FE-3S · Digital page stacker and feedback eliminator
Discontinued. No longer sold; its specifications and documents stay here for systems still in service.
Designed for high traffic public address systems, the FE-3S digital page stacker and feedback eliminator stores 4 minutes of audio with excellent clarity. It stacks and plays up to 16 pages while recording new ones at the same time.
By opening the loop between the input microphone and the speakers, the FE-3S makes feedback through the paging system virtually impossible. Its operating modes (dry or loop start, page repeat, delay, pre-page tone, priority bypass) tailor it to many paging applications.
Overview
Key features
- Stack and play up to 16 pages
- Record new pages while previous pages play
- 4 minute total recording time
- Repeat page mode
- Delay between pages
- Dry loop and loop start modes
- Pre-page tone
- Priority bypass input
- DTMF tone stripping
- DTMF inhibitor function
Applications
- Airports
- Arenas
- Factories
- Hotels
- Stores
- Warehouses
Specifications
| Messages and storage | |
|---|---|
| Page stacking | Up to 16 pages; new pages record while earlier ones play |
| Storage | 240 seconds (4 minutes), DRAM |
| Message repeats | Repeat page mode; 1 or 2 plays |
| Audio | |
| Quality | 12 bit, mono |
| Bandwidth | 100 Hz to 6.8 kHz |
| Signal to noise | 60 dB |
| Page inputs | Page and priority: RJ12, 600 Ω, transformer isolated |
| Output | RJ12, adjustable, transformer isolated: +4 dB / 600 Ω or 500 mW / 8 Ω |
| Control | |
| Start inputs | Record, play, stop, priority, abort |
| Relays | Record, play, in use |
| Interface | 12-position Euro-style terminal strip |
| Modes | Dry loop or loop start; pre-page tone; priority bypass |
| DTMF control | Tone stripping and inhibitor function |
| Status | LEDs: power, in use, playing, recording |
| Physical | |
| Power | 12 VDC power pack, 1 A; 2.5 mm barrel, center positive; internal self-resetting fuse |
| Dimensions | 10″ W × 6.75″ D × 1.5″ H, 4.5 lb |
| Mounting | Wall mount, rack mount option; 18 gauge cold rolled steel |
| Rating | FCC Part 15, Class A; UL/CSA approved power pack |
From the unit’s documents below.
User manual in brief
Installation
The FE-3S is typically installed between the telephone system (PBX) or paging microphone console and the paging system amplifiers. It interfaces with the paging controller in a zone paging environment and with the amplifier in a single-zone installation. It mounts on a wall, in a rack (rack mount adapter kit 90-64-098) or on a table, in a chassis of 10 × 1.5 × 6.75 inches.
- Mount the unit with its wiring at least 18 inches away from the power supply and other equipment that generates electrical noise, using the two supplied mounting screws.
- Plug the supplied 12 VDC, 1 A power pack into a standard outlet that is not controlled by a switch; the chassis is connected to the negative side of the supply.
- Connect the FE-3S to the PBX or audio source and to the paging system.
- Set the setup switches for the desired operation; switch changes take effect after power is turned off and on again.
- Connect the power; the power LED glows green. Then test the operation.
Connections
The audio and control connectors are 6-position RJ12 jacks; a 12-position pluggable Euro-style terminal block carries the general purpose I/O. Both audio inputs are 600 Ω, transformer isolated, for −20 dBm to +4 dBm (nominal 0 dBm).
- PRIORITY (RJ12): pin 2 priority bypass input, active when connected to ground (pin 5); pin 3 priority audio ring; pin 4 priority audio tip; pin 5 ground (power return, connected to the chassis); pins 1 and 6 not used.
- AUDIO IN (RJ12): pin 2 record input, active when connected to ground (pin 5); pin 3 audio ring; pin 4 audio tip; pin 5 ground; pins 1 and 6 not used.
- AUDIO OUT/STATUS (RJ12): pin 2 playing contact common; pin 3 audio output −; pin 4 audio output +; pin 5 playing contact, normally open as factory set; pins 1 and 6 not used.
- Input mode switches (PRIORITY and AUDIO IN): left, DRY LOOP, for a phone system’s page/aux port, where a dry contact starts the recording, also usable with DTMF or audio sense start; right, LOOP START, for a loop start trunk, where the FE-3S supplies the talk battery and loop current starts the recording.
- VOLUME: sets the level delivered to the paging system, shipped at 1:1 gain.
- LO/HI switch: left, power level output, 8 Ω, about 0.5 W; right, line level output, 600 Ω, +4 dBm maximum. Both are transformer isolated.
- I/O terminal block: 1 common for all control functions, 2 Abort, 3 Priority (parallel to the PRIORITY jack), 4 Stop, 5 Play, 6 Record (parallel to the AUDIO IN jack), 7 and 8 In Use contact and common, 9 and 10 Playing contact and common, 11 and 12 Recording contact and common.
