Extron Electronics MLA VC10 Plus Setup Guide

MLA VC10 Plus • Setup Guide

fg jih

The Extron MLA VC10 Plus Volume Control Module converts RS-232 commands from a
control system into voltage or impedance changes to control audio amplifiers with volume
and mute control ports. The MLA VC10 Plus mutes or makes level changes on an Extron
MPA Series or half rack XTRA™ Series amplifier from a TouchLink™ Touchpanel system, an
RS-232-capable MediaLink® Control Processor, or a third-party control system. The control
module also supports third-party amplifiers that use either variable voltage or 10 kilohm
potentiometer control.

This setup guide provides instructions for quick installation and configuration of the
MLA VC10 Plus with Extron products or some common third-party amplifiers. Installation
and service must be performed by experienced installers only. For complete features,
functions, and configuration instructions, read the user guides that come with your control
processor and amplifier and see the MLA VC10 Plus User Guide, which is available at

www.extron.com.

Front Panel

a

b

c

MLA VC10 Plus

MUTE

RELAY

CONFIG

R

e

d

Power and Activity LED

a

Mute LED

b

Relay LED

c

USB Configuration Port

d

Reset Button

e

POWER

12V

0.3A MAX

CONTROL

OUTPUT

REMOTE

RS-232

Tx Rx GG GVC

V-DC

RELAY

NO NCC

R

Rear Panel

Power input

f

RS-232 Control

g

Variable Voltage Control

h

Resistance (Potentiometer)

i

Control

Relay Control

j

1

MLA VC10 Plus • Setup Guide (Continued)

Application Diagram

CONTROL

OUTPUT

REMOTE

RS-232

POWER
12V

0.3A MAX

Tx Rx G G GV C

1

VCR

DISPLAY

ON

VOLUME

Extron
MLC 104 IP Plus

MediaLink
Controller

2

DVD

OFF

3

PC

4

CONFIG

MLC 104 IP PLUS

RS-232

RELAY

Extron
MLA VC10 Plus

NO NCC

R

Volume Control Module

V-DC

Variable
Impedance
Output

XPA 1002

1 2

LIMITER/PROTECT

SIGNAL
OVER
TEMP

Extron

Extron
SI 26

Surface-mount
Speakers

XPA 1002

Power
Amplier

Installation

Decide where the unit will be installed. Read the “Mounting” section of the MLA VC10 Plus
User Guide for mounting options.

NOTES: • The majority of amplifiers researched and tested by Extron work with

• To avoid picking up background noise in the cable, use shielded cable, such

the MLA VC10 Plus default settings as the unit is shipped, with no further
configuration needed.

as Extron STP 22 cable (see www.extron.com) and place the MLA VC10 Plus
as close as possible to the amplifier. The recommended cable length between
the MLA VC10 Plus and the amplifier should be six feet or less.

2

Remote Volume Control Connections to Ampliers

s

The following examples show how to wire the resistance control terminals of the
MLA VC10 Plus to an Extron MPA or XPA Series amplifier, or some common third-party
amplifiers.

Other amplifiers not shown here require similar connections but you must read the
appropriate user guides to ensure the wiring is correct.

Extron MPA or XPA Series Amplier

1. Connect the reference voltage

wire (V) of the MLA VC10 Plus

Extron

MLA VC10 Plus

to the reference terminal of the
amplifier (10V on the MPA; V on
the XPA).

R

2. Connect the ground wire (G) of

the MLA VC10 Plus to the ground
terminal on the amplifier (

on

GVC

the MPA; G on the XPA).

3. Connect the control signal wire

(C) of the MLA VC10 Plus to the
control signal terminal of the
amplifier (Vol/Mute on the MPA;
C on the XPA).

Ground

G

Control (variable)

C

Reference

V

Third-party Amplier (Three-pin Connection)

This example shows the MLA VC10 Plus
connected to an Ashly NE Series amplifier.

