Studio Technologies 206 User's Guide

Model 206 Announcer’s Console

User Guide

Issue 1, April 2018

This User Guide is applicable for serial numbers

M206-00151 and later with application firmware 1.1 and later

Copyright © 2018 by Studio Technologies, Inc., all rights reserved

www.studio-tech.com

50646-0418, Issue 1

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ANNOUNCER’S CONSOLE

MODEL 206

Table of Contents

Revision History ........................................................... 4

Introduction ................................................................... 5

Getting Started ............................................................. 10

Operation ...................................................................... 19

Technical Notes ............................................................ 23

Specifications ............................................................... 28

Appendix A: Model 206 Block Diagram ........................ 29

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Revision History

Issue 1, April 2018:

1. Initial release.

MODEL 206

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Introduction

The Model 206 Announcer’s Console
offers a unique combination of analog and
digital audio resources for use in broadcast
sports, eSports, live event, entertainment,
and streaming broadcast applications.
The unit is housed in a compact, rugged
steel enclosure that’s intended for table­top use. Calling the Model 206 “cute” or
“cool” would be accurate; its nicely propor­tioned but diminutive size makes it ideal
for use in space-constrained locations.
The Model 206 supports Dante® audio­over-Ethernet digital media technology
with AES67 compatibility for integration
into contemporary applications. The unit is
extremely simple to deploy, is “pro” quality
throughout, and provides an intuitive user
experience. The Model 206’s audio quality
is excellent, with low distortion, low noise,
and ample headroom. Careful circuit
design and rugged components ensure
long, reliable operation.

of many applications. STcontroller, com­patible with version 7 and later of the
Windows® operating system, is a fast and
simple means of confi
the unit’s operating parameters.

rming and revising

Applications

The Model 206 on its own can provide an
“all-Dante” solution for one on-air talent
location. A wide range of applications can
be supported, including sports and enter­tainment TV and radio events, streaming
broadcasts, corporate and government AV
installations, and post-production facilities.
The unit’s small size makes it ideal for live­sports applications, such as basketball,
where physical space for personnel is very
limited. Four Dante receiver (audio input)
channels supply the user with their talent
cue (IFB) signals. Should the cue signal

The Model 206 integrates directly into both
Dante audio-over-Ethernet and standard
analog audio environments. With just a
Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) connection, a
microphone, and a pair of headphones or
an earpiece, a complete broadcast on-air
position can be created. And by using the
Model 206’s microphone output a direct
connection to an analog microphone-level
input on an associated camera, remote I/O
interface, or audio console can be support­ed. Two remote control inputs allow exter­nal switches or contact closures to activate
the main and/or talkback button functions.

Model 206 operating features are con­figured using the STcontroller personal
computer software application. An exten­sive set of parameters allows the unit’s
functions to be tailored to meet the needs

Figure 1. Model 206 Announcer’s Console front
and rear views

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be “mix-minus” an integrated sidetone
function can provide the user with a micro­phone confidence signal. Four Dante audio
output channels, one designated as main
and three named talkback, are routed via
an associated local-area network (LAN) to
inputs on Dante-compatible devices. Four
pushbutton switches, main and three talk­back, provide the user with direct control
over audio routing. The audio switching
is performed in the digital domain and is
virtually “click-free.”

By providing the main audio signal in two
forms, Dante digital audio and analog
microphone level, the Model 206 makes
integration into a wide range of on-air envi­ronments easy to accomplish. And with the
three talkback audio channels available as
Dante output channels, routing to inputs
on a variety of devices, such as matrix
intercom systems, audio consoles, and
monitor loudspeaker systems, is simple
and flexible.

Some applications may benefit from not
utilizing the Model 206’s Dante main out­put channel. This typically won’t be an is­sue of inadequate audio quality but rather
a need to match work-flow requirements.
For example, for lip-sync or transmission
purposes it may be optimal to have the
on-air audio transported as an embedded
signal along with the associated camera
video. Alternately, all on-air audio sources
may need to connect to inputs on an audio
console or console-related I/O unit. Sup­porting these scenarios is not a problem
as the Model 206 supplies a microphone
output connection that’s specifically intend­ed for this purpose. Simply connect the
unit’s microphone output connection to the
desired analog input, such as the mic/line
input on an ENG-style camera—that’s it!

The circuitry associated with the Model
206’s analog microphone output is very
simple, essentially a passive path that
routes a signal connected to the micro­phone input connector directly to the
microphone output connector. A solid-state
circuit, in series with the mic in-to-mic out
path, allows muting of the signal on the
microphone output connector whenever
the Dante main output channel is muted.
Having both the Dante main output and the
microphone outputs work in tandem can
be a valuable resource, allowing one to
serve as the primary on-air signal source
while the other serves as the backup.

