Tascam FE-8 User Manual

FireWire Control Surface Expander

D00748600B

OWNER’S MANUAL

Ü

The lightning flash with arrowhead symbol, within an equilateral triangle, is intended to alert

ÿ
Ÿ

This appliance has a serial number
located on the rear panel. Please record
the model number and serial number
and retain them for your records.

Model number
Serial number

the user to the presence of uninsulated “dangerous voltage” within the product’s enclosure
that may be of sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of electric shock to persons.

The exclamation point within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the pres­ence of important operating and maintenance (servicing) instructions in the literature
accompanying the appliance.

CAUTION: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT
REMOVE COVER (OR BACK). NO USER-SERVICEABLE PARTS
INSIDE. REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED SERVICE PERSONNEL.

WARNING: TO PREVENT FIRE OR SHOCK

HAZARD, DO NOT EXPOSE THIS

APPLIANCE TO RAIN OR MOISTURE.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

1 Read these instructions.
2 Keep these instructions.
3 Head all warnings.
4 Follow all instructions.
5 Do not use this apparatus near water.
6 Clean only with dry cloth.
7 Do not block any ventilation openings. Install in

accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.

8 Do not install near any heat sources such as radi-

ators, heat registers, stoves, or other apparatus
(including amplifiers) that produce heat.

9 Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polarized

or grounding-type plug. A polarized plug has
two blades with one wider than the other.
Grounding type plug has two blades and a third
grounding prong. The wide blade or the third
prong are provided for your safety. If the pro­vided plug does not fit into your outlet, consult
an electrician for replacement of the obsolete
outlet.

10 Protect the power cord from being walked on or

pinched, particularly at plugs, convenience
receptacles, and the point where they exit from
the apparatus.

11 Only use attachments/accessories specified by

the manufacturer.

12 Use only with the cart, stand, tripod, bracket, or

table specified by the manufacturer or sold with
the apparatus. When a cart is used, use caution
when moving the cart/apparatus combination to
avoid injury from tip-over.

13 Unplug this apparatus during lightning storms or

when unused for long periods of time.

14 Refer all serving to qualified service personnel.

Servicing is required when the apparatus has
been damaged in any way, such as power-supply
cord or plug is damaged, liquid has been spilled
or objects have fallen into the apparatus, the
apparatus has been exposed to rain or moisture,
does not operate normally, or has been dropped.

● Do not expose this apparatus to drips or

splashes.

● Do not place any objects filled with liquids, such

as vases, on the apparatus.

● Do not install this apparatus in a confined space

such as a book case or similar unit.

● The apparatus draws nominal non-operating

power from the AC outlet with its POWER
switch in the off position.

TASCAM FE-8 Owner’s Manual 3

IMPORTANT SAFETY PRECAUTIONS

IMPORTANT (for U.K. Customers)

DO NOT cut off the mains plug from this equipment.

If the plug fitted is not suitable for the power points in your home
or the cable is too short to reach a power point, then obtain an
appropriate safety approved extension lead or consult your dealer.

If nonetheless the mains plug is cut off, remove the fuse
dispose of the plug immediately, to avoid a possible shock hazard
by inadvertent connection to the mains supply.

If this product is not provided with a mains plug, or one has to be
fitted, then follow the instructions given below:

IMPORTANT: The wires in this mains lead are coloured in
accordance with the following code:

GREEN-AND-YELLOW : EARTH
BLUE : NEUTRAL
BROWN : LIVE

WARNING: This apparatus must be earthed.

As the colours of the wires in the mains lead of this apparatus may
not correspond with the coloured markings identifying the
terminals in your plug proceed as follows:

The wire which is coloured GREEN-and-YELLOW must be
connected to the terminal in the plug which is marked by the letter
E or by the safety earth symbol ç or coloured GREEN or
GREEN-and-YELLOW.

and

For U.S.A

TO THE USER

This equipment has been tested and found to
comply with the limits for a Class A digital device,
pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These
limits are designed to provide reasonable
protection against harmful interference when the
equipment is operated in a commercial
environment. This equipment generates, uses,
and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if
not installed and used in accordance with the
instruction manual, may cause harmful
interference to radio communications.
Operation of this equipment in a residental area
is likely to cause harmful interference in which
case the user will be required to correct the
interference at his own expense.

CAUTION

Changes or modifications to this equipment not
expressly approved by TEAC CORPORATION
for compliance could void the user’s authority to
operate this equipment.

The wire which is coloured BLUE must be connected to the
terminal which is marked with the letter N or coloured BLACK.

The wire which is coloured BROWN must be connected to the
terminal which is marked with the letter L or coloured RED.

When replacing the fuse only a correctly rated approved type
should be used and be sure to re-fit the fuse cover.
IF IN DOUBT — CONSULT A COMPETENT ELECTRICIAN.

For the consumers in Europe
WARNING

This is a Class A product. In a domestic environment,
this product may cause radio interference in which
case the user may be required to take adequate
measures.

