One of our 2 - D2's recently went back to the Dan Dugan facility for LCD
screen replacement.

I was told by our repair coordinator that while the unit was at Dugan, the
firmware was updated.

This brings up 2 questions:

1) Does this make it incompatible with other (non-updated) units, such as
our other unit (for linking purposes)?


and
2) Is it possible for us to update the firmware in our other unit?

Thanks!

----------
Ken Newman
ken@...
ken@...

7/6/06, Ken Newman wrote:
>One of our 2 - D2's recently went back to the Dan Dugan facility for LCD
>screen replacement.
>
>I was told by our repair coordinator that while the unit was at Dugan, the
>firmware was updated.
>
>This brings up 2 questions:
>
>1) Does this make it incompatible with other (non-updated) units, such as
>our other unit (for linking purposes)?

No.

>and
>2) Is it possible for us to update the firmware in our other unit?

Yes.

>Thanks!
>
>----------
>Ken Newman
>ken@...
>ken@...

-Dan
--

       Dan Dugan Sound Design     _/_/_/_/_/_/     Automatic Microphone Mixers
      290 Napoleon St.#E USA    _/   _/_/    _/   Location Audio Repair
     San Francisco,CA 94124   _/  _/_/_/_/   _/  CD and DVD Mastering
    voice (415) 821-9776      _/   _/_/    _/   Nature Recording
   fax (415) 826-7699         _/_/_/_/_/_/     http://www.dandugan.com

I'm sending out the printed D-3 manuals to all the owners. It's also
available as a .pdf on my web site.

-Dan

Hi Dan--

We got a request from a sound engineer named Bruce Cameron today...it read,
"...a Dan Dugan D-2 w/ an optical/digital interface card for the Yamaha
board (In stock at Dan Dugan if you donąt stock it)"

I'm not quite sure what he's referring to....

The "Yamaha board" he's referring to is either a PM5D or a DM2000.

Perhaps he's referring to using a D3, interfacing with a digital card in the
Yamaha console?

Or is there a way to use the "link" optical connector(s) on the D2, to
interface digitally from the Yamaha console to our D2?

Thanks!

----------
Ken Newman
ken@...
ken@...

At 12:18 PM -0700 8/22/06, Ken Newman wrote:
>Hi Dan--
>
>We got a request from a sound engineer named Bruce Cameron today...it read,
>"...a Dan Dugan D-2 w/ an optical/digital interface card for the Yamaha
>board (In stock at Dan Dugan if you don't stock it)"
>
>I'm not quite sure what he's referring to....
>
>The "Yamaha board" he's referring to is either a PM5D or a DM2000.
>
>Perhaps he's referring to using a D3, interfacing with a digital card in the
>Yamaha console?

That would be my interpretation. I do have one rental D-3. It's
balanced AES i/o, 48KHz sample rate.

>Or is there a way to use the "link" optical connector(s) on the D2, to
>interface digitally from the Yamaha console to our D2?

No. The Model E can do that, but it isn't in production yet.

-Dan

I'm so excited, I just have to share this with the insiders. This is
a screen shot of the embedded web page in the Model E.

-Dan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SEPTEMBER 1, 2006

DUGAN MODEL E TO INCLUDE VIRTUAL CONTROL PANEL

Dan Dugan Sound Design will show a new model in their famous line of
Automatic Mixing Controllers in booth 1119 at the AES convention in
San Francisco, October 6 through 9.

The Model E is an economy model that makes Dugan Speech System
automatic mixing available to a wider range of applications. It is
dramatically smaller than earlier Dugan products, fitting eight
channels into one RU height and half-rack width. With provided
hardware, two Model E units (together providing 16 channels) can be
mounted side-by-side in one rack space.

The Model E is expected to be useful in houses of worship, conference
sound reinforcement, video trucks, reality shows, theaters, city
councils, distance learning, and teleconferencing.

