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Operating Manual - PROTEA SYSTEM II Digital Audio Products
9. PROTEA SLAVE UNITS
Four slave units are offered in addition to the 4.24G system processor. Two are Graphic EQ slaves (GS), and
two are Parametric EQ slaves (PS). Graphic slaves are controlled by a 4.24G main unit, 4.24RD remote control, or
Protea System Software, while Parametric slaves are controlled only with Protea System Software. One or more slaves
can be installed in a permanent installation where the EQ, Compressor/Limiter, HPF/LPF, and Time Delay are all
pre-adjusted, then the controller or PC is removed, while settings are permanently stored in the slave's memory. Contact
Closures (see sec. 6.4) allow scene recall without risk to preset values. Multiple slaves can be chained together for up
to 16 mono or stereo channels. The MIDI channel assigned to each physical channel (see sec. 7.2) is displayed on the
front panel, and is selected using the recessed momentary tactile switch beneath each LED display. Note that channels
set to 0 (off) will continue to function as-is, but will not respond to any MIDI or RS232 control messages.
Two switches on the back panel must be properly set according to the specific application of the slave unit. The
switch labeled "A" is for Baud Rate Select, and "B" is a Data Configuration switch (see the table on page 20).
Note: In addition to showing MIDI Channel assignments, the front panel numerical LEDs indicate the current
firmware version (on power-up), low battery (
Lb
), factory reset (
Fr
- see sec. 5.15), and channel mute (flashing).
10. PROTEA SYSTEM SOFTWARE
Ashly has created a powerful Protea software interface for the Windows95™ or Windows98™ environment,
providing all the functionality of the Protea Remote Control, while utilizing the additional power and portability of a
PC. Parametric slaves require Protea System Software to initially set up the presets and scenes. The software is
flexible enough to set up as little as a two-channel slave unit, or as much as a full 16 channel stereo graphic, stereo
parametric, or a combination of both. Ashly's VCM-88, a high performance eight channel remote level controller, is
also addressed by Protea System Software using any Protea's DATA THROUGH jack into the MIDI IN of the VCM-88,
allowing control of up to 128 different audio signals.
10.1 HOW TO GET PROTEA SYSTEM SOFTWARE
Three 3 1/2" disks containing Protea System Software are shipped free with each Protea Slave unit, or disks can
be purchased directly from Ashly for a nominal fee. To download the same for free or to check for the latest software
upgrades on the Ashly Web site, go to <www.ashly.com> and follow the link to the Protea section, then click on the line
<Download Protea System Software>, noting which folder on your computer the file is saved in.
10.2 INSTALLING PROTEA SYSTEM SOFTWARE
The installation program is the same whether from the web site or from a disk, and is called <Pssinstl.exe>.
There is currently no version available for Mac™, DOS™, or Windows 3.1™. To install Protea System Software,
double-click on <Pssinstl.exe> and follow the installation instructions.
10.3 CONNECTING TO A COMPUTER
*** Before attempting computer control, EXACT settings must be made to hardware switches and User
Preferences on ALL Protea units involved. See the Protea System Configuration Table on page 20 for details.
Protea System Software uses RS-232 serial data communications through the computer's serial port using a 9-
pin D-sub connector. RS-232 will run reliably to about 50 feet.
The user must select a serial port to use from the COMMUNICATIONS menu within Protea software (ex.
com1, com2, com3, or com4) depending on the availability of ports on the computer.
DOS, WINDOWS 3.1, Windows95, and Windows98 are a trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Mac is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.