Digital Audio Corporation SSABR G2, User Manual

Page 1: ...Solid State Recorder Generation 2 User s Manual Software Revisions 1 1 0 DIGITAL AUDIO CORPORATION A DRI COMPANY THE POWER TO HEAR THE POWER TO CONVICT ...

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Page 3: ...visions 1 1 0 September 2005 Digital Audio Corporation 4018 Patriot Drive One Park Center Suite 300 Durham NC 27703 Phone 919 572 6767 Fax 919 572 6786 Web www dacaudio com Email sales dacaudio com Copyright 2005 by Digital Audio Corporation All rights reserved ...

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Page 5: ...5 4 1 Configuration and Download Wizard 15 4 2 Main Window 16 4 3 Options Window 18 4 4 Configuration Window 21 4 4 1 Record Mode Tab 21 4 4 2 Scheduling Tab 23 4 4 3 Security Tab 25 4 4 4 File and Help Menus 26 4 4 5 Setting the SSABR Time 26 4 5 Begin Download Window 27 5 Image File Player Utility 29 5 1 Main Window 29 5 2 Loop Control Window 31 5 3 Track List Window 31 5 4 Track Information Win...

Page 6: ...vi 8 3 1 Microphone Wiring 45 9 Specifications 47 9 1 Analog Input Output 47 9 2 Digital Processing 47 9 3 Construction 47 ...

Page 7: ...or impossible The SSABR G2 comes equipped with the following features Two built in high quality microphones Liquid Crystal Display LCD REC PLAY STOP FFWD and REW buttons Three MicroTech style connectors for o Left and right channel auto sensing external microphone connections o Remote record switch Five pin Mini B USB On the go connector Stereo headphone jack Internal Lithium Ion battery operation...

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Page 9: ...Figure 2 2 SSABR G2 Bottom View USB Connector Side 2 SYSTEM BASICS Left Microphone Right Microphone 6h 45 L R L EXT IN EXT PWR CTL R EXT IN USB PH Right External Microphone Connector Time Message Display LCD Left External Microphone Connector External Control Switch and Power Connector Mini B USB Connector Headphone Connector Figure 2 1 SSABR G2 Front View LCD Side ...

Page 10: ...ed to a PC via a USB cable the unit will be remotely powered and charged via the USB Port 2 1 1 Charging the Unit To recharge the built in Lithium Ion battery simply connect the SSABR G2 unit to a computer via the USB port This connection will begin automatically recharging the unit Run the Configuration and Download Utility and use its battery charge display to determine when the unit has been fu...

Page 11: ...0 40 80 40 80 Table 3 Maximum Run Times Based on CPU Speed Battery Type CPU Clock Speed MIPS Ultralife 620mAh Li Ion Rechargeable 4 2V cell 20 12 5 hours measured 40 12 5 hours measured 60 10 75 hours measured 80 9 75 hours measured Charge Time for 620mAh Li Ion Cell approximately 1 hour charging from 20 to FULL gas gauge or 2 hours from completely flat to FULL gas gauge Precharge Period when batt...

Page 12: ...e the SSABR unit will power on and begin recording under one of two circumstances 1 The REC PLAY STOP button is pressed 2 The on board timer initiates a scheduled recording session see Section 4 4 2 In these cases when the unit powers up2 the SSABR will first display its firmware version for example 0140 for a brief moment before displaying RECD followed by the remaining record time3 The decimal d...

Page 13: ...available2 4 Release the buttons The remaining record time available2 will display along with a blinking dot to signify recording has begun Depressing any of the keys without first following the Safeguard key sequence will cause the message SAFE to be displayed on the LCD To stop a recording In Button Safeguard Mode the SSABR unit will stop recording under one of two circumstances 1 The on board t...

Page 14: ...cording in Button Safeguard Mode2 Step 1 Press and hold the REW button until go appears on the LCD Step 2 While continuing to hold the REW button slide the ON OFF switch to the OFF position If an external harness consists of a momentary push button switch instead of a slide switch it will operate as an extension of the normal REC PLAY STOP button on the SSABR unit Therefore refer to the Sections 2...