Pour les utilisateurs en Europe
AVERTISSEMENT

Il s’agit d’un produit de Classe A. Dans un environne­ment domestique, cet appareil peut provoquer des in­terférences radio, dans ce cas l’utilisateur peut être
amené à prendre des mesures appropriées.

Für Kunden in Europa
Warnung

Dies is eine Einrichtung, welche die Funk-Entstörung
nach Klasse A besitzt. Diese Einrichtung kann im
Wohnbereich Funkstörungen versursachen ; in die­sem Fall kann vom Betrieber verlang werden, ange­messene Maßnahmen durchzuführen und dafür
aufzukommen.

4 TASCAM FE-8 Owner’s Manual

1 – Introduction and installation

Thank you for purchasing the TASCAM FE-8 fader
expansion unit. This is designed to be used with the
TASCAM FW-1884 unit, and adds another eight con­trol channels, including motorized faders, to the FW-

1884.

Copyright, etc.

Windows, Windows XP, and Windows 2000 are
trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

Macintosh, MacOS, MacOS X and FireWire™ are
trademarks of Apple Computer.

Environmental considerations

The FE-8 can be operated in most environments, but
we suggest that you keep the environmental condi­tions within the following limits:

Updating the software

The FE-8 does not require its own driver software.
Instead, the FE-8 is recognized by the FW-1884’s
driver.

Download the version of the FW-1884 software
which supports the FE-8 expansion from the
TASCAM Web site.

1 First, uninstall the existing driver software

(Windows and Mac OS X). The method to do
this varies, according to the operating system
you are using. See the instructions below.
There is no need to uninstall the Mac OS 9
software as the new installation overwrites the
old settings.

It is possible to add up to 15 FE-8 units to the FW­1884, making a total of 128 channels.

Each FE-8 requires its own AC power source, but
does not require its own IEEE 1394 (FireWire) con­nection to the computer (see below for details).

All other trademarks are the property of their respec­tive holders.

Ambient temperature between 5°C and 35°C (41°F
to 95°F).

2 Next, install the new drivers and software, fol-

lowing the instructions in the FW-1884 Setup
Guide (“Installation (Windows 2000 and Win-

dows XP)” on page 7, “Installation (Mac OS

9.2)” on page 9 and “Installation (Mac OS X

10.2.4 and above)” on page 10).

NOTE

You cannot use the Windows New Hardware Wizard
described in “Installation using the Windows New Hard­ware Wizard:” on page 8 until the FE-8 has been
installed and connected as described below.

Windows uninstall

To uninstall the software under all versions of Win­dows which support the FW-1884, use the

Add/

Macintosh OS X uninstall

On the disc or inside the disk image (.dmg) of the
original FW-1884 software, there is a package (series
of Installer instructions) called

Open this package and uninstall all the old FW-1884
drivers, etc.

FW-1884 Remover.pkg.

Remove Programs

icon in the Control Panel to uninstall

the FW-1884 driver and software.
Reboot your computer if instructed to do so.

Reboot the computer if instructed to do so.

NOTE

You will need an Administrator name and password to
perform this operation.

TASCAM FE-8 5

2 – Physical installation

WARNING

Before undertaking this procedure, make sure the FW­1884 is turned off, and disconnected from the AC power
supply and computer. The FE-8 should also be discon­nected from the AC power supply.

1 Decide on which side of the FW-1884 you will

be using the FE-8. Remove that end cheek
from the FW-1884 (the illustration below
shows the left end cheek).

WARNING

The FE-8 is designed to be used with the FW-1884 only
as described in the instructions here. Only use it in this
way, as there is a danger of electric shock under other
conditions (that is, when standing apart from the FW­1884 or other FE-8 units).

When the end cheeks are removed from the FW-1884,
some sharp metal edges are exposed. Take suitable pre­cautions not to cut yourself on these edges while fitting
the FE-8.

Remove the two screws retaining the end
cheek, and keep them in a safe place.

2 Now lift the end cheek up slightly before

removing it (the illustration here shows a
cross-section through the left end cheek.

2

1

3 Fix the end cheek to the side of the FE-8.

Locate the three retaining lugs on the end
cheek to the three holes on the side of the
FE-8.

4 When the lugs are seated in the holes, push the

end cheek down into place.

1

2

5 Replace the two screws removed at the start of

this procedure.

6 TASCAM FE-8

2 – Physical installation–Updating the software

6 There is no physical connection between the

FW-1884 and the FE8. Instead, you should use
the special supplied mounting pad, into which
the feet of both the FW-1844 and FE-8 fit, and
which secures the units firmly in the correct
location relative to each another.

If you are adding more than one FE-8 unit to your
FW-1884 setup, you should use the mounting pads to
link the FE-8 units, and replace the end cheek(s) only
on the units at the end(s) of the line.

7 To connect the FE-8 and FW-1884, connect

one end of the IEEE 1394 cable supplied with
the FE-8 to either
panel of the FE-8, and the other end to the
unused

FireWire port on the rear panel of the

FW-1884.

