SoundCraft Series 200 User manual

-USER MANUAL-

SERIES200UserManual
Issue1
1stJune1983

INTRODUCTION07
THE INPUT MODULE09
THEMASTERSECTION13
8-TRACK RECORDING:
OPERATION17
PLUGGING-UP 21
SUMMARYOFCONNECTORSUSED25
WIRING26
INTERFACELEVELS29
FUSERATINGS31
POWERSUPPLY31
GLOSSARYOFTERMS32

INTRODUCTION
ThisUserManualisdesignedtobeofvaluebothtotheoperatorand
thetechnician.Fortheoperatorthereareflowdiagramsandline
drawingsandsuggestionsforhowtoworkandplug-uptheconsole,
aswellasa detaileddescriptionofallthefunctionsandsockets.For
thetechniciantherearecircuitdiagrams,descriptionsof
modificationsfordifferentoperatinglevelsand(foranyonewitha
Series200,)generalwiringpracticesuggestions.
Belowisa briefdescriptionofthemainpoints,andthenthereare
separatesectionsforthemainareasasdetailedintheindex.
BriefDescription
TheSoundcraftSeries200Consolemaybeusedfor2,4,& 8 track
recording, andforpublicaddressormonitorapplications.The
consolehas4 mainbuses,4 auxiliaryoutputs,dedicatedmixoutputs
(left& right)andfullmonitoringfacilitiesfor8 tracks.Themonitor
sectionmayalsobeusedforeffectsreturnsduring mixdown. All
inputsareelectronicallybalancedtoensureverylownoise.
Theuseofelectronicbalancingreducesthedegradationofsignal
qualitywhichisintroducedbymoreconventionaltransformer
coupleddesigns,ensuringsuperiortransientresponse,minimal
phaseshiftandexcellentcommonmoderejectionevenathigh
frequencies.
Themainoutputsare"GroundCompensated"tominimisehumor
interferenceindifferingenvironments,whereearthingrulesetc.may
notalwayshavebeenadheredto.
TheMicrophoneinputimpedanceisgreaterthan2Kohms,whichwill
notcauseanyloadingeffectsonnormallyusedstudiomicrophones.
Thehighlevellineinputhasaninputimpedanceofgreaterthan10K
ohms, whichishighenoughtoensurethatitwillinterfacewithall
normalstudioperipheralequipmentwithoutcausingloadingeffects.
Meteringisvia4 VUsreadinggroupoutputs1-4.Meters3 and4 are
switchableasa pairtoreadthemonitorsource.Thismaybeeither
thestereomixbus,2-trackreturnoranyPFLorAFLsignal.
Thepowersupplyisanexternalunitsupplyingtheconsolewith 17
voltspositiveandnegativerails,anda +48voltrailforphantom
powerofmicrophones.

® THEINPUTMODULE
InputSection
Theinputtothismodulemaybefromoneoftwosocketsontherear
panel: a balanced Mic input,ora balancedLinelevelinput.The
selectionisdonewiththeswitch LI.
When LI isUP,theinputisMIC.
When LI isDOWN,theinputisLINE.
INPUT GAINisusedtoensurethatthesource,whetherMicorLine
sufficiently"drives"themodule.Ifthesourcesignalistoo high,
causingdistortion,thelevelmaybeattenuatedtomatchtheworking
levelofthemodule.Ifthesourcesignalistoolow,itmaybeboosted
toreachtheworkinglevelofthemodule.
Toachievetheoptimumworkinglevelforthemodule,andforthe
console,firstsetthefader(s)andtherelevantgroupfadertounity
gain, andthenadjusttheInputgain(s)sothatyouaresending
sufficientleveltotapeforoptimumsignaltonoise,without
introducingdistortion.
Sometimes,whenusingtheMicinput,theattenuationobtainedwith
InputGainofhighsourcelevels,suchasfromhighoutputcapacitor
microphones,isnotenough.A PADbuttonisprovidedwhich
introducesa further20dBofattenuationintotheMicpathonly.
TheEqualiser
Theequaliseravailableoneachmoduleisoffourband,fixed
frequencydesign.Therearefourcontrols,eachwithanOFFdetent
toalloweasyzeroing.
HFProvides 15dB ofboostorcutat 12Khz. Thecontrolhasa
shelvingaction,whichmeansthatitalsobooststhe
frequenciesaboveit.
HIMIDProvides 15dB ofboostorcutat5Khz.Thecontrolhasa
peakaction,whichmeansthatitonlyboostsa tightbandof
frequenciesaround5Khz.Theresponsecurvelookslikea
bell.
LOMIDProvides15dBofboostorcutat250Hz.Thecontrolalsohas
apeakaction.
LF Provides15dBofboostorcutat60Hz.Thecontrolhasa
shelvingactionwhichbooststhefrequenciesbelow60Hzas
well.
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© AuxiliarySends
Eachmodulemaysendtoeachofthe4 auxiliarybuses,thelevelto
eachbusbeingcontrolledbycontrolsAUX1,2,3 and4.
Thesendstoauxiliarybuses1 and2 aretakenbeforethefader
(PRE)butwouldbeCUTifthemodulewasturnedOFFbythe
On/Offswitch.
Thesendstobuses3 and4 aretakenafterthefaderandafterthe
On/Offswitch(POST),sothatifyoupullthefaderdown,thelevelto
youreffectwillalsogodown.WithPREsends1 and2 thelevelto
youreffectiscontrolledsolelybyAUX1 and2,andisnotaffected
bythefader.
LevelControlandRouting
Theoveralllevelofthemoduleiscontrolledbythelongthrowfader
andisroutedviathePanpottoEITHERgroups1 and2,ORgroups
3and4.Tosendtogroup1 only,forinstance,youwouldhardpan
leftandleavetheroutingbuttonup.
Groups1 and3 correspondtotheleftsideofthepanpot,and
groups2 and4 correspondtotherightside.Ifthepanpotiskeptat
itscentredetent,anequalamountofsignalwillbefedtobothsides;
ie. ifgroups1 and2 areselected,anequalamountwillbesentto
each.
Theroutingbuttonroutestogroups1 and2 whenitisUP,andto3
and4 whenitisDOWN.
PFLandON
TheONbutton,whenpressedDOWN,lightsthegreenLedand
switchesthemoduleon.WhenthebuttonisUP,thesignalpathis
CUTafterthereturnfrominsertpoint,butbeforethefader.ThePFL
functionisunaffected.
ThePFLbutton,whenDOWN,soloesthesignalfromthatmoduleon
themonitor(headphoneoutput),alongwithanyothermoduleswhich
havetheirPFLbuttondown.A redmastersoloLedwilllight
whenevera PFLisselected,andthePFLsignalistakenafterthe
insertreturn,butBEFOREtheONswitch.
Peak
ApeakLedwilllightshouldthesignalinthemoduleexceed
+ 16dBm. Thisisatleast4dBBELOWclipping.Thepeakdetector
readsthelevelBEFOREtheinsertsend.