Press Release
Sonifex Add Ethernet & USB to Silence Sensor
6 November 2013
The new RB-SD1IP Silence Detection Unit With Ethernet & USB.
Sonifex have a number of products for use at radio & TV transmitter sites to provide notification and backup in the case of failure of an audio circuit. The first product, designed in 2001, was the Redbox RB-SD1 silence detector, a dual stereo input device with one stereo output. This unit switches to the secondary input on detecting silence at the primary input, with the silence level and duration being configurable. Roll forward to 2013 and this product has had an update – the new Redbox RB-SD1IP is a silence detection unit with Ethernet and a USB port added.
TheRB-SD1IP offers all of the functionality of the standard RB-SD1 with several extra capabilities. Ethernet connectivity provides the ability to set up and control the unit via a browser based GUI. The network capabilities allow you to more finely control silence level (-60dBu to 0dBu in 3dBu steps) and silence duration (1 second to 10 minutes). You can also remotely lock/unlock the front panel controls on the unit and opt to use either the hardware configured settings or web based settings. In addition to the front panel LEDs the GUI home page offers a real time view of signal levels and alarm statuses.
Using the new browser GUI, left and right channels can be treated independently and remote relay triggers can be configured as one of many events including the new GPIO pins. You can also choose to lock/unlock the use of the remote pins to control the unit and firmware updates can also be performed using the web GUI.
Marcus Brooke, Managing Director of Sonifex said: "The RB-SD1 has been used in installations all over the world and we were getting requests from customers for remote Ethernet control. It seemed a natural progression to add in Ethernet and USB ports to add some excellent new functionality. You need total reliability when considering a product which can form part of the transmission chain and the Sonifex silence detector products fit their needs.”
SNMP V1 is implemented so that the unit can be controlled by existing network management systems. The addition of 6 extra GPIO pins to the rear panel allows customisable functionality, including the use of the RB-SD1IP network interface to generate SNMP Traps on behalf of other, non-networked, hardware.
The RB-SD1IP has been fitted with a USB interface on the front panel and can act as a host in two ways. Firstly the USB port can be used to upgrade the firmware on the unit from a USB flash drive. Secondly, such a drive can hold a pre-recorded message which the unit can play in defined circumstances, such as if both main and auxiliary signals fall silent.
The RB-SD1IP is being released in January 2014.
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Contact sales@sonifex.co.uk for further information.
US enquiries :
contact Fraser Jones of Independent Audio, tel : +207 773 2424 fax : +207 773 2422
email : info@independentaudio.com website : https://www.independentaudio.com
UK and other export enquiries :
contact Eamonn Heffernan of Sonifex Ltd, tel : +44 1933 650 700 fax : +44 1933 650 726
email : sales@sonifex.co.uk