Zaxcom Nomad User manual

Nomad Preliminary Manual
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• Zaxcom Inc.
230 West
Pa rkway Po m pto n Plains New Je rsey 07444

Table of contents
Overview ......................................................................................................... .. ................ 3
Microphone preamplifier.................................................... ... .. ......... .. ............... . .. ..... 3
Auto Trim . ... ............. .. ....................................................................................................... 4
Input limiters......................................................................................................................4
General graphic use r interf ace operation . .. .... ............ .......... ..... ...... ..... .... .. ...... ..... ... ....... 5
Powering Nom ad ...................... ... .. ... ......................................................................... .. ....... 5
Software up dates................................................................................................................ 6
Boot-loader prog r ammi ng ,.....".....................................................................................6
Met ers.................................................................. .... ....... ... .. ... ........ . ............ . ... . ........ 7
Home menus ......... .. .............. ..... ........................................................................................ 7
C hann el S etu p ....... ... .. ... ...................... ...... . ... ........ .. .... .................................................... .. .. 8
To ne Generation ................................................................................................................ 8
Main H eadp hone Monitoring (1 /4 inch jack) . .. .. ....... .... .............................. ... ... .. ............... 9
Headphone 2 monitoring (3.5 mm jack) .................. .. ............................................ ... .......... 9
Re cording .......................................................................................................................... 10
Media selection ....... , ..... . ..... . ...... .......................................................................... ....... ..10
Transp ort controls.......................................... .. ... ......... .. .... ........ .. .......................... 10
Pri mary card rec ord in g.................. ... ............................... .. ........................................... 11
Mirror card recording ..................... ... ........................................ .... ............................... 12
Main Menu...................................................................................................................... .. 13
Meta Data Menu.............................................................................................................. 13
Slate Display .. ... . . ... .. .............. ... ......... .. ...... .. .... .......................... .... ...................... .. . 14
Record Enabl es .................................................................................................................. 14
Fader Assign .................................................................................................................. .. 15
Card / Mirror Setu p Menu .... ............... ... ....................... ....... .... ....... .............. ... 15
Mirror CF mode ........ .. ......... ...... ... .. .... ............ ..... ........ ... . .. ................ ........... .............. 16
AUX REC MODE ........................................................................................................... 16
AIRMA IL .. .................................................. ... ............................... .. .......... .. ................ 16
WR ITE . C5 V FILE .......................................................................................... .. .............. 16
FOLDER .............................. .. ....... .. ... ............................................................... .. .......... .. . 16
PRIMARY CF MENU ........................................................................... .... ...................... 17
MIRRO R CF MENU .........................................................................................................17
Mode Menu ............ .. ........................................... .. .. .. ....... .. ... ........................................... 18
I/O config ur ation......................... ................................ ... .. ..................................... 18
Memory Menu .................................................................................... .. ............................ 19
Nomad Eng ineering Setup ........................................................................... .. ................... 19
Headphone #2 VOL .......................................................................................................20
Set ti me and date.......................... .. .. .............. ... ........ ... .. . .. ............................. 20
Zaxnet Setup .......................................................................... .. ... ............................... 20
limiter En able ............................................................................. .. ............................... 21
Output Bus and Card limiter men us ......................................................................... . 21
T ra ck N ames .... ..... .......................................................... ... ........................................... 22
Monitor mem ory na mes ............................................................................................... 22

Warnings .. ......................... 23
Input Levels ................................................................ ..
...................................... 23
I nte rnal and Ex t ernal slate level ad jus t ........................... .................. .. ................... 24
Output Lev el s.............................. .. .......... ..................... ............................................. 24
XLR 1-4 and TA5 1-6 o utp ut bus leve ls .. .... .................. .. ...................................... .24
Mono a nd tap e out levels. .... ..................... ............. .................. ...... .. ....... 24
Prefader effects................... .. ............. ... .......... .. ............................................. 24
Tr ans port Keys ( Sh ifted/U ns hifted)............................................... .. . ... ..................... .... 25
T im e Code ..... ...... .................... .. ................. .. .................................................... .. .......... ... 25
Bus Routing . .. .. .. .............................................................. ... ........................................... .. 26
P re Fad er Listen .................... ..... ................. ..... .................. .. .......... .. ...................... 27
Com and Slate fun cti ons ............................ .. ................................. .. ...... .... ....................... 28
ENGjEFP bag operation ........ ...... .. .. .................................................................................. 28
10 cha nne l mix op e ra tion .. ........................................................................................... .. 30
Card ope rati on ............... .. ......... .. .............................................................. ... ................... 30
Nomad pin outs............. .. ......................... .... ..................................................................... 31
All lAS ma le input and output connectors................................................................... 31
All XlR i np uts and outputs .. ........ ... .... ................................................ .. ..................... .. 31
Mono a nd Tape out ........... .. ................................... ... ....................... .. . .... ..................... 32
All H ead phone O ut s.......................................... .. ...................................... .. ................ 32
Exter nal sla te mic in ...................... .. .............................................................................. 32
Hirose power input ..................................................................................................... 32
Specifications . ... ..................................................... .. ............... ... .. ...... .... .... . .. ............ .. ...... 33
2