Page 15: ...suggested that if you fear the SSABR unit might fall into unwanted hands that you disable the ability to play back the recorded audio locally see Section 4 4 3 If the Configuration and Download Utility has enabled the Local Erase feature Section 4 4 3 it can be started in one of two ways To start the Local Erase in Normal Mode Press and hold down all the SSABR buttons REW FFWD REC PLAY STOP for th...

Page 16: ... currently not supported by the SSABR unit Each track when downloaded from the unit will create a separate WAV file when the Wave File Creation Utility is used Each track will be time stamped based on the local time or on Greenwich Mean Time GMT set by the SSABR software upon configuration The time set on the SSABR is based upon the time setting of the host PC ...

Page 17: ...sed FULL Unable to record due to full flash incomplete track table or recording being disabled Attempted to playback when no valid tracks are recorded BAD Attempted to playback a track whose track table information is incomplete SCHD Scheduled recording started USB Connected SSABR G2 to USB NO DATA alternating Flash is empty no recorded tracks SERR Internal software error stack overflow BATT Low b...

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Page 19: ...w the instructions on the screen to complete the installation Once the installation is complete and the Finish button has been pressed the Readme file will be displayed Before following the installation instructions given in the Readme file remove the installation CD from the drive1 Next attach the USB cable to the SSABR G2 and then to the computer You will see the letters USb displayed on the LCD...

Page 20: ...Digital Audio Corporation Before installing Easy CD Creator go to the company s web site www roxio com and check for the latest upgrades and patches To install Easy CD Creator follow the instructions included with the product and any additional instructions listed on Roxio s support web page If you encounter any problems installing Easy CD Creator please contact DAC for assistance Easy CD Creator ...

Page 21: ...le can be moved to a CD R disc or to the PC s hard drive After the download the memory of the SSABR G2 unit will be automatically reset to prepare it for future use These tasks are facilitated by the Configuration and Download Utility CDU It is not necessary to have the SSABR G2 connected before running the software The CDU will automatically detect when the SSABR G2 unit is attached or removed 4 ...

Page 22: ...igure 4 3 SSABR G2 Configuration and Download Utility The Main Window is the advanced interface for both configuring and downloading the SSABR G2 audio The Main Window displays the contents of the USB connected SSABR G2 If a SSABR G2 unit is not connected the Main Window will display No SSABR G2 Detected If the SSABR G2 unit is empty no tracks are recorded the CDU window will display SSABR G2 Unit...

Page 23: ...valid data can be recovered The Tools menu allows you to change the Preferences for the CDU as well as use the Configure Device option to configure the USB attached SSABR G2 unit if no unit is attached this menu option will be disabled The Device Information option allows you to view a summary of information about the settings and contents of the USB connected SSABR G2 The Wave File Creation Utili...

Page 24: ... usage of the Wizard setting the default download settings and performing maintenance operations on the USB connected SSABR G2 unit The first tab in the Preferences Window is the General tab From this tab you can select if the Configuration and Download Wizard will appear automatically when the CDU software is run ...

Page 25: ... each location within the flash memory to identify blocks of the flash memory that may be bad When the flash memory chips are received from the factory they contain a small number of bad blocks The memory is formatted before each unit is sold to identify the location of these initial bad blocks Over time as the flash memory is used it may develop other bad blocks To insure that these are identifie...

Page 26: ...irmware update process After this button is clicked a window will appear where the path to the new firmware file is located UPDATE THE FIRMWARE ONLY IF DIRECTED TO DO SO BY SUPPORT PERSONNEL AT DIGITAL AUDIO CORPORATION Use this option only if directed to do so by Digital Audio Corporation Normally the firmware will be updated automatically as needed when a SSABR G2 performs a download operation v...

