NetworkAmp Manager Owner’s Manual N K R O W T E N A B U H E
Important Information Special Notices • • • • • • • • The software and this owner’s manual are the exclusive copyrights of Yamaha Corporation. Use of the software and this manual is governed by the license agreement which the purchaser fully agrees to upon breaking the seal of the software packaging. (Please read carefully the Software Licensing Agreement at the beginning of the printed ACU16-C/NHB32-C Owner’s Manual before installing the application.
Contents 1 Welcome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 What is CobraNet? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Using Multiple PCs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 2 Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Introduction 4 1 Welcome Introduction The Yamaha NetworkAmp Manager software is for controlling and monitoring Yamaha PCxxxxN series power amplifiers, the ACU16-C Amp Control Unit, and the NHB32-C Network Hub and Bridge. It runs on standard Windows PCs and can be connected to an ACU16-C or NHB32-C by using either USB or RS-232C. Multiple ACU16-Cs and NHB32-Cs can be managed from a single PC running NetworkAmp Manager, which can be connected to any ACU16-C or NHB32-C on the CobraNet network.
Welcome What is CobraNet? Developed by Peak Audio, CobraNet technology allows real-time uncompressed digital audio distribution over industry standard 100Base-T Ethernet networks. Up to 128 channels, 64 in each direction, can be carried simultaneously over a switched 100Base-T network (64 channels on repeater networks). Fiber-optic cables allow distances of two kilometers. CobraNet supports a 48 kHz sampling rate with 16, 20, or 24-bit resolution.
Installing NetworkAmp Manager 6 2 Getting Started Installing NetworkAmp Manager System requirements and installation instructions for NetworkAmp Manager can be found in the printed ACU16-C/NHB32-C Owner’s Manual. Starting NetworkAmp Manager To start NetworkAmp Manager, double-click the NetworkAmp Manager icon. If a startup project has been specified on the General Setup dialog box (see page 7), that project is opened. Otherwise, the Open dialog box appears and you can select the project you want to open.
Getting Started Configuring NetworkAmp Manager The General Setup dialog box is used to configure NetworkAmp Manager. To open the General Setup dialog box, choose General Setup from the Option menu. PC I/F for amp control: These options are used to specify the MIDI interface NetworkAmp Manager should use to communicate with the connected ACU16-C/NHB32-C. The options available depends on what MIDI drivers you have installed on your PC.
Working with Projects 8 Working with Projects • • • • NetworkAmp Manager setups are stored as projects. Project files have the file name extension “.apj”. To create a new project, choose New from the File menu. To open a previously saved project, choose Open from the File menu. To save the current project, choose Save from the File menu. To save the current project with a new name, choose Save As as from the File menu. Only one project can be open at a time.
Touring NetworkAmp Manager 3 Touring NetworkAmp Manager Main Window This is NetworkAmp Manager’s main window. The left pane displays the CobraNet network tree, consisting of ACU16-Cs, NHB32-Cs, and power amps. The right pane displays the various NHB and ACU pages. The name and unit ID of the device currently selected in the network tree are displayed at the top of the right pane. If it’s an ACU16-C, “ACU - name [Unit ID]” is displayed. If it’s an NHB32-C, “NHB - name [Unit ID]” is displayed.
Menus 10 Menus File New Creates a new project Open Opens an existing project Save Saves the current project Save As Saves the current project with a new name Disconnect from Network1 Disconnects NetworkAmp Manager from the network Connect to Network1 Connects NetworkAmp Manager to the network Connect & Send to Network Connects NetworkAmp Manager to the network and sends the project settings to all devices on the network Exit Quits NetworkAmp Manager 1.
Touring NetworkAmp Manager Network Tree The network tree displays all the ACU16-Cs, NHB32-Cs, and power amps in the project in a tree-like structure. Items are displayed in order of unit ID. The tree can be expanded and collapsed by clicking the plus and minus symbols. The following table lists the items that can appear in the network tree.
Network Tree 12 PRJ The PRJ icon always appears at the top of the network tree. The following menu appears when you right-click the PRJ icon. Add: Adds an ACU16-C or NHB32-C to the project. When you choose either of these commands, a dialog box appears for you to specify the device name and unit ID. Rename: Opens the Rename dialog box so you can rename the project. ACU When you click an ACU icon, the ACU pages appear in the main window’s right pane.
Touring NetworkAmp Manager AMP When you click an AMP icon, the ACU Amp pages appear in the main window’s right pane. The following menu appears when you right-click an AMP icon. Delete: Deletes the amplifier from the project. A confirmation message appears before the amplifier is deleted. Rename: Opens the Rename dialog box so you can rename the amplifier. CH When you click a CH icon, the ACU Channel Detail page appears in the main window’s right pane.
CobraNet Page 14 4 NHB Pages This chapter explains the NHB pages, which can be selected while an NHB32-C is selected in the network tree. Devices on a CobraNet network transmit and receive audio data by matching bundle numbers. Matching the bundle number on the transmitting and receiving devices is analogous to making a physical cable connection between two devices.
