© 2003 TDM Audio, Inc.
Graphic Equalizer Owner’s Manual
Page 10
Operating the Equalizer
nce you have mounted your TDM 15GE-2 equalizer in a rack and connected all of the
cables, the unit is ready for operation. At this time, make sure the input levels of the
amplifiers are all the way down. Next, turn all equipment on. It is always best to turn the
equipment on in the order of the signal path from input to output and to turn it off in exactly the
reverse order. For example, in a live sound reinforcement setup, you might turn on the mixer and
effects units first, followed by the equalizers, then any limiters, the crossover, and finally the
amplifiers.
It is not absolutely critical that you use this ordering, but it
is
absolutely critical that the power
amplifiers are the last to be turned on and the first to be turned off. If the power amps are on
when any of the other equipment is turned on or off, a loud pop through the speakers can result.
This pop can very easily damage speakers. This is especially true in multi-amped systems (using
active crossovers). After all equipment is powered up and you are sure that everything is set
correctly, raise the levels on the amplifiers to their operating positions. Make sure the controls of
the TDM 15GE-2 equalizer are set to their nominal operating positions before raising the
amplifier levels (the next two sections describe how to do this).
Front Panel Controls
At this time, familiarize yourself with the controls on the front panel of the unit. The 30GE-2 has
two channels while the 30GE-1 has only one. All channels are identical, so you only need to
understand how a single channel works. Here is a list of the controls for a single channel of the
30GE-2 or 30GE-1.
•
Input Level:
This lets you adjust the overall level of the channel. By turning this level up
or down, you can adjust the volume of all frequencies for a single channel
simultaneously.
•
In/Out “Bypass” Switch:
When this switch is in the “Out” position the unit is
operational. When it is pressed in, the unit is bypassed and no equalization is happening.
This is a hard-wire bypass so the signal path will be complete even when there is no
power supplied to the unit.
•
6 dB/12 dB Range Switch:
This is used to select the amount of boost or cut available on
each frequency band. When it is in the “Out” position the range is +/- 6 dB. This means
that each frequency band can be boosted or cut by up to 6 dB in this mode. When this
switch is pressed in the range is +/- 12 dB which permits boosting or cutting up to 12 dB
on each band.
•
Frequency Sliders:
Each slider controls the amount of boost or cut on a single frequency
band. When the slider is in the center there is no boost or cut. As the slider is raised,
progressively more boost is dialed in on the given frequency. Lowering the slider below
the center point dials in progressively more cut on this frequency. The center point can be
identified by a slight “catch” in the action of the slider.
•
Notch Filter Frequency Sliders:
There is one of these for each of three tunable notch
filters. These sliders are used to select the center frequencies for the notch filters. Each
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