Gilderfluke&Co Mp3-50 User Manual

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Mp3-50, Mp3-50/8, Mp3-50/40

Audio & Show Control Systems

Preliminary - printed September 19, 2003

The Mp3-50 is a complete, stand alone Mp3 Audio playback
system. Just add a power supply and your speakers, and it will
play Mp3 audio from the SmartMedia card.

The Mp3-50/8 & Mp3-50/40 add eight or forty digital Show
Control outputs, DMX-512, MIDI or networked RS-422 serial port
input and DMX-512 output to a Mp3-50 player. The Mp3-50/8 &

and

Mp3-50/40 are complete audio

Show Control solutions.

The Mp3-50/8C & Mp3-50/40C adds WWV synchronized
scheduling. This gives you ‘Atomic’ clock accuracy for carillons,
schools, churches, bell towers & industrial annunciator systems.

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Safety Disclaimer: Any electronic or mechanical
system has the potential to fail. Certain applica­tions using Gilderfluke & Company equipment may
involve potential risks of death, personal injury or
severe property or environmental damage (“Criti­cal Application”).

Gilderfluke & Company equipment is not de­signed, intended, authorized or warranted to be
suitable in life support applications, devices or
systems or other critical applications. Inclusion of
Gilderfluke & Company products in such applica­tions is understood to be fully at the risk of the cus­tomer. In order to minimize risks associated with
the customer's applications, adequate design and
operating safeguards should be provided by the
customer to minimize inherent or procedural haz­ards.

Gilderfluke & Company assumes no liability for
applications assistance, customer produced de­sign, software performance, or infringement of
patents or copyrights. Nor does Gilderfluke &
Company warrant or represent that any license, ei­ther express or implied, is granted under any
patent right, copyright, mask work right, or other in­tellectual property right of Gilderfluke & Company
covering or relating to any combination, machine,
or process in which Gilderfluke & Company prod­ucts or services might be or are used.

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Mp3-50, Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 Overview ........ 1

Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 Indicators ..................... 5

Mp3 Heart ............................................................................. 6

Mp3 Run ............................................................................... 6

Right ..................................................................................... 6

Left ........................................................................................ 6

Show Control Heart .............................................................. 6

Run ....................................................................................... 6

DMX/MIDI/Serial ................................................................... 6

Board Error ........................................................................... 7

J8 ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, & ‘D’ Input LEDs ............................................. 7

Output LEDs .......................................................................... 7

Fuses .................................................................................... 8

Mp3-50, Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 Connections .. 9

RS-232 Serial Port ................................................................. 9

USB ....................................................................................... 9

Power Supply ...................................................................... 10

DMX-512/MIDI Serial In ...................................................... 10

DMX-512 ....................................................................... 11

MIDI Notes ..................................................................... 12

Net Serial ....................................................................... 13

IR Mode ......................................................................... 14

None ............................................................................. 16

DMX-512/MIDI Output ........................................................ 16

Status Output ...................................................................... 18

Left Speaker Output ............................................................ 18

Right Speaker Output .......................................................... 18

‘1/4 J6’ Inputs/Outputs ....................................................... 18

Mp3-50 ......................................................................... 18

Mp3-50/8 ...................................................................... 19

Mp3-50/40 .................................................................... 19

Left Line Output ................................................................... 20

Right Line Output ................................................................ 20

J8 ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’ & ‘D’ inputs .................................................. 20

‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’ & ‘D’ Binary ..................................................... 21

‘J6’ Digital Outputs ............................................................. 24

Mp3-50/CC-10 Card Cage ............................... 29

Shows for Mp3-50/8 ........................................... 32

Show Capacities ................................................ 32

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Mp3-50/8 Show Configurations ............................. 32

One Combined Show Control/Mp3 Control Channel ......... 32

One Show Control, One Mp3 Control Channel .................. 34

One Audio Level Control Channel ...................................... 35

Two Audio Level Control Channels ..................................... 37

DMX-512 w/Overlapping Channels .................................... 39

Sixteen DMX-512 Channels ................................................ 40

Shows for Mp3-50/40 ......................................... 43

Show Capacities ................................................ 43

Mp3-50/40 Show Configurations ........................... 43

One Combined Show Control/Mp3 Control Channel ......... 43

Five Show Control, One Mp3 Control Channel .................. 45

One Audio Level Control Channel ...................................... 46

Two Audio Level Control Channels ..................................... 48

DMX-512 w/Overlapping Channels .................................... 50

Sixteen DMX-512 Channels ................................................ 52

Preparing Animation Data for AutoDownloads 54

Serial Port Commands ...................................... 58

Echo Commands ................................................................ 58

Echo On ........................................................................ 58

Echo Off ........................................................................ 58

Card Status ......................................................................... 59

Card Reset ......................................................................... 61

Start Commands ................................................................. 61

Start Track ...................................................................... 61

Start Global ................................................................... 61

Stop Commands ................................................................. 61

Stop Track ...................................................................... 61

Stop Global ................................................................... 61

Loop Commands ................................................................ 62

Loop Track ..................................................................... 62

Loop Global ................................................................... 62

Stop at End Commands ...................................................... 62

Stop at End Track ........................................................... 62

Stop at End Global ......................................................... 62

Select Show Commands ..................................................... 62

Select Show Track .......................................................... 62

Select Show Global ........................................................ 62

Select Sound Commands ................................................... 63

Select Sound Track ........................................................ 63

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Select Sound Global ...................................................... 63

Show Pause Commands ..................................................... 63

Pause Show ................................................................... 63

Continue Show .............................................................. 63

AutoDownload .................................................................... 63

RealTime Update ................................................................. 63

Serial Command Summary .................................. 65

Hardware Configuration ................................... 66

Internal/External Power ...................................................... 66

RS-422/Optoisolated ........................................................... 66

Serial Configuration .......................................... 67

Play a Sound ....................................................................... 71

Display Config. from SmartMedia ...................................... 71

Serial Address ................................................................ 71

MIDI channel ................................................................. 71

MIDI 1st Note ................................................................. 72

Repeater Control Channel ............................................ 72

Left Level Control ........................................................... 72

Right Level Control ........................................................ 72

First Animation Channel ................................................. 72

eeFlag0 ......................................................................... 72

eeFlag1 ......................................................................... 73

eeFlag2 ......................................................................... 73

Show Info ............................................................................ 73

Set Time .............................................................................. 74

Stop at End .......................................................................... 74

Loop a Show ....................................................................... 74

Play a Show ........................................................................ 75

Stop Playing ........................................................................ 75

Verify Shows ....................................................................... 75

Software Installation .......................................... 76

Software/Firmware Versions ............................. 78

What to do with a new SmartMedia Card ........ 79

Mp3-50 Configurator ......................................... 81

default settings .................................................. 83

Track Setup ........................................................ 85

Change Track Number ....................................................... 85

Reload Track List From Directory ........................................ 85

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At End ................................................................................. 86

