QuickBUILD QuickMAP Creation Software Users Manual
TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION 1 – INTRODUCTION An Overview of the ISP-100 Hardware Introduction to the ISP-100 MAPTool Software SECTION 2 – INSTALLATION Computer Requirements for running MAPTool Installing MAPTool on Your Computer SECTION 3 – ISP-100 DSP ARCHITECTURE ISP-100 Input/Output Capabilities DSP “Processing Engine” I/O Interconnect SECTION 4 – BUILDING A QuickMAP The Device Menu Monitoring DSP Resource Meters Selecting and Placing Inputs (Gain) Selecting and Placing Outputs (Dither) Selecting an
2 SECTION 5 – Documenting Your System Defining System Description Printing System Block Diagram Printing System Resources and Device Usage SECTION 6 – Advanced Design (Under Construction)
3 SECTION 1 – INTRODUCTION ___________________________________ An Overview of the ISP-100 The ISP-100 is the first in a line of high quality signal processing products from Telex Communication’s Merlin division. Merlin represents a continued commitment to understanding and meeting our customers needs through the development of innovative and intuitive solutions. The ISP-100 is designed with flexibility in mind, providing a powerful tool that allows you to adapt to ever-changing markets and applications.
4 Because of our commitment to providing the utmost in audio quality, the dynamic range of the ISP-100 rivals anything currently on the market. The Audio Precision 2 , the testing standard for digital audio equipment, resolves signals down to –125 dBFS; at this level the ISP-100 is still performing exceptionally. Propagation time is minimized in the ISP-100. No more than two milliseconds of delay is introduced from any analog input to analog output with full processing. The ISP-100 is flexible.
5 SECTION 2 – QuickBUILD SOFTWARE INSTALLATION ___________________________________ Minimum Computer Requirements for Running QuickBUILD An IBM compatible computer with an 80486 DX2 66 (or higher) processor, running Microsoft Windows 95 (or higher) operator system. 8 MB of ram. 5 MB of available hard drive space. 3.5 high-density disk drive. Monitor resolution of 640x480, 256 colors. A mouse or other pointing device supported by Windows . Communications port with 16550 UART recommended.
6 SECTION 3 – ISP-100 DSP ARCHITECTURE ___________________________________ ISP-100 Input/Output Capabilities As mentioned previously, one of the most impressive and unique features of the ISP-100 is the configurable input/output (I/O). This feature allows the designer or installer to select between analog input or output modules, and/or digital input/output combination modules to accommodate specific application needs without having to pay for unused I/O.
7 DSP “Processing Engine” I/O Interconnect The ISP-100’s processing engine is comprised of three Motorola 56004 DSP chips. There is a specific input/output interconnect between these chips that needs to be understood before working with the QuickBUILD software.
8 When you begin wiring devices together in QuickBUILD, the software will automatically choose the appropriate TX and RX path for you. Occasionally you may have to “force” a connect path and understanding these terms and interconnect structure will be helpful. This procedure will be discussed in detail in the Advanced Design section of this manual.
9 SECTION 4 – BUILDING A QuickMAP ___________________________________ Monitoring DSP Resource Meters As described in the previous section, the ISP-100 utilizes three DSP chips to generate the various processing device algorithms. In the QuickBUILD software, you will be shown a series of DSP resource meters for each of the three chips. These meters provide a real-time estimate of DSP resource usage, thus giving you a guideline on how many devices you can place in a given chip.
10 The Device Menu You can select a device to be placed on the screen from either the Components menu in the Menu Tool Bar. (The Component menu can also be accessed by clicking your right mouse button while your mouse pointer is anywhere on the white area of the screen.) Figure 4. Or devices can be selected directly from the Tool Bar: Figure 5. As you can see in figure 5, some of the device names are truncated for space considerations.
