Maycom N-Trans, N-Trans Pro User Manual

Professional Compact Flash Audio Card

Company Address Company Contact

Company: Maycom Audio Systems Tel: [phone]
Street: Oostwijk 18 Fax: [phone]
Zip code: 5406 XT Email: [e-mail]
City: Uden, The Netherlands Internet: www.maycom.nl

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USER MANUAL

Table of contents

1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 3

2 Features list ................................................................................................................ 4

3 Terms and Conventions ............................................................................................ 4

4 Unpacking................................................................................................................... 5

5 Available Accessories ............................................................................................... 5

6 Getting started............................................................................................................ 6

6.1 Installation ...........................................................................................................6

6.1.1 Pocket PC 2003 (SE) / Windows Mobile 5.0 Devices ................................... 6

6.1.2 Windows 2000 / Windows XP Systems........................................................ 7

6.2 Connections and indicators ............................................................................12

6.3 Operation ........................................................................................................... 13

6.3.1 Pocket PC 2003 (SE) / Windows Mobile 5.0 Devices ................................. 13

6.3.2 Windows 2000 / Windows XP Systems...................................................... 15

7 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) ....................................................................... 18

8 Appendix A: Technical Specifications................................................................... 20

9 Appendix B: Connector Wiring............................................................................... 22

10 Appendix C: Equivalent Input Circuitry .............................................................23

11 Appendix D: Warranty.......................................................................................... 24

12 Appendix E: Declaration of Conformity (CE)..................................................... 25

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1 Introduction

With new mobile devices nowadays such as Personal Digital Assistants or Ultra Mobile PCs, great possibilities
arise for working in the field and transmitting files back to your home base. The sound professional however has
one major problem with these devices: finding a decent way to connect an audio source. Almost all
manufacturers skim on options and quality in this area.

N>Trans (pronounced as “entrance”) adds a professional audio input to your mobile device and enables a new
platform for computerized audio recording. Without the need for external preamps boxes, phantom power
supplies or highly customized adapter cables; N>Trans provides direct interface to all analog audio sources.
This Compact Flash sized high quality audio card will suit the needs for reliable digital portable recording for
both professional and consumer usage.

N>Trans comes in two versions: Standard and Pro. The differences are the type of connector and the type of
microphone power supply. The standard version has 3,5 mm Jack connectors: two mono balanced inputs and a
stereo unbalanced input. The unbalanced input has a 6Volt microphone bias for electret microphone support.
The N>Trans Pro has a single 5-pin LEMO connector wired for stereo balanced input. Both inputs can supply
12V, 24V or 48V Phantom power. Both versions have a 24-bit 96kHz A-D/D-A converter onboard.

N>Trans Standard N>Trans Pro

The audio front end consists of pre-amplifiers that can be configured in MIC, MIC-20 and LINE mode, a
hardware limiter, automatic gain control, and a high power headphone amplifier.

Together with a number of other available accessories it is easy to create a professional reporter kit for high
quality recordings.

For companies or enthusiasts that want to develop their own software (for simple analog data acquisition, audio
analysis, etc.) Maycom has a Software Development Kit (SDK) available to give you a quick start.

To use N>Trans on you mobile device, it should meet the following requirements:

System Requirements PDA:

System Requirements Laptop:

Compact Flash Slot

•

SD slot for storage recommended

•

Operating systems: Pocket PC 2003 / Pocket PC 2003 Second Edition or Windows Mobile 5.0

•

Compact Flash slot* or PC-Card (PCMCIA) slot with additional adapter

•

Operating system: Windows 2000 or Windows XP

•

* Note: The Compact Flash slots of USB cardreaders usually do NOT support other devices then storage
media. Please check the specification of your cardreader when in doubt.

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2 Features list

• Professional Audio Card in Compact Flash for PDA or Laptop

• Available in two versions:

o Pro version - Heavy duty LEMO connector (5 pin)

o Standard version - 3.5mm jack connectors (4x)

• 24-bit, 96kHz multi-bit delta sigma AD / DA converter

• Supports all major sample frequencies from 8kHz up to 96kHz

• High Quality Microphone Preamps with balanced inputs

• High Power Headphone Amplifier with zero latency monitor functions

• W ide gain adjustment range

• Phantom Power (12V, 24V or 48V) *

• Mic Bias Power (6V) for electret microphones **

• Limiter

• Automatic Gain Control with programmable level and timings

• Noise gate with programmable threshold

• Driver support for PocketPC and Windows Mobile 5.0

• Driver support for Windows 2000 and Windows XP

• Software Development Kit available

• RoHS compliant (Green) product

* Pro version only
** Standard version only

3 Terms and Conventions

Terms:

AGC Automatic Gain Control
LEMO Miniature High quality push-pull connectors used on N>Trans Pro
PDA Personal Digital Assistant
PC-Card Extension slot present on most Laptops. Also known as PCMCIA slot.
SDK Software Development Kit

Units of measure:

dB Decibel
dBFS Decibel Full Scale; The reference (0 dBFS) is a sine with digital full scale level.
kbps kilo bits per second
Hz Hertz
kHz kilo Hertz
kB kilo Byte

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Luci Keycode

IMPORTANT NOTE:

4 Unpacking

Please unpack the N>Trans and check whether you received:

Note: To save on additional packaging, ordered optional accessories may be packed within the box.