The Model E connects in two ways, either to a mixing board's insert
jacks with standard TRS cables, or through an 8-channel ADAT optical
interface. When analog I/O is used, the ADAT connectors can be used
to link multiple units up to a maximum of 64 channels. The Model E
can also be linked with the Models D-2 or D-3.

Mute and bypass buttons are provided for each channel. An internal
web server downloads a Java applet that gives real-time control and
monitoring of the controller from the user's browser. The virtual
control panel includes most of the Speech System controls that are on
the Models D-2 and D-3. It can be operated locally or over a fast
internet connection.

Power is 9-24VDC, either polarity, or 9-18VAC.

Dan Dugan said "For a long time people have been asking for a toolbox
solution, an affordable Dugan that you can pull out when the need
arises. At $2,995, the Model E is truly a Dugan for the rest of us."

-30-
--

       Dan Dugan Sound Design     _/_/_/_/_/_/     Automatic Microphone Mixers
      290 Napoleon St.#E USA    _/   _/_/    _/   Motion Picture Audio Repair
     San Francisco,CA 94124   _/  _/_/_/_/   _/  CD and DVD Mastering
    voice (415) 821-9776      _/   _/_/    _/   Nature Recording
   fax (415) 826-7699         _/_/_/_/_/_/     http://www.dandugan.com

RE:
> The Model E is an economy model that makes Dugan Speech System
> automatic mixing available to a wider range of applications.

I'd like to report in that last week I got to do a test run on a real-world
project, using the
Model E in digital mode in the ADAT connection between a Presonus Digimax LT and
a
Digi 002R - it performed beautifully in this application! It was totally
transparent in
operation with six people - two interviewers and four elders sharing memories in
an oral
history project - it would have been an impossible mix to do live, and tedious
if done
manually in post.

I just want to testify that even in prototype, the new Dugan is excellent.
Thanks, Dan, for
the test drive!

(PS - the project specified a Dugan System, and I chose to try the Model E and
Dan
thankfully had a prototype ready to roll.)

Actualy, I think it was the first of a production run, not a prototype,
which made it an honor and fun to do...

Lou Judson • Intuitive Audio
415-883-2689

On Sep 3, 2006, at 10:19 AM, inaudio wrote:

> (PS - the project specified a Dugan System, and I chose to try the
> Model E and Dan
> thankfully had a prototype ready to roll.)

>I just want to testify that even in prototype, the new Dugan is excellent.

Thank you, brother Lou!

-Dan

Hello

I wonder if anyone has modified the D2 processor to use a different
connector for the power supply input?

Since this unit has been introduced, I've felt that this connector is the
weakest link in an otherwise very solidly-constructed unit. I would think
that a connector such as a Switchcraft TA series, or even an XLR, would make
this connection much more solid, as well as considerably easier to connect
and disconnect.

Anyone???

----------
Ken Newman
ken@...
ken@...

>Since this unit has been introduced, I've felt that this connector is the
>weakest link in an otherwise very solidly-constructed unit. I would think
>that a connector such as a Switchcraft TA series, or even an XLR, would make
>this connection much more solid, as well as considerably easier to connect
>and disconnect.

I don't care for it much, either. You can tighten the retaining
screws to make it solid. The E has a coax connector for size and
economy. Next big product I'll use a 4-pin XLR.

-Dan

I haven't yet opened the unit to see, so I'll ask you....

Do you think a male XLR will fit where the current power connector is
located?

If so, I'll retrofit our units with a 4 pin male.

While I'm at it, I should probably wire it the way you'll wire future Dugan
power connections....

So I'm hoping you'll share that wiring scheme with me....



Thanks, Dan!


----------
Ken Newman
ken@...
ken@...

Ken Newman, you wrote:

>I haven't yet opened the unit to see, so I'll ask you....
>
>Do you think a male XLR will fit where the current power connector is
>located?
>
>If so, I'll retrofit our units with a 4 pin male.

Dunno, let us know!

