Topic: UA-5 w/ Beachtek SVU-1 Question

[Cheesecadet]

Hey all...what is the correct way to hook up the UA-5 to the SVU-1   I saw somewhere that the SVU-1 needs to be calibrated to get correct level readings.  Is this true?  If so can someone give me a step by step directions how to do this?

Thanks in advance!

[rowjimmytour]

First make a white noise disc w/ your editing software. Audacity works fine. I set my at -0 but you can use -6 0r -3. Play dics on w/ SVU-1 hooked up to rca outputs and adjust plastic pods to match each channel to what you set whit noise at. If I remember right -6 is most accurate if you hook up UA5 and SVU-1 in chain w/ disc the red light should flicker at -6dB. Should be ready to roll after but what I did was go by the SVU-1 and the UA5 red light flickering and I also came to conclusion that I liked running my SVU-1 out my ear phone plug on the UA5.
Peace

[Krispy D]

I strongly suggest plugging your svu-x to the line out of your recorder vs the ua5.  this way you actually see what is being recorded rather than what the ua5 is outputting.  I found it important to have my meters at the end of the signal chain vs in the middle.

look at it this way.  If you are recording a show and casually glancing at your meters every once in a while if your recorder looses power or accidentally gets turned off and your meters are before the recorder you will still get good meters.  If your meters are at the end of the chain they will go off and let you know that something is wrong.

as far as calibration is concerned follow the instructions above no matter where you plug the thing in.

[willndmb]

the peak light on a ua5 is suppose to flicker at -3 i think, at least mine does
my svu was balls on perfect when i got it too which was nice
i also suggest hooking it to the recorder if you can
and make sure the white noise is long enough to not have to restart the track, that was my 1st mistake

[Roving Sign]

Seems like you should be seeking to calibrate the -3db (last green?) on the SVU-1 to the UA-5 peak light value. (-3db)?

I would do the calibration...and run the SVU hooked right to the UA5 line out - its doing the A/D conversion. And - you are really only controlling the mic pre. The way that signal addresses the A/D section is fixed - so you just have accept that part. Running it downstream off a bit bucket can only muddy the waters.

Ultimately - the UA-5s peak light is the most important indicator...

[Brian Skalinder]

I wouldn't calibrate to the UA5 peak light, as doing so assumes an unconfirmed value at which the UA5 peak light triggers.  I'd feed the UA5 an analog signal of white noise (as already described), with the SVU hooked up wherever you plan on connecting it.  I'd then send the UA5 digital output to my soundcard and monitor the actual levels through recording software.  This is the only way to ensure the meters are calibrated to an actual level, and not an assumed level.

When I ran an SVU-2, I switched the L/R channels.  Makes more sense to me to have the L on the top, but really I did it because I ran the SVU vertically (like the V3 meters), which - without swapping L/R - puts the R on the L side and vice versa).  I believe the SVU-1 is already oriented vertically, with L and R properly assigned.

I also ignored the dB values on the SVU and assigned my own values.  So on the vertically oriented SVU-1, I would calibrate the top red LED to 0 dBFS.  Each LED down then corresponds to -3 dB relative to the LED above it.  This scale matches the meters on the V3 (0 dBFS > -27 dBFS).  And the coloring scheme is easy to monitor from a distance:  amber = -6 dBFS, i.e. approaching 0 dBFS with reasonably comfortable headroom (depending on what one's recording), first red = -3 dBFS, i.e. getting quite close to 0 dBFS, better watch those levels closely, and second red = 0 dBFS, i.e. turn those levels down!

[rowjimmytour]

Seems like you should be seeking to calibrate the -3db (last green?) on the SVU-1 to the UA-5 peak light value. (-3db)?

I would do the calibration...and run the SVU hooked right to the UA5 line out - its doing the A/D conversion. And - you are really only controlling the mic pre. The way that signal addresses the A/D section is fixed - so you just have accept that part. Running it downstream off a bit bucket can only muddy the waters.

Ultimately - the UA-5s peak light is the most important indicator...

I am not sure if all NJB3 signals are not accurate but mine was so I ran my SVU-1 out my UA5 and I could tell doing what Brian posted above.