Overview
Nomad is anew concept in location sound recording and mixing. It re defines the
function of bag audio sy ste m. A simplified user interface eliminat es the need for
hardware trim controls, pan and PFlswitches. Nom ad eliminates any possibility
of clipping analog inpu ts ; it provides wireless time code transmission, wireless
IFB transmission, and wireless remote control to Zaxc om wireless units. Nomad
also featu
res a visu al slate and provides metering, mon ito ring and mixing
capabilities far beyond any other current
multi track mixe r/r ecorder
combination. All
of thi s is in a package that is smaller, lighter and cons ume s up to
50% less power than current solutio ns .
Nomad can record up to 12 audio trac ks and mix audio for a variety of
applications. While Nomad has been d esi gned for use in the fil m and television
industries, its exceptional audio quality and featu re set makes it a clear choice
for any application that requires high resolution audio mixing and recording. 10
analog inputs and 8
AES inputs may be mixed to 8 output buss es as well as 2
separate headphone
output bu sses. The unit is designed to be the highest
reliability re cor der available. Nomad records on all solid state media, it h as very
low power consumption this makes the Nomad the best choice for location
sound recordi
ng.
In addition featur es like Zaxnet time code tran sm ission, wireless IFB
transmission, wireless microphone remote contro l, visual sl ate display, MP3
recording and wireless file transfer make the Nomad a unique product that will
set a new standard for location sound recording.
Microphone preamplifier
Nomad contains six mic/line level inputs. Ea ch input is individually configurable.
A super
low distortion an d super low noi se amplifier provides studio like
performance in a portable pack age . A hardware b ase d hi gh pass filter is used to
limit distortion due to low frequency vibrations an d wind no ise. The input
dynamic range is 135 DB. And eac h input utilizes two A·D converters to achieve
the unprecede nte d dynamiC range. If enabled a soft knee compressor
automatically normalizes the in put dyn am ic range to a more typi cal 115 DB. This
compression
sy stem uses a look ahead architecture that provides the most
natural sound available in a location
mixer recorder. Nomads inp ut architecture
is a transformer free design. Transformers contribute to a la r ge amount of low
frequency distortion that is not desirable under any ci rcumstan ces .
3

Auto Trim
Auto-t rim eliminat es the need for hardware trim knobs. The au to-t rim mode is
enabled in the Mode selection menu. When enabled, auto -trim will route the
input trim function to the menu knob based on the last fader kn ob that w as
adjusted. In ma ny of the home menus an input meter with a floating diamond
will show the current trim setting of the chann el that will be adjusted by the
a uto tr im function wh en the encoder is adjuste d. A blue LED indicator a lamp
lo ca ted next to each fader points to the channel that is being adjusted by Au to-
trim. When Auto-trim is not selected the channel setup menu is us ed to adjust
the input level
of each of the six main input channels. The floating meter
diamond indicates the relative position of the input trim adjus tm ent.
Input limiters
When mixing for film and TV production it is desirable to record audio with the
most dynamic range possible. The pr oblem is that actors can vary their
performance in a way th at is unexpected and can cau se input clipping and limite r
distortion.
In an eff ort to provide a quantum leap forward over existing mixing
technology Zax com designed Nomad so th at the need to utilize the input trim
contr ols and input limiters, to pre vent the input preamp disto rt ion typical of
unexpected high levels of audio, is unnecessary.
Nom
ad has a very unique input structure. The input dynamic range of Nomad is
135 dB . Therefore it is impossible to clip Noma ds input.
In pr actical use input s are se t so tha t amicrophone input peaks at -20dB FS to -
lOdB FS as is the case in any typical mixer.
Nomad will allow
an input to exceed the typ ica l OdBFS range by 20dB (FS+ 20dB)
wi thout any risk of dipping. With 135 dB of input dynamic ra nge, 30 db of h ea d
room and afloating point mixing system, the need f or any use of the trim co ntrol
dur ing normal op eration is eliminated. Faders are all th at is needed to control
the level of an inp ut ch annel mixed to an output or recorded trac k.
Even though the tr aditional input limiter is not needed, a soft knee compress or is
pr ovided on each mic/line input and each output and recorded bus .
4