Setup and Operation

Set up, configuration, and operation of
the Model 206 is simple. An etherCON®
RJ45 jack is used to interconnect with a
standard twisted-pair Ethernet port associ­ated with a PoE-enabled network switch.
This connection provides both power and
bidirectional digital audio. A broadcast
headset or handheld (“stick”) microphone
can be directly connected to the unit’s
3-pin XLR mic input connector. The input
is compatible with dynamic or condenser
microphones. The integrated P48 phan­tom power source provides support for a
wide range of condenser microphones.
A 3-pin XLR microphone output connec­tor provides a “direct mic out” function
for integration with microphone inputs on
related devices. Stereo headphones, the
headphone connections from a stereo or
monaural headset, or even a monaural
earpiece can be connected to the phones
output jack. External switches or contact
closures can be connected to the Model
206’s remote control inputs to allow activa­tion of button functions. The STcontroller
software application is used to configure
the wide range of Model 206 operating

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parameters. This allows the unit’s perfor­mance to be optimized to meet the needs
of specific applications.

The user is presented with four pushbutton
switches and three push-in/push-out rotary
level potentiometers This makes it easy to
control the status of the main and talkback
outputs as well as adjusting the signals that
are sent to the headphone channels.

Ethernet Data and PoE

The Model 206 connects to a local area net­work (LAN) by way of a standard 100 Mb/s
twisted-pair Ethernet interface. The physical
100BASE-TX interconnection is made by
way of a Neutrik® etherCON RJ45 connec­tor. While compatible with standard RJ45
plugs, etherCON allows a ruggedized and
locking interconnection for harsh or high­reliability environments.

The Model 206’s operating power is provid­ed by way of the Ethernet interface using
the 802.3af Power-over-Ethernet (PoE)
standard. This allows fast and efficient inter­connection with the associated data network.
To support PoE power management, the
Model 206’s PoE interface enumerates
(reports) to the power sourcing equipment
(PSE) that it’s a class 2 (low power) device.
If a PoE-enabled Ethernet port can’t be
provided by the associated Ethernet switch
a low-cost PoE midspan power injector can
be utilized.

Dante Audio-over-Ethernet

Audio data is sent to and received from
the Model 206 using the Dante audio-over­Ethernet media networking technology. As
a Dante-compliant device, the Model 206’s
four Dante transmitter (audio output) chan­nels and four Dante receiver (audio input)
channels can be assigned (routed or “sub­scribed”) to other devices using the Dante

Controller software application. The Dante
transmitter and receiver channels are lim­ited to supporting four Dante flows, two in
each direction. The digital audio’s bit depth
is up to 24 with a sampling rate of 44.1 or
48 kHz. Two bi-color LEDs provide an indi­cation of the Dante connection status. An
additional LED displays the status of the
associated Ethernet connection.

The Model 206 is compatible with the
AES67 interoperability standard. In this
mode the four transmitter (output) chan­nels will function in multicast; unicast is not
supported. In addition, the unit is compat­ible with the Dante Domain Manager™
(DDM) software application.

Audio Quality

The Model 206’s audio performance is
completely “pro.” A low-noise, wide dy­namic-range microphone preamplifier and
associated voltage-controlled-amplifier
(VCA) dynamics controller (compressor)
ensures that mic input audio quality is
preserved while minimizing the chance of
signal overload. The output of the micro­phone preamp and compressor is routed
to an analog-to-digital conversion (ADC)
section that supports sampling rates of

44.1 and 48 kHz with a bit depth of up to

24. The audio signal, now in the digital do­main, routes through a 32-bit microproces­sor and on to the Dante interface section
where it is packetized and prepared for
transport over Ethernet.

Audio input signals arrive via the four
Dante receiver channels and pass into the
Model 206’s microprocessor. The sup­ported sampling rates are 44.1 and 48 kHz
with a bit depth of up to 24. Channel rout­ing, headphone level control, and sidetone
creation are performed within the digital
domain. This provides flexibility, allows

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precise control, and keeps the three level
potentiometers from having to directly
handle analog audio signals. The audio
channels destined for the phones outputs
are sent to a high-performance digital-to­analog converter and then on to robust
driver circuitry. High signal levels can be
provided to a variety of headsets, head­phones, and earpieces.

Configuration Flexibility

The Model 206 can be configured to meet
the needs of specific applications and user
preferences. All configuration choices are
performed using the STcontroller personal
computer software application which is
compatible with version 7 and later of the
Windows operating systems. There are no
mechanical switch settings or button-press
sequences required to configure how the
unit functions. Selectable parameters
include microphone preamplifier gain, P48
phantom power on/off, button operation,
remote control inputs, headphone output
mode, sidetone operation, and overall unit
operation. The gain of the microphone
preamplifier can be selected from among
four choices. This allows the Model 206
to match the output sensitivity of a range
of handheld and headset-associated
microphones. A low-noise source of P48
phantom power can be enabled if required
to support condenser (capacitor) micro­phones.