11 Selecting and Placing Inputs (Gain) The first recommended step in building a system is to identify your inputs. The inputs are linked to the Gain device in the component menu. When you select a Gain device, the following dialog box will appear: Figure 6. You will first want to select which physical input on the ISP-100 the Gain device will be linked to. (Refer to figures 1 and 2.) As you recall, slot 1 can be input only, and slot 2 can be input or output.
12 After you have chosen an input for your Gain device, click the “OK” button. You will then see a Gain device block attached to your mouse pointer. This will allow you to place the device where you want it. When you have chosen a position for the device, click you left mouse button and the device will remain at that location. (There is a grid that the devices will lock to.) You can move the device at a later point if you wish to. Figure 8.
13 When you have made your decision, mouse click on the appropriate DSP. You will then see this dialog window. This is the dialog window for DSP 2: Figure 10. If your system is using analog converter cards and you are building a four input design, an input card will occupy Slot 2 and therefore you will avoid using outputs 2a and 2b. (Using an MDM-1 digital card in Slot two will allow you to use that port for both two channels of input and two channels of output simultaneously.
14 Selecting and Placing Processing Devices To select processing devices, follow the same procedure as selecting inputs and outputs, except you will not see any dialog windows*. As you select a device, you will be prompted to place it in either DSP #1, DSP #2, or DSP #3. Figure 12. * The delay device will have a dialog window prompting you to select the maximum delay time for that device.
15 You can always adjust this number at a later time to make your system “fits” in the given amount of DSP. We will discuss editing these devices next. 1. Editing Filter Tool Parameters Right mouse click on the Filter device and select “Edit”. You will then see this dialog window: Figure 14. The number of filter bands for each filter device defaults to three. The range of filters available for each filter is 1 to 10*.
16 2. Editing Crossover Parameters The Crossover devices in QuickBUILD will allow you to create filter devices after each output of that given crossover. This is accomplished in the Crossover Edit dialog window. After selecting and placing the desired crossover, right click and select “Edit”. For this example, we will look at a four-way crossover dialog window: Figure 15.
17 After you have selected the desired number of filters, click the “OK” button. You will then see a series dialog windows relating to each crossover output. They will look like this: Figure 16. You will see one of these dialog windows for every output of the chosen crossover, if additional filters for that output have been selected. (If no additional filters have been selected for any or all of the Crossover outputs, you will be prompted for Crossover output designation when you wire the device.
18 3. Editing Delay Parameters Delay times are generated in the ISP-100 by using system memory and NOT DSP cycles. This is a great advantage over some other products by not wasting DSP resources for this function. Therefore, when you change delay parameters, you will not see any impact on DSP resources. Each DSP chip is capable of a maximum of 2.7 seconds (2700 Ms), for a total system allocation of 8.1 seconds (8100 Ms).
19 4. Editing Compressor, Limiter, and Gate Side Chain Parameters The Compressor, Limiter, and Gate devices in the ISP-100 will accept a “virtual control voltage” to control or activate its particular function. A common use for this function would be to “link” two compressors or limiters in a stereo mode so they function consistently and evenly. This prevents an unbalanced stereo image. There are many other uses for this function.
20 5. Renaming Devices You can rename a device at any time. To do this, right mouse click on the chosen device and select “Edit”. Type the new name in the Name window. (Refer to Figure 20.) Moving Devices You can move a single device in the following manner. Place you mouse pointer over the that device. While holding down your left mouse button, drag the device to the new location. Release the left mouse button.
21 Wiring Devices To wire devices together, place your mouse pointer over the source device. Click your right mouse button and select “Route”. A wire emanating from the source device will then be attached to you mouse pointer. Figure 23. Drag the wire to the destination device and left mouse click on that device. The wire will then be attached. Figure 24. Currently the only way to “unwire” a device is to delete one of the devices and then replace it.
22 To change the line appearance, place your mouse pointer over the source device and click your right mouse button. Choose “Line Style”. You will then see this menu of selections: Figure 26. If you select “Segmented Center to Center” your lines will now look like this: Figure 27.