General graphic user interface operation
All menu functions of n oma d are accessed by pu sh ing in the menu knob
Adjustments are made
by a combination of turni ng and pushing in the menu
knob. P ushi ng in the headphone knob will act as a back key taki ng Nomad bac k
one level. Nomad's menu system is configured in th e sa me way as a
conventional mp3 player. A right pOinting arrow ass ociated with any menu item
indicates a pa th to another menu. Any selectable functi on will be highlighted
with ablue background.
Po wering Nomad
N om ad is designed to be pow ered f rom external DC voltage. A nominal volt age
of 12 volts is recommended. The unit will draw approximately 500 milliamps at
12 volts. The maximum allowable input voltage is 18 volts. Nomad's inte rnal
battery functions as an un·in terru ptible power source. If internal ba tteries are
loaded,
six nickel metal hydride or lithium batteries mandatory as the internal
power source.
Never use alkaline batteries in
the Nomad. They will o nly last a few min utes
and theywill get very
hot .
Nomad will
ke ep the internal ba tteries char ge d as long as the internal charging
circuit
is en abled in the engineering setup menu. If non rechargeable batteries
are utili
zed the cha rging circuit must be disabled or damage to Nomad may
result.
The charging circuit will take up to 24 hours to return the batteries to a
full charg e. It was designed to keep the internal batteri es ready for use when
external power
is lost. Nomad's intern al battery can be quickly changed if they
are drained by continuous use.
Nomad will dynamically adjust its power consumpti
on based on the amount of
inputs and outputs utilized. Due to noma ds efficient design very little if any heat
is generated by nomad.
5

Software updates
The Nomad software is easily updated. The operating system is "bri ck" proof . To
update Nomad copy the current software from the Zaxc om w eb site to a
compact flash card. T
he card should have a F AT3 2 f ormat from a PC / MAC or
Zax co m recorder product . Insert th e card in the mirror slot. W ith the pow er off,
pr ess and hold the "* /lkey, wh ich is located between the headph one and me nu
knob. Now sw it ch on the power. After the display screen come s up the ... ,11 key
can be released. The Nomad will find the software update on the mirr or card and
begin
the upd ate process. It is impo rtant to have a rel ia ble power source while
the unit is updating. Th e s oftware version ca n be view ed in the about Nomad
menu accessed in
the main menu.
T
he b oot loader search es for the first progr am file it finds on th e card.
When placing a
pro gram file onto a card using a PC or MAC be careful to
delete an y older nomad pro gram files on the card BEFORE co ping the
new program file to the CF ca rd. Th is will prevent the nomad fr om aCcid entally
finding the old program file inadvertently (even though it was deleted).
It may be wise to always format the CF ca rd wi th a MAC, PC or Nomad before
copying a nomad program file
to the CF ca rd.
Boot-Loaderprogramming
The Nomad bo ot loader (c u rrently version 12 ) should never need to be updated.
If instruct ed by the factory, the boot loa der can be updated by entering the
"advanced setup menu" from the ENG setup menu. Follow the instructions on
the Nomad screen to update the boot loader.
The bo
ot loader (curren tly V12) is a small program that runs when the unit
pow ers on.
It normally reads the main program from ROM and executes it.
If no program is fond in internal ROM the bo ot loader will atte mpt to bo ot fr om
a program on the CF mi r ror card autom atically.
6