Stop .............................................................................. 86

Next Higher Selection ..................................................... 86

Play Random Selection .................................................. 86

Specific AudioFile .......................................................... 86

Can Step On Track with a new Play request ....................... 86

Track to Play at PowerUp .................................................... 87

PlayList Setup ..................................................... 88

Audio Setup ....................................................... 89

Main Volume Level ............................................................. 89

Half Mute ............................................................................ 89

RealTime Level Control ....................................................... 90

EQ Settings ......................................................................... 90

Enable Power Amplifier ...................................................... 90

Input Setup ........................................................ 91

Binary Select ...................................................... 92

Playback Level .................................................................... 92

Do not change Playback Level ....................................... 93

Fade to Full In ................................................................ 93

Fade to Zero In .............................................................. 93

Fade to ‘Half Mute’ In ..................................................... 93

Start Playing ....................................................................... 93

Whatever is Next ............................................................ 94

Next Higher Track ........................................................... 94

The Same Track Again .................................................... 94

Random Track ............................................................... 94

Specific AudioFile .......................................................... 94

Stop Playing ........................................................................ 94

Stop Now ....................................................................... 95

Stop at End .................................................................... 95

MPU Input Setup ................................................. 96

Binary Select ...................................................... 97

Playback Level .................................................................... 97

Do not change Playback Level ....................................... 98

Fade to Full In ................................................................ 98

Fade to Zero In .............................................................. 98

Fade to ‘Half Mute’ In ..................................................... 98

Start Playing ....................................................................... 98

Whatever is Next ............................................................ 99

Next Higher Track ........................................................... 99

The Same Track Again .................................................... 99

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Random Track ............................................................... 99

Specific AudioFile .......................................................... 99

Stop Playing ........................................................................ 99

Stop Now ..................................................................... 100

Stop at End .................................................................. 100

MPU Control Setup ............................................ 101

Enable DMX-512 Transmission ......................................... 101

Enable DMX-512 Reception .............................................. 102

Enable DMX-512 Checksums ........................................... 103

Enable MIDI Reception ..................................................... 103

MIDI Notes Trigger Animation Playback ........................... 104

MIDI Channel Number ..................................................... 105

MIDI First Note Number .................................................... 105

Net Serial Mode ................................................................ 105

IR Trigger Mode ................................................................ 106

Repeater MPU Control Channel ....................................... 108

First Animation Channel ................................................... 108

Enable Animation From Flash ........................................... 109

Disable Outputs When Stopped ........................................ 109

Write Protect Flash Memory ............................................. 109

Available Files for Download ............................................ 109

Always Download Current File to Flash on Boot ............... 110

‘Atomic’ Clock Setup .......................................... 111

Disable Schedule Starts .................................................... 114

Reset Clock ...................................................................... 114

Care & Feeding of an ‘Atomic’ Clock .................... 116

alarms .............................................................................. 117

HEXadecimal to Decimal to Percentage ....... 119

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A note about this manual:

This manual covers the specifics of the
Mp3-50, Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40. To program
the Mp3-50, Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 you will
need to also need the PC•MACs manual sec­tions that cover the PC•MACs software.

The Mp3-50, Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 is
typically programmed in ‘Software-only’ or
‘Hardwareless RealTime’ mode. If you are
using the PC•MACs MACs-USB for program­ming your Mp3-50, Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40
through the DMX-512 input, please refer to the
PC•MACs ‘Unlimited’ mode.

The full PC•MACs manual can be down­loaded from our web site at:

http:/ /www.gilderfluke.com

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Mp3-50, Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 Overview

The Mp3-30 is a complete audio playback box. It uses a
SmartMedia card to hold audio files stored in the standard Mp3
format. With no moving parts to wear out, the Mp3-50 should well
outlast the speakers it is attached to. The Mp3-50 can be used
singly, or in combination with additional Mp3-50s, Mp3-50/8s or
Mp3-50/40s, BR-SmartMedia cards or any Gilderfluke & Co.
equipment. It can provide the audio for animated shows and
displays, fountains, fireworks, safety announcements, advertising,
alarm systems, window displays special effects, signs, clocks
and carillons, or anything else that needs a sound to be played
back upon command.

Audio is loaded onto the Mp3-50 by first converting it to a
Mp3 format file. There are a number of shareware programs for
doing this, as well as Mp3 encoders included as part of most
audio editing programs
50’s SmartMedia card by temporarily moving the SmartMedia
card to an appropriate slot or reader attached to your comput­er, or plugging in a USB cable to the front of the Mp3-50 from
your computer. In the later case, the Mp3-50 will appear as a ‘re­movable disk drive’ on your computer. You can then ‘drag and
drop’ your audio files onto to the SmartMedia card.

1

. The AudioFiles are moved to the Mp3-

The Mp3-50/8 and Mp3-50/40 are complete stand-alone
Show Control and Audio Playback Systems. The Mp3-50/8s or
Mp3-50/40s can be used singly, or in combination with addition­al Mp3-50s, Mp3-50/8s or Mp3-50/40s, BR-SmartMedia cards or
any Gilderfluke & Co. equipment. It can be used to control ani­mated shows and displays, fountains, fireworks, lighting, sound
systems, simulators, slide and movie projectors, fiber optics, win­dow displays, motors, pneumatic and hydraulic systems, neon
special effects, signs, machines and machine tools in process
control, or anything else that can be controlled by an electrical

1

Contact our sales staff for current Mp3 file converter recommendations.

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signal.

The Show Control side of the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 is pro-

grammed using our PC•MACs Show Control software. While pro-
gramming, data can be sent to the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40
through its DMX-512 input, ‘Net Serial’ RS-422 port, or RS-232 seri­al port. Once programed, data is sent to the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-
50/40 through the PC’s serial port or loaded onto the SmartMedia
card for permanent storage. The Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 can
then be disconnected from the PC and it will run all by itself.

When used with a ‘Hardwareless RealTime’ licensed copy of

PC•MACs software, Mp3-50/8s or Mp3-50/40s can have their
outputs programmed and updated in real time with just a PC
and a serial connection. When used with the PC•MACs hard-
ware (MACs-SMP or MACs-USB Smpte Card), up to sixty-four Mp3-
50/8s or Mp3-50/40s can be updated in RealTime through the
DMX-512 port.

Features of the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 include:

• Stand alone stereo playback of standard Mp3 audio files. Up to

255 different AudioFiles can be selected and played. Sound ca­pacity is only limited by the size of the SmartMedia card installed.
Player supports all standard Mp3 encoding rates, including ‘vari­able’.

• Two line level outputs (RCA Jacks), or you can use the powerful

11 watt/channel onboard amplifier. In most applications, this am­plifier means that all you need to add are appropriate speakers, a
SmartMedia card and a power supply to get up and running.