If you ordered your N>Trans with bundled software, check that you received the keycode label.
Example:

You need this code to activate the Luci Recording and Editing Software.

N>Trans or N>Trans Pro

•

• CD-Rom with drivers, configuration program, manual and demo software.

request ID:
123456789

www.luci.eu

Keep this label at a save place.
You might need it again upon reinstalling the software

5 Available Accessories

Article Number Description Comment

36500250 Mono cable for N>Trans Standard 3.5mm jack to 3pin XLR
36500251 Mono cable for N>Trans Pro 5 pin Lemo to 3pin XLR
36500252 Stereo cable for N>Trans Pro (5pin) 5 pin Lemo to 5pin XPLR
36500253 Stereo cable for N>Trans Pro (Dual) 5 pin Lemo to dual 3pin XLR
10205287-A01 CF Type II to PC Card (PCMCIA) adapter Required for most Laptops with PC-

10208201-A01 Luci - PDA Application * Mono Recording and Editing Software *

10208201-B01 Luci Edit - PDA Application * Stereo Recording and Editing Software

For more information or a quotation please contact your dealer or the sales department of Maycom: e-mail

[e-mail] or visit www.maycom.nl.

For rugged PDA solutions please contact Maycom.
When ordering additional accessories please specify the article number.

* For more detail regarding the Luci software, please see www.luci.eu

Card slots.

plus non-destructive editing and more *

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6 Getting started

This chapter will guide you through installing the drivers, connecting an audio source and the basic operation of
the N>Trans Audio Card.

6.1 Installation

Depending the type of platform you are about to use, read either paragraph 6.1.1 for Pocket PC 2003 (SE) /
Windows Mobile 5.0 Devices or 6.1.2 for Windows 2000 / Windows XP Systems on how to install the drivers.
You can either get the driver from the supplied CD-Rom or get the latest drivers from our website:

www.maycom.nl. Installation described below assumes use of the supplied CD-Rom.

Both N>Trans versions share the same driver. You do not need to install separate drivers when you plan to
intermix use of the two versions.

6.1.1 Pocket PC 2003 (SE) / Windows Mobile 5.0 Devices

Before continuing, make sure that your mobile device is connected to a PC with the ActiveSync application on it.
If necessary, consult the manual that came with the mobile device

N>Trans Driver:

1. Insert the CD Rom in your PC, after a few seconds a menu screen will appear.

If the autorun function of your CD-Rom is disabled on your computer, start the “autorun.exe”

Note:

application on the CD-Rom manually.

2. From the menu, select the option “Install PDA Driver”.

3. The Setup Wizard will guide you through the process of installing the driver onto your PDA.

When the wizard finishes, check the screen of your mobile device to see if additional steps are necessary
to complete the installation.

Application:

4. From the menu shown above, select “Install PDA Application”.

Note: Even if you did not order the Luci software, you can try it in demo mode.
In demo-mode, each recording is interrupted for 1 second, each 10 seconds.

5. The Setup Wizard will guide you through the process of installing the application onto your PDA.

When the wizard finishes, check the screen of your mobile device to see if additional steps are necessary
to complete the installation.

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6.1.2 Windows 2000 / Windows XP Systems

N>Trans Driver:

1. Insert the N>Trans card into the PCMCIA slot of your computer. The ‘Hardware Wizard’ will appear.

Choose the option “No, not this time” and select click “Next >” button.

2. Instruct the wizard to install the software automatically.

Make sure the supplied CD-Rom is inserted into your computer and then select “Install the software
automatically (Recommended)” and click the “Next >” button. Please wait while the wizard searches for the
drivers.

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3. The following warning might appear.

Select “Continue Anyway” to ignore.

After this point, the hardware wizard copies the driver files and also launches the setup of the configuration
utility: “N>Trans Input Configurator”. The use of this utility is explained in paragraph 6.3.1

Navigate towards the end of this setup by “Next” a few times.

5. The Hardware Wizard copies all the necessary files and setup will finish.

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