Page 27: ...tached SSABR G2 unit by clicking the OK button To close the Configuration Window without saving the settings in the attached SSABR G2 unit use the Cancel button 4 4 1 Record Mode Tab Figure 4 6 Configuration Window Record Mode Tab The Record Mode tab provides three selections for determining the record configuration The Optimize Compression For radio buttons allow you to select between using the B...

Page 28: ...al to noise ratio SNR of the recording Both the no compression and the loss less compression have the highest SNR 96 dB Because the loss less compression gives the same SNR as no compression and twice the record time it is recommended that loss less compression is used Stereo recordings of speech are often much easier to understand than mono recordings This improvement is because of the fact that ...

Page 29: ...ete It is recommended that a fully charged AA battery be put in the unit before leaving it in a remote location and as indicated previously the unit should not be left in the idle mode for more than 6 months The software scheduler will allow you to set the start date time stop date time and duration of the recording Multiple tracks can be scheduled All schedules are stored in the on board flash me...

Page 30: ...s recording a track and the available memory runs out the recording will be ended without loss of the previously recorded data in that track The Scheduled Record Times list shows the schedules as they are added and changed Once you have selected a start and stop record date and time click the Add button to append a schedule to the list If the schedule is not valid a message will appear informing y...

Page 31: ...enabled If this feature is enabled all the recorded audio on the SSABR G2 can be erased by holding down all the buttons for approximately five seconds To disable this feature un check this option To allow local erase check this option The Enable LCD Display of Remaining Record Time checkbox determines if the remaining record time is displayed on the SSABR G2 LCD when it is recording If this featur...

Page 32: ... s clock to special time servers attached to the Internet One such program is AboutTime which can be found at http www arachnoid com abouttime index html AboutTime will automatically connect to NIST the National Institute of Standards and Technology via the Internet and synchronize the PC s clock setting to NIST s atomic clocks The CDU and the SSABR G2 unit have a special feature whereby the inter...

Page 33: ... beginning of the name of the image file The image files are named according to the following naming scheme prefix _ current date month date year _ current time 24 hour _ SSABR G2 Serial Number ig2 For example an image file downloaded on July 9 2004 at 2 04 PM on SSABR G2 Unit 00104 with a prefix of Local PD would be Local PD_07092004_1404_00104 ig2 Many CD R drives come with a software package ca...

Page 34: ...d depends on several factors the speed of the CD R if writing to a CD R the speed of the PC and the size of the memory of the SSABR G2 The standard memory size for the SSABR G2 is 512 Megabytes This size usually takes 40 minutes to download the entire contents of the flash Selecting the Only download recorded flash option will instruct the download procedure to only download the recorded contents ...

Page 35: ...und cards that provide digital audio output S PDIF 5 1 MAIN WINDOW After clicking on the IFP icon from the SSABR G2 group from within the Start menu the Main Window will appear If no image file has been opened the windows will be disabled the time display and buttons will be grayed out To open an image file use the File menu option Open Select the location of the correct image file in the Open fil...

Page 36: ...f the audio can be more clearly heard To deactivate the AVA uncheck the checkbox NOTE Because the SSABR G2 has a large dynamic range and the microphone placement greatly affects the recording level the volume level may need to be turned up substantially to be heard on PC audio speakers The audio is best heard through quality headphones Figure 5 3 Main Window To select the previous or next track us...

Page 37: ... and reset the loop end to the end of the current track Clicking the Mark End will set the loop end to the current playback position and update the duration You may also edit the loop start loop stop and duration by clicking in their respective edit boxes and entering the desired time or duration Click outside of the edit boxes or hit the Enter key to have the new times accepted The times must be ...

Page 38: ... List Window 5 4 TRACK INFORMATION WINDOW The Track Information Window gives detailed information about the currently cued playing track If no image file is opened this window is empty Figure 5 6 Track Information Window ...

Page 39: ...If no image file has been opened No Image File Selected will be displayed To open an image file use the File menu option Open Image File Select the location of the correct image file in the Open file dialog box Figure 6 1 WFCU Icon Figure 6 2 WFCU Main Window No Image File Selected If the image file is loaded successfully the contents of the image file will be displayed in the Main Window The list...