• Audio data is stored in standard SmartMedia cards. You can use

the built-in USB port to temporarily attach the Mp3-50 to your
computer as a ‘removable hard drive’ or move the SmartMedia
card itself to your computer for high speed ‘drag-n-drop’ down­loading. As a bonus feature, you can also use a USB connected
Mp3-50 to download photos from your digital camera, or pro­gram SmartMedia cards for any other devices that need them.
This includes the BR-SmartMedia.

• All configuration is done through a user friendly Windows-based

program. You can set the volume, EQ, and what each of sixteen

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trigger inputs does. Eight of the inputs are from the outside world
through optoisolators, The other eight inputs come directly from
the Show Control side of the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40, if these
options are installed. Any of the inputs can be used to ramp
audio to preset levels, select and play specific AudioFiles or select
AudioFiles from a preset list or randomizer. Shows can be selected
directly by an input, or using a binary pattern to allow access to
all 255 different possible audio files.

• Mounts stand alone, in 2-3/4” Augat Snap Track, or up to 10 in a
Mp3-50/CC10 cage (Mp3-50 only).

• Runs on any voltage from 12 to 24 volts DC. The Mp3-50s, Mp3­50/8s or Mp3-50/40s can even be run from batteries! For maxi-

mum output with the onboard amplifier, use 24 volts, and add
approximately 25 Watts (for amplifier) plus your loads when select­ing your power supply.

Features of the Mp3-50/8 and Mp3-50/40 include:

• Adds eight (Mp3-50/8) or forty (Mp3-50/40) digital (on/off) Show
Control outputs to a Mp3-50.

• DMX-512 input for programming or controlling the audio play-

back. DMX-512 output for sixteen channel from onboard Show
Control memory or when running from RealTime updates through
the RS-232 serial port.

• Automatic ‘program in place’ download through the serial port on
your PC or through the SmartMedia card. There are no Eproms to
program or install! The amount of time it takes to download shows
the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 depends on the length of the
show(s). Short shows take only seconds. Shows that fill the entire
Mp3-50/8s or Mp3-50/40s memory will take about ten minutes to
download. Show audio and animation data can be distributed to
clients by sending out preloaded SmartMedia cards.

• 512 KBytes of nonvolatile Show Control memory. Using all forty
Mp3-50/40 Show Control outputs, this gives a show capacity of

about an hour at thirty updates per second! About five hours for
the Mp3-50/8 using all eight of its outputs! Once downloaded,
show data is retained for approximately forty years, with or without
power applied. Up to 255 individual shows can be loaded onto a

Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 at one time.

• Mp3 Audio files can be selected, played and audio levels con-

trolled from the Show Control System. Left and Right audio out-

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puts can be controlled individually, or assigned to the same
analog control channel.

• Two hundred fifty-five shows can be loaded onto a Mp3-50/8 or
Mp3-50/40 at one time. Shows can be accessed sequentially or

directly using the four optoisolated inputs or serial commands
sent through the RS-422 serial port. The ‘Next’ show can be set for
the end of any show, allowing you to loop a single show or build
‘chains’ of shows.

• The Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 supports update rates from one
frame per second to a maximum of one hundred frames per sec­ond. Different shows can each be programmed at different frame
rates. This allows you to program ‘delay’ shows that tick along at a
low frame rate between your main shows, and use very little
memory.

• Four optoisolated inputs to synchronize Mp3-50/8s or Mp3­50/40s with pushbuttons or other real-time events. Multiple Mp3-
50/8s or Mp3-50/40s can be triggered simultaneously or sequen-

tially. Each Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 input can be set to start,
stop, pause, continue, or directly select and play a specific show.
Different actions can be requested on each inputs’ opening or
closing edges. If not used for anything else, the four optically iso­lated inputs can be used to select and play up to fifteen shows at
random through using a binary weighted pattern.

• Shows can also be triggered via the RS-232 or RS-422 serial ports,
MIDI ‘notes’, or IR Triggers.

• Each of the thirty-two outputs is rated for a continuous load of
150 ma., or 500 ma. peak. This is enough to drive small solenoid
valves, relays, LEDs and similar loads. Relays can be used to con­trol higher current or voltage loads (DRV-03 or SSR-FS). If more
than forty outputs are needed, additional Mp3-50/8s or Mp3-

50/40s can be added to give you as many outputs as you need.

• The outputs from a Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 can be fed to Digital

to Analog converters (like our single channel DAC-08 or four
channel DAC-QUAD) wherever you need 0-10 volt analog control
signals.

• When programming, or when installed as a permanent part of a
larger control system, the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 accepts data
through its DMX-512 and RS-422 serial port. This data is used to
update the outputs, and takes precedence over the on board
Flash memory.

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Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 Indicators

There are only a small number of connections, indicators, and configu-

ration switches on each Mp3-50, Mp3-50/8, Mp3-50/40.

0.25"

2.25"

2.75"

0.25"

0.25" 0.25"

1.3"

Mp3-50/8 (audio & eight Show Control Outputs):

0.25"

2.75" .187" dia.

2.25"

0.25"

0.25" 0.25"

1.3"

Mp3-50 (audio only):

internal

Trigger Power

externa

(switch on bottom)

l

9-24 vdc

Power

9-24 vdc

Power

0

0
1
2
3
4

Status

Out

5
6

Speaker

7

Left

Fuse

Speaker

0

Right

In

Out

Left

Right

9-24 vdc

9-24 vdc

Power

Power

MIDI

MIDI

Speaker

Speaker

internal

external

(switch on bottom)

0

0
1

DMX/

2
3
4

DMX/

5
6
7

Fuse

0

isolated

RS-422

(switch on bottom)

Gilderfluke & Company • Burbank, California

Trigger Power

'A'

'B'

'C'

'D'

DMX/MIDI input

Gilderfluke & Company • Burbank, California

5.5"

5.5"

6"

MP3-50

MP3-50/8

.187" dia.
4 places

4 places

US

B

Show Control Heart

USB

Run

DMX/
MIDI/

Serial

Error

RS-232

MP3 Heart

MP3 Run

MP3 Heart

MP3 Run

Right

Left

Right

Left

6"

Mp3-50/40 (audio & forty Show Control Outputs):

0.25"

2.75" .187" dia.

