Shure FP33 User Manual

Model FP33 User Guide

STEREO ENG MIXER

2000, Shure Incorporated
27A8500 (TC)

Printed in U.S.A.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ENGLISH

GENERAL 1

FRONT PANEL CONTROLS AND INDICATORS (FIGURE 1) 2. . . . . . . . .

INPUT PANEL CONNECTORS AND CONTROLS (FIGURE 2) 4. . . . . . . .

OUTPUT PANEL CONNECTORS AND CONTROLS (FIGURE 3) 4. . . . . .

INTERNAL SWITCHES AND CONTROLS (FIGURE 4) 5. . . . . . . . . . . . .

INTERNAL SWITCHES AND CONTROLS (CONT.) 6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

POWERING THE FP33 MIXER 6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

BATTERY LIFE 6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

MIXER SETUP 7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

OPERATION 7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

CONNECTING FP33 TRANSFORMER

USER ADJUSTMENTS 8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

INTERNAL MODIFIABLE FUNCTIONS 8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

SPECIFICATIONS 10. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

FURNISHED ACCESSORIES 10. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

STATEMENT OF CONFORMITY 11. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

INFORMATION TO USER 11. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

BALANCED

OUTPUTS TO TELEPHONE LINES 7. . . . . . . . . . . . .

ENGLISH

GENERAL

The Shure F P33 is a t hree-input, t wo-output p ortable ste­reo mixer d esigned f or p rofessional e lectronic n ews g ather­ing (ENG), electronic field production (EFP), and on-loca­tion film production. The FP33 mixer sets a new standard
for portable m ixer p erformance a nd f eatures. A n e xception­ally low-noise d esign m akes t he F P33 i deal f or u se w ith d ig­ital transmission links or digital video and audio recording
media, including DAT. Lightweight, compact, and rugged,
the FP 33 i s d esigned t o w ithstand t he m ost d emanding f ield
production conditions.

All types of dynamic and condenser microphones may
be used with the FP33. The mixer provides 48 V phantom,
12 V phantom, and 12 V T (A-B) power for operating con­denser microphones. It will operate for at least 8 hours on
two 9 V alkaline batteries. An external 12–30 Vdc power
source, such as a Shure PS20 or PS20E ac adapter, may
also be used.

Features

• Exceptionally quiet design, suitable for use with DAT
and other digital formats

• Extended frequency response of 20 Hz–20 kHz

• Dynamic range greater than 100 dB

• Transformer balanced inputs and outputs for superior

rejection of RFI and electromagnetic hum

• Three selectable mic/line inputs

• Two selectable mic/line outputs

• Wide range input gain controls handle hot signal levels

without attenuators

• 48 V phantom, 12 V phantom, and 12 V T (A-B) micro­phone power

• Pop-up pan pots

• Link switch gangs inputs 2 and 3 to control a stereo mi-

crophone

• Switchable low-cut filters on each input

• Bi-color LED signal presence and peak indicator for

each input

• Professional VU meters with selectable timed or
toggled backlighting

• Dual clutched Master gain control for simultaneous or
separate adjustment of output levels

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• Precision, conductive plastic, sealed rotary input po­tentiometers

• Bi-color LED limiter and peak indicator for each output

• Two linkable output peak limiters with adjustable

thresholds and release times

• Slate microphone and slate tone with selectable func ­tions

• Isolated two-way talk-back using Monitor In and modi­fied Slate Mic/Tape Out jack

• High tolerance 3.5 mm jacks for stereo Tape Out and
Monitor In

• 1 kHz tone oscillator

• Mix bus jack and cable to link FP33 or FP32A mixers

• Headphone monitor mode switch to select L, L+R

(Mono), R, or Stereo

• Internal headphone level adjustments to balance post–
master audio levels and Monitor In levels at the head­phone output

• Selectable M/S decoding c ircuit for headphone m onitor .

• Mixer/Monitor In switch (locking and momentary)

• Internal Monitor defeat switch for split-feed headphone

operation

• Headphone volume control

• 1/4 in. and 3.5 mm jacks for stereo headphone outputs.

