Peterson AutoStrobe 590 - Manual (Page 9)

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This button is connected in parallel with the 1/4-inch jack at the rear of the tuner labeled "METRONOME SWITCH".
Any momentary-close contact device such as a footswitch may be used in place of or in addition to the METRONOME
ON/OFF button at any time. (The front-panel button will continue to operate with a device plugged into this rear jack
unless the device is held in the closed position—make sure that the device operates in a momentary-close fashion. A
proper footswitch is available from peterson as part #: 140070.)
12. VOLume - BALance DUAL CONTROL — The AutoStrobe 590 contains a Metronome/Tone audio output section.
The output sound emanates from the 3" internal speaker unless a) the 1/4" EXTERNAL SPEAKER jack at the rear of
the unit is connected—normally to an 8 or 16 ohm speaker—or b) the 3.5 mm front panel jack is connected—normally
to headphones or an audio line-level input. When used as a tuner, a tone rich in harmonics is generated which reflects
exactly the frequency selected by the user as determined by the current temperament, key, scale note, global cent offset,
and Concert A frequency. When used as a metronome, the Model 590 produces audible "blips" to indicate timing of
musical beats. In either case, the top cap knob of this dual control affects the sound volume or amplitude of the audio
signal being produced. The ring knob beneath it controls the balance of internally generated sound (tone or metronome)
to amplified input sound (from the built-in mic or external input, whichever is currently active). Turned fully counter-
clockwise: only amplified input is present in the output audio; turned fully clockwise: only internally generated sound
is audible.
13. OCTAVE CONTROL — This manual switch places the internally generated audio tone or metronome blip (whichever
is currently active) at one of five octave ranges to optimize clarity.
14. HEADPHONE JACK — This is a standard 3.5 mm-sized headphone jack for private listening of internally-generated
tone and external sound as controlled by the VOLume, BALance, and OCTAVE front panel controls. Insertion into this
jack cuts off both the internal speaker and any signal to the EXTERNAL SPEAKER jack at the rear of the unit.
2. AUTOMATIC AND MANUAL NOTE SELECTION ON THE AutoStrobe 590
Your AutoStrobe 590 tuner can function in either of two ways: MANual mode or AUTOmatic mode. Unless you choose
to change the default, the tuner will power up in the AUTO mode. In this condition, any strong audio tone input to the built-
in microphone (or EXTERNAL INPUT jack) will be internally analyzed—usually in well under a second—and the standard-
pitched semitone nearest in frequency to that of the input sound will appear on the LCD screen. The motor for the strobe
disc will automatically adjust in speed so that you can view the tuning of this input sound relative to this nearest standard
pitch. (The internally-generated audio tone is automatically adjusted as well.) Although it is rotating very rapidly, one or
more circular bands on the disc will appear to be moving very slowly or will appear to be standing still. The lowest band
exhibiting this effect indicates which octave the audio input signal occupies. If the rotation appears to be to the left (counter-
clockwise), your input sound is flat compared to this nearest standard-pitched semitone. If the rotation appears to be to the
right (clockwise), the input sound is sharp compared to the standard. If the image appears to be standing still, the input is
perfectly in tune with the standard. Furthermore, the slower the disc appears to be rotating, the closer the input sound is to
the standard. This makes for a very simple and natural visual feedback when bringing an input sound into tune.
To tune to a different note, simply cease the current audio input and sound a different pitch. If the new input is closer to a
different standard-pitched semitone, the tuner will re-analyze the input, indicate this new pitch on the LCD screen, and, once
again, automatically adjust the motor so that the disc will properly indicate the relative tuning of this new input to the nearest
standard-pitched semitone.
The AutoStrobe 590 can also be placed in MANual mode by pressing the "2" button while the label above it in the LCD
screen indicates "MODE" (that is, when the normal RUN screen is active). Directly above this MODE label on the LCD,
an indication of the currently active note-select mode—AUTO or MAN—appears. Pressing the "2" button will toggle this
note select mode and the LCD indication will be updated.