Manual

Model 5401A User Guide Issue 2, July 2021
Studio Technologies, Inc. Page 23
wave tones with independent frequency and
level configuration. The frequency range is
1 to 22000 hertz (Hz) and the level range
is –99 to 0 dBFS. Refer to Appendix E for a
view of the Tone Generator menu.
The tone signals have Dante transmitter (out-
put) default names of Tone 1 through Tone 8.
It’s expected that most applications will only
use a few of the tones. But having eight out-
put channels provides flexibility in creating a
set of tones with various frequency and level
combinations. These can be useful in a range
of applications including identifying individual
channels in a multi-channel arrangement,
e.g., stereo, 5.1, or 7.1.
Frequency (Hz): These eight fields reflect
the Model 5401A’s currently selected sine
wave tone generator frequencies. For each
channel enter the desired frequency in full
hertz. Don’t use a suffix such as k or kHz, nor
enter a comma or period to delineate thou-
sands. Entering 1001 would be correct while
1,001 or 1.001 k would not be acceptable.
The default tone frequencies were selected
in hundreds of hertz with the first digit match-
ing the channel number: 100, 200, 300, etc.
This can be useful when checking a series of
channels as this pattern can be easily recog-
nized either by ear or using equipment that
can display the frequency in text. Some ap-
plications may need the common 1000
or 10000 Hz reference sine wave tones
and there’s no problem configuring these
if desired.
Level (dBFS): These eight fields display
the level of the Model 5401A’s sine wave
tone outputs. The output level for each of
the audio output channels is independently
adjustable over a range of –99 to 0 dBFS.
The level is selectable in 1-dBFS steps.
Enter the desired level in full dBFS with a
hyphen as the prefix to indicate less than full
scale. In applications that comply with the
SMPTE® audio standards the typical nominal
level will be –20 dBFS which can be thought
of as 20 dB less than full scale or digital
0. In EBU applications the typical nominal
level will be –18 dBFS. Some applications
may benefit from a sine wave test tone
that’s 12 dB less than the reference level.
This would equate to configuring an output
to –34 dBFS (SMPTE) or –32 dBFS (EBU).
These would typically be associated with a
1000 Hz tone.
The default tone levels were selected in a
pattern that could help identify a specific
channel. Dante transmitter (output) channel
Tone 1 has a default level of –21 dBFS with
the value of 1 being selected to reflect the
channel number. Each subsequent chan-
nel then reduces its level by 1 dB. So, for
example, the second channel, Tone 2, has
a level of –22 dBFS. While these level steps
may not be readily discernible to human
ears most test equipment or metering could
easily be used to identify specific channels.
Submit: A Submit button is located at the
bottom of the Level (dBFS) column on the
Tone Generator menu webpage. To save
any changes made to the level or frequency
fields requires that the Submit button be
pressed. Changes will be made immediately
after pressing the Submit button.
Network Menu
Refer to Appendix E for a view of the
Network menu.
Interfaces
There are twelve display-only fields that
relate to the key parameters that are associ-
ated with the Dante and management inter-
faces. For clarity they display in the form of
a simple table.
IP Addresses: These three display-only
fields will show the current IP addresses
associated with the Model 5401A’s Dante
primary, Dante secondary, and manage
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