Lectrosonics WM/E01 Instruction Manual
WM/E01
Watertight Transmitter and Remote Control
With Digital Hybrid Wireless® Technology
INSTRUCTION MANUAL
Rio Rancho, NM, USA
www.lectrosonics.com
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Serial Number:
Purchase Date:
US Patent 7,225,135
WM/E01
LECTROSONICS, INC.
2
Watertight Transmitter
Rio Rancho, NM
3
Introduction
The WM/E01 transmitter is designed to resist damage
when used in wet or dusty conditions and also offer
a comprehensive feature set that makes it equally at
home in film and television production and on stage.
A solid machined aluminum housing with a corrosion
resistant finish hosts dual battery compartments, a
moisture sealed control panel with backlit LCD and
enlarged membrane switches. Recessed seats for
the O-rings in the battery caps and input jack allow
the caps and mic connector to be tightened securely
without excessive deformation of the O-rings.
The antenna is made of an extremely durable, multistrand alloy that will withstand heavy abuse. It is
mounted with a compression sealed strain relief that
prevents dust and moisture from entering the housing.
As the first stage in the signal processing chain, the
input preamp section includes very high quality, low
noise components with a wide range of gain adjustment in 1 dB increments and a DSP-controlled input
limiter. Dual color LEDs on the control panel accurately indicate audio input level for precise gain adjustment. Easily accessed screens on the LCD simplify
setup and adjustments.
Output power is adjustable to provide either extended
operating range or extended battery life as needed for
the application. The transmitter can be operated from
alkaline, lithium or rechargeable NiMH batteries.
The Digital Hybrid Wireless® design (US Patent
7,225,135) combines 24-bit digital audio with analog
FM resulting in a system that has the same operating
range as analog systems, the same spectral efficiency as analog systems, the same long battery life
as analog systems, plus the excellent audio fidelity
typical of pure digital systems.
The DSP-based design works with Euro versions of
the digital hybrid and IFB receivers.
Table of Contents
General Technical Description ........................................ 4
Servo Bias Input.............................................................. 4
No Pre-Emphasis/De-Emphasis ..................................... 4
Low Frequency Roll-Off .................................................. 4
Input Limiter .................................................................... 4
Signal Encoding and Pilot Tone ...................................... 5
Microprocessor Control ................................................... 5
Compatibility Modes ........................................................ 5
Control Panel .................................................................. 5
Battery Operation ............................................................ 5
Frequency Blocks ............................................................ 5
Circulator/Isolator ............................................................ 5
Controls and Functions ................................................... 6
LCD Screen .................................................................... 6
Power LED ...................................................................... 6
Audio Input Jack .............................................................. 6
Battery Compartment and Thumb Screw ........................ 6
Modulation LEDs ............................................................. 6
AUDIO Button ................................................................. 6
FREQ Button ................................................................... 6
Up/Down Arrows ............................................................. 6
Antenna ........................................................................... 6
About Batteries ................................................................. 7
Battery Compartments ..................................................... 7
Attaching and Removing the Microphone ...................... 7
Operating Instructions ..................................................... 8
Power Up and Boot Sequence ........................................ 8
Power Down .................................................................... 8
Standby Mode ................................................................. 8
Compatibility, Bias Voltage (phantom power)
and LCD Backlight .......................................................... 8
Frequency Selection ....................................................... 9
Remote Control Enable/Disable and
Configuring Power Restore ............................................. 9
Audio LF Roll-off and Gain .............................................. 10
Lock/Unlock Screens ...................................................... 11
Preventing Corrosion ....................................................... 11
Troubleshooting ................................................................ 12
Accessories and Replacement Parts .............................. 14
Specifications and Features ............................................ 15
CE Declaration of Conformity.......................................... 16
Service and Repair ........................................................... 17
Returning Units for Repair .............................................. 17
WM/E01
LECTROSONICS, INC.
4
Servo Bias Input
The voltage and current requirements of the wide
variety of electret microphones used in professional
applications has caused confusion and compromises
in the wiring needed for wireless transmitters. To
address this problem, the unique Servo Bias input
circuit provides an automatically regulated voltage
over a very wide range of current for compatibility
with all microphones.
