www.radialeng.com True to the Music SW4 ™ FOUR CHANNEL BALANCED A/B SWITCHER Owner’s Manual Radial Engineering Ltd. 1588 Kebet Way, Port Coquitlam BC V3C 5M5 tel: 604-942-1001 • fax: 604-942-1010 email: info@radialeng.com • web: www.radialeng.com www.radialeng.com Copyright © 2014 Radial Engineering Ltd. • Specifications and appearance are subject to change without notice.
Radial SW4 Balanced Switcher Owner’s Manual TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE Overview........................................................................................................................................ 1 Feature Set Overview .................................................................................................................... 2 Features and Function Details....................................................................................................... 3 Getting Started .....
True to the Music SW4 OVERVIEW Housed in a single space 19” rack enclosure, the Radial SW4 is a balanced analog audio switcher with four channels, each of which is equipped with A and B XLR inputs and a dedicated XLR output. The four individual channels are essentially straight wire connections. There are no buffers or amplifiers in the signal path that could distort or introduce artifact. The signal flow for each channel is diagramed below.
True to the Music FEATURE SET OVERVIEW 1 6 2 7 3 8 4 9 5 11 10 See below 1. INPUT CHANNELS (1-4): Each of the four independent channels feature A/B switching, trim level controls, LED signal indicators and PFL monitoring. 2. STEREO LINKING: Channels may be used independently or linked together for stereo, tri-channel or quad switching. 7. FOOT SW and LINK JACKS: The ¼” FOOT SW jack is used to connect the optional Radial JR•2 remote control.
True to the Music INPUT CHANNEL DETAILS 15. ON: This switch turns the channel output on. When the channel is turned on, the LED indicator illuminates. When turned off, the channel output is muted. 16. BUS: This recessed switch routes the output of the channel to the stereo mix bus. Channel-1 and 3 are routed to the left output, and channel-2 and 4 routed to the right. The LED indicator illuminates when the channel is being routed to the mix bus. 17.
True to the Music GETTING STARTED As with all audio equipment, make sure signal levels are turned down or systems turned off before making connections. This will eliminate turn-on or plug-in transients from damaging more sensitive components such as tweeters and headphones. The Radial SW4 comes equipped with an external power supply with a detachable IEC cable on one end and a 4-pin XLR at the other. The power supply accepts AC power from 100 to 240 volts by simply changing the IEC cable.
True to the Music STEREO A/B SWITCHING The SW4 can switch stereo audio devices like mixing consoles. A common situation is switching between a mixing console for a live band and a DJ setup in a night club. Stereo switching uses two SW4 channels where the left signals are connected to channel-1 and the right signals to channel-2. The outputs from the two channels are connected to the power amps and speaker arrays.
True to the Music THE STEREO MIX BUS Front Panel Another useful feature built into the SW4 is the stereo mix bus. Each channel is equipped with a recessed BUS switch that when depressed routes the channel output to XLR and ¼” output jacks on the rear panel. An LED indicator below the BUS switch illuminates when a channel is routed to the mix bus. The odd channels-1 and 3 are routed to the LEFT output, while the even channels-2 and 4 are routed to the RIGHT output.
True to the Music THE UNBALANCED GUITAR OUTPUTS The mix bus is equipped with left and right ¼” high-Z guitar jacks located next to the XLR outputs. These are primarily used to feed stage amplifiers when the SW4 is used for wireless guitars and basses. The outputs are transformer isolated to eliminate noise that often gets added when connecting to high-Z guitar amps and buffered to enable long cable runs up to 15 meters (50’) without appreciable noise or signal loss.
True to the Music THE PFL AND HEADPHONES The front panel is equipped with ¼” PHONES and MONO outputs that allow you to monitor the stereo mix bus or the individual inputs via the PFL system (Pre-Fader Listen). Each channel is equipped with a 3-position PFL (PreFader Listen) switch that lets you audition the A and B inputs. Move the PFL switch to the left position to listen to input-A and to the right to listen to input-B. The center position turns the PFL system off.
True to the Music SW4 APPLICATION DIAGRAMS Wireless Microphone Switcher: Wireless mics can be unpredictable but the freedom of movement they offer outweigh their many liabilities. The SW4 makes it easy to manage large numbers of wireless and their backup units. The biggest advantage for the production is how fast a switch can happen because the primary and backup mics share the same snake, mixer and monitor channels. Usually the vocal wireless mics are managed by the monitor mixer on the side of the stage.
True to the Music Effects Switcher: Where effects out-number aux sends or returns on a live FOH console, the SW4 can help by being able to switch between effects without repatching or taking up additional channels. This is very helpful especially when using vintage gear where changing effects on a specific processor cannot be done via midi control. The effects inputs are connected together with ‘Y’ cables so one aux line out from the console will connect two effects inputs.
True to the Music Stereo Background Music Switcher: When setting up BGM (back ground music) sources, many different source players or types of players may be used. With this usually comes the need to select trim for several devices to allow easy switching between systems or automate switching between units on a set schedule. The SW4 can switch between mono signals on each individual channel or switch between stereo pairs to a common bus.
True to the Music Bass WL Bass Backup Rhythm Guitar Rhythm Backup Lead Guitar Lead Backup JDI DI Lead Guitar Amp Rhythm Guitar Amp Bass Guitar Amp Mixing Console Inputs Phones Ph Tuner Ph Phones Tuner Acoustic WL Acoustic Backup Stratocaster Strat Backup Les Paul LP Backup Gretch Guitar Gretch Backup Acoustic Fender Guitar Amp Radial Engineering Ltd.
True to the Music SW4 SPECIFICATIONS* Audio circuit type: ..................................................................................................................................................... Passive transformer coupled with relay switching Number of channels: ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................
RADIAL ENGINEERING LTD. (“Radial”) warrants this product to be free from defects in material and workmanship and will remedy any such defects free of charge according to the terms of this warranty. Radial will repair or replace (at its option) any defective component(s) of this product (excluding finish and wear and tear on components under normal use) for a period of three (3) years from the original date of purchase.