NHB Pages Audio resolution: This option is used to specify the audio resolution for bundle transmission: 20 or 24 bit. Be sure to select 24-bit if you are using 24-bit digital audio. Otherwise, your audio will be truncated to 20-bit. Patch Page This page is used to assign AES/EBU inputs and outputs to individual CobraNet channels and to store and recall assignment patches. Before making any assignments, you must specify the bundles that contain the CobraNet channels you want to patch (see page 14).
Patch Page 16 Only one AES/EBU input or output can be assigned to each CobraNet channel. The bundle number assigned to each group of CobraNet channels is displayed along the left side of the grid. If the “24 bit” option on the NHB CobraNet page is selected (see page 14), the number of channels in each group is reduced to seven, making channels 8, 16, 24, and 32 unavailable.
NHB Pages Word Clock Page This page is used to select the NHB32-C’s wordclock source. Master clock: This indicator shows the wordclock lock status of the NHB32-C: Locked or Unlocked. It works in unison with the LOCK indicator on the NHB32-C’s front panel. Word clock source select: These options are used to select the NHB32-C’s wordclock source, which can be a pair of AES/EBU inputs, the CobraNet network, or the NHB32-C’s BNC WORD CLOCK IN connector.
CobraNet Page 18 5 ACU Pages This chapter explains the ACU pages, which can be selected while an ACU16-C is selected in the network tree. Devices on a CobraNet network transmit and receive audio data by matching bundle numbers. Matching the bundle number on the transmitting and receiving devices is analogous to making a physical cable connection between two devices.
ACU Pages Patch Page This page is used to assign individual CobraNet channels to ACU16-C analog outputs. Before making any assignments, you must specify the bundles that contain the CobraNet channels you want to patch (see page 18). CobraNet channels are assigned to ACU16-C analog outputs on a 16 x 32 grid. To make an assignment, click on the grid at the relevant intersection. A blue spot appears when an assignment has been made. To cancel an assignment, click the blue spot.
Amp Pages 20 Amp Pages The Amp pages are used to control and monitor power PROTECT indicator amplifiers. There are four Amp pages: Amp 00–07, Amp 08–15, Amp 16–23, and Amp 24–31. Each page can display the channels of up to eight power amplifiers. Power amplifiers can have 2, 4, 6, or 8 channels. The screen shot shown here features two channels of a PC95000N power amplifier. Amp name: This displays the power amplifier’s name. Only the first 21 letters of the name are displayed.
ACU Pages Channel Detail Page The Channel Detail page offers a detailed view of each channel. It can be opened by clicking the Channel Detail tab while an ACU16-C is selected in the network tree, or by clicking a power amplifier channel icon in the network tree. PROTECT indicator Channel select: This section is used to select the power amplifier channel that you want to view. Use the Amp pop-up menu to select a power amplifier. Use the CH pop-up menu to select a channel.
Channel Detail Page 22 Mode indicator: This displays the power amplifier mode for each pair of channels: STEREO, PARALLEL, or BRIDGE. ATT fader: This fader attenuates the channel’s input signal. The numerical value below the fader is the current attenuation setting in dB. Attenuation can also be set by clicking the Up and Down arrow buttons, or by entering a value from the keyboard. Phase button: This button is used to set the channel’s input signal phase: Normal or Reversed.
ACU Pages Threshold Page This page is used to specify the wattage, temperature, and the minimum and maximum load impedance thresholds at which you want NetworkAmp Manager to issue a warning. The thresholds can be set individually for each power amplifier channel. Warnings are displayed in the Log window and recorded in the log file. Amp: This column lists the power amplifiers by ID number and name. CH: This column lists the power amplifier channels.
Logging Events 24 6 Other Functions Logging Events NetworkAmp Manager compares the threshold values set on the ACU Threshold page (see page 23) with the amp’s operating status and issues a warning if a value is exceeded. Warnings are displayed in the Log window (see page 28) and recorded to the log file. Log files are CSV format text files that can be opened by any text editor, word processor, or spreadsheet. Note: Don’t open the log file while NetworkAmp Manager is running.
Other Functions There are five types of event: Warning, Online/Offline Status, Power Switch, Error, and Network Mode. These are explained below. 1 Warning Event This type of event occurs when a specified threshold is exceeded (see page 23).
Logging Events New ACU16-C detected ACU16-C gone offline New NHB32-C detected NHB32-C gone offline 26 [ACU#xx] [ACU#xx] [NHB#xx] [NHB#xx] Online/Offline Status events appear in blue in the Log window. 3 Power Switch Event This type of event occurs when an amplifier is set to On or Standby. Date, Time, LineKind, Device For example: 01/Aug/2002, 21:30:25, PowerOn, [ACU#00 AMP#00] In other words, amp #00, connected to ACU #00, was turned on at 21:30:25 on 01/Aug/2002.
Other Functions AES/EBU Input Sync Error [NHB#xx AES/EBUx CH7/8] Word Clock Unlocked [NHB#xx] Word Clock Unlocked [ACU#xx] Unexpected data change detected [NHB#xx...] Unexpected data change detected [ACU#xx...] Error events appear highlighted in red in the Log window, as shown below. 5 Network Mode This type of event occurs when COM or MIDI is activated or deactivated.