The main and talkback pushbutton switch­es can be individually configured. The
main button can be selected to operate
from among four modes while the talk­back buttons can be selected from among
three. These choices allow the Model
206’s operation to be tailored to meet the
specific needs of many applications. As an
example, for on-air sports applications the

main button would typically be configured
to provide a push to mute (cough) function.
The microphone signal on the Dante main
output channel and the microphone output
connector would remain active unless the
talent needs to momentarily disable it. The
talkback buttons would most likely be set
to their push to talk modes as their use
would be intermittent.

The Model 206 provides two remote con­trol inputs. Configuration choices allow
these to be assigned to work in parallel
with the main, talkback 1, talkback 2, or
talkback 3 pushbutton switches. In this
way activation of a remote control input
will emulate a user pressing its associated
pushbutton switch.

The audio sources and the way in which
they are assigned to the headphone output
channels can be configured from among
five choices. These unique choices allow
almost any required headphone monitor­ing situation to be implemented. Whether
for use in on-air sports, an awards show
broadcast, or as a production support tool,
the Model 206 should be able to achieve
the desired configuration.

Following the mode number is an abbrevi­ated description of what signal or signals
are assigned to the three potentiometers
(pots) and on to the two headphone output
channels. The potentiometers are labeled
A, B, and C, as can be seen in Figure 1
of this guide. The format would equate to
Mode x – pot A/pot B/pot C where x equals
the mode number.

• Mode 1 – Ch1L/Ch2R/SidetoneLR:
Provided for broadcast applications
where two monaural channels of tal­ent cueing audio (“IFB”) need to be
independently sent to the left and right
headphone output channels. It would be

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common for program audio with director
interrupt to enter the Model 206 by way
of Dante input (receiver) channel 1 and
be sent to the left headphone output.
Program-only audio, entering the unit by
way of Dante input channel 2, would be
sent to the right headphone output. Pots
A and B are used to adjust the level of
those signals. Pot C is used for the side­tone function where microphone audio is
sent to both the left and right channels of
the headphone output.

• Mode 2 – Ch1LCh2R/BalanceLR/
SidetoneLR: Intended for applications
where a stereo signal enters the Model
206 by way of Dante inputs 1 and 2 and
is routed in stereo to the left and right
channels of the headphone output. In
this mode pot A controls the overall level
of this stereo signal and the pot B con­trols its left/right level balance. Pot C is
used by the sidetone function.

• Mode 3 – Ch1LCh2R/Ch3LCh4R/
SidetoneLR: Allows two stereo signals
to be routed as stereo pairs to the two
headphone output channels. In this
mode pot A adjusts the level of the
stereo pair entering the unit by way of
Dante inputs 1 and 2 while pot B adjusts
the level of the stereo pair entering on
Dante inputs 3 and 4. Pot C is used by
the sidetone function.

• Mode 4 – Ch1L/Ch2R/Ch3LCh4R:
Allows two monaural input signals to
be independently routed to the left and
right headphone output channels. These
audio signals would enter the Model 206
by way of Dante input channels 1 and 2.
Pots A and B are used to control the
levels of the signals as they are sent
to the left and right headphone output

channels. A stereo input signal, entering
the unit by way of Dante inputs 3 and
4, are routed to the left and right head­phone outputs. The level of this stereo
pair is controlled by pot C.

• Mode 5 – Ch1LR/Ch2LR/Ch3LCh4R:
Allows two monaural input audio chan­nels to be sent to both the left and right
headphone output channels. Dante
inputs 1 and 2 are used to bring these
audio signals into the Model 206. Pots
A and B are used to control the level of
the signals as they are sent to the head­phone output channels. Pot C is used to
control the level of a stereo input signal
as it is routed to the left and right chan­nels of the headphone output. This ste­reo pair enters the unit by way of Dante
inputs 3 and 4.

The integrated sidetone function can be
configured to operate from among four
choices. This allows audio associated with
the microphone input and microphone
preamplifier to be returned to the head­phone output. This is important as different
applications may provide a “full mix” or a
“mix-minus” talent cue signal. If a full mix
cue signal is provided then sidetone audio
will not be needed and the function can be
disabled. In the case where a mix-minus
signal is present, providing the user with
sidetone at the appropriate time(s) can
be an important means of confirming the
signal that’s coming from the connected
microphone.

The headphone gain range configura­tion helps to provide an optimized audio
level to Model 206 users. The appropriate
setting will depend on the specific audio
sources provided to the unit as well as
user preference.

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