D&R Electronica have been designing and manufacturing broadcast mixing consoles since 1972. The consoles are designed for radio and television broadcast environments but are also at home in audio post-production studios.
Airmate-USB has been designed for deployment as an on-air radio mixing console or a production mixer. The chassis has eight input channels, six of which have triple inputs; two have telephone connections and USB connectivity giving the user the ability to stream the output directly to an external computer or streaming device.
Three options of the Airmate-8-USB are available, each with differing input types in addition to the standard 6x microphone, 12x stereo line, and 2x USB input connections.
Available options
On all models, channels one to four have triple inputs, microphone, line A and line B. Channels five and six have microphone, line and USB connections to transfer audio to and from a PC. Channels seven and eight have both line inputs and facilities to connect telephone lines
All inputs are on the rear. Microphone inputs are balanced via 3-pin XLR connectors, with 48V phantom power available and have associated 'insert' connection for microphone processing. All line inputs are stereo via unbalanced RCA (phono) connectors and have associated 'start' connections. As well as a stereo line input, channels seven and eight have two RJ-11 connectors to interface with a POT (plain old telephone) PSTN line and a telephone to set up calls. The internal telephone balance units are manually adjusted.
On the control surface, each channel has a channel fader, and switches to send the channel to the 'Cue' mix and main mix. 'On' switches on all channels are wired in series with the mechanical fader enabling selection of start either by fader or hard start via the On switch. Channels one to six have rotary controls for gain EQ and a the send to the auxiliary mix. Equalisation is three-band, with +/-12 dB shelving at 12kHz for high frequencies, +/-12dB at 1kHz 'bell' curve for mid-frequencies, and +/-12dB at 60 Hz for low frequencies. They also have push switches to select between the three inputs.
Channels seven and eight controls to set the 'send' level to the phone line, switches to select line or telephone inputs, and manual controls to adjust the balance of the telephone hybrid - a trimmer control to set the resistive component and a push switch for the capacitive. A rotary control adjusts input gain and larger switches are used to connect to a call and for talkback to the call.
On the right is the comprehensive master section which includes a dual-channel meter with two columns of 21 LEDs and controls for stereo Auxiliary send and return level, clean fee level, monitor level with 'follow phones' and a phones output with a 'split' function and a balance control to continuously adjust the volume between main output and stereo Cue signal.
A 'Self op' button cuts the control room monitor level automatically when the microphone is active. A 'Talkback' switch activates the built-in electret talkback microphone for easy communication with the Clean-feed output, Aux output and Announcer output.
Compatible with Aircast 6-STD - a single user radio automation system for Windows based PC computers that is designed to suit smaller radio stations especially those in community radio, internet radio, hospital radio and schools - offering various remote control functions for controlling fader start, 'next', and other remote requirements. See D&R SOFTWARE - Aircast for more detail.
Optional accessories: Aircast automation system, On Air Light, see below. The stereo line level inputs can be expanded with the optional Airmate-USB RIAA addition that adds equalised phono pre-amplifiers for connecting directly to a turntable. The GSM Hybrid connects the Airmate-USB to a GSM network. The Airmate-USB AES/EBU expands the console to include a digital I/O whereby the left XLR output carries the stereo AES digital output signal and the right XLR becomes a stereo digital input.
Dimensions (WxDxH): 482 x 356 x 105mm. A mounting hole of 450mm x 330mm is required for drop-through mounting. Weight: 11 kg.
Note: Compatibility with keyboard mapping application is not available on D&R Airmate, and is exclusive to Webstation-USB, Airlite-USB, Airence-USB, Airlab-DT, and AXITE/AXUM D&R product ranges.
Airmate-12-USB has the same feature set as Airmate-8-USB however it has been expanded to offer additional input channels. In addition to the standard 10x microphone, 20x stereo line, and 2x USB input connections Airmate-12-USB can have TECLO, VoIP, or TECLO and VoIP inputs.
Available options
Dimensions (WxDxH): 722 x 356 x 105mm. A mounting hole of 738mm x 330mm is required for drop-through mounting. Weight: 14 kg.
On Air Light is a self-contained, on-air signalling light for use in broadcast environments. When activated it shows a bright 'On Air' sign in red, backlit by LEDs. Power is provided by the included 12V DC, 1A external power supply.
Control is via a twin wire cable coming from the microphone switching output (1 x 6.35mm stereo jack socket) on the back of the Airmate-USB, Airence-USB or Airlab DT console, or from any console that offers microphone control switching. Control is achieved by connecting the two wires in the cable. Both the power and control must be directly hardwired to a barrier strip on the On Air light.
Other warning light options include 'Phone' and 'Recording'. See D&R WARNING LIGHTS for more detail.
Dimensions (WxHxD): 260 x 125 x 65mm. Cable entry holes and key slot holes are provided on the back.