Technical data

www.asti-usa.com ASTi DACS: Operation & Maintenance Manual (Version 4, Rev. B.1)

Model Generation and Operation Overview

The following sections provide a general operational overview of the DACS.

Overview Of Hardware and Software Functions

The Model Builder software is both a development platform for developing models and what

actually runs the model. A model can be run as it is being entered, and changes can be seen (or

heard!) immediately. It is not necessary to compile models. Models are saved as ﬁles with an .mdl

extension.

There is one model running for each DSP card. The models run on the CPU, but they control the

DSP cards. (A DSP card is either a Waveform Synthesizer or TDM controller.) Each model directs

its DSP card to manipulate the sound it receives from the analog inputs, what sounds to generate,

and what sound to send to the analog outputs.

Sounds can be shared between DSP cards (and models) through a 40 wire ribbon cable which

connects the DSP cards together. Sharing sounds between DSPs requires that the models for those

DSPs be coordinated with each other.

Some sound sharing can be done nearly automatically. For example, intercom busses can be set up

across DSP cards to act as one bus. Simulated radio communications can also automatically send

sound from one DSP to the other. (For details on sharing sound across DSPs, see the section on

“Global Channels” in the Model Builder Reference Guide.)

Model Builder is designed with high level simulations of radios and intercoms. To the person

making the model, they will see a “Radio” object, and will specify the frequency, world position,

transmission power, etc. of the sender and the receiver. The Model Builder software will then

determine if the receiver can hear the sender, and the signal-to-noise ratio. It will then route the

audio from the sender, with the appropriate amount of noise mixed in, to the receiver. In this case,

the CPU determines where the sound goes, the DSP routes the sound and mixes in noise based on

the CPU’s instructions. The user, however, just sees a “Radio” object.