1. Connect the reference voltage wire (V) from

the MLA VC10 Plus to the reference voltage
terminal (+5V) on the amplifier.

2. Connect the ground wire (G) from the

MLA VC10 Plus to the ground terminal (Gnd)
on the amplifier.

3. Connect the control signal wire (C) from the

MLA VC10 Plus to the control signal terminal
(Ch 1) on the amplifier.

Extron MLA VC10 Plus

Third-party Amplier (Two-pin Connection)

This example shows the MLA VC10 Plus connected to
a TOA 900 Series amplifier.

1. Connect the ground wire (G) from the

MLA VC10 Plus to the left Remt Vol terminal on
the amplifier.

2. Connect both the reference wire (V) and the

control signal wire (C) from the MLA VC10 Plus
to the right Remt Vol terminal on the amplifier.

Extron MPA

Amplifier

10V 50mA

VOL/MUTE

REMOTE

R

GVC

G

Ground

Control (variable)

C

Reference

V

Extron MLA VC10 Plus

R

GVC

TOA 900 Series

Extron

OR

Half-rack

XPA Series

Amplifier

10V 50mA

G
C
V

Ashly NE serie

CH 4

CH 3

CH 2

Amplifier

MUTE

MUTE

GND

1

2

G

STANDBY

GVC

GND

+5V

CH 1

REMT

VOL

G Ground

C Control (variable)

Connect the signal (C) and reference (V)
terminals of the MLA VC10 Plus.
Connect the signal (C) terminal to the amplifier.

3

MLA VC10 Plus • Setup Guide (Continued)

MLC 104 IP Plus

Extron MLA VC10 Plus

Connecting the RS-232 Controller

Connect the RS-232 pins to the control processor. This example
shows the connections to an Extron MLC 104 IP Plus. If you are
using a different control processor, read the appropriate user
guide to be certain you are making the correct connections.

If using an Extron MLC, use the following RS-232 protocol
parameters:

z 9600 bps

z 8 data bits

z 1 stop bit

z no parity

Simple Instruction Set (SIS™) Commands for Volume and Mute
Control

A serial driver is also available on the Extron website (www.extron.com) that allows Extron
control processors to issue the commands shown below to the MLA VC10 Plus without
needing to enter them manually. For example, this will allow you to exercise serial control
over the MLA VC10 Plus volume by turning a knob on an MLC.

Using the driver requires the control processor to be configured with the appropriate
Extron configuration software (see the user guide for the control processor and the help
file for the software).

RS-232

Tx Rx G

Tx

Rx

AB

MLS PWR

RS-232 12V

Serial Port

GROUND

GROUND

+12V IN

Setting SIS Command Response Comment

Increase volume by 1 step

Decrease volume by 1 step

Set volume

Example: set volume to 82

View volume level

Mute on

Mute off

View mute status

+V

-V

X! V

82V

V

1Z

0Z

Z

Vol

X!]

Vol

X!]

VolX!]

Vol082]

Vol

X!]

Amt1

]

Amt0

]

Amt

X@]

NOTE: X! is 0 to 100:

volume level steps
(0 = mute)

NOTE: X@ is

0 = unmuted,
1 = muted

4

Power Connection

REMT

Extron MLA VC10 Plus

Use the 2-pole, 3.5 mm captive screw power connector to connect a power supply (not
provided). The MLA VC10 Plus can share a power supply with an Extron control processor. If
you are using a third-party controller, the MLA VC10 Plus must be connected to the Extron
external 12 VDC, 1 A power supply (part number 70-775-01), which must be purchased
separately.

CAUTIONS: • For proper start up, the MLA VC10 Plus must be completely powered

off before connecting it to the 12 VDC power supply.

• Read the caution in the “Power Connections” section of the
MLA VC10 Plus User Guide for important information about power
supplies and sharing a power supply between the MLA VC10 Plus and
the MLC 104 IP Plus.