Digital Hybrid Wireless® Technology
All wireless links suffer from channel noise to some
degree, and all wireless microphone systems seek to
minimize the impact of that noise on the desired signal.
Conventional analog systems use compandors for
enhanced dynamic range, at the cost of subtle artifacts
(typically “pumping” and “breathing”). Wholly digital
systems defeat the noise by sending the audio information in digital form, at the cost of some combination of
power, bandwidth and resistance to interference.
Digital Hybrid systems overcome channel noise in
a dramatically new way, digitally encoding the audio
in the transmitter and decoding it in the receiver, yet
still sending the encoded information via an analog
FM wireless link. This proprietary algorithm is not a
digital implementation of an analog compandor but
a technique that can be accomplished only in the
digital domain, even though the inputs and outputs
are analog.
Because it uses an analog FM link, the Digital Hybrid
system enjoys all the benefits of conventional FM
wireless systems and it does away with the analog
compandor and its artifacts.
General Technical Description
No Pre-Emphasis/De-Emphasis
The Digital Hybrid design results in a signal-to-noise
ratio high enough to preclude the need for conventional
pre-emphasis (HF boost) in the transmitter and deemphasis (HF roll off) in the receiver. This eliminates
the potential for distortion of signals with abundant
high-frequency information.
Low Frequency Roll-Off
The low frequency roll-off can be set for a 3 dB down
point at 35, 50, 70, 100, 120 and 150 Hz to control
subsonic and very low frequency audio content in
the audio. The actual roll-off frequency will vary slightly
depending upon the low frequency response of the
microphone.
Excessive low frequency content can drive the
transmitter into limiting, or in the case of high output
sound systems, it can even cause damage to loudspeaker systems. The roll-off is normally adjusted by
ear while listening as the system is operating.
Input Limiter
A DSP-controlled analog audio limiter is employed
before the A-D converter. The limiter has a range of
more than 30 dB for excellent overload protection. A
dual release envelope makes the limiter acoustically
transparent while maintaining low distortion. It can be
thought of as two limiters in series, a fast attack and
release limiter followed by a slow attack and release
limiter. The limiter recovers quickly from brief transients, with no audible side effects, and also recovers slowly from sustained high levels to keep audio
distortion low while preserving short term dynamics.
Variable 1.8 - 4v
+6V
+5V
5V
Regulator
Watertight Transmitter
Rio Rancho, NM
5
Signal Encoding and Pilot Tone
In addition to controlling the limiter, the DSP also encodes the digitized audio from the A/D converter and
adds an ultrasonic pilot tone to control the squelch
in the receiver. A pilot tone squelch system provides a
reliable method of keeping a receiver output muted
(audio mute) even in the presence of significant
interference. When the system is operating in the hybrid mode, a different pilot tone frequency is generated for each carrier frequency to prevent inadvertent
squelch problems in multi-channel sytems.
Microprocessor Control
A microprocessor monitors user command inputs
from the control panel buttons and numerous other
internal signals. It works intimately with the DSP to
ensure the audio is encoded according to the selected Compatibility Mode and that the correct pilot
tone is added to the encoded signal.
Compatibility Modes
WM/E01 transmitters are designed to operate with
Lectrosonics Digital Hybrid receivers and will yield
the best performance when doing so, however, due
to the flexibility of digital signal processing, they can
also operate with Lectrosonics Euro version IFB
receivers.
Control Panel
The control panel includes four membrane switches
and an LCD screen to adjust the operational settings.
Multi-color LEDs are used to indicate audio signal
levels for accurate gain adjustment and for battery
status.
Battery Operation
Switching power supplies convert regulated batter y
voltages to operate various circuit stages with maximum efficiency. With the variety of alkaline, lithium
and rechargeable NiMH batteries available today in
the AA format, there are many choices to maximize
operating time or minimize cost as needed for any
application.
The firmware “remembers” the settings when the
batteries are exhausted. After new batteries are
installed, a quick press of the AUDIO and FREQ
buttons will turn the power back on and return to
the previous settings. This is a unique behavior that
takes place only when the batteries fail during operation. If the unit is turned off manually, a quick press
of the buttons will turn it on in the “standby” mode
instead.
Because the battery caps make contact with the
battery before the cap is seated, the power does not
turn back on automatically. This allows both batteries
to be installed and the caps tightened before power
is restored.
