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Cantar-X User Manual v2.26 (r13) 2009 April 27
p.11
p.11
Starting & Stopping
To turn 'ON' Cantar, set the [MainSelector] to STOP, press
the [batt L] or [batt R] button for a couple of seconds. The
rectangular screen lights up to confirm that Cantar is pow-
ered. On the left circular screen, the 'three-platter' icon
blinks for three to five seconds, the time it takes the disk to
wake up; it is surrounded by the icons of the currently routed
tracks. The rectangular screen displays batt-L and batt-R
voltages, plus the system day and time.
To shut down Cantar, set the [MainSelector] to STOP, main-
tain pressure on the blue [shift] button and [batt L] or [batt R]
until '
AU REVOIR
'
is displayed. As a safety measure, if you
are not in STOP, nothing happens.
Reminder:
while in STOP, internal HDD sleeping, the current
drain is a mere 270mA. To keep the internal sync-clock run-
ning, do NOT turn 'OFF' Cantar during the workday.
Twin battery safety
Cantar's low power consumption electronics offer the longest
operating time of all portable eight-track audio recorders.
With a single set of onboard Li-Ion batteries, the eighteen
hour Cantar outperforms all other recorders. And with the
twin battery system you will never be taken by surprise.
While
working on a cart from a mains power supply, leave a
battery onboard and activate both inputs:
the battery will
buffer possible mains power problems or the power cord
being accidently disconnected. To avoid charging spikes,
the battery which remains onboard is not charged, just not
discharged while Cantar is connected to mains power.
Mains power supply
Only use a low ripple, 14V max, power supply able to sustain a
4A surge at Cantar's start-up. If it is not able to deliver the surge
current, plug a NiMH (12V) battery on one side and connect
the power supply (14v) to the other. Activate both inputs: the bat-
tery will supply the surge and then will be off duty thanks to the
power supply higher voltage.
NEVER
use a battery charger,
its idle voltage can go up to 24V; a Cantar killer.
Voltage
Minimum:
when the active battery drops 300mv below the
operator entered Batt Alert level, both inputs are put on duty.
This allows the simultaneous use of a
12.5V NiMH battery
with alert level set to 10.5V,
and a
14.4V Li-Ion battery
with alert level set to 12.4V
(TECHSET.14-15, p.34); alert
level reached, a two beep alarm is sent to the headphones;
the rectangular screen displays BATT LEFT (RIGHT) LOW.
While in REC, both batteries are automatically put on duty,
in case you unplug one by mistake.
Maximum:
16.6V is the maximum voltage which can be
applied to Cantar, including the FireWire socket. No prob-
lem with Mac laptops and PCs, they deliver a safe 13V.
Never connect MAC G3/5 desktops delivering 30V on
the FireWire socket,
extract the HDD from Cantar and con-
nect it directly to the Gs (it can sustain up to 40V).
Battery check
In TEST, [jog] to display the battery voltage. It also appears
in all positions whenever you press the [batt L] or [batt R]
button. Pressing a battery button for more than two seconds
puts the battery on duty.
Power Consumption
STOP
: 270mA (sleep mode), 420mA (HDD running)
TEST
: 600mA (AES Off, Phantom Off, Heater Off)
REC
: 650mA (AES Off, Phantom Off, Heater Off)
AES
:100mA.
Phantom
: 10 to 20mA per mic (60mA total).
Heater
: 500mA (until screens reach +4°C).
Ethernet
: 50mA.
Lithium-Ion batteries
The 14.8V/4.2Ah Aaton Li-Ion R-Cells are more powerful and
lighter than their NiMH equivalent (61Wh vs 45Wh, and 560gr
vs 695gr). To avoid their destruction by NiMH chargers, the XLR 4
pin-4 is protected by an 80V reverse voltage diode; pin-3 is directly
connected to the cells.
•
Charger LED status:
red/orange,
two hour charge to 85% capac-
ity;
amber,
three hour top-up;
green,
charged.
Before connecting
a battery, reset the Mascott charger 9940 (Li 4-cell 2A @14.8V) by
turning it 'OFF' for four seconds.
• Supply pin-out: +Batt current is either flowing through the pin-4
diode to film cameras and Cantars under #268, or through pin-3 to
Cantars having an XLR 4 socket with pins 3&4 tied together.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
• Flight rules:
"NO Lithium-Ion batteries in stowed luggage. Under
8gr of lithium content, carry on as many as you want within size and
weight limits. Between 8gr & 25gr, carry on no more than two batter-
ies with a total lithium content between them of 25gr max."
At 5.8gr, Aaton R-Cells fall within the first category.
STOP 1,
POWER