>While I'm at it, I should probably wire it the way you'll wire future Dugan
>power connections....
>
>So I'm hoping you'll share that wiring scheme with me....

Ground on 1, +12 on 4, no connection on 2 & 3.

-Dan

Dear customers,

The the rack ears etc. are in. I'm holding on to them till I get the
manuals ready, which will be hopefully around Feb. 1. Then I'll ship
ears and manuals together to all owners.

Thanks for your patience, Dan

Two D-2s will ship this week. We're out of a critical part that won't
come in till late March, so one remaining back-order will have to
wait till April.

All Model E orders have shipped. Rack ears were shipped with nos.
16-up. We will ship the ears for the earlier ones with the manuals.

The manuals are still in progress.

-Dan

If your Model E's web control panel says "DSP: V1.0", download and
install DSP firmware V1.10 to fix a bug that makes Model E clipping
ugly. Go to:

<http://www.dandugan.com/downloads>

and click on "Model E DSP Update.zip" to download the file and instructions.

Thanks to Steve Soto of Riverview Systems for discovering the bug.

-Dan

Hello,

This email message is a notification to let you know that
a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the duganusers
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dandugan_1999 <dan@...>

Hello,

This email message is a notification to let you know that
a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the duganusers
group.

   File        : /Downloads/Model_E_Preliminary_Instructions.doc
   Uploaded by : dandugan_1999 <dan@...>
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Regards,

dandugan_1999 <dan@...>

About a year ago, I repaired Model D-1 #14 for "Total Audio Visual
Services." Since then it's been abandoned. Does anybody know who
bought the assets of that apparently defunct company? I'm going to
sell it soon if it's unclaimed.

-Dan

Time for a little brainstorming. How would you like a next-generation
Model D-series Dugan that was just a control panel (no processor
box), with both analog and digital (AES & ADAT) I/O?

I knew you would...

Would you still like it if it had DB-25 connectors for the analog and
AES I/O? We could provide squid cables for XLR, single-jack inserts,
and double-jack inserts.

C'mon back.

-Dan

 Time for a little brainstorming. How would you like a next-generation
Model D-series Dugan that was just a control panel (no processor
box), with both analog and digital (AES & ADAT) I/O?

I knew you would...

Would you still like it if it had DB-25 connectors for the analog and
AES I/O? We could provide squid cables for XLR, single-jack inserts,
and double-jack inserts.

Ken Newman (Video Applications, Dugan evangelist since 2002), you wrote:

>While all that sounds very interesting and easy to connect to either
>analog or digital consoles, I wonder about having that much cabling
>coming out of the back of the control panel. Sure, in digital
>situations it would only be a single DB25 cable, but with analog it
>would be 2 cables. And of course these aren't very small cables. I
>assume when connecting via ADAT it would be optical cables (cool!),
>but I haven't seen long versions of those cables....are they
>available in lengths like 20ft?

I was thinking with a digital console the ADAT connections would be
right in the back--wouldn't they? Lightpipe cables on B&H Photo
today, available in 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 5, and 10 meters.

>I've come to like the fact that the D2 control panel has only a
>single small cable coming out of the back of it, so the control
>panel is very easy to move as needed.

That was the whole idea. But now the circuitry has shrunk more and it
will all fit in the control panel...a major simplification.

If we kept it in two boxes the control panel could be thinner--but
then it wouldn't be stable sitting on the meter bridge. Do you put
them on the bridge?

It could be a wedge, but then it couldn't be laid down on its back.
I've always imagined laying it on the table in front of the mixer
would be a cool way to use it, but I don't know if anyone has ever
done that. Maybe that's just my fantasy.

I hate the way rental houses package them in racks--I want the
control panel right at hand, especially if patched pre-fader.

>It would be cool if it were able to be controlled on the control
>panel OR by computer.

That's a definite yes.

