Orban
Optimod-AM 9200

Overview

Digital Audio Processor for HF

The OPTIMOD-HF 9200 is a software-implemented solution for HF broadcast (either AM or SSB) that has been incorporated into the standard OPTIMOD-AM 9200 hardware platform. Three new HF-specific presets (patterned after the highly regarded OPTIMOD-HF 9105A) tailor your HF signal to effectively punch through noise and interference. Dynamic presence lift maximizes intelligibility on narrow-band radios while well-controlled bass energy reduces power consumption and prolongs the life of expensive power tubes.

Features

Specifications

PERFORMANCE

Bypass mode: measured from analog input to analog output, as fully described below. See "test".
Frequency Response: ±0.4dB within selected passband (high-pass 50-100Hz, low-pass 4.5-9.5kHz).
Noise: <-75dB (referenced to 100% modulation, 50Hz-20kHz).
Total System Distortion: <0.05% THD.

ANALOG AUDIO INPUT

Configuration: One monophonic input.
Impedance: Electronically balanced, 600 ohm or >3.6k ohm, jumper-selectable.
Common mode rejection: >70dB, 50-60Hz. >45dB, 60Hz-15kHz.
Sensitivity: -20dBu to +20dBu to produce 10dB AGC at 1kHz, software and jumper-adjustable.
Maximum input level: +27dBu, software-adjustable.
Connector: XLR-type, female, EMI-suppressed. Pin 1 chassis ground, Pins 2 and 3 balanced, floating, and symmetrical.
Filtering: RFI filtered, with high-pass filter at 0.15Hz.

ANALOG AUDIO OUTPUT

Configuration: Two monaural outputs for use with two transmitters, with separate level control and output amplifiers.
Source Impedance: 365 ohm, electronically balanced to ground.
Load Impedance: 600 ohm or greater, balanced or unbalanced. Termination not required.
Output Level (100% peak modulation): Adjustable 0dBu to +20dbu with front panel independent multi-turn potentiometers.
Connectors: XLR-type, male, EMI-suppressed. Pin 1 chassis ground, Pins 2 and 3 balanced. Positive voltage on Pin 2 correlates to positive modulation.
D/A Conversion: 18-bit.
Filtering: RFI filtered.

DIGITAL AUDIO INPUT (Digital I/O option installed)

Configuration: Two-channel AES/EBU standard. 20-bit resolution. Software selection of left, right, or sum as input source.
Sample Rate: 32, 44.1 or 48kHz, automatically selected.
Connector: XLR-type, female, EMI-suppressed. Pin 1 chassis ground, Pins 2 and 3 transformer balanced and floating.
Input Reference Level: Software-adjustable from -30dBFS to -10dBFS.
J.17 De-emphasis: Software-selectable.

DIGITAL AUDIO OUTPUT (Digital I/O option installed)

Configuration: Two-channel AES/EBU standard. 20-bit resolution. Both channels carry the same audio data. Status bits per AES3-1992 standard "single-channel mode."
Sample Rate: 32, 44.1 or 48kHz, software-selectable.
Sync: Software-selectable for internal or external. In external, digital output is synchronous with digital input.
Connector: XLR-type, male, EMI-suppressed. Pin 1 chassis ground, Pins 2 and 3 transformer balanced and floating.
Output Level (100% peak modulation): 0dBFS to -20dBFS, software-adjustable.

REMOTE COMPUTER INTERFACE

Configuration: RS-232 interface to IBM PC-compatible computers, directly or via modem, for remote control and metering.
Minimum PC Requirements: 386, hard disk drive, 4MB RAM, VGA grayscale or color display, DOS 3.3, Microsoft® Windows™ 3.1 or later, Hayes-compatible modem (9600bps, V.42 error correction protocol).
Recommended PC: 486 or higher computer, hard disk drive, 8MB RAM, VGA color display, DOS 5.0 or later, Microsoft® Windows™ 3.1 or later, Hayes Accura 144 modem (9600bps, V.42 error correction protocol).
Connector: RS-232, DB-9 male, EMI-suppressed.
Control: All user-adjustable processing parameters, presets, system parameters. (Transmitter equalization and analog output level control are limited to 9200 front panel adjustment only.)
Metering: Simultaneous dynamic metering of input level, gain reduction, output level.
Archive: Copies all data from the 9200 to hard disk for archiving, backup, or transferring to other units.

REMOTE CONTROL INTERFACE

Configuration: Eight (8) opto-isolated inputs.
Voltage: 6-24V AC or DC, momentary or continuous, optically-isolated. 9VDC provided to facilitate use with contact closure.
Connector: DB-25 male, EMI-suppressed.
Control: User-programmable for any eight of user presets, factory presets, day, night, bypass, sine wave test, analog input, digital input (if Digital I/O option installed).

POWER

Voltage: 100-132VAC or 200-264VAC, switch-selectable on the rear panel, 50-60Hz, 25 VA.
Connector: IEC, EMI-suppressed. Detachable 3-wire power cord supplied.
Ground: Circuit ground is independent of chassis ground; can be isolated or connected with a rear panel switch.
Safety Standards: ETL listed to UL standards, CE.

ENVIRONMENTAL

Operating Temperature: 32° to 122°F / 0° to 50°C at nominal operating voltages.
Humidity: 0-95% RH, non-condensing.
Size (W x H x D): 19" x 3.5" x 14.25" / 48.3cm x 8.9cm x 36.2cm. Two rack units high.
Weight: 14lb/6.4kg.
Shipping Weight: 18.5lb/8.4kg.

