When the stagebox is connected to the CDC four:m or a CDC four, two extra “layer” buttons are enabled allowing access to the extra channels.
The CDC four and CDC four:m can have an additional 32 mic / line analogue inputs with the addition of a CDC I/O 3216 stagebox. The stagebox also allows the 16 line outputs to be on stage. To connect the stagebox to the CDC four or CDC four:m it must have a MegaCOMMS card fitted.
As standard the CDC five, CDC six, CDC seven, CDC seven-s and CDC eight have 2 pairs of MegaCOMMS connectors on the rear. This will allow up to 2 MegaCOMMS compatible units to be connected to the console. However if the console is connected to a CDC MC Router this allows the console to be connected to further 11 MegaCOMMS devices.
The linked PDF document provides a recommendation for a PIC programming tool that is needed to upgrade the PICS on Cadac products.
Click to open: DOC02- PIC programming tool – Issue D – July 2019
It is highly likely that the ID or “Rack Number” for the stage box / MegaCOMMS unit is not set correctly.
On the unit there is small dial called “Rack Number” with “0 to 9 / A to F” labelled around it.
If the units are connect directly to a console then they will need to be set to “2” this will then appear as “Rack 1” on the console, a second unit will then have to be set to “3” and this will be “Rack 2” on the console.
If the units are being connect to a Router then they must all be set to “1”.
Use a small screw driver inserted in the slot in the middle and turn the pointer to the appropriate number.
To update the CDC I/O 3216 you will need to connect it to a Windows PC via a USB cable.
But first, if you do not already have it installed, you will need to download and install the CDC I/O 3216 FPGA Loader App on to you PC before you can update the firmware on the stage box.
Below are the instructions on how to install the FPGA Loader on the PC:
Your PC will re-boot and present a screen titled Startup Settings, press F7 (or 7) to disable driver signing enforcement.
When the PC has finished re-booting you will be able to connect the CDC I/O 3216 via the USB port on the rear of the unit to your PC with a suitable USB cable.
Run the StageBox Audio Mixer program from the icon installed on your desktop. This should give you a program Window that looks like the one below:
You should now have the latest firmware version on the CDC I/O 3216.
The login details for the customer repository are:
Login: customer
Password: cadac1968
MegaCOMMS is Cadac’s proprietary digital audio protocol.
MegaCOMMS is a robust, TDM (time division multiplex) system. Control data is embedded within the data stream, so that no audio channels have to be sacrificed for this purpose. The high bandwidth available means that the current implementation of MegaCOMMS can carry 128 channels of 24-bit, 96 kHz audio, plus control data, plus clock, bi-directionally, up to 150 metres via a pair of RG6 coaxial cables.
Cadac specify RG6 3G 75 Ohm 18 AWG solid bare copper, super high-resolution coaxial to ensure that the cable is capable of handling over 4 times the data required for MADI.
The CDC four:m has the addition of a 6 x 4 matrix, combining the 4 group outputs and the LR master into a further four outputs.
These outputs are part of the extended outputs from the CDC four:m which are only available if you use an I/O stagebox with more than 16 outputs (CDC I/O 6448, CDC MC MADI, CDC MC Dante etc.).
Select the CDC four:m output layer and press Function Button 3, labelled Assign socket. The Matrix outputs, M1 to M4, are assigned to sockets 25 to 28.
If you are using the CDC four:m with a CDC I/O 3216 stagebox these outputs may be reassigned to one of the 16 sockets available but this will entail giving up the outputs that are currently using them.
The glowing connectors on the rear of the console and on the rack mount units are MegaCOMMS ports.
The red – Rx – connectors are the receive or “in” ports and the blue – Tx – connectors are the transmit or “out” ports.
RG6 is a very robust cable and the BNC connectors used are professional grade connectors and we are not limited to 100m runs of Ethernet technology – MegaCOMMS will easily run up to 150m on coaxial.
No – unless the cables you are using are RG6 3G 75 Ohm 18 AWG solid bare copper, super high-resolution coaxial.
MegaCOMMS requires a cable that is capable of handling over 4 times the data needed for MADI.