Additional Setup and Conguration

Connecting the Relay (Optional)

By default, the relay is used for the auto mute
function. The relay automatically triggers on
whenever the volume level on the MLA is 0 (see the
MLA VC10 Plus User Guide for more information
about this function). For a third-party amplifier that
has contact closure terminals, the relay can be used
to mute the audio.

This example shows how to set up the relay with
a TOA 900 Series amplifier. Connections to other
amplifiers are similar but see the user guide for your
amplifier for details.

1. Connect the ground (Gnd) of the TOA 900 Series

amplifier to the common (C) pin of the MLA VC10 Plus.

2. Connect the Mute 1 and Mute 2 terminals of the TOA 900 to the Normally Open (NO)

pin of the MLA VC10 Plus.

The relay can be used for other, general purpose control once the auto mute function has
been disabled. One example is to place the amplifier in standby mode to conserve power
when it is idle. See the MLA VC10 Plus User Guide for examples and instructions.

RELAY

NO NCC

TOA 900 Series

Amplifier

GND

C Common

MUTE

MUTE

2

VOL

1

5

MLA VC10 Plus • Setup Guide (Continued)

Extron

Amplifier

Using Variable Voltage to Control Volume

A few amplifiers cannot be controlled by the potentiometer and must, instead, be
controlled by variable DC voltage. This example shows how to connect the MLA VC10 Plus
to an amplifier that requires a maximum output voltage of 10 VDC.

1. Connect the USB port of the MLA VC10 Plus to a computer with the Extron DataViewer

software installed to send the following SIS commands.

NOTE: • See the MLA VC10 Plus User Guide for information about downloading

and installing DataViewer on your computer.

• Whenever possible, Extron recommends configuring the MLA VC10 Plus
before connecting the unit to the amplifier.

• For a complete description of SIS commands, see the MLA VC10 Plus User
Guide, which is available on the Extron website (www.extron.com).

2. Set the MLA VC10 Plus control mode to voltage, using the following command:

EM*1VLCM}

3. Ensure that you know the maximum control voltage for your amplifier. In this example,

the maximum voltage output is 10 VDC.

For more information, see the user guide for the amplifier or measure the voltage, as
described in the MLA VC10 Plus User Guide.

4. For other amplifiers, it may be necessary to set the maximum voltage output.

For example, to set the voltage to 7.5 V, using the following command:

EV*7.50VLCM}

NOTE: You must include the final 0 in 7.50. The leading 0 (07.50) is optional.

5. Disconnect the USB connection to the computer.

6. Connect the MLA VC10 Plus variable voltage ports to the

amplifier:

z Connect the ground (G) terminal of the MLA VC10 Plus to

the ground (Gnd) terminal of the amplifier.

z Connect the control signal voltage (+) terminal of the

MLA VC10 Plus to the signal voltage (Vc) terminal of the
amplifier.

7. Connect the RS-232 controller (see page 4) and power (see

page 5).

MLA VC10 Plus

V-DC

G

G to GND

+ to Vc

+10V

GND Vc

Extron USA Headquarters

+800.633.9876 (Inside USA/Canada Only)

Extron USA - West Extron USA - East
+1.714.491.1500 +1.919.850.1000
+1.714.491.1517 FAX [phone] FAX

Extron Asia
+800.7339.8766
Inside Asia Only

+65.6383.4400
+65.6383.4664 FAX

© 2012 Extron Electronics All rights reserved. www.extron.com

Extron Middle East
+971.4.2991800
+971.4.2991880 FAX

Extron Europe
+800.3987.6673 (Inside Europe Only)
+31.33.453.4040
+31.33.453.4050 FAX

Extron Japan
+81.3.3511.7655
+81.3.3511.7656 FAX

Extron Korea
+82.2.3444.1571
+82.2.3444.1575 FAX

Extron India

1800.3070.3777 (Inside India Only)
+91-80 3055.3777
[phone] FAX

Extron China
+4000.EXTRON
+4000.398766
Inside China Only

+86.21.3760.1568
+86.21.3760.1566 FAX

68-1828-50

Rev. D

06 12

6