PROCESSING

AGC: Gated AGC keeps a consistent level into the multi-band compressor and limiter. Can be defeated in software (defeat when AGC is applied at the studio).
Receiver HF Equalizer: 21 selectable curve shapes, amount of ultimate boost adjustable 0-22dB, plus NRSC-standard modified 75µs pre-emphasis.
Multi-band Compression and Limiting: Five bands.
Absolute Peak Control: Controls peak output with less than 2% overshoot under all processing conditions.
Presets: Stored settings of the audio processing parameters that can be recalled from the front panel, by remote control, or by remote computer. Eight factory presets (cannot be erased), eight user presets (stored in non-volatile memory).
LESS-MORE Control: One knob to adjust the amount of processing without having to understand how the processing controls function.
FULL Control: Permits individual adjustment of processing controls: AGC on/off, AGC DRIVE, AGC RELEASE, GATE THRESHOLD, BASS COUPLING, MULTIBAND DRIVE, MULTIBAND RELEASE, MULTIBAND CLIP, DOWNWARD EXPANDER THRESHOLD, HF CLIPPING.
EXPERT Control: Permits fine-tuning adjustments of more advanced parameters that affect spectral balance: BAND 1-5 INPUT DRIVE, BAND 1-5 OUTPUT MIX, FINAL CLIP DRIVE.
EQUALIZATION Control: "Basic EQ" allows adjustment of high frequency receiver equalization, and relative spectral balance by gain control of low and mid-bands. "Expert EQ" adds two bands of parametric EQ (low and mid-frequencies).

TRANSMISSION CONTROL


Positive Peak (Asymmetrical) Modulation: Adjustable, 100-150%.
High-pass Filter: Adjustable 50Hz to 100Hz in 10Hz steps.
Low-pass Filter: Adjustable from 4.5kHz to 9.0kHz in 0.5kHz steps, plus NRSC. Guaranteed to meet ITU-R (Recommendation 328-5) and NRSC-1 power spectrum specifications without the need for further low-pass filtering prior to the transmitter. Typically set for 6.0kHz for ITU-R.
Transmitter Equalizer-LF: Low frequency tilt, to cancel negative-slope tilt typical of older technology transmitters. Independent control of very low frequency compensation to avoid saturation and non-linear effects in transmitters with limited low frequency power handling capacity.
Transmitter and Antenna Equalizer-HF: High frequency shelving, creates controlled undershoots in high frequency transient waveforms to prevent RF envelope overshoot due to excessive Q in transmitters, phasors, and/or antenna systems. High frequency delay, introduces added time delay selectively to compensate for non-constant group delay in the transmitter/antenna system, thus optimizing transient response by creating constant time delay at all frequencies within the audio passband.
Multiple transmitters and day/night: Separate equalization settings are provided for three outputs (two analog, one digital), and day/night settings. Day/night is used where stations change the directional antenna pattern at night.

TEST

Bypass: Front panel and remote switchable. No processing; audio is digitized, high-pass and low-pass filtered, and applied to safety clipper to protect transmitter. Gain adjustable -18dB to +15dB.
Sine wave Tone: Programmable 30Hz-9.5kHz, 0-100% modulation.
Square wave Tone: Programmable 62.5Hz-1kHz, 0-50% modulation. Used for transmitter equalization adjustment.

WARRANTY

One year, parts and labor. Subject to limitations stated in our Standard Warranty.

Orban engineers are constantly working to improve the quality of our products. Specifications are, therefore, subject to change without notice.

Notes

The drive to keep AM radio competitive, with 100% digital sound.

Radio has changed dramatically since Orban introduced the first OPTIMOD audio processor over 25 years ago. CDs have raised listener expectations to exceptionally high levels. FM stereo has met those expectations, coming on strong in every format from music to sports to news/talk.

To compete, today's AM stations are looking to upgrade to the power and flexibility of digital processing while maintaining the natural audio warmth and features of the original OPTIMOD 9100. After years of development at Orban, we believe the 9200 offers the perfect blend of quality and coverage.

Winning the loudness wars.

The same expertise that created the original OPTIMOD sound found its way into every detail of the 9200. The system provides a natural FM-like sound unmatched for loudness, punch and clarity. So even with aggressive processing, an audience won't experience listener fatigue that's common with "over processing." Instead, an AM station can significantly increase its reach, attract and hold a wider audience. Ultimately, that's what wins ratings, and the 9200 makes it simple.

Built-in audio intelligence.

In the past you needed a high degree of experience to adjust analog processors to obtain the right sound. With the 9200's pure digital processing, we've built in that expertise. Eight factory presets allow you to choose the ideal audio signature. If you want more aggressive processing, or less, it's simple. A single control allows you to tailor processing without complex tweaking -the 9200 does all the adjustments for you automatically. Yet you're not limited to a single control: The 9200 includes a range of five controls for the veteran power user, offering greater versatility than in any previous OPTIMOD.

We've taken all the quality of OPTIMOD sound and added dozens of powerful digital features. So even though you might expect to pay more than you would for an analog system, you won't. From day one the 9200 was designed to give you more reach, for less.

Software

9200 V2.0 - AM News

The clear solution for mediumwave nightmares.

You're an AM broadcaster who's frustrated by severe nighttime interference, so much so that you're having trouble covering your target local market. Good news: V2.0 software for OPTIMOD 9200 has HF presets that can work as powerful mediumwave tools to help you increase your coverage in the presence of co-channel and adjacent channel interference.

V2.0 has separate Day and Night Positive Peak settings, providing you with the highest fidelity during daytime broadcasts and the highest signal coverage when transmitter power is reduced during nightime broadcasts. V2.0 also includes a front-panel lockout security code to protect your customized sound from unauthorized adjustments made by on-air staff.