Unika NBB-0202 User manual

UNiKA Electronic Co., Ltd.
www.unikapro.com
6F, No.168, XinHu 2nd Road,
NeiHu Dist., Taipei 11494,
Taiwan (R.O.C.)
☏ [phone]
✉ [email protected]
NBB-0202 Networked Audio Transceiver
Overview:
The NBB-0202 bidirectionally transmits 2x2 audio to and from Dante audio network. It
accepts wide range of signal from MIC to LINE level while its output capability meets the
industrial standard up to 24dBu.
The NBB-0202 is equipped with two RJ-45 Ethernet ports so that several NBB-0202 can be
cascaded, i.e. in daisy-chaining, in the same network link. Also, it can be powered by either
PoE from Ethernet switch or 48V from external power adapter.
Features:
Dante-enabled networked Audio Receiver and Transmitter
Streaming audio in robust standard Ethernet cable (a.k.a., Digital Snake)
Easily organize and expand network topology with Ethernet switches
Uncompressed 24-bit PCM coding with sample rate up to 96KHz
Two RJ-45 ports make Daisy-chain cascading feasible
Powered by either PoE or 48V adapter
Gain or Attenuate control for each channel
Phantom power engagement control per input channel
Signal clip indicators for both inputs
XLR Combo sockets for both XLR and TRS phone plugging
Routing and other configuration are set with Dante Controller software
Rackmount kit included

Description:
The NBB-0202 adopts Audinate Dante networking technology for
audio transceiving, and is very network friendly with unlimited
flexibility in topology of deployment. It supports up to Layer 3 of
IEEE 802.3 network standard, enabling you to organize your audio network with the on-the-
shelf Ethernet switches or to immediately transport streaming audio by taking advantage of
your existing installed network facility with no hassle. Even better, every NBB-0202 comes
with two Ethernet ports which allow you to physically cascade several NBB-0202s in the same
network link. Accompanying with Ethernet switches, this capability helps NBB-0202 gaining
flexibility and expanding territory in device deployment in audio networking.
Audio routing among each NBB-0202 and all the other Dante-enabled devices is configured
via computer with dedicated Dante Controller software which is available free from Audinate
website. With Dante Virtual Soundcard software, you are even able to have your DAW
software direct record/play stereo streaming audio from/to NBB-0202.
The audio input/output interfaces of NBB-0202 are fully met the requirement of professional
audio industrial. Audio is encoded/decoded with the latest and uncompressed 24-bit PCM
encoder/decoder with sample rate in 44.1KHz, 48KHz, or 96KHz. The NBB-0202 outputs are
peculiarly buffered with amplifiers of high-rail-voltage which can drive the lines up to 24dBu.
Besides the high-level of drive capability, the output of NBB-0202 can also be attenuated to
meet the narrower reception range of inputs of some semi-professional devices. Both inputs of
NBB-0202 accept signal of level from mic to line with individual gain and phantom power
control. The NBB-0202 is also equipped with a pair of clip indicators for both the inputs to
warn audio technician any signal overload on inputs.
The NBB-0202 is assembled in a sturdy metal chassis with elegant style of front panel. A set
of rackmount kit is included in the package so that you can mount the NBB-0202 in standard
19" rack.

Getting Started Guide:
Powering
The NBB-0202 can be powered by either,
PoE from Ethernet switch with PoE PSE capability, or
48V power adapter which should be included in your device package.
It is O.K. for you to power your NBB-0202 with both PoE and 48V adapter simultaneously.
However, since the operating voltage of PoE is usually higher than 48V, very likely your NBB-
0202 will sink power only from PoE if you do so.
Setting
Once your NBB-0202 is powered, you can configure your NBB-0202 by direct connecting it
to your computer or via the Ethernet switch. That is to say that the NBB-0202 can direct talk to
your computer or via switch. See picture below for an illustration.

All the routing assignment and device configuration are set via Dante Controller software
which is available free from the following Audinate webpage,
www.audinate.com/products/software/dante-controller
User's guide of Dante Controller can be found on the following webpage,
www.audinate.com/resources/technical-documentation
Besides the routing assignment, mostly, you should set the operating sample rate of your
NBB-0202 to meet the sample rate of your whole Dante network. Basically, all the devices
in the same Dante network should be synced to the same sample rate. You do not need to
worry about the bit-depth of coding of your audio stream in network. Although the NBB-0202
encodes/decodes audio in 24-bit PCM stream, it automatically does bit-depth converting when
it streams audio to/from other Dante-enabled devices manipulating audio data in different bit-
depth.
By default, the NBB-0202 device transmits one or a couple of channels of audio in flow to
each remote device respectively. The NBB-0202 supports merely 2 audio flows
simultaneously. When you need the audio from NBB-0202 to be transmitted to more than 2
devices, you can assign the channels needed to be transmitted to more than 2 remote devices in
a multicast flow by clicking the multicast button in the device view window in Dante
Controller. A multicast flow is virtually distributed as broadcasting in Dante Audio Network so
that more than 2 devices can recept the audio flow.
Usually, UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair) Cat.5e cable should be good
enough for all the network installation. However, STP (Shielded
Twisted Pair) Cat.5e cable is strongly recommended if you plan to
route the cable through noisy environment. The foil or braided
screens in STP cable can provide great noise immunity from
electromagnetic interference around. Also, make sure the EIA/TIA-568B standard is fully
followed for the RJ-45 plug wiring.