2.25"

0.25"

0.25" 0.25"

1.3"

In

Out

Left

Right

9-24 vdc

9-24 vdc

Power

Power

MIDI

MIDI

Speaker

Speaker

internal

Trigger Power

external

(switch on bottom)

4

'A'

0
1

DMX/

2

'B'

3
4

DMX/

5

'C'

6
7

'D'

Fuse

4

DMX/MIDI input

isolated

(switch on bottom)

RS-422

3210

7
6

5
4
3

2
1
0

Fuse

3210

Gilderfluke & Company • Burbank, California

5.5"

7
6

5
4
3

2
1
0

Fuse

MP3-50/40

4 places

Show Control Heart

USB

Run

DMX/
MIDI/

Serial

Error

6"

There are up to fifty-seven Status LEDs on the Mp3-50, Mp3-50/8 or

Mp3-50/40:

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RS-232

MP3 Heart

MP3 Run

Right

Left

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E

1) Mp3 Heart:

(Mp3-50, Mp3-50/8, Mp3-50/40)

The Mp3 ‘heartbeat’
will always flash so that you can see that the audio playback half
of the Mp3-50, Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 is alive. If this LED does-
n’t flash at least twice per second, you should power down the
Mp3-50, Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 and check the power supply
and connections to the Mp3-50, Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40.

2) Mp3 Run:

(Mp3-50, Mp3-50/8, Mp3-50/40)

This LED will light to
show that the Mp3 Player is currently playing back an audio file.

3) Right:

(Mp3-50, Mp3-50/8, Mp3-50/40)

This LED flickers to give
you a rough approximation of the audio being played out of the
right side of the audio player. It is upstream of the volume pro­cessing done on the Mp3-50, and will not dim to reflect changes
in volume level.

4) Left:

(Mp3-50, Mp3-50/8, Mp3-50/40)

This LED flickers to give you
a rough approximation of the audio being played out of the left
side of the audio player. It is upstream of the volume processing
done on the Mp3-50, and will not dim to reflect changes in vol­ume level.

5) Show Control Heart:

(Mp3-50/8, Mp3-50/40)

The Show Control
‘heartbeat’ will always flash so that you can see that the Show
Control half of the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 is alive. If this LED
doesn’t flash at least twice per second, you should power down
the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 and check the power supply and
connections to the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40. During flash memo­ry downloads, this LED will flash alternately with the
DMX/MIDI/Serial LED at twice the normal heartbeat rate.

6) Run:

(Mp3-50/8, Mp3-50/40)

This LED will light to show that the
Show Control half of the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 is currently run­ning a preprogrammed show. This LED will also flash at half of the
frame rate (usually 15 Hz) when the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 is re­ceiving RealTime update data either through the DMX-512 or seri­al ports.

7) DMX/MIDI/Serial:

(Mp3-50/8, Mp3-50/40)

This LED will light to
show that the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 is receiving RealTime Up­date data through the DMX-512, MIDI or serial ports. If the Mp3-
50/8 or Mp3-50/40 is receiving show starts from MIDI input, then
this led will flash for about 1/10th of a second each time a ‘start’
happens. During flash memory downloads, this LED will flash alter­nately with the Show Control Heart LED at twice the normal heart­beat rate.

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8) Board Error:

(Mp3-50/8, Mp3-50/40)

This LED will flash to show
you that the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 has sensed one of the fol­lowing errors:

a) Just booted: Lights for a short period each time the Mp3-

50/8 or Mp3-50/40’s microcontroller starts up.

b) RealTime DMX-512 Update Error: The optional checksum in

the DMX-512 RealTime update didn’t agree with the data
received.

c) RealTime Serial Update Error: The checksum in the RS-422

serial port RealTime update didn’t agree with the data re­ceived.

d) Download Error: There was an error in the data being

downloaded to the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40.

e) Download Timeout: If the data being downloaded to the

Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 stops mid-stream, this LED will flash

as the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 returns itself to normal oper­ating mode.

f) Data Verification Failure: If you ask the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-

50/40 to verify the data in its flash memory, and it finds an

error, it will flash this LED as well as displaying an error mes­sage on your computer screen.

g) Memory locked: If you try to clear the flash memory or

send a show to the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 while the Write
Protect is in the ‘locked’ position.

9) J8 ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, & ‘D’ Input LEDs:

(Mp3-50/8, Mp3-50/40)

four LED will light to show current is flowing through the four Show
Control Trigger inputs. These LEDs are on the input side of the op­toisolators, so a dim glow may indicate an input is getting a cur­rent, but not necessarily enough to trigger an action. These four
trigger inputs are the only way to use a switch closure input to
start the animated sequence playing on a Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-

50/40.

10) Output LEDs

on Mp3-50/40):

(8 LEDs on Mp3-50, 8 LEDs on Mp3-50/8, 40 LEDs

These LEDs show the current status of the Show
Control digital outputs. If a LED is lit, then that output is ‘ON’. Be­cause the outputs of a Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 are ‘Open Col­lector, Switch To Ground’, you can ground out any output pin,
and the appropriate LED will light. This can be useful when diag­nosing output wiring problems. If you are commanding ‘on’ an

These

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output and you don’t see a LED, then the output is probably draw­ing too much current and the output is ‘self protecting’. Discon­nect the load and see if the LED now lights. If it does, then it defi­nitely is an overload problem. If it does not, then try turning ‘on’
some of the other outputs. If they light OK, then the output driver
might be damaged. If they do not, then verify your addressing
and retest.

A Mp3-50 has eight optically isolated trigger inputs which can

be used to select, start and change the audio levels of the audio
half of the Mp3-50 player. These LEDs will light to show trigger in­puts being sent into the audio half of the Mp3-50. The only out-
put channel on a Mp3-50/8, and the last output channel on a
Mp3-50/40 are shared with these audio trigger inputs. Normally
these are not used to trigger the audio on a Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-
50/40. The ‘hidden’ MPU trigger inputs from the Show Control half
of the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 are normally used instead. This
leaves these eight outputs free to be used as outputs.

11) Fuses

50/40)

(1 LED on Mp3-50, 1 LED on Mp3-50/8, 5 LEDs on Mp3-

: The eight inputs of a Mp3-50 and the eight outputs of the

Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 make one, eight-bit wide ‘channel’. The

forty outputs of the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 are divided into five,
eight-bit wide ‘channels’.

The eight inputs of a Mp3-50, eight outputs of a Mp3-50/8,

and last channel of a Mp3-50/40 are shared with the eight opti­cally isolated inputs to the audio half of the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-
50/40. This channel, and only this channel can be switched be­tween using ‘internal’ and ‘external’ power using the switch on the
bottom of the unit. This will be lit when there is an external voltage
source present between pins #1 and #10 of the 1/4 J6 input,
when the switch is in the ‘external’ position. If the fuse LED is off for
this channel, check to make sure that this switch is not in the ‘ex­ternal’ position if you are not feeding this channel an external
voltage source.

Each channel is fused for approximately one Amp of continu-

ous current. These LEDs light to show if the fuses are OK. If any are
out, then a short circuit (or too heavy of a load) is dragging the
outputs down and causing the fuse to open. The fuses are actual­ly ‘PTC fuses’, which act more like circuit breakers. Once the over­load is removed, they reset.