Status outputs and indicators
Status relays are rated 1 A at 24 VDC, non-inductive load. Each relay has form C contacts and is factory set to form A (normally open, closed when active). For form B (normally closed, open when active), remove the cover and move the relay’s 3-pin jumper (JP-1 Record, JP-2 Play, JP-3 In Use) from pins 3-2 to pins 1-2.
- LEDs: green power, yellow in use, green playing, red recording.
- Recording: active only while the FE-3S is actually storing audio, not merely while the Record input is active.
- Playing: active while audio plays and during the pause between repeats of a message, but not during the delays between different messages; held active while the priority input is active.
- In Use: active during every process, recording, playing, pauses, delays and record access tones.
- Busy back tone: a busy signal sent back to the audio source for as long as the FE-3S cannot record.
Recording pages
The FE-3S eliminates feedback by recording each incoming page and then playing it back, which opens the loop between the input microphone and the speakers. It has 4 minutes of audio memory and stacks up to 16 pages, each up to one minute long, recording new pages while earlier ones play back first-in, first-out. Pages that arrive while one is playing are recorded in series. The record activation method, set by the setup switches, is read at power-up and cannot be changed during operation.
- Loop start, 2 wire: the FE-3S sources talk battery onto the tip and ring and records for as long as loop current flows.
- Dry loop, 4 wire, or contact activation: a maintained closure on the Record input records for its duration. This method is always available, whatever the other settings. A page shorter than one second is deleted.
- Audio activation: recording starts when the audio sensor goes active and stops after three seconds of inactivity.
- DTMF activation: for dry loop without a separate switch closure, and noisy audio lines; recording starts on a valid DTMF tone and stops after three seconds of audio inactivity.
- Recording is limited to one minute per page and three minutes per stack. If memory runs out, recording stops, the cut-off page is not played and a busy back tone tells the caller the FE-3S is not available; the busy back tone also answers when 16 pages are waiting unplayed.
- Eight seconds of silence during a recording abort it with the busy back tone, prompting the caller to hang up; no new page can be recorded while the Record input stays active.
Playback and manual control
In automatic mode, the factory default and the most widely used for paging, pages play as soon as they are recorded. Manual mode suits installations where the FE-3S is not the only source feeding the PA system; it stacks up to 16 pages until an external controller gives a Play command, and with its two memory banks can hold up to 32 when only Record commands are given. A page that has been played or stopped is tagged for overwrite, so pages cannot be stored for repeated play or skipped for later. The five control inputs are optically coupled and work with a contact closure or an open collector driver.
- Play: in manual mode, a momentary closure plays all stacked pages first-in, first-out; a second closure during play is ignored, and a maintained closure works as automatic repeat mode. No effect in automatic mode.
- Stop: a momentary closure stops the playing page and drops it from the queue, and the next page plays. Held, it stops play until released. It never affects recording.
- Priority: while held, play halts and the separate priority audio input is routed straight through the FE-3S; one second after release, play resumes with the interrupted page. Recording continues meanwhile.
- Abort: halts the page being recorded, which will not be played, and sends the busy back tone while held, for example for a security guard who hears an unauthorized page. No effect on play.
Setup switches
Twelve setup switches select the optional functions; all are off as factory set. Turn the power off and on to apply a change.
- 1, 2, record activation: off/off off-hook (loop current); off/on audio sensor; on/off DTMF; on/on not used. Contact closure activation is always available.
- 3, DTMF tone stripping: off, active; on, not active. Zone control tones at the start of a page are stripped from its repeat, since the zone controller is already routed; tones in the middle of a page are played as recorded.
- 4, stripping method: off, strip only tones at the start of a recorded page; on, strip tones anywhere and restart the recording, deleting what preceded them.
- 5, 6, DTMF allotment, the number of tones after which a recording is aborted: off/off unlimited; off/on 4 tones; on/off 3 tones; on/on 2 tones.
- 7, “#, #” abort: off, active, so pressing # twice within one second aborts the page being recorded with the busy back tone; on, inhibited. A single # has no effect.
- 8, play mode: off, automatic; on, manual.
- 9, pre-page tone: off, not active; on, a pre-recorded alert tone plays before each page in the queue, but not before its repeats.
- 10, number of plays: off, each page plays once; on, twice before the next page.
- 11, 12, delay between plays, also between repeats: off/off 1 second (minimum); off/on 3 seconds; on/off 5 seconds; on/on 10 seconds.
Documents
| Document | Content | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Spec sheet | Specifications | |
| Operation guide | User manual |
Related models: Page management
| FE-3S | Digital page stacker and feedback eliminator | This page |
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