>I DO love the combination analog and digital, however you configure it!
>
>Personally, I have what will probably sound like a very strange
>request in your next unit....
>
>The ability to have 16 channels connected to an 8 channel unit, with
>some sort of assignment matrix that assigns which channels are
>actually under the control of the 8 dugan channels, and which
>channels are hard-wire bypassed.
>I often find myself re-patching during a show, because we have, for
>example, 16 channels of rf lav mics, but only 8 channels of dugan
> (because of budget limitations). It would be cool if somehow I
>could patch all 16 channels into the 8 channel dugan box and select
>which channels were actually under the control of the dugan.
>
>Of course that's so wacky and probably not cost-effective that it
>will probably never see the light of day, but if it's not all that
>wacky and not all that expensive to produce, it sure would help when
>using an analog consoles in those type of situations.

Yeah, that's wacky! On digital consoles it would be easy
(relatively...like setting a digital watch) to program two different
patches for the inserts.

With the Model E budget limitations are less of a consideration...

Some day Dugan will be built into the mixers, but that's a few years
down the road.

-Dan

Dan Dugan wrote:

> I was thinking with a digital console the ADAT connections would be
> right in the back--wouldn't they? Lightpipe cables on B&H Photo
> today, available in 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 5, and 10 meters.

I'm sure they are....

Call me crazy, but I like to put my dugan control panel to my right or left,
so that I can reach it easily, but it's out of my way. It's a natural
movement for me to have one hand for the dugan and one hand for the channel
faders. Sort of like Rick Wakeman, if you know what I mean :)

> That was the whole idea. But now the circuitry has shrunk more and it
> will all fit in the control panel...a major simplification.

That's awesome that it has shrunk THAT much!
>
> If we kept it in two boxes the control panel could be thinner--but
> then it wouldn't be stable sitting on the meter bridge. Do you put
> them on the bridge?

I don't find myself putting the control panel in front of me, for the
reasons stated above. Maybe I should take a poll of the people I know that
use dugans, and see what the consensus is, preference-wise.

> It could be a wedge, but then it couldn't be laid down on its back.
> I've always imagined laying it on the table in front of the mixer
> would be a cool way to use it, but I don't know if anyone has ever
> done that. Maybe that's just my fantasy.

If I'm picturing this right, the control panel could be a thin (maybe 15mm)
panel with knobs and meters on the face of it. If that's the case, such a
panel, if sized right, could be put on top of some mixing consoles... maybe
not on the meter bridge, but close. For example, on the Heritage 3000 or
MH4, it could lean between the meter bridge and the matrix knob section...
Another possibility would be on the face of the road case in which the
console travels. Sort of below the main faders... I'd have to draw a picture
to clearly explain, I have a feeling.
>
> I hate the way rental houses package them in racks--I want the
> control panel right at hand, especially if patched pre-fader.

Yes, I've heard. So sorry, we're one of those places that has our control
panels mounted in racks. Small ones, mind you, but just enough so that
(hopefully) the rack takes the abuse of travel, not the unit.

One request for future units:
Please use either an internal power supply or a standard heavy-duty power
connector to get electricity into the main unit, whether that's the
all-inclusive control panel, or there are two separate units. The power
supply connector on the D2 worries me.

>> >It would be cool if it were able to be controlled on the control
>> >panel OR by computer.
>
> That's a definite yes.

AWESOME!

If it's okay with you, I'll send your post about future dugan unit design to
a bunch of people I work with that use dugans....then I'll let you know what
they say....

> Some day Dugan will be built into the mixers, but that's a few years
> down the road.

I look forward to that, and would imagine it could be implemented with a
"plug-in" type software configuration....



dugan automixers
don't do a corporate show without at least one of them!

Ken Newman
ken@...
ken@...

Dan:
>  > I was thinking with a digital console the ADAT connections would be
>>  right in the back--wouldn't they? Lightpipe cables on B&H Photo
>>  today, available in 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 5, and 10 meters.