• Customized operation via internal DIP switches, trim

pots, slide switches, and optional jumpers

• Regulated voltage rails (±15 Vdc) provide exceptional
headroom

• Bi-color power On/Off LED

• Battery check switch and low battery warning LED

• Non-polarized external power jack

• External power operating range of 12 to 30 Vdc

• Soft-touch, color coded control knobs with raised posi-

tion indicators

• Metal XLR input and output connectors

• Rugged, plated metal chassis

• Operates for 8 hours on two 9 V alkaline batteries

• Includes carrying c ase, s houlder s trap, a nd m ix b us c able

• Designed and manufactured in U.S.A.

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2

1

4

3

5

6

7

8 9 10

12

7

100

LINK

RLRLRL

PAN/BALPANPAN

3

MIC

-20

7

100

MASTER2

3

13

R

L

0

LIM

+15
dB

14 15 16

1 kHz

3

3

7

100

1

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Figure 1

FRONT PANEL CONTROLS AND INDICATORS (Figure 1)

1. Pan Control: Adjusts the amount of input signal sent
to the Left and Right outputs. Each Pan knob has a
center detent position. To avoid accidental movement
of the knob once it has been set, it may be pushed in
flush with the front panel.

Note: Pan Control 3 becomes a Left/Right Balance
Control when the LINK switch is activated (see the
LINK switch description for details).

2. Input Level Bi-Color LED: Glows green to indicate
the presence and relative level of an input signal. Also
glows red if the input signal reaches 6 dB below the
clipping (distortion) level. To program this LED so that
it functions only as a clipping level indicator, open the
battery compartment and move DIP Switch 10 to the
Off position.

3. 1 kHz Tone Oscillator Switch: Use the 1 kHz tone to
send a reference signal to any device connected to an
FP33 output. The 1 kHz t one m utes all inputs. The t one
level can be adjusted with the Master control.

4. Link Switch: In the LINK position (up), this switch
links the gain controls of Inputs 2 and 3 so they act as
a stereo pair. Input 2 is Left and Input 3 is Right. The
Input 3 Gain knob adjusts the level of the stereo pair.
The Input 3 Pan knob adjusts the Left/Right balance.

Note: Channel 2 Gain and Pan are disabled when the
LINK switch is activated. The low-cut filters for Input 2
and Input 3 are not

linked.

5. Slate Microphone: The built-in condenser micro­phone is activated when the Slate button is pressed.
See the Slate Button section for more information.

Note: To disable both the Slate microphone and

the
Slate tone, set internal DIP Switches 5, 6, and 7 to Of f.
The Slate microphone may also be modified to act as
a talk-back microphone for communications. Refer to
the Internal Modifiable Functions section for details.

6. Meter Lamp/Battery Check Switch: The Meter
Lamp function is activated by momentarily pushing
this switch upward. This function can be internally pre­set for timed or toggled deactivation. See the table in
the Internal Switches and Controls section for details.

The Battery Check function is activated by momen­tarily pushing this switch downward. The status of the
two 9 V batteries is indicated on the VU meter. When
the mixer is using an external dc supply and no batter-

7. Output Peak/Limiter Bi-Color LED: Glows red for

8. Slate Button: Activates a 400 Hz Slate Tone for one

9. Power On/Off Switch: Turns the mixer on and off.

10. Power On LED: Monitors the higher of the internal or

2

FP33

PEAK/LIM

VU

VU

BATT

-7

-2

-10

0

-10

-20

+5

-3-5

0

+3

-7

-

+5+30

-3

5

PEAK/LIM

17

SLATE

L

R

MON

18

ON

L+R

R

ST

L

19

ies, the Battery Check indicates the status of the exter­nal operating voltage. When the mixer is using 9 V
batteries

and

an external dc supply , the Battery Check
indicates the status of the higher voltage source. A low
battery condition also is indicated when the Power On
LED changes to red and flashes at a slower rate. For
instructions on modifying the FP33 to allow only inter­nal batteries or external power to be monitored at the
VU meter, see Internal Modifiable Functions.

Note: The audio signal is not interrupted when the
Battery Check switch is activated.

the individual Left and Right Channels when the out­put signal reaches a factory preset peak level of +17
dBm. This peak level is user-adjustable from 0 dBm to
+17 dBm. (See the Peak LED Adjustment instruc­tions.) If the Limiter is switched on, each LED glows
green to indicate Limiter operation. The LED will still
glow red if the preset peak level is reached before the
Limiter activation point is reached.

second and also activates the Slate Microphone. The
Slate Microphone remains on while the button is de­pressed. The Slate signal (Tone and Mic) appears at
the Left and Right outputs to identify the beginning of
a take. If desired, the Slate features can be modified
as follows: disable the Slate Tone; insert the Slate sig­nal pre-Master control; or insert the Slate signal post­Master control. See the Internal DIP Switches table for
instructions.