Frequency Blocks
Lectrosonics established a “block” numbering system
years ago to organize the range of frequencies available from the low end at 470 MHz band to the upper
end at 862 MHz. Each block includes 256 frequencies in 100 kHz steps, which is the maximum switching range of the transmitters.
Circulator/Isolator
The RF output circuit includes a magnetically polarized ferrite called an isolator that blocks RF signals entering the transmitter antenna from external
sources from traveling back into the final amplifier.
This greatly reduces RF intermodulation produced
when multiple transmitters are used in close proximity to one another (several feet apart). The isolator
also provides additional RF output stage protection
against static shock.
WM/E01
LECTROSONICS, INC.
6
Controls and Functions
LCD Screen
The display is a highly visible backlit LCD with
screens for making all setup and level adjustments.
The transmitter can be powered up with or without
the RF output turned on. With the RF output turned
off, all adjustments can be made without creating
interference for other wireless systems in the vicinity.
For normal powering up and down, a countdown appears in the LCD. The buttons must be held in for the
duration of the countdown, which helps to prevent
accidentally turning the transmitter on or off.
Power LED
The PWR LED glows green when the battery is
good. The color changes to red when there is about
30 minutes of operation left with the recommended
lithium battery. An alkaline battery will have about 20
minutes of life left. When the LED begins to blink red,
there are only a few minutes of life.
Note: A NiMH rechargeable battery will give
little or no warning when it is depleted. If you
wish to use NiMH batteries, we recommend
trying fully charged batteries in the unit and
using the battery timer feature available in most
receivers to determine the available operating
time.
A weak battery will sometimes cause the PWR LED
to glow green immediately after the unit is turned on,
but will soon discharge to the point where the LED
will turn red or the unit will turn off completely. When
the transmitter is in SLEEP mode, the LED blinks
green every few seconds.
Audio Input Jack
This is a threaded locking connector that accepts the
Lectrosonics watertight WP connector.
Battery Compartment and Thumb Screw
The large knurled thumbscrews are retain the batteries and maintain solid battery contact. The lanyard keeps the battery caps attached, but it can be
removed if desired using a 1/16 inch hex key (Allen
wrench).
Modulation LEDs
Proper input gain adjustment is critical to ensure
the best audio quality. Two red/green LEDs will glow
to accurately indicate modulation levels. The input
circuitry includes a wide range DSP-controlled limiter
to prevent distortion during high peak levels.
It is important to set the gain (audio level) high
enough to achieve full modulation during louder
peaks in the audio. The DSP-controlled limiter can
handle peaks over 30 dB above full modulation, so
with an optimum setting, the LEDs will flash red during use. If the LEDs never flash red, the gain is too
low. The -20 LED turns red at 0 dB (full modulation).
Signal Level -20 LED -10 LED
Less than -20 dB
Off Off
-20 dB to -10 dB
Green Off
-10 dB to +0 dB Green Green
+0 dB to +10 dB Red Green
Greater than +10 db Red Red
AUDIO Button
The AUDIO button is used to display the gain and
low frequency roll-off settings. The UP and DOWN
arrows adjust the values. This button is also used with
the FREQ button to enter standby mode and to power
the transmitter on or off.
FREQ Button
The FREQ Button displays the selected operating frequency and also toggles the LCD between
displaying the actual operating frequency in MHz and
a two-digit hexadecimal number that corresponds to
the equivalent Lectrosonics Frequency Switch Setting. This button is also used with the AUDIO button
to enter standby mode and to power the transmitter on
or off.
Up/Down Arrows
The Up and Down arrow buttons are used to select
the values on the various setup screens and to lock
out the control panel. Pressing both arrows simultaneously enters the lock countdown. When an attempt
is made to change a setting while the control panel is
locked, a message will flash on the LCD as a reminder that the unit is locked. Once locked, the buttons can only be unlocked by removing the battery,
or with the RM remote control.
Antenna
The fixed whip antenna is constructed with a flexible,
woven, galvanized steel mesh cable.
Battery
Compartment
Caps
Audio
Input
Jack
AUDIO
Button
LCD
FREQ
Button
Modulation
LEDs
PWR LED
UP Arrow
DOWN Arrow
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