Ken Newman:
>I'm sure they are....
>
>Call me crazy, but I like to put my dugan control panel to my right or left,
>so that I can reach it easily, but it's out of my way. It's a natural
>movement for me to have one hand for the dugan and one hand for the channel
>faders. Sort of like Rick Wakeman, if you know what I mean :)

Sure. My rationale is the value of the displays for focusing on where
the action is, particularly seeing where an unwanted noise is coming
from.

>  > That was the whole idea. But now the circuitry has shrunk more and it
>>  will all fit in the control panel...a major simplification.
>
>That's awesome that it has shrunk THAT much!

Audio continues to be great fun, all the time cheaper and better at
the same time. The downside is loss of ergonomics, cramming in
functions with digital-watch-setting inscrutability.

>  > If we kept it in two boxes the control panel could be thinner--but
>>  then it wouldn't be stable sitting on the meter bridge. Do you put
>>  them on the bridge?
>
>I don't find myself putting the control panel in front of me, for the
>reasons stated above. Maybe I should take a poll of the people I know that
>use dugans, and see what the consensus is, preference-wise.

That would be very helpful.

>  > It could be a wedge, but then it couldn't be laid down on its back.
>>  I've always imagined laying it on the table in front of the mixer
>>  would be a cool way to use it, but I don't know if anyone has ever
>>  done that. Maybe that's just my fantasy.
>
>If I'm picturing this right, the control panel could be a thin (maybe 15mm)
>panel with knobs and meters on the face of it. If that's the case, such a
>panel, if sized right, could be put on top of some mixing consoles... maybe
>not on the meter bridge, but close.

Like with a bean-bag bottom? I dunno if it could be -that- thin but
let me think about that. Bluetooth connection?

>For example, on the Heritage 3000 or
>MH4, it could lean between the meter bridge and the matrix knob section...
>Another possibility would be on the face of the road case in which the
>console travels. Sort of below the main faders... I'd have to draw a picture
>to clearly explain, I have a feeling.

Like putting it in front of the mixer on a table-top, see Fig. 2-1 on
page 19 of the manual.

>  > I hate the way rental houses package them in racks--I want the
>  > control panel right at hand, especially if patched pre-fader.
>
>Yes, I've heard. So sorry, we're one of those places that has our control
>panels mounted in racks. Small ones, mind you, but just enough so that
>(hopefully) the rack takes the abuse of travel, not the unit.

Are you patching pre or post fader?

>One request for future units:
>Please use either an internal power supply or a standard heavy-duty power
>connector to get electricity into the main unit, whether that's the
>all-inclusive control panel, or there are two separate units. The power
>supply connector on the D2 worries me.

I don't like it either. Next version will have 4-pin XLR.

>  >> >It would be cool if it were able to be controlled on the control
>>>  >panel OR by computer.
>>
>>  That's a definite yes.
>
>AWESOME!
>
>If it's okay with you, I'll send your post about future dugan unit design to
>a bunch of people I work with that use dugans....then I'll let you know what
>they say....

Please do, that will be very helpful. Encourage them to subscribe to
this group, too. If you send me email addresses I can send an
invitation.

>  > Some day Dugan will be built into the mixers, but that's a few years
>>  down the road.
>
>I look forward to that, and would imagine it could be implemented with a
>"plug-in" type software configuration....

We are working on a plug-in for one manufacturer now. But the best
ergonomics means dedicated controls on the mixer, don't you think?

>dugan automixers
>don't do a corporate show without at least one of them!
>
>Ken Newman
>ken@...
>ken@...

-Dan
--

       Dan Dugan Sound Design     _/_/_/_/_/_/     Automatic Microphone Mixers
      290 Napoleon St.#E USA    _/   _/_/    _/   Location Audio Repair
     San Francisco,CA 94124   _/  _/_/_/_/   _/  CD and DVD Mastering
    voice (415) 821-9776      _/   _/_/    _/   Nature Recording
   fax (415) 826-7699         _/_/_/_/_/_/     http://www.dandugan.com

I've received a second-hand report that Model Es were noisy when
inserted into a DDA CS8 mixer. Anybody have experience with this
model?

