FCS 966 User Manual
Important Safety Information - Read this carefully This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the following European and international Standards ffor Electromagnetic Compatibility and Electrical Safety: Radiated Emissions (EU): RF Immunity (EU): Electrical Safety (EU): Electrical Safety (USA): Electrical Safety (CAN): Radiated Emissions (USA): EN55103-1 EN55103-2 EN60065 UL60065 CAN/CSA-E60065-00 FCC part 15 Class B (1996) (1996) (2002) (2003) (2003) Before using the appara
Contents Contents 1.0 Mechanical installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 2.0 Unpacking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 3.0 Mains Power Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 3.1 Mains Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 4.0 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 5.
Contents 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 Application examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 General Equalisation - problem solving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Feedback reduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Room equalisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Uses for the HP Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mechanical Installation 1.0 Mechanical installation A vertical rack space of 3U (5 1/4" - 133.5mm high) is required, with a depth of 190mm, excluding connectors. Ventilation gaps are unnecessary. If the unit is likely to undergo extreme vibration through extensive road trucking and touring, the unit must be supported at the rear and/or sides to lessen the stress on the front mounting flange.
Unpacking Mains Power Connection 2.0 Unpacking As part of the BSS system of quality control, we check every product carefully before packing to ensure that it reaches you in flawless condition. Before you go any further, please check the unit for any physical damage and retain the shipping carton and all relevant packing materials for use, should the unit need returning.
Introduction protection against damage and fire. Note: For USA and Canadian users, the replacement fuse must be of an identical UL rated type fuse for continued compliance with safety standards. 4.0 Introduction The FCS 966 is a two channel graphic equalizer that provides a generous +/-15dB of control range on each of 30 constant Q frequency bands.
The FCS 966 Fig 4.1 Front Panel Fig 4.
All numbers in bubbles refer to Section numbers.
Audio Connections 5.0 Audio Connections 5.1 XLR Inputs There are 2 input sockets on the rear panel of the FCS 966; Input 1 and 2. Each is electronically balanced on standard 3 pin female XLRs at an impedance greater than 10k Ohms. The ‘HOT, +, or in phase’ connection is to pin 2 and the ‘COLD, -, or out of phase’ connection is to pin 3. Pin 1 is internally connected to the chassis earth via a low value capacitor. This ensures freedom from ground loops whilst allowing good EMC performance.
When using the FCS 966 to drive unbalanced inputs, best performance is usually obtained by connecting the FCS 966s ‘+’ signal to the equipment signal pinand the ‘-’ signal to the equipment shield. Fig 5.4 The FCS 966 shield should normally be connected to the equipment shield, preferably at the equipment end. Transformer isolated outputs are also available as a dealer fitted option. 5.3 Jack Inputs The jack inputs are electrically identical to the XLR inputs.
Audio Connections Control operations 5.4 Jack Outputs The Jack outputs are electrically identical to the XLR outputs. The signal ‘HOT, +, or in phase’ signal is connected to the jack plug tip. The ‘COLD, -, or out of phase’ signal is connected to the ring with the shield being connected directly to the chassis. Fig 5.7 Connection to unbalanced inputs may be done by connecting the tip to the signal input, and the ring to the input shield.
When feeding the FCS 966 from unbalanced sources, connect as follows. Note the link between the two end pins. Fig 5.11 When feeding the FCS 966 to unbalanced sources, connect as follows. Note the link between the two end pins. Fig 5.
Control operations 6.0 Control operations 6.1 Eq In When the eq in switch is in the out, non illuminated position, all FCS 966 functions are bypassed and the input is connected directly to the output with a high quality relay. This condition also occurs when the power is off, and ensures that the signal is passed through the unit in the case of a power or fuse failure. When the switch is pressed, the processed signal is present on the output.
6.3 HP Filter Rotating this control clockwise progressively removes low frequency program material, which is useful for controlling sub-sonic signals that otherwise could cause overload problems. Judicious use of this control may allow more boost to be applied with the main graphic section, as unwanted lower frequencies are removed before the main signal is boosted.
Control operations 6.5 HF Contour This control serves a similar purpose as the LF contour, but applied to higher treble frequencies. The HF contour control allows a subtle change to be made to the shape of the sound without affecting the previously configured main equalizer. On a creative note, the HF contour control can be used to breath ‘air’ into an otherwise flat sound, or remove ‘brittleness’ from over bright signals. 6.6 Output meter This is a peak reading RMS calibrated meter.