Front Panel
To accommodate all the variety of field installation, the front panel of NBB-0202 is equipped
with rich control facilities as follows,
1. The Att control knobs can be used to attenuate output down to -20dB from nominal
maximum.
2. The Gain control knobs can accommodate itself to accept all kind of sources with level
from mic to line.
3. The +48V button to control whether to deliver phantom power to power source device or
not.
4. The clip indicator flashes to warns audio technicians if corresponded input is overloaded.
5. The SYS LED indicates system activity,
Red: system booting
Green: system ready
6. The SYNC LED indicates the PTP clocking status,
Green: PTP is synced
Amber: PTP is syncing
Red: PTP error
Green & flashing: the device is elevated to PTP clock master.

Rear Panel
There are two Ethernet ports for Dante networking and control setting. The two Ethernet ports
actually belongs to the two physical ports in the internal mini switch in NBB-0202. This
network switch capability allows several NBB-0202s to be cascaded in the same Ethernet link
for network expanding. You can also take advantage of the cascading feature to bypass Dante
audio to other Dante-enabled devices such our NBB-04R/NBB-04T or NBB-1616.
The NBB-0202 can be powered by either of these two ports, provided the the Ethernet cable
on it is from a Ethernet switch with PoE PSE capability. Please be informed that NBB-0202
does not have the PoE PSE capability to power the next cascaded PoE PD device, although
itself can be powered by PoE.
Besides powered by the Ethernet switch with PoE PSE capability, the NBB-0202 can also be
powered by a 48V power adapter. We ship NBB-0202 with a 48V adapter in the package in
case you don't have Ethernet switch with PoE PSE capability.
A default button under the 48V jack is used to restore the settings of NBB-0202 to factory
default. Press and hold the switch when you powering up the device will restore the device to
default state. Once you see both SYS and SYNC LEDs red, you can then re-power the device
for the default settings to take effect. The cap of the default button is sunk to panel to avoid
your accidentally triggering the action of default restoring.
The 0dB level is nominal to 24dBu in both input and output. That means that the NBB-0202
can accept input level up to 24dBu from the balanced XLR or TRS phone plug; while it can
also drive the output up to 24dBu via the balanced XLR. To get flat frequency response, please
be informed that the balanced XLR outputs are all direct and transformerless coupling. Please
do not short either pin 2 or pin 3 of any output XLR to pin 1 of itself if the output is
destinated at unbalanced input. You can, however, simply float pin 3 and drive the unbalanced
input with pin 2 and pin 1 merely.
Bottom Panel
This is where you can find the serial number and the factory assigned
Dante default name of your NBB-0202. The Dante name of your
device can be changed to whatever you like by using Dante
Controller software.

Applications:
Direct Connecting to Notebook or Console
One of the beauty of Dante is that you do not need a DHCP server or router in between to
establish all kind of communication among different Dante-enabled devices. You can even
connect your UNiKA Dante-enabled devices to your computer or digital console without an
Ethernet switch in between. Since all UNiKA Dante-enabled devices actually have a mini
switch built-in, you are also able to cascade several of your devices in the same link by taking
advantage of the two RJ-45 ports on your UNiKA Dante-enabled devices.

Connecting via Ethernet Switch
Once your audio network grows up to turn complex, you may want to add Ethernet switches in
your audio network so that you can better manage the cabling among all your Dante-enabled
devices. For a large-scale system, you may even have several Ethernet switches in your audio
network. The switches, including the mini switch in UNiKA Dante-enabled devices, do cause
propagation delay but fortunately every one of them only contribute delay in several tens of
microseconds.

Connecting via Switch with PoE PSE Capability
The NBB-0202 supports to be powered by Ethernet PoE, so that you don't need a 48V wall
adapter if your NBB-0202 direct connects to an Ethernet switch with PoE PSE capability.
Also, you are allowed have have more than one console in your audio network, but keep in
mind that only one of them can be set to be a clock master for the whole network. The clock
master provides word clock for audio framing synchronization. All the other Dante-enabled
devices in the same network should be synced to the same master clock.