-Dan

The Model E User Guide has been completed. It's available from the Files area of
this web site
or from the downloads area of dandugan.com.

All purchasers will receive copies. If you got yours from a dealer, let the
dealer know that you
are waiting for it.

Those early purchasers who didn't get rack mounting hardware will receive it in
the same
package.

-Dan

Hello,

This email message is a notification to let you know that
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Regards,

dandugan_1999 <dan@...>

Dear Colleagues,

I've been getting more complaints about random ticks or pops in Model
E controllers. I don't know whether it's because there are so many Es
out there, or something to do with humidity changes with the fall
weather.

Only some Es have this defect. Sam is busting his brains trying to
diagnose it; so far we have no idea why some units do it and some
don't.

Please download and install our firmware release 1.9 from:

<http://www.dandugan.com/downloads> or the files section of Dugan
Users. It will improve the situation. It contains Firmware 1.9, DSP
1.4, and Web User Interface 1.3 (no change to the last item).

Gary Snyder of Clark Media reported this morning that on his
bad-behaving units, the 1.9 firmware reduced popping from every few
minutes to about once an hour.

Rest assured that we are on the case and we'll fix it, whatever it takes.

-Dan Dugan

I have a hard time remembering how to do this, so I thought I'd post
my notes so I can find them and others can as well. Yesterday I went
over to Actual Films <http://actualfilms.net/> to help my long-time
customer Doug Dunderdale get two Model Es installed in a rig he's
preparing for a production with 12 wireless mics. Here are the steps
I used to get the remote controls up:

Copy the Model E Web Remote Control software onto the computer. If
you don't have the disc, you can download it.

Open the Network icon in System Preferences. Create a new "Location".
Name it something like "Dugan Model E".

In the new location, go to the "built-in ethernet" pane. Set it for
"manual". Enter an ip address (the address for this mac) of
192.168.0.10. This will put the Mac on the same subnet (subnet 0; the
subnet is the second group of digits from the right) as the Model E's
default address of 192.168.0.1. Enter a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0.
Leave other fields blank. Click "apply".

Note that with this setup you can still be on the internet via WiFi.

Double-click on "index.html" in the Model E software collection. The
browser should open with a Dugan control panel visible in the right
pane. Click "trust" if necessary. This control panel won't be "live"
yet--note the "online" light over on the right side of the display is
not lit.

Connect the Model E with an ethernet cable. On a Mac it doesn't
matter if it's straight or crossover. Enter "192.168.0.1" in the
browser's go-to field. You should see the control panel go live, with
the "on line" light lit. The left pane won't show any unit names when
you browse direct this way.

If that doesn't work, it may be that the Model E has been previously
set to some other address. Restart the E while holding down the
Channel 1 Mute button to re-set the network parameters to defaults
and try again.

If you want to display more than one Model E simultaneously, you'll
have to change the address of one of them. Since on the Mac the left
pane of the remote control wasn't working, I had to use system
utilities to get to the unit to change its IP address.

Open the Terminal program and type "telnet 192.168.0.1". You should
get a Model E prompt. Hit return to get past a syntax error that
happens the first time a unit gets a command. To change the unit's IP
address to ...2, enter "ip 192.168.0.2". If the command is recognized
the Model E will echo it back.

Wait 20 seconds and reboot the Model E.

Link the Model Es using two optical cables. Be sure one is set to
Master and the other to Slave. All the mute lights blinking means
this hasn't been done.

Now hook up both Model Es using a plug-and-play ethernet switch ($30
at Best Buy for a 5-port). Turn on tabs in the browser's preferences.
Use one tab for the ...1 unit and another tab for ...2.

This is a bit complicated to get started, but the setup can be easily
recalled by going to the location in the apple menu, and using
browser favorites for the index.html file, the .1 and .2 IP addresses.

-Dan