Page 40: ...ed as wave files This operation may take several minutes Use the File menu to Open another Image file view the WFCU Preferences Window view Image File Information stored on the image file and Exit the software There is no need to close the current image file before opening a new one This is done automatically upon opening a new image file To view the online help use the Help menu This Help menu al...

Page 41: ...ve and Folder and Destination Drive and Folder The Source Drive and Folder is the location where the WFCU will look first for an image file when the Open Image File item in the File menu is used in the Main Window The Destination Drive and Folder is the default location where the wave files that are created will be written The default Destination Drive and Folder will also be displayed in the Crea...

Page 42: ...ed Ten tracks of ten minutes in length and one track of five minutes will be created Each wave file will be named according to the standard naming procedure and will have _X appended to the end of the file name where X is the sequence number of the track The Automatic Volume Adjustment option is used to apply an Automatic Gain Control AGC to the audio when the wave files are created This AGC will ...

Page 43: ...ation drive has enough room to create the wave files If the space required is not sufficient enough to create all of the wave files the WFCU will create as much of the wave files as possible Use the Prefix field to enter up to a 10 character prefix to be appended to each of the wave file names This value will default to the value which was selected in the Preferences Window The wave files are name...

Page 44: ...FILE CREATION WINDOW Figure 6 7 Wave File Creation Window Clicking the Begin File Creation button in the Create Wave Files Window will start the process of creating the wave files The window will display the Current File Creation Progress and show the Bytes Written for that individual file The Total Progress will also be displayed indicating the total percentage of all the wave files written To st...

Page 45: ...s of an example log file for a track that contained errors This particular file had several errors at five minutes and 41 seconds Each time location error that was detected is noted in the log file as well as the time location from which the error was recovered ...

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Page 47: ...f 5 KHz 11 025 KHz and 10 KHz 22 050 KHz to 20 KHz 44 1 KHz stereo However you will not be able to edit the converted wave files to different lengths To use a utility like Easy CD Creator to make an audio CD the wave files must first be converted to the necessary sample rate and stereo mode This conversion can be done using any standard digital audio editing software such as Sound Forge Cool Edit ...

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Page 49: ...in out of the 4 pin connector Notice that the perspective of the diagram is from the viewpoint of someone looking directly into the mating end of the connector 8 2 1 External Power When supplying remote power to the SSABR G2 unit ensure that the power source supplies between 9 15 VDC and can provide up to 1 Amp of current Make sure that the GND pin is connected to GND of the external power supply ...

Page 50: ...xternal Power pin should be left unconnected 8 2 2 2 Slide Switch Wiring To connect a slide switch to the SSABR only two wires are required To signal to the SSABR G2 that a slide switch is being used the Moment Switch should be wired to the GND pin This is best done within the Telocate connector housing The switch should then be wired such that putting the switch in the ON position connects the Po...

Page 51: ... 1 Microphone Wiring Basic requirements and suggestions for external microphones used with the SSABR G2 device are listed below See Section 2 2 3for further information on operating the SSABR G2 unit with an external wiring harness Note that the Microphone Select pin on the Telocate connector must be grounded to notify the SSABR G2 that an external microphone is being used Without this short the b...

Page 52: ...arp edges to reduce the chances of detection in a pat down search Use isolation mounts designed for attachment to clothing and or skin for minimization of rubbing noise Use small diameter shielded cabling to wire microphones to connector Use a suitable length wire for ankle mounted recorder microphones mounted to chest 6 ft Ground the wiring shields at SSABR G2 connector Use rugged packaging servi...

Page 53: ...y or approximately 4 1 lossy compression best record time Microprocessor TMS320C5410A running at speeds of 10 MIPS to 160 MIPS all functions are performed in the processor Computer Interface USB version 1 1 interface Used to interface to Windows software 9 3 CONSTRUCTION Packaging 1 9 x 3 6 x 0 4 Rugged Aluminum Enclosure Power Rechargeable lithium ion internal battery Single lithium coin battery ...