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© 2003 TDM Audio, Inc. 

Graphic Equalizer Owner’s Manual 

Page 13 

Troubleshooting and Support 

his section details various problems that you might encounter when using your equalizer, 
and the possible causes and solutions. It also tells how to contact TDM when you need 
service or support for your 15GE-2 graphic equalizer. 

No Signal Output 

Make sure that the unit is plugged in and that the power light on the front panel is illuminated. If 
the unit is plugged in but the power light does not come on, try plugging some other piece of 
equipment into the same outlet to make sure it works. If it does work, but you still don’t get the 
power light with the unit plugged in, check the fuse on the rear of the unit. 

WARNING: Make 

sure the unit is unplugged from the power outlet before removing the fuse! 

Try bypassing the unit by pressing the bypass (in/out) switch. If there is no signal output 
normally, but you are getting a signal with the unit bypassed, the unit is probably 
malfunctioning. Contact your vendor, or call TDM for support and/or service (see 

Contacting 

TDM

). 

Check the signal source to make sure it is working correctly. Try plugging it into some sound 
reinforcement equipment that is known to work (such as a monitor system). If you do this and 
there is still no signal, the problem is that the signal source is not providing one.  
If the signal source is not providing a signal to the equalizer, check the cabling between the 
source and the equalizer. Try substituting another cable that is known to be good. If this fails, it’s 
likely that your signal source is malfunctioning, or that there is some problem with the way the 
individual components of the source are connected. 
If the signal source is providing a signal to the equalizer, but you are still getting no output 
signal, check to make sure that the problem is not with the power amps, speakers, or cables. The 
most common cause this kind of problem is either a bad cable, or an incorrect hookup. The best 
way to trace down a bad cable is to replace each cable in turn with one that is know to be good 
and then check if that fixed the problem. If you cannot find the problem, contact your vendor, or 
call TDM for support and/or service (see 

Contacting TDM

). 

Distortion 

To determine the cause of the distortion, try systematically removing each piece of signal 
processing equipment from the chain, one at a time. After a piece of equipment is removed from 
the chain (by plugging the piece of equipment before it directly into the piece of equipment after 
it), listen to the system and determine if the distortion is still present. When you remove a piece 
of equipment and the distortion goes away, then it is likely that this particular piece of equipment 
is the cause of the distortion. It is easy to check if the distortion is from your TDM 15GE-2 
equalizer: Simply bypass the unit by pressing the bypass switch. If the distortion goes away with 
the unit bypassed then the distortion is probably coming from the equalizer. 
If you determine that the TDM 15GE-2 equalizer is the source of a distortion problem, make sure 
that the unit is plugged into a proper power source. Read the back panel of the unit for the 

T

Summary of Contents for 15GE-2

Page 1: ...15GE 2 GRAPHIC EQUALIZER OWNER S MANUAL TDM AUDIO INC 7270 BELLAIRE AVE NORTH HOLLYWOOD CA 91605 818 765 6200 TDMAUDIO COM TDM A U D I O...

Page 2: ...l of the equipment following the equalizer output lines is turned off or all of the inputs are turned down The unit should be plugged in only when it has been established that the main AC line is supp...

Page 3: ...L FEATURES 6 MOUNTING THE UNIT IN A RACK 7 HOOKING UP THE EQUALIZER 8 WHAT YOU LL NEED 8 THE BASIC HOOK UP 8 INSTRUMENT EQUALIZATION 8 OPERATING THE EQUALIZER 10 FRONT PANEL CONTROLS 10 ADJUSTING THE...

Page 4: ...ze yourself with the proper operation of the unit Description The 15GE 2 is a high performance 2 3 octave constant Q graphic equalizers The 15GE 2 provides two channels of equalization in a two rack s...

Page 5: ...ure air movement and the number of people in an area Additionally some rooms just have poor acoustics because of other practical considerations Acoustics are often not the first consideration when des...

Page 6: ...hape or sound of filters remains constant as the center frequency varies In graphic equalizer design this means that each of the filters has the same effect on its range of frequencies as all of the o...

Page 7: ...2 equalizer in the rack as desired Make sure the mounting holes in the equalizer line up with the screw holes in the rack rails Use four standard 10 32 rack screws for each equalizer We recommend that...

Page 8: ...oltage current and frequency This information is printed on the rear panel of your TDM 15GE 2 equalizer Before connecting the equalizer signal cables make sure that any power amplifiers are off or the...

Page 9: ...e 9 chorus or flanging units depending on the effect you are trying to achieve They are typically inserted before delay and reverb units though they are sometimes used to equalize just the return of a...

Page 10: ...ls 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 c...

Page 11: ...eded from there At this time raise the levels of your power amplifiers to their regular operating levels You can verify that the unit is set truly flat by running a sound source through the system byp...

Page 12: ...ting is to use extreme discretion and make sure you know what you are doing Use as little equalization as you can get away with to achieve good sound Equalization can easily make things worse if not u...

Page 13: ...le that is known to be good If this fails it s likely that your signal source is malfunctioning or that there is some problem with the way the individual components of the source are connected If the...

Page 14: ...n the noise is probably present in your signal source You can remove the TDM 15GE 2 graphic equalizer from the signal path by simply pressing the hard wire bypass switch If you suspect that the TDM 15...

Page 15: ...nd loops is direct input or DI boxes These let you plug an instrument such as a guitar or bass directly into a microphone input The problem is that the musician playing the guitar or bass might be usi...

Page 16: ...jumper Slope 18 dB octave 3dB point 26Hz Output Type Floating and balanced Connectors XLR and 1 4 Phone Output Impedance 300 Ohms Input Type Balanced and Differential Connectors XLR and 1 4 Phone Inpu...

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