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Mp3-50, Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 Connections

1) RS-232 Serial Port:

(Mp3-50/8, Mp3-50/40)

The serial command
set is identical to, and compatible with all of the RS-422 Serial
Ports used on Gilderfluke & Company products. One difference
between the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 and most of our products is
that the serial port is the primary method used to configure it. A

Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 is normally configured through the ‘Mp3
Configurator’ program which is also used to configure the Mp3

half. This configuration is downloaded to the Show Control half of
the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 each time the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-
50/40 is turned on. The Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 has a serial ‘con­figuration’ mode which will allow you to check and modify the sta­tus and configuration of the Show Control half of the Mp3-50/8
or Mp3-50/40. This is used to configure the animation half of a
Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 if the audio half is not yet, or never is
going to be used.

The serial data signals from the Mp3-50/8s or Mp3-50/40s
are brought out on a 1/8” three conductor ‘stereo’ socket. Its pin
out and cross connect to the standard serial port on a PC is as
follows:

IBM AT

Serial

gnd

Txd
Rxd

9
8

7
6

5
4

3
2

1

(ring)
(sleeve)

(tip)

2
3

1

The Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 expects to see the serial data in
the following format:

ONE START BIT

EIGHT DATA BITS

ONE STOP BIT

2) USB:

(Mp3-50, Mp3-50/8, Mp3-50/40)

The standard USB port can
be used to download audio files and configurations to the Mp3-
50/8 or Mp3-50/40. Alternatively, the SmartMedia card can be re­moved from the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 and plugged into an
appropriate slot on your computer to configure and load audio

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files onto it. Once the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 software drivers
have been loaded onto your computer, you can plug a USB
cable from your computer to the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40. After
a few moments the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 will appear on your
computer as a ‘removable hard disk drive’. You can then access
the SmartMedia card in the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 just as you
would any disk that is attached to your computer. You can even
use the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 to download pictures from the
SmartMedia card you normally use in your digital camera.

3) Power Supply:

(Mp3-50, Mp3-50/8, Mp3-50/40)

The power sup­ply connections to the Mp3-50, Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 are
available on both a 2.1 mm power jack and two of the screw ter­minal positions. For mobile, permanent or higher current applica­tions, you may wish to use the screw terminals instead of the 2.1
mm power jack. It is less prone to being accidentally unplugged
or vibrating loose. The screw terminals are also a very convenient
place to ‘steal’ a little ‘juice’ to power the four optically isolated in­puts.

If you are not using the onboard amplifier, the Mp3-50, Mp3-
50/8 or Mp3-50/40 can be run from any supply voltage from 9
VDC to 24 VDC. If you are using the onboard amplifier and want
to reach the maximum possible power from the amplifier, you will
need to run the Mp3-50, Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 from 24 VDC.

The Show Control outputs are powered from this supply con­nection as well. If you are driving 24 VDC loads, then run the
Mp3-50, Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 on 24 VDC. If your loads re­quire 12 VDC, then run the Mp3-50, Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 on
12 VDC.

The power supply connections are protected from reversed
polarity. An idle Mp3-50, Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 draws only
about ??? milliamperes. The onboard amplifier and loads which
the Mp3-50, Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 is controlling will usually
draw far more current than the Mp3-50, Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40
itself. If you are using the onboard amplifier, you should allow at
least 25 Watts for it, in addition to the current for controlling your
animation loads (Mp3-50/8 and Mp3-50/40). If you hear ‘clicks’ or
clipping on your amplifier outputs, then your power supply capac­ity may need to be increased.

4) DMX-512/MIDI Serial In:

(Mp3-50/8, Mp3-50/40)

Two position
Screw Terminals. This input can be selected for RS-422 (high-z) or
optoisolated (low-z) input by a switch on the bottom of the unit.

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DMX-512 is normally used with the ‘RS-422’ position. MIDI will

only

work in the ‘optoisolated’ position. The Net Serial or IR Trigger
modes are normally used in the ‘RS-422’ position, but will actually
work in either position.

If you need to optically isolate the signal, but feed multiple

Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40, you can use a single Mp3-50/8 or
Mp3-50/40 as an isolator/buffer: The external signal can be fed
into one of the ‘optoisolated’ DMX/MIDI inputs on any one Mp3­50/8 or Mp3-50/40, and the other units fed in parallel from the

DMX/MIDI output from that first unit. All of these other ‘down­stream’ Mp3-50/8s or Mp3-50/40s should have their inputs set for
RS-422.

This connection has five possible modes of operation. These

are selected through the ‘Mp3 Configurator’ program.

a) DMX-512: The switch on the bottom of the Mp3-50 should

be in the RS-422/High-z position to be used for DMX-512.
The Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 will stop playing any shows
from the onboard flash memory as soon as valid DMX-512
signal is received.

The DMX-512 standard was developed by the United
States Institute for Theatrical Technology (USITT) for a high
speed (250 KBaud) asynchronous serial data link. Although it
was originally designed for controlling light dimmers, it is
now supported by hundreds of suppliers throughout the
world for controlling all kinds of theatrical equipment.

Even though the DMX-512 standard calls for 512 chan­nels of data, the DMX-512 transmission from PC•MACs is
limited to 256 eight-bit wide channels. If you have enabled
the DMX-512 checksum, you can address your DMX-512
compatible output devices to respond to any address be­tween 0 and 255. Addresses above the 256th are used in

PC•MACs for transmitting a checksum. The Mp3-50/8 or
Mp3-50/40 can use this to verify that the data received

from PC•MACs has no transmission errors in it. If you ad-
dress a light dimmer or other DMX-512 device to addresses
256 or 257, you will see this verification data displayed as a
flickering pattern.

If you have NOT selected DMX-512 checksums, the
‘Mp3 Configurator’ will allow you to set the addresses for
DMX-512 to any address from 1 through 512. Address ‘1’ is

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equivalent to address ‘0’ if you were using checksums.

The DMX-512 checksums should be enabled if the DMX-

512 that is sent to the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 is coming
from ANY piece of Gilderfluke & Company equipment. The
checksums assure that the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 will not
update its outputs on ‘bad’ data.

b) MIDI Notes: The switch on the bottom of the Mp3-50 must

be in the optoisolated/Low-z position to be used for MIDI.
The MIDI should be fed to the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 as
follows:

MIDI pin #1 = no connection
MIDI pin #2 = no connection
MIDI pin #3 = no connection
MIDI pin #4 into - DMX/MIDI In
MIDI pin #5 into + DMX/MIDI In

The Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 will respond to MIDI ‘Note

On’, ‘Note Off’, ‘Reset’, ‘All Notes Off’ and ‘All Sounds Off’.
Running commands for ‘Note On’ and ‘Note Off’ com­mands are accepted. All other defined MIDI commands
should be received and properly ignored. There are two
ways the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 can be configured to re-
spond to MIDI Note commands.