6.7 Clip indicators There are three critical places in the signal path of the FCS 966 that are monitored by the clip indicator circuit; if one or more of these overloads, the indicator is illuminated. These three places are: the output of the contour section, the output of the main equalizer section, and the output from the gain control section. Three point monitoring is required as it is easy to place the controls in positions that allow the overload of one section without this being obvious on the meter.
General guide to equalising 7.0 General guide to equalizers 7.1 What is a graphic? The graphic equalizer is one of the most common pieces of signal processing equipment. It finds uses both in recording environments and live performance, as well as sound reinforcement and noise pollution control. The graphic equalizer is a very powerful tool, and as with all powerful devices caution should be exercised or problems will occur.
Figure 7.1 shows very approximately the sliders that have most effect on some common instruments - having an effect is related to the harmonic richness of the sound. A flute for example, generating relatively pure tones, will only have energy in a small number of bands at a given time, whereas a guitar has harmonics covering most bands. When applied to the guitar, the equalizer will be capable of completely changing the sound. A graphic equalizer may be used for both creative and corrective use.
General guide to equalising Fig 7.3 gyrator type response Fig 7.4 constant Q response In line with it’s other graphic equalizers, BSS have chosen a ‘constant Q’ topology for the FCS 966, as this gives the best correlation between the actual slider positions and the measured response of the unit. Figure 7.4 shows how the response of the FCS 966 follows much more closely the curve depicted by the sliders than a gyrator based graphic (figure 7.3). Note that the illustration is a guide only.
Application examples 8.0 Application examples Each of the following application examples is accompanied by a front panel control diagram. Controls that are not greyed out should be set to the value shown - refer to the text where no initial setting is shown. Those controls which are greyed out can be set to any value, and are not critical to the example. Settings can apply to both channels, but only one is shown here for clarity. 8.
Application examples 8.2 Feedback reduction This is one of the major uses for graphic equalizers in sound reinforcement applications. The FCS 966 would usually be connected either to the mixer ‘mix insert’ points, or between the output of the mixer and the input of the amplifier or crossover. Set all frequency bands to ‘zero’. With the room quiet and the offending microphone active, increase the system gain slowly (the FCS 966 gain control is convenient for this) until the system starts to howl.
Be aware that making the system ‘flat’ by applying large amounts of boost is not desirable; when real program is applied to a system setup this way, overload is almost certain to occur. It is far better to reduce the level of peaks than try to fill in large holes. Be cautious also of pushing a speaker, particularly a bass speaker, to reproduce sounds which it is not capable of. This just leads to extra distortion. The extra heat and cone movement may also permanently damage the driver. Fig 8.
Application examples 8.5 Uses for the LF contour As the contour controls are gentle in operation, they are intended to be used whenever it is desired to change the tonal balance of the sound without disturbing the main equalizer settings. The LF contour control has many uses, but one particular application concerns small PA systems and presentations that contain both pre-recorded material and live presentations.
Warranty Information 9.0 Warranty Information When sold to an end user by BSS Audio or a BSS Audio Authorised Reseller, this unit is warranted by the seller to the purchaser against defects in workmanship and the materials used in its manufacture for a period of one year from the date of sale. Faults arising from misuse, unauthorised modifications or accidents are not covered under this warranty. No other warranty is expressed or implied.
Specifications 10.0 Specifications General Input Impedance 10kOhm balanced or unbalanced Input Headroom >+20dBu Max Output level >+21dBu into 600 ohms or greater Output Impedance <50 Ohms unbalanced or unbalanced Frequency Response <5Hz to >45kHz +/-1dB Noise <-94dBu 22Hz to 22kHz Dynamic Range > 115dB Cross Talk <-80dB @1kHz Distortion <0.
Index Index C Clip indicator Connection mains power Connections Combi-Con Jack XLR Constant Q Contour HF LF I 17 6 12 11 10 19 16 15 D Dimensions 5 E EQ general In 14 21 8 8 17 19 18 20 22 17 8 6 14 LF Contour uses for... 15 24 M Mains power Output meter Outputs Combi-Con Jack XLR 6 16 24 15 23 16 12 12 10 R Rack space Rear panel Room equalisation 5 8 22 S Specifications 26 U 6 V Voltage selection H HF Contour uses for... HP Filter uses for...
User Notes 28
User Notes 30
18-1210-A