23 Wiring the Selector (Router) Device A Selector (or Router) device allows you to “select” an audio source, for a given destination path, from multiple sources. To wire a Selector device, drag a wire from your first source to the Selector and click your left mouse button. You will then see a menu requesting which input to the Selector you are wiring: Figure 28. In this case you will choose “Input #1”.
24 In this example you would follow the same procedure for the other three Select Switches. When you have completed this, you will have a “spider’s web” that looks like this: Figure 30. Note: When you are running VUE-IT software, only the lines that are selected will appear. This gives you a surface look at what you router selections are.
25 Wiring the Combiner (Mixer) Device To wire Combiner (Mixer) devices, follow the same instructions given in the previous chapter, Wiring the Selector (Router) Device. Meter Dialog Window QuickBUILD will automatically assign output meters in ascending alphanumeric order. (2a, 2b, 3a, 3b etc.) These meters will appear in the VUE-IT software from left to right. If desired, you can reassign the order of these meters from the “Meter” button in the “Components” menu.
26 Naming Outputs You can place “name bitmaps” over the output triangles for identification purposes. To do this, place your mouse pointer over the desired output triangle and click your right mouse button. You will then see this menu of choices: Figure 32. Select the appropriate label for that output. Repeat this procedure for all outputs you wish to label. When you are finished, this is what the labels will look like: Figure 33.
27 DSP Resource Errors If you have exceeded any of the resources within any or all of the DSP chips, an error message will appear in the Resource Information box. There are six errors that can occur. (A listing of these are shown in figure 35.) The error messages will be located on the lower portion of the box: Figure 34. In this case, I have exhausted all resources for DSP 1.
28 If you try to perform the “Save” or “Save As” function and there are resource errors, you will see the following warning screen: Figure 36. You will need to correct these errors before you can properly save your design. Note: The QuickBUILD software will allow you to save your design to file with errors in the design. This allows you to suspend work on a design and reopen it later. Wiring Errors It can be very easy to forget to wire a device, especially if the devices are placed close together.
29 If you try to perform the “save” or Save As” function and there are unwired devices, you will see the following warning window. Clicking “Details” will give you a list of unwired devices: Figure 38. You will need to correct these wire problems before you can properly save your design. Delay Compensation QuickBUILD will calculate and correct any delay alignment discrepancies between audio paths if you choose for it to do so.
30 Delay Compensation will impact DSP resources, so check your QMap Information report to make sure you are still within DSP resource limits. Saving and Opening .qms Files The file extension for QuickMAP files is .qms. Saving your QuickBUILD design as a QuickMAP is a standard Windows procedure, but you may see some prompts that have been described in the previous chapters. If you don’t understand these prompts, please review these chapters. We recommend that you save your file early and often.
31 SECTION 5 – DOCUMENTING YOUR SYSTEM ___________________________________ Defining System Description When you have completed your system design, you will want to create a “system description”. When you create a new project in the VUE-IT software, you will be shown a menu of QuickMAPS to choose from. Figure 40. The “Name” represents the file name you gave your design when you saved it.
32 From the “Edit” menu, choose “QMap Description”. You will see the following window: Figure 41. Type the description for your map in 255 characters or less. When you have finished, click “OK”. This description will now be attached to your QuickMAP . You can edit this text at any time by following the same procedure. This “text block” acts like any word processor, allowing you to copy, paste, and delete sections.
33 Printing System Resources and Device Usage You can view at any time detailed information regarding your design. The QuickBUILD software automatically provides this information for you. To view it, choose “QMap Information” from the “Edit Menu”. You will see the following window: Figure 42. You can scroll down the page to view the information, or print it out. To do so, simply click the “Print” button.
34 SECTION 6 – ADVANCED DESIGN ___________________________________ UNDER CONSTRUCTION
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