Meters
00:05:08:05 MON l
TL 1111 :02:03
-.
IHI
IHI !Il11II.
1111
1111
Nomad meters are the most co mpr ehensive of any location recorder there are
several selectable meteri ng options to ch oose from. Th e co lor of the meter
under the ·20 level indicators will indicate the source type being metered. Ught
blue
for input, Green fo r output busses and Purple for recorded tr acks . The track
name
is indicated within the meter it self to aid in channel identification. If a
c
omp re ss or is en ga ge d a wh ite gain reduction indica tio n will appear at the left
side of the meter jf the compression threshold has been exceeded.
Home menus
ST OP 00: 01:06 :0980:05:08:05 "ONI
MONl U.N! l OK Tt ,.,: «Z'.«I
..
.- .. NII 1 QF n ., .~
T lt1 ,t:: 13 ~
.." .JIll
1I '~I ".' ! : I !D~
I" I m t . , ·~
--=
Press and hold the menu knob while pressing the "C O M" b utton or the "S LT"
button will toggle t hro ugh the metering menus. Eight different home menus are
available. Two menus can be stored
for fast acc ess, one un der the "CO M" and
one "SLT" keys.
Rep eated operation of the "COM" butt on or the "SLT" b utton
will cycle thr ough the available home m en us.
7

Channel Setup
CHI SETUP
TYPE Mle
DELAY
OFF
HPF OFF
PH ASE NORMAL
[ t LIM
OFF
PHAN TOM OFF
HOTCH1 OFF
••
.,. .,.
·' .. i
Pressing the setup key will enter the cha nnel setup menu. When in the channel
setup menu, pressing any ofthe six multifunction ke ys located near each control
knob will sele ct the input channels one through ten. An input meter is provided
in each setup menu to help adjust trim in each channel. P ush an d rotate the
menu knob
to select and cha nge each channel input function. Channel inp ut
functions include: input trim , input type , channel d el ay, high pass filtef, phase,
compres
so r lim iter, phantom power select and notch filters. Use the he ad phone
back b
utton to return to the home menu. Notch filters have separate On/Off and
frequency
ad justment s. Notch frequencies can be ent ered by util iz ing the
function keys on the nomad as well as the menu kn ob.
Tone Generation
R3 R4 seT
x
X0
X0
X0
X 0
oUT1
UT2
UT3
UT4
UT 5
UT 6
XO
AUX BUS ASSIGN
Noma ds tone gene rator is individually routable to each output and recordable
channel. Tone
is ass ig ned by sel ecting a tone cross point in the bus menu. A ''1''
indicates the tone cross point co lumn. To enable tone generati on hold down the
menu knob, then pre ss the setup b utton . Pr ess ing and holding the setup b utton
for approximately one second will also enable or disable the tone. Tone le vel and
frequency
ca n be adjusted in the Engineering Setup menu.
8

Main H ead phone Moni tor i ng ( 1/4 i nc h j ac k)
Nomad's m ain h ea d phone h as 12 Mon itor Memories. Nomad ca n be set up to
monitor any combination of card trac ks , output bus se s, or retur n s. If selected
wireless microphone receivers can be
monitored directly thr ou gh the Zaxn et
Sy ste m on Nomad 6, 8 and 12.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
I I
C RD
X
OUT
L
R ET
J I
CRD
X OUT R
RE T
J ZA XHET
To set up the mo nitor memory se lecti on pr ess m enu knob and he ad ph one kn ob
at the same time. Use t he menu kn ob to select the desired monitor cr oss po int s
to change. Any combination of monit or cr os s pO int s c an be enga ge d depending
on user
pr eference. Pressing the headphone switch will cycle thro ugh all of th e
a va ilab le mon itor memori es . E ac h of the mon it or me mori es can be individually
labeled
thro ugh the en gineering setup menu. Nomad contains the most
co mpre hensive h ea d ph one monitoring system of any lo ca tion sound mix er .
Pr es s an d hold the h ea dphone knob to escape the headphone 1 rou tin g menu.
H ea dphone 2monitoring (3.5 mm jack)
i
X
-R
ET
i I
O UT
HPH
e RO
R
2
Nomad provides a se conda ry headphone stereo output bus. Th e cr oss p oin t
selection is made in the bus routing menu. Th e level control for the headphone 2
output
is located in the ENG s etu p menu. The me nu above shows outp uts 1 and
2
sen t to headphone out 2 left and right isolated.
9