Rane FMM 42 Operating And Service Manual

OPERATING / SERVICE MANUAL

FMM 42

MASTER MODULE

QUICK START

Operating Manuals! You can’t live with them; you can’t live without them. If you don’t

read them, the damn thing never works right; and if you do read them, you get so confused you

never get it turned on! For you, we present the famous Quick Start section. Read this, and you

get dessert.

If you are using the FMM 42 as a master mixing module, connect the FLEX BUS OUT of

the last mixing module to the FLEX BUS IN on the FMM 42 using the 7-pin DIN patch cable

supplied. Aux bus program is routed through the AUX BUS level controls and then the AUX

BUS LOOP jacks and into the MASTER A/B outputs. Insert your reverb, or any other signal

processing unit, into the BUS LOOPS, by means of the tip=send, ring=return jacks. In addition

to the BUS input, the FMM 42 has a MIC/LINE 1 input and a STEREO LINE 2 input. The

MIC/LINE 1 input is equipped with a Ducking (attenuating) feature, allowing its use as a

priority paging input. This allows voice or other signals to override or attenuate (duck) all other

program routed through the FMM 42. The BUS THRU jack allows routing of the unaltered

Flex bus material to another FMM 42 or other Flex bus equipped module. The FMM 42 may

also be used stand-alone, without any bus inputs, as a straightforward background music/paging

system or the like. In this case the AUX BUS LOOP jacks may be used as additional line inputs

by using special ¼" TRS cables with tip left open, ring as signal hot and sleeve as ground.

NEVER CONNECT ANYTHING EXCEPT AN APPROVED RANE POWER SUPPLY

TO THE RED THING THAT LOOKS LIKE A TELEPHONE JACK ON THE REAR OF

THE FMM 42. This is an AC input and requires special attention if you do not have an

operational power supply EXACTLY like the one that was originally packed with your unit.

See the full explanation of the power supply requirements elsewhere in this manual.

SYSTEM CONNECTION

When connecting the FMM 42 to other components in

your system for the first time, LEAVE THE POWER

SUPPLY FOR LAST. This gives you a chance to make

mistakes and correct them without damage to your fragile

speakers, ears and nerves.

INPUTS. The MIC-LINE 1 INPUT on the FMM 42 is

balanced. This means that standard 3-pin (XLR) connectors

on the ends of any good quality cable work well with the

FMM 42 and a microphone of your choice. In compliance

with American, British and International standards, pin 2 is

used for “hot” or “+” signal polarity, pin 3 is “return” or “–”

and pin 1 is signal ground. For unbalanced inputs, drive pin

2 as hot and pin 1 as ground. It is not necessary to short pin

3 to ground on Flex series microphone inputs; however, it

will not hurt anything, if you do. You may use either pin 1 or

case for shield ground on the 3-pin input. (See Rane Note

110 for further information on this subject). If you are using

the ¼" STEREO LINE 2 input, tip is Channel A, ring is

Channel B and sleeve is ground.

OUTPUTS. The FMM 42’s Master Outputs are bal-

anced. On these outputs, pin 2 is hot (+), pin 3 is return (-)

and pin 1 is signal ground. If unbalanced output is required,

use pin 2 as hot and pin 1 as ground. Do not short any pins to

any others. This is not a transformer balanced output.

BUS INPUTS. The 7-pin DIN

bus connectors are used primarily

with other Flex modules. These are

not MIDI connectors. Use only the

supplied DIN cable. If for some

reason there is not a cable in the

FMM 42 box, please contact Rane

for a replacement. If you are in a

bind, a 5-pin DIN may be used

instead of a 7-pin. The two outside

pins are spares on the FMM 42 and have been included for

possible future compatibility reasons. All pins on the DIN

cable should be wired straight through, i.e., 1 to 1, 2 to 2,

etc.

A typical Flex system using FMM 42s would be where

several FMI 14s are used as input channels, possibly mixed

with a FPM 44 program mixer, all combined with one FMM

42 as the master termination module. In a case like this, the

first FMI 14’s BUS OUT goes to the second’s BUS IN, its

BUS OUT to the third’s BUS IN, and so on down the line.

FPM 44s, FPM 42s, and FLM 82s connect the same way.

The last BUS OUT connects to the FMM 42’s BUS IN. This

sums all input modules properly. See the Flex Users Guide

for additional details.