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Quick Start Guide

6408 216th Street SW 

|

 Mountlake Terrace, WA 98043  USA

T

 +1.425.778.7728  

F

 +1.425.778.7727 

|

 

www.symetrix.co

Audio to transport audio signals back to a Symetrix rack 
mount device.

Note 1:

 The original Menu ARC remote (simply named 

“ARC”) does not support ARC Audio lines and will ground 
the audio lines if connected.

Note 2:

 To avoid the possible grounding, mixing, or shorting 

of the ARC Audio lines, it is recommended to home run any 
ARC devices making use of the ARC Audio lines so that only 
one ARC device is on each chain.

Limits of ARC Audio

ARC Audio is a simple analog audio signal travelling the 
same cable as the RS-485 data and power. As such, the 
usual audio signal cautions apply. Avoid running parallel to 
other power lines or near any other sources of EMI or RFI. 
Most CAT5 is unshielded and is susceptible to interference 
and noise. We provide here the following information on ARC 
Audio’s performance and limitations:

Line-level Balanced Audio:

Professional line level balanced signals can also be sent over 
up to approximately 1500 feet of CAT5 without significant 
degradation.

All unbalanced signals should be avoided completely.

Mic-level Audio:

Unbuffered condenser or dynamic microphones should 
generally be avoided, though it may be possible to achieve 
decent quality with cable runs of less than 50 feet using a 
fairly hot microphone level with a  
noise gate or expander in to clean up the signal. This 
technique does not provide much flexibility within the system 
design, and therefore is not recommended.

Frequency response:

Frequency response can roll-off due to the capacitance of 
a long cable run. The amount of roll-off is highly dependent 
on source impedance (the output impedance of what is 
supplying the signal). Most pro audio devices have low 
output impedances (200 Ohms or less) and do not suffer 
significant roll-off (approximately -1 dB at 20 kHz with 1500 
feet of CAT5). A device with a 600 Ohm output impedance 
could cause some audible roll-off (-3 dB at 10 kHz), but 
should be of sufficient quality for speech signals.

Data Noise:

With an unbuffered mic and long cables, data noise may 
be audible as a “motorboat” sound. Experimenting with 
RS-485 termination and baud rate may improve the sound 
somewhat.

RS-485 Termination

The Menu ARCs feature an RS-485 termination jumper. 
Jumper J7 next to the RS-485 terminal block (J8) enables 
and disables termination. Terminated and Open positions are 
labeled by the PCB silkscreen. For maximum signal integrity, 
follow the termination guidelines below:

For star configurations, terminate at the ARC-PS, Control I/O  
or DSP device.

Note:

 Never terminate a single RS-485 bus at more than 

two devices.

RS-485 TERMINATION GUIDELINES

Daisy-chain length

Termination

0 - 200 ft.

No termination required

200 - 1000 ft. 

(if powering over CAT5)

Terminate at the ARC

> 1000 ft. 

(or if not powering over CAT5)

Terminate at the ARC-PS, Control I/O 

or DSP device and at the furthest ARC 

device

ARC Audio • RS-485 Termination • Device Addressing

Summary of Contents for ARC-2

Page 1: ...ARC 2 and ARC 2i Menu ARCs Quick Start Guide ...

Page 2: ...2 Quick Start Guide 6408 216th Street SW Mountlake Terrace WA 98043 USA T 1 425 778 7728 F 1 425 778 7727 www symetrix co Safety ...

Page 3: ...aratus shall be connected to a mains socket outlet with a protective earthing connection Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polarized or grounding type plug A polarized plug has two blades with one wider than the other A grounding type plug has two blades and a third grounding prong The wide blade or the third prong are provided for your safety If the provided plug does not fit into your outl...

Page 4: ...ly for use with the ARC series of remotes DO NOT plug the ARC connectors on Symetrix products into any RJ 45 connector labeled SYMLINK ETHERNET or COBRANET The ARC RJ 45 connectors on Symetrix products can carry anywhere from 6 to 24 VDC which can damage SymLink Ethernet and CobraNet circuitry ARC ARC SYMLINK TRANSMIT RECEIVE COBRANET ETHERNET ETHERNET Warning ...

Page 5: ...item labeling parameter limits and firmware version upgrades are handled by software included with Symetrix DSP hardware Power control and a single channel of ARC Audio are connected via RJ 45 inputs or screw type barrier strips Intuitive Navigation Pressing the menu button navigates through the menu names The menu button also acts as a preset trigger when a preset list is scrolled The up down arr...

Page 6: ...Two sets of jumpers at J9 configure the grounding of the ARC Audio pair Refer to the legend below for positions Refer to the ARC Network Design section for more information J7 RS485 Termination Refer to the RS485 Termination section for more information S4 Device Address DIP Switches Configures the device s RS485 bus address Refer to the Device Addressing section for more information J8 RS485 Powe...

Page 7: ...sume 28 gauge CAT5 cabling maximum stated distances assume 24 gauge CAT5 cabling If power is not distributed over CAT5 each RS 485 chain will be limited to 1000 ft in a star network configuration and 4000 ft in a daisy chain network configuration Longer distances may be possible using third party RS 485 extender products Disclaimer From time to time we test the compatibility of our own products wi...

Page 8: ...or expander in to clean up the signal This technique does not provide much flexibility within the system design and therefore is not recommended Frequency response Frequency response can roll off due to the capacitance of a long cable run The amount of roll off is highly dependent on source impedance the output impedance of what is supplying the signal Most pro audio devices have low output impeda...

Page 9: ...mNet Designer s Help for information on setting the RS 485 baud rate Note the Menu ARC s faceplate will need to be removed in order to access this jumper J10 is just below the menu display Menu ARC DIP Switch Settings NOTE For the sake of space a small variety of configurations are shown A total of 31 devices per RS 485 bus are possible ADDRESS 1 ADDRESS 2 ADDRESS 3 ADDRESS 4 ADDRESS 5 ADDRESS 7 A...

Page 10: ...tration of a typical SymNet Network Audio Solution shows the place of the ARC PS in a large multi purpose network audio solution Restaurant Bar Banquet Meeting Rooms Lobby Wall Panel controls local volume source selection and time of day presets Wall Panels control local room BGM sources BGM and Mic volumes Wall Panels link when rooms are combined Wall Panel selects paging zones Restaurant Applica...

Page 11: ...uter Said software is specifically excluded from this warranty Limitation of Liability The total liability of Symetrix on any claim whether in contract tort including negligence or otherwise arising out of connected with or resulting from the manufacture sale delivery resale repair replacement or use of any product will not exceed the price allocatable to the product or any part thereof which give...

Page 12: ...esponsibility with regard to the performance or use of these products Under copyright laws no part of this brochure may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical without permission in writing from Symetrix Inc If however your only means of access is electronic permission to print one copy is hereby granted The following are either Trademarks or Registered Tr...

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