Apogee AMBUS FIREWIRE CARD User Manual
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AMBus FireWire Card
Introduction
The Apogee FireWire card employs the mLAN format developed by Yamaha.
The mLAN format is based on the industry standard IEEE 1394 “FireWire” data interchange specification,
customized specifically for audio and music applications. With mLAN, it is possible to carry digital audio and
MIDI information via a single input/output cable linking each unit. It is also possible to connect FireWire hard
drives, CD/DVD drives, and mLAN-compatible audio devices together in one chain to a FireWire equipped computer. Every device in the chain is automatically identified by the computer and, as a result, setup is remarkably
straightforward. This simplifies configuration and troubleshooting while allowing flexible and sophisticted digital routing with multiple devices.
The amount of data that FireWire devices can pass is measured in Megabits per second (Mb/s) and the speed
of a given device is designated by the letter S followed by the maximum supported data rate in Mb/s. Thus a
device listed as “S100” would be capable of passing data at 100Mb/s. The Apogee card is rated as S200, and
therefore supports speeds of up to 200Mb/second. This information is important when maximizing the efficiency of an entire FireWire system. See “Optimizing FireWire Setup” for more information.
AMBus FireWire Card Operating Manual
Installing the AMBus Card
To install the AMBus card, first make sure the power is turned off. You may wish to keep the unit plugged
into a switched-off, grounded AC receptacle so as to minimize the chance of static discharge, and avoid standing on carpeting while carrying out this procedure. Keep the new AMBus card in its packaging until you are
ready to install. Now turn the unit around so you’re facing the back panel. Remove the plate covering an available AMBus slot. Ground yourself by touching a connector on the unit’s rear panel and unpack the card. Locate
the card between the guides and insert the card until you feel it mate with the connector at the back of the card
bay. Fasten the card in place with the captive screws.
Installing the FireWire Card software
In order for the computer to recognize the card and send and receive digital audio, the mLAN drivers,
extensions and applications need to be installed in the correct places in the computer. These items can be
downloaded from Apogee’s website at http://www.apogeedigital.com/firewire/.
Refer to your platform and OS below for details on your specific setup. At present, Macintosh OS 8.6 to 9.x
is supported. Please check the web site address above for information regarding other operating systems as
they are supported.
Installing the mLAN Driver
May 31, 2002—mLAN Driver/MacOS9 1.0.4b3
Installation Process
1. Make sure you have one of the following OS and FireWire version combinations.:
a. Mac OS 8.6 or later, and FireWire 2.1 or later.
b. Mac OS 9.0 or later and FireWire 2.2 or later.
Yamaha has tested up to Mac OS 9.2.2 and FireWire 2.8.5. Mac OS X is not currently supported.
The version number of the OS can be found by executing "About This Computer" in the Apple menu. The version number of FireWire can be found by selecting the "FireWire Support" file, "FireWire Enabler" file, and by
executing "Get Info" in the File menu. These files are in the Extensions Folder in the System Folder.
2. If you use mLAN with OMS, install OMS prior to the installation of mLAN driver.
3. Put "mLAN Driver", "mLAN Expert", and "mLAN Family" into an extensions folder in the System Folder. If
any older versions exist, disable them.
*You might be tempted to drag them into a System Folder, however, "mLAN Expert" won’t be put into
Extensions Folder automatically. Instead, it will be put into the System Folder. Make sure you physically place
them in the Extensions Folder yourself.
4. Put "mLAN Control Panel" into the Control Panels folder. If an older version exists, place the older version
into a separate folder first.
5. Reboot your Macintosh.
6. Set up the mLAN parameters on the mLAN Control Panel depending on your preference.
*See the rest of this document and the mLAN Control Panel manual for details.
7. If you use mLAN with OMS, put "mLAN OMS Driver" into OMS Folder in the System Folder so OMS Studio
Setup application can recognize it.
8. If you use mLAN from ASIO compatible applications, put "ASIO mLAN" into ASIO Drivers folder of those
applications.
FireWire Card Usage
*IMPORTANT: You must configure the mLAN control panel (below) before starting the recording application
in order for the application to recognize the FireWire card.
AMBus Card Operating Information
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Fig. 1
mLAN Control Panel Features (Fig. 1)
• FireWire Card ID: Selects the desired FireWire card on the computer to be used for mLAN data transfer.
• Sample Rate: Sets the sample rate for the digital audio data sent via mLAN.
• Clock Source: Selects the clock source for the entire FireWire chain.
• Send: Enables “Send” section to be configured in order for the recording application to send digital audio
to the external mLAN device.
• Audio Sequences: Specifies the number of audio sequences, or mono audio channels, transmitted from the
computer to the selected source.
• MIDI Sequences: Specifies the number of MIDI sequences (each MIDI sequence is equal to one MIDI cable)
transmitted from the computer to the selected source.
• Select Destinations: Opens destination window (see figure 2 below) to allow selection of mLAN device to
receive mLAN data from the computer.
AMBus FireWire Card Operating Manual
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