1) When ‘MIDI Notes Trigger Animation’ checkbox is OFF,
then MIDI is used to directly access the Show Control
Outputs and Mp3 audio files:

a) Any MIDI notes which are below the number

you have set for the ‘MIDI Offset’ are ignored.

b) The next eight (Mp3-50/8) or forty (Mp3-50/40)

MIDI notes are mapped directly to the 8/40
Show Control outputs. These can be used to
ring mechanical bells or control animation di­rectly from MIDI notes.

c) The next eight MIDI notes are sent to the ‘MPU

Interface’ to select and trigger audio files,
mute, and otherwise control the Mp3 Player.

d) The remaining notes are used to directly select

and play individual AudioFiles stored on the
Mp3 Player. Only note ‘On’ MIDI commands will
have any effect on selecting and playing Au­dioFiles. The ‘velocity’ of the note will set the
playback level of the triggered AudioFile, if Re-

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alTime level control has been enabled on the
Mp3 Player.

The DMX/MIDI/Serial LED will be lit once MIDI is re­ceived through this port. This LED will remain on for
approximately 10 seconds after the MIDI is removed
from the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40. The Mp3-50/8 or
Mp3-50/40 will stop playing any shows from the on­board flash memory as soon as valid MIDI signal is re­ceived. It will not restart automatically if the MIDI sig­nal is removed.

2) When ‘MIDI Notes Trigger Animation’ checkbox is ON,
then MIDI notes are used to directly access Animation
sequences stored in the flash on the Mp3-50/8 or
Mp3-50/40. These sequences in turn can access
audio files on the Mp3 Player, as well as controlling
the Show Control outputs. When operating in this
mode:

a) Any MIDI notes which are below the number

you have set for the ‘MIDI Offset’ are ignored.

b) The remaining notes are used to directly select

and play individual animation sequences stored
on the Show Control half of the Mp3-50/8 or
Mp3-50/40. These animation sequences can in
turn select and play audio files and control
audio levels on the Mp3 Player. Only ‘Note On’
commands are used to select and play animat­ed shows when operating in this mode.

The DMX/MIDI/Serial LED will be flash for 1/10 sec­ond each time a preprogrammed show is started by a
MIDI note. The Show Control side of the Mp3-50/8 or
Mp3-50/40 can still accept starts though the serial
port and four trigger inputs while operating in this
mode.

c) Net Serial: The Optoisolated/RS-422 switch on the bottom

of the Mp3-50 can be in either position. If feeding multiple
Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40, then the ‘RS-422’ position should
be used.

One big disadvantage of the RS-232 serial port on the

Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 is that only one Mp3-50/8 or Mp3­50/40 can be attached to the same serial port at the same

time. This is the unfortunate nature of a RS-232 port. If you
had a bunch of Mp3-50s in the same system, this could

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quickly chew up a lot of serial ports! Most of our other prod­ucts use RS-422 serial ports. Along with being able to run
your wires up to a mile (RS-232 is limited to about 50 feet if
the wind is blowing in the right direction), RS-422 allows lots
of devices to be attached to the same serial port at the
same time.

Because it is not uncommon to access and control a
large number of repeaters on the same serial line, the DMX­512/MIDI input can be selected to turn the DMX-512/MIDI
port into a multidrop Serial network. This mode parallels the
data received on the DMX-512/MIDI input pins with the seri­al data received on the regular RS-232 serial port. The serial
data is still output from the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 still
comes ONLY through the RS-232 serial port on the front to
the unit.

This serial port can be used to select and play shows,
check the status of a card, or AutoDownload shows from
any point on the network. Since it is 100% compatible with
the RS-422 serial ports on all other Gilderfluke & Company
equipment, a multidrop network can consist of up to 256
Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 and any other Gilderfluke & Com­pany devices. The only requirement is that they all be set to
unique addresses.

Since RS-422 is probably the most widely used of indus­trial data networks, a myriad of other pieces of equipment
are available which will also work with the Net Serial mode.
These allow you to do tricks like controlling the Mp3-50/8 or
Mp3-50/40 through a wireless modem using off-the-shelf
hardware.

A typical application is to use a touch screen operator
interface to access and play shows. These generally use a
user definable graphical interface. You pretty much draw a
button, and then attach a string to it. When this on-screen
button is pushed, this string is sent out to control the down­stream equipment.

d) IR Mode: The Optoisolated/RS-422 switch on the bottom of

the Mp3-50 can be in either position, but RS-422 is pre­ferred. This turns on a special serial port mode on the Mp3-
50/8 or Mp3-50/40 which allows it to be used with our In­fraRed Transmitters and Receivers. The IR Remote mode is
typically used to trigger an animation or sound system

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mounted on a vehicle, turntable, or other installation where

wires can’t be used. The DMX-512 /MIDI port is forced to

1200 baud and all serial port commands are disabled on

the DMX-512/MIDI port when this mode is ON. Any binary

show number received by the serial port for more than ten

times will trigger the requested show. Typically the transmit-

ters are placed along the path of the vehicle’s travel to trig-

ger the appropriate animation sequences at the appropri-

ate times.

The connections to the IR Remote Receiver are as fol-

lows (view is facing end of cable with latch up):

NAME COLOR SIGNAL FUNCTION

LEFT Ground WHITE Ground

n/c BLACK no connection
n/c RED no connection

- TxD GREEN - DMX-512/MIDI Input

+ TxD YELLOW + DMX-512/MIDI Input

RIGHT Ground BLUE Ground

In addition to these connections, the IR Receiver re­quires a 7 to 24 volt DC power supply connection. This is
normally attached to the two pads marked “+” and “-” on
the receiver. A jumper option allows you to bring this in
through the blue wire on the RJ-11 connector.

When in this mode the ‘Early Starts’ for all shows should
be set to ‘NOT Steppable’. If this is not done, then the same
show will be retriggered over and over again until the vehi­cle moves out of the IR beam from the transmitter.