FireWire port on the rear

Unlike (for example) SCSI connections, you do
not need to terminate the chain, and there is
no need to number devices or set IDs, etc.

Either

FireWire port of the FW-1884 may be

used for connecting the FW-1884 to the com­puter or FE-8 units, and either port of the FE­8 may be used for connection to the FW-1884
or other FE-8 units.

8 Connect the FW-1884 to the host computer.
9 Connect the AC power cords to all the units,

and switch on the units. We suggest switching
on the units starting with the unit furthest
from the computer, and moving in to the FW-

1884.

NOTE

You can use the FE-8 only in conjunction with an FW­1884 unit. It cannot be used by itself with a computer.

You should either use the cable supplied with the FW­1884 or the FE-8 (preferred) or a IEEE 1394 cable of
equivalent quality when making connections. Cheap
cables may not meet the interface specifications and
may cause device malfunctions.

AC power supply

To host computer

Power switches

AC power supply

TASCAM FE-8 7

3 – Software and the FE-8

Each FE-8 unit in your system provides an additional
virtual MIDI port, through which controller informa­tion is passed to the DAW application, and status
information (fader position, indicator status, etc.) is
passed back from the DAW to the FE-8.

One such virtual MIDI channel is provided per unit.
If you have many FE-8 units connected, it may be
difficult for you to keep track of them in the DAW
application, and so the Control Panel for the FW-

1884 includes tools to help you manage (rename,
reorder, etc.) the units.

Any FE-8 units connected to the FW-1884 will show
on the equipment list on the Macintosh versions of
the software (this feature is not part of the Windows
version).

Notice also the
in all versions of the software, as explained below.

FE-8 tab at the top of the Control Panel

Naming the FE-8 units

If you have more than one FE-8 unit in your system,
it may be difficult for you to keep track of the differ­ent units when they are connected together.

When an FE-8 is first discovered by the system, it is
identified with a letter-number string, which proba­bly won’t mean too much to you in the future.

The FE-8 tab in the Control Panel allows you to
rename the units to something more meaningful.
Here, they are labeled as
want to label them with numbers, or according to the
tracks they will control, etc.

Select a unit in the list and double-click the name to
begin editing.

Click

Apply when finished naming all units or Revert if

you want to discard all changes.
These names are echoed system-wide and are

reflected in all applications using the FE-8 unit.
Note the

this button, the
that is highlighted in the list flashes. This can be use­ful if you forget in which order the FE-8 units have
been arranged.

Identify button at lower left. When you press

FireWire indicator on the FE-8 unit

Left and Right, but you may

Re-ordering the FE-8 units

For convenience, you don’t have to keep the list of
FE-8 units in the order they were discovered by the
system.

8 TASCAM FE-8

Highlight a unit in the list above, and click the Move

or Move Dn (move down) button to re-order the unit

Up

in the list.

4 – Specifications, etc

Power and physical specifications

Power Requirement 100V AC, 50-60Hz

120V AC, 60Hz
230V AC, 50Hz

240V AC, 50Hz
Power Consumption 20 W
Peak inrush current 15 A
Applicable electromagnetic environment E4
Dimensions (W xHxD) 260 x 133 x 478 (mm) 10.25 x 5.2 x 18.9 (in.)
Weight 5 kg (11 lbs.)
Supplied accessories IEEE 1394 cable, mounting pad (sheet joint), AC power cable

133mm (5.2")

260mm (10.2")

478mm (18.9")

TASCAM FE-8 9

Notes

10 TASCAM FE-8

FE-8

TEAC CORPORATION

Phone: [phone] www.tascam.com
3-7-3, Nakacho, Musashino-shi, Tokyo 180-8550, Japan

TEAC AMERICA, INC.

Phone: [phone] www.tascam.com
7733 Telegraph Road, Montebello, California 90640

TEAC CANADA LTD.

Phone: [phone] Facsimile: [phone] www.tascam.com
5939 Wallace Street, Mississauga, Ontario L4Z 1Z8, Canada

TEAC MEXICO, S.A. De C.V

Phone: [phone] www.tascam.com
Campesinos No. 184, Colonia Granjes Esmeralda, Delegaacion Iztapalapa CP 09810, Mexico DF

TEAC UK LIMITED

Phone: [phone] www.tascam.co.uk
5 Marlin House, Croxley Business Park, Watford, Hertfordshire. WD1 8TE, U.K.

TEAC DEUTSCHLAND GmbH

Phone: [phone] www.tascam.de
Bahnstrasse 12, 65205 Wiesbaden-Erbenheim, Germany

TEAC FRANCE S. A.

Phone: [phone] www.tascam.fr
17 Rue Alexis-de-Tocqueville, CE 005 92182 Antony Cedex, France

TEAC AUSTRALIA PTY.,LTD. A.B.N. 80 005 408 462

Phone: [phone] Facsimile: [phone] www.tascam.com.au
280 William Street, Port Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia

TEAC ITALIANA S.p.A.

Phone: [phone] www.teac.it
Via C. Cantù 11, 20092 Cinisello Balsamo, Milano, Italy

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