develop. Make sure the input and
output levels of the processor are at the operating at the proper level within your system. If you are
comparing the Falcon 50 with other processors, be sure they are operating at the same levels. Your
modulation monitor is an important tool in any processing comparison.
Equipment internal Clock is powered by a capacitor instead of a traditional battery. The capacitor keeps the
clock operating and protects the system memory to prevent the loss of stored programs during power failure
around one week long (depending on the environmental conditions). Capacity charge needs at least 30’ of
normal operation. Clock tolerance might amount to about 1 sec per day.
A correct installation and an optimum level setting are crucial for a good operating and the exploitation of all
the equipment capabilities. Please pay attention to all notes contained in the user manual.

BLOCK DIAGRAM ENG
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5 BLOCK DIAGRAM
OPTIONAL
32,44.1,48,96
KHz
47.5Ks/sec
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Limiter
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30Hz
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AGC
Monitor
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Opto Interface
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