TDM Audio 32CL-2 v.2 - Manual (Page 8)

© 1996 TDM Design, Inc. Compressor/Limiter Owner’s Manual Page 8
Hooking Up the Compressor/Limiter
nce your TDM compressor/limiter is installed in the rack, you are ready to hook it up to your
equipment. Of course, the method used to hook up any compressor or limiter depends a
great deal on how it will be used. We will try to give you the basics in this manual, but you may
need to tailor the methods described here to your particular application.
What You’ll Need
To connect your TDM 32CL series compressor/limiter to your equipment, you will need the
following.
•
Power: A power outlet should be located close enough to the unit so that you can plug it in.
The TDM 32CL series compressor/limiters require a grounded (3-prong) outlet. If an outlet is
not close enough, an extension cord or power strip may be used. Make sure you check the
power rating on the extension cord or power strip to make sure that it exceeds the power re-
quirements of all units plugged into it combined. TDM units have their power requirements
marked on the rear of the unit.
•
Signal Cables: Each channel to be connected requires two signal cables. One cable transmits
the signal from your signal source to the compressor/limiter. The other transmits the signal
from the compressor/limiter to the next item in the signal chain. This might be an amplifier, a
mixing device, or more signal processing equipment.
Making Adapter Cables
In order to hook up your compressor/limiter to the rest of your equipment, it may be necessary to
use special adapter cables. TDM 32CL series compressor/limiters can be shipped from the factory
with either ¼” phone jacks, or with XLR connectors. In either case, inputs and outputs are bal-
anced. The ¼” phone jacks are tip-ring-sleeve type for balancing. It is common to need adapters
to go from ¼” to XLR or vice versa. It is very important that if you build your own adapters, you
adhere to certain rules to make sure your TDM unit functions correctly.
If you have a TDM compressor/limiter with XLR connectors and you need to connect it to some
other piece of equipment that has ¼” connectors, you might need to build XLR to ¼” adapters. If
the other piece of equipment is balanced with tip-ring-sleeve jacks, then do the following.
•
Wire pin 1 of the XLR connector to the sleeve of the tip-ring-sleeve plug.
•
Wire pin 2 of the XLR connector to the tip of the tip-ring-sleeve plug.
•
Wire pin 3 of the XLR connector to the ring of the tip-ring-sleeve plug.
If the other piece of equipment is not balanced, but has plain ¼” connectors, then do the follow-
ing.
•
Wire pins 1 and 3 both to the sleeve of the ¼” phone plug.
•
Wire pin 2 to the tip of the phone plug.
O