Logging Events 28 Log Window The Log window opens automatically, if it’s not already, when an event occurs. This window can also be opened by choosing Log Window from the Window menu. Each time an event occurs, the details are displayed in the window, which scrolls automatically.
Other Functions Locking NetworkAmp Manager You can lock NetworkAmp Manager to prevent unauthorized operation. Locking NetworkAmp Manager 1 Choose Operation Lock from the Option menu. The Operation Lock dialog box shown below appears. 2 Enter a password in the Password and Confirm fields. 3 Click Lock. NetworkAmp Manager is locked and the Operation Unlock dialog box appears, as shown below. 4 To unlock NetworkAmp Manager, enter the password in the Password field, and then click Unlock.
Using COM & MIDI Modes 30 Using COM & MIDI Modes 1 CobraNet’s Serial Bridge feature allows serial data to be transmitted over the network. Normally, the ACU16-C and NHB32-C use the Serial Bridge to transmit amp control data. However, it can be used to transmit MIDI data (Program Change and Control Change) or AD824 head amp control data between any two NHB32-Cs on the network. The Serial Bridge cannot carry Amp Control, MIDI, and AD824 data simultaneously.
Other Functions Group View With Group View you can view and control groups of channels from any amplifiers on the network. There are eight group pages and up to 16 channels can be displayed on each. To open the Group View page, choose Group View from the View menu. The eight groups are selected by clicking the tabs along the top of the page. The Network tab is used when NetworkAmp Manager is being run on several PCs.
Group View 32 Editing Groups 1 Up to 16 channels can be added to each Group View page. Choose Group View from the View menu. The Group View page appears. 2 Right-click on the page and select Edit Group View from the pop-up menu. The Group View Setup dialog box appears, as shown below. 3 Select a group in the Groups list. You can sort groups by using the Move up and Move down buttons. 4 Use the Group name field to edit the group’s name. This is the name that appears on the Group View page tabs.
Other Functions 7 Select a channel in the CH list and click the Add [>] button. The channel is added to the group. To add all channels, click the Add All [>>] button. 8 To remove a channel from the group, select it and then click the Remove [<] button. To remove all channels, click the Remove All [<<] button. You can sort the grouped channels by using the Move up and Move down buttons. 9 When you’ve finished, click the OK button to apply your edits and close the Group View Setup dialog box.
Control Link 34 Control Link With Control Link you can group power amplifiers for simultaneous control of power Standby and On. Up to 16 Control Link groups are available. To open the Control Link page, choose Control Link from the View menu. The STANDBY and ON buttons are unavailable when no power amplifiers are in a group or when the group is disabled. When a group is enabled, you can click the STANDBY button to simultaneously set all power amplifiers in that group to Standby mode.
Other Functions Editing Groups 1 Choose Control Link from the View menu. The Control Link page appears. 2 Right-click on the page and select Edit Control Link from the pop-up menu. The Control Link Setup dialog box appears, as shown below. 3 Select a group in the Groups list. 4 To enable the group, click its check box. The check boxes are used to enable and disable groups. You can sort the groups by using the Move up and Move down buttons.
Control Link 9 36 When you’ve finished, click the OK button to apply your edits and close the Control Link Setup dialog box. If you click the Apply button, your edits are applied and the dialog box remains open. Click Cancel to leave the settings unchanged and close the dialog box.
Appendix Appendix Troubleshooting Symptom Advice The Connect to Network command in the File menu is unavailable? This command is unavailable if no PC interface has been specified. Choose General Setup from the Option menu and specify interfaces for MIDI IN and MIDI OUT. Forgotten the password? Delete the password file inside the project folder, and then click Unlock, making sure that the Password and the Confirm fields are empty.
Glossary 38 Glossary This glossary contains terms relevant to NetworkAmp Manager, the ACU16-C, and NHB32-C. A wealth of information about CobraNet, with sections especially for designers and installers, is available on the Peak Audio Web site at http://www.peakaudio.com. If you are designing a network, we strongly recommend that you visit this Web site and study the information available in order to take full advantage of the CobraNet technology. 100Base-T: See Fast Ethernet.
Glossary pling rate with 16, 20, or 24-bit resolution. CobraNet devices can happily coexist with networked computers, printers, etc., on a switched 100Base-T Ethernet network, however, a dedicated network infrastructure is strongly recommended. CobraNet audio channel: In CobraNet terminology, an audio channel is one 48 kHz digital audio signal with a 16, 20, 24-bit resolution.
Glossary 40 Network topology: The structure of a network. Common network topologies include star, ring, tree, and bus. Ethernet networks utilizing hubs are typically wired in a star topology, although a network may consist of various topologies. Performer: The devices on a CobraNet network that are wordclock slaves. Performers synchronize to the conductor. See also Conductor. Propagation delay: CobraNet has a fixed propagation delay of 5.33 ms.
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