Note: To disable both the Slate microphone

and

the

Slate tone, set internal DIP Switches 5, 6, and 7 to Of f.

The mixer is on when this switch is in the “up” position.

external voltage sources. Flashes green to indicate
power is on and voltage is greater than 12 Vdc.
Flashes red and slower to indicate low power (12 Vdc
or less).

When this LED monitors the internal battery level, it
glows red typically when 30 minutes of battery power
remain. Refer to the Internal Battery Life section. For
instructions on modifying the FP33 to allow only in­ternal batteries or external power to be monitored at

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the VU meter, refer to the Internal Modifiable Func­tions section.

11. Input Gain Control: Adjusts the gain level of each in­put channel. Rotating the knob counterclockwise re­duces the gain and raises the input clipping point. Use
a low control setting to handle “hotter” input signals
without distortion. With the FP33 input circuit, micro­phones with a “hot” output may be used without an in­line pad (attenuator). For best performance, adjust
each Input Gain control so the associated Input Level
LED illuminates red only on the loudest signal peaks.

12. Input Low-Cut Filter Switch: Provides low-frequen­cy roll-off to reduce wind noise and rumble. When us­ing the filter, the frequency response is down 6 dB at
150 Hz. The roll-off slope is 6 dB per octave.

13. Master Gain—Right Channel Output: The outer
ring controls the Right channel output gain. The dual­clutched control lets the Right and Left outputs be ad­justed individually. Set it to “0 dB” for unity gain.

14. Master Gain—Left Channel Output: The inner knob
controls the Left channel output gain. The dual­clutched control lets the Right and Left outputs be ad­justed individually. Set it to “0 dB” for unity gain.

Note: The 1 kHz tone oscillator level is set by the
Master Level controls. To calibrate other devices,
adjust the Master Level controls for a 0 VU re­sponse.

15. Output Peak Limiter Switch: Activates two fast-act­ing, peak-responding limiters, one for each output
channel. Limiters help prevent overload distortion
from unexpected loud input signals. The limiter activa­tion is indicated by the Output Peak/Limiter LEDs,
which illuminate green.

The limiters may be changed to: operate indepen­dently; be linked as a stereo pair; activate at thresh­olds from 0 dBm to +15 dBm; and have release time
constants of 0.1 second or 1 second. See the Internal

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DIP Switches and Limiter Threshold Adjustment for
instructions.

16. Left/Right Channel Output Level Meters: 0 VU is
preset at a +4 dBm output level. This may be recali­brated for e ach m eter b y a n i nternal t rim p otentiometer .
See the VU Meter Adjustment paragraph for instruc­tions.

Note: Mechanical meters are used because LCD me­ters do not operate properly in cold weather; fluores­cent meters drain batteries too quickly; and LED me­ters are difficult to see in sunlight.

17. Monitor Input Switch: In the center position, this
switch sends the post-master audio to the headphone
output. In the left (locking ) or right (momentary) posi­tion, it sends the audio signal from the Monitor In jack
to the headphone output.

18. Headphone Gain Control (Inner Knob): Adjusts the
headphone volume level.

WARNING: The headphone circuit is capable of
producing high volume levels that can damage the
user’s hearing. Make sure the headphone volume
setting is low (fully CCW) before putting on the
headphones.

19. Headphone Monitor Mode Switch (Outer Ring):
The user c an m onitor t he F P33 o utput a s: S tereo; R ight
channel only; M ono ( Left + R ight); o r Left channel o nly.

Note: This switch also affects the Monitor In signal.
When using a stereo MS microphone, such as the
Shure VP88, the user may wish to pass the mic signal
through the FP33 as separate Mid and Side signals,
yet hear decoded stereo in the headphones. Using the
Headphone MS Matrix, the user can monitor the FP33
output as: Discrete (Mid and Side); Side only, Stereo
(decoded MS), or Mono (Mid only). Refer to the Inter­nal DIP Switch table for instructions on activating the
Headphone MS Matrix.

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