The IR Transmitter has an eight position dipswitch which
sets which show it selects. The lower nibble of the address
are set with the first four switches, and the upper nibble is
set with the last four. Valid show numbers are 01h through
FFh:

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SWITCH #1 SWITCH #2 SWITCH #3 SWITCH #4 LOWER NIBBLE OF ADDRESS

OFF OFF OFF OFF x0h

ON OFF OFF OFF x1h

OFF ON OFF OFF x2h

ON ON OFF OFF x3h

OFF OFF ON OFF x4h

ON OFF ON OFF x5h

OFF ON ON OFF x6h

ON ON ON OFF x7h

OFF OFF OFF ON x8h

ON OFF OFF ON x9h

OFF ON OFF ON xAh

ON ON OFF ON xBh

OFF OFF ON ON xCh

ON OFF ON ON xDh

OFF ON ON ON xEh

ON ON ON ON xFh

SWITCH #5 SWITCH #6 SWITCH #7 SWITCH #8 UPPER NIBBLE OF ADDRESS

OFF OFF OFF OFF 0xh

ON OFF OFF OFF 1xh

OFF ON OFF OFF 2xh

ON ON OFF OFF 3xh

OFF OFF ON OFF 4xh

ON OFF ON OFF 5xh

OFF ON ON OFF 6xh

ON ON ON OFF 7xh

OFF OFF OFF ON 8xh

ON OFF OFF ON 9xh

OFF ON OFF ON Axh

ON ON OFF ON Bxh

OFF OFF ON ON Cxh

ON OFF ON ON Dxh

OFF ON ON ON Exh

ON ON ON ON Fxh

e) None: If the DMX-512/MIDI input is not being used, then the

DMX-512 transmission is enabled on the DMX-512/MIDI out­put terminals.

5) DMX-512/MIDI Output:

(Mp3-50/8, Mp3-50/40)

Two position
Screw Terminals. If any of the modes where the DMX-512/MIDI
input is being used (DMX-512 Input, MIDI Input, Net Serial or IR
Trigger), this pair of screw terminals will retransmit whatever comes
in on the DMX-512/MIDI inputs. This works something like the ‘MIDI

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Through’ port on a MIDI device, where no content changes take
place in the data as it passes through the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-
50/40. The data is simply buffered and retransmitted.

The output levels on these pins is RS-422. It can be used di­rectly to control other RS-422 devices. For MIDI, you should add a
pair of 220 Ohm resistors in series with the two output wires, but
this is not strictly necessary (there are already resistors in the MIDI
devices which may be receiving this signal).

The MIDI should be wired from the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 to
the next MIDI device as follows:

MIDI pin #1 = no connection
MIDI pin #2 = Shield (ground)
MIDI pin #3 = no connection
MIDI pin #4 from - DMX/MIDI Out
MIDI pin #5 from + DMX/MIDI Out

If none of the serial Receive modes of the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-
50/40 (DMX-512 Input, MIDI Input, Net Serial or IR Trigger) are
being used, then the serial port is turned around and used to
transmit DMX-512. Data for this DMX-512 output stream comes
from either the RS-232 serial port if the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 is
being fed RealTime update messages, or the Show Control flash
memory, if shows have been programmed into the Mp3-50/8 or
Mp3-50/40.

DMX-512 transmission is limited to sixteen, eight bit wide
channels. The addresses of these DMX-512 channels are set in
one of two ways:

a) If running from RealTime updates through the RS-232 serial

port, the DMX-512 data will always start with channel ‘0’

(which is channel ‘1’ on most dimmers). Data after the first

channel will be padded with ‘0’ values through the 256th

byte, and then followed by two checksum bytes.

The Show Control Outputs, Audio Level Control, And Re­peater Control channels typically overlap with some of the
lighting control channels when operated in this mode.

b) If running from a show file which has been AutoDownload-

ed to the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40’s Flash memory, the ‘First
address’ of the downloaded data will be the first DMX-512
channel to have your programmed data in it. Channels be­fore and after these sixteen channels will be padded with ‘0’

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values up until the 256th bytes sent, then followed with a
two byte checksum.

The Show Control Outputs, Audio Level Control, And Re-

peater Control channels often overlap with some of the
lighting control channels when operated in this mode. If
you don’t want to do this, you can actually use all sixteen
DMX-512 channels for lighting control if you address your
Show Control Outputs, Audio Level Control, and Repeater
Control channels

after

the sixteen lighting control channels.
Of course this will eat up your Flash memory capacity
mighty quickly.

6) Status Output:

(Mp3-50)

Two position Screw Terminals. This output
is the uncommitted collector (+) and emitter (-) of a darlington
optoisolator. It can be used as a remote ‘audio running’ indicator
for an external system. The current capability of this output is only
about 50 ma.. It can be used to drive LEDs and solid state relays,
but not heavy or inductive loads.

7) Left Speaker Output:

(Mp3-50, Mp3-50/8, Mp3-50/40)

Two posi­tion Screw Terminals. This is one of the two outputs of the Mp3-
50, Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 ‘s onboard amplifier. It can be used
with any speakers from 4 ohms upwards. The amplifier is rated for
a maximum output of 11 Watts per channel. This is plenty power­ful for most applications. External amplifiers can be fed from the
Line Level Outputs if more power than this is needed.

8) Right Speaker Output:

(Mp3-50, Mp3-50/8, Mp3-50/40)

Two po­sition Screw Terminals. This is one of the two outputs of the Mp3-
50, Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40’s onboard amplifier. It can be used
with any speakers from 4 ohms upwards. The amplifier is rated for
a maximum output of 11 Watts per channel. This is plenty power­ful for most applications. External amplifiers can be fed from the
Line Level Outputs if more power than this is needed.

9) ‘1/4 J6’ Inputs/Outputs: Ten Position IDS Connector. This connec­tion serves two completely different functions, using the very
same pins:

Mp3-50: These pins are used to connect to the eight optically

isolated trigger inputs which are used to select AudioFiles,
start, mute, half mute, pause, or unmute the Mp3 Player.
What each of these pins will do is set using the ‘Mp3 Con-
figurator’ program. These inputs CAN NOT be used to start
an animation sequence running on the Show Control half

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of a Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40.

Mp3-50/8: This connector is used for the optically isolated trig-

ger inputs of the Mp3 Player, but these are not normally
used to control the Mp3 Player. The same connector is also
used as the eight Show Control outputs. The inputs to the
Mp3 Player are typically configured not to do anything,
and the ‘MCU’ Show Control Trigger channel is used instead
for controlling the Mp3 Player. This leaves all eight of these
pins available for Show Control Outputs.

If you need to use a switch input to mute or stop the
audio, it can still be wired into this connector. The input to
the Mp3 Player is then configured for the desired function.
The corresponding Show Control output is left unpro­grammed, so that show data does not interfere with the op­eration of the Mp3 Player.

Mp3-50/40: This connector is also used as the optically isolated

trigger inputs the Mp3 Player, and the last eight of the forty
Show Control outputs. Other than that, it is identical to a
Mp3-50/8.

(Brown) PIN #1

GROUND

(Brown) PIN #1

GROUND

(red) PIN #2

(orange) PIN #3

(yellow) PIN #4

(green) PIN #5

(blue) PIN #6

(violet) PIN #7

(grey) PIN #8

(white) PIN #9

(black) PIN #10

DATA BIT 7

DATA BIT 6

DATA BIT 5

DATA BIT 4

DATA BIT 3

DATA BIT 2

DATA BIT 1

DATA BIT 0

+ 5 to 24 VDC SUPPLY

(red) PIN #2

(orange) PIN #3

(yellow) PIN #4

(green) PIN #5

(blue) PIN #6

(violet) PIN #7

(grey) PIN #8

(white) PIN #9

(black) PIN #10

Internal PowerExternal Power

For a Mp3-50, the 1/4 J6 input is strictly a Mp3 input. It is opti-

cally isolated. It can be set to run from an external power source
or the same power as the Mp3-50, Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 (de-
fault configuration). This is selected by moving the switch on the
bottom of the Mp3-50, Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40. The ‘external’

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DATA BIT 7

DATA BIT 6

DATA BIT 5

DATA BIT 4

DATA BIT 3

DATA BIT 2

DATA BIT 1

DATA BIT 0

SUPPLY (not used)

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setting is used when you want to completely isolate the Mp3-50,
Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 from the switch closures that control it.

On a Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40, this input/output is almost al­ways run in the ‘Internal’ power mode. The only exception to this is
if you are going to be running the devices controlled by these
eight Show Control outputs from a different voltage from the rest
of the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40. As an example, it the Mp3-50/8
or Mp3-50/40 is running from 24 VDC, and you need to control
eight 12 VDC relays, you can power this one port from a 12 VDC
power supply separate from the main one (you will need to con­nect the grounds of the two power supplies).

10) Left Line Output: Female RCA jack. This is one of the two line level
outputs from the Mp3 Player. It is used for attaching an external
amplifier to the Mp3-50, Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40.

11) Right Line Output: Female RCA jack. This is one of the two line
level outputs from the Mp3 Player. It is used for attaching an ex­ternal amplifier to the Mp3-50, Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40.

12) J8 ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’ & ‘D’ inputs: These are four optically isolated digital
inputs which can be used to start, stop, pause or select specific
show sequences to play on the Show Control of the Mp3-50/8 or
Mp3-50/40.

+5 to 24 VDC SUPPLY

- 'A'/Green Input

+ 'A'/Green Input

+5 to 24 VDC SUPPLY

- 'A'/Green Input

+ 'A'/Green Input

- 'B'/Red Input
+5 to 24 VDC SUPPLY

+ 'B'/Red Input

- 'C'/Blue Input
+5 to 24 VDC SUPPLY

+ 'C'/Blue Input

- 'D'/White Input
+5 to 24 VDC SUPPLY

+ 'D'/White Input

Switching Negative Side

+5 to 24 VDC SUPPLY

- 'B'/Red Input

+ 'B'/Red Input

+5 to 24 VDC SUPPLY

- 'C'/Blue Input

+ 'C'/Blue Input

+5 to 24 VDC SUPPLY

- 'D'/White Input

+ 'D'/White Input

Switching Positive Side

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In most cases, you will simply be ‘borrowing the power for

these switches from the adjacent power terminals:

Trigger Power

internal

(switch on bottom)

external

9-24 vdc

ground

Switch 'A'

Switch 'B'

Switch 'C'

Switch 'D'

Power

9-24 vdc

Power

MIDI

In

MIDI

Out

Speaker

Left

Speaker

Right

DMX/

DMX/

4

0
1

2
3

4
5

6
7

Fuse

4

RS-422

isolated

'A'

'B'

'C'

'D'

DMX/MIDI input

(switch on bottom)

32 10

7
6

5
4

3
2

1
0

Fuse

32 10

Gilderfluke & Company • Burbank, California

7
6

5
4

3
2

1
0

Fuse

MP3-50/40

Any event can be triggered on either the ‘closing’ or ‘opening’
edge of any input. A ‘closing’ is when you apply a voltage to an
input. An ‘opening’ is when that voltage is removed. The inputs
can be triggered on any voltage from 12 to 24 VDC. If you don’t
have an external source of power for these two inputs, you can
‘steal’ some juice from the Mp3-50/8s or Mp3-50/40s power sup­ply connections.The two screw terminals with the Mp3-50’s power
on them are immediately adjacent to these inputs for just this pur­pose.

These four inputs are uncommitted optoisolators. Effectively,
you are sending the external control signal into a LED which has a
resistor wired in series. This requires external power be supplied
from somewhere. If the device you are controlling the input from
supplies power, then all is well. If you are wiring these inputs to
simple dry switch closures, you will need to ‘steal’ the power for
them from somewhere. Conveniently, there is the ‘power’ screw
terminals adjacent. You can pick up whatever power is being
used to run the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40 from these two screw
terminals.

‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’ & ‘D’ Binary:

only.

The four optically isolated digital inputs can be used to se-

Firmware versions 1.07 and later

lect up to fifteen different shows directly with a binary weighted
pattern of bits. TO do this, you must set all four of these inputs
(both opening & closing edges) as ‘unused’ when you generate
your AutoDownload file from PC•MACs. The binary pattern is ap­plied as follows:

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show # ‘A’ ‘B’ ‘C’ ‘D’ comment

0 off off off off not used (there is no show ‘0’)
1 on off off off
2 off on off off
3 on on off off
4 off off on off
5 on off on off
6 off on on off
7 onononoff
8 off off off on

9 on off off on
10 off on off on
11 on on off on
12 off off on on
13 on off on on
14 off on on on
15 on on on on

If you are using our KP-200 for selecting and playing shows, it
is wired as follows. The connection to the KP-200 is through a ten
position ribbon cable. Power for the KP-200 in this example is
being ‘borrowed’ from the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/4. If you are
going to be running the cable from the KP-200 to the Mp3-50/8
or Mp3-50/40 a long distance, or if you are picking up audio ‘noi­se’ through this input, you can use a separate power supply to
completely isolate the KP-200 and the Mp3-50/8 or Mp3-50/40.

#10 Black (12-24 vdc)

#9 White (bit 0)

#8 Grey (bit 1)
#7 Violet (bit 2)

#6 Blue (bit 3)
#5 Green (bit 4)
#4 Yellow (bit 5)

#3 Orange (bit 6)

#2 Red (bit 7)

#1 Brown (ground)

ribbon cable to KP-200

be used to disable scans of the RTC schedules when the input is
opened. This can be used to stop sounds from playing automati­cally when they shouldn’t. Examples of where this feature can be
used are:

Trigger Power

internal

(switch on bottom)

external

9-24 vdc

Power

9-24 vdc

Power

In

Out

Left

Right

DMX/

MIDI

DMX/

MIDI

Speaker

Speaker

4

0
1

2
3
4

5
6

7

Fuse

4

isolated

RS-422

'A'

'B'

'C'

'D'

DMX/MIDI input

(switch on bottom)

3210

7
6

5
4
3

2
1

0

Fuse

3210

Gilderfluke & Company • Burbank, California

7
6

5
4
3

2
1

0

Fuse

MP3-50/40

If used with the ‘Atomic’ Clock option, the ‘C’/Blue input can

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