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::: HISTORY
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::: FAQ
::: FIT MY MIXER!
::: CUSTOM FADER |
Does the InnoFader fit in MY mixer?
The Innofader will work in most VCA mixers, and the Innofader Pro will also fit in most VCA and analog mixers.
LIST OF INNOFADER COMPATIBLE MIXERS
If you have an specific request to fit a particular mixer, please first:
1) Make sure that the Innofader actually fits. There needs to be enough space to fit a 77mm long by 13mm wide by 45mm deep Innofader.
2) Make sure there is a way to either mount the Innofader directly on mounting holes spaced 65mm apart or if a plate adapter is needed.
3) Make sure that the Innofader can be mounted within 2.5mm of the faceplate so the stem sticks through the faceplate and the knob can be mounted.
4) See if your fader is on the list of compatible mixers. There's a good chance it's there already!
5) If the Innofader is not on this list, please write to us. If you can help test and take pictures this can help a lot!
Below are the very original instructions. For the most up-to-date instructions please go to the Innofader updated instructions.
QUICK LINKS:
Written instructions
Basic installation
Multi-fader installation
Line Fader Mod
Adding reverse, curve, and cut-in controls
Calibration procedure
Legal Disclaimer
ADAPTER BOARDS:
There are 2 adapter boards to convert the fader connector from your mixer to an Innofader plug:
1) MISC ADAPTER BOARD: This is needed for most mixers except some Vestax PMC mixers and Audio Innovate mixers.
2) ECLER ETERNAL ADAPTER: This board has a special circuit which lets you use the Innofader in any Ecler mixer slot designed for the Ecler Eternal fader.
TEST CIRCUIT:
Unlike most analog replacement faders, the Innofader will only work if the power and ground inputs are correct. We have researched various VCA mixers on the market and made adapter boards to fit most without the need for modification. However, since there are no industry standards for fader plugs, it is still possible that your mixer has a connector which fits but the power and ground are reversed. If this happens, the mixer will be overloaded and possibly damaged if left on in this state for too long.
You should do the following test before installing the Innofader, even if we have tested your mixer already:
1) With the mixer off, if an adapter is needed, plug the mixer cable into the "MISC ADAPTER BOARD" or "ECLER ETERNAL ADAPTER".
2) Plug the connector from J4 or J7 on the adapter used, or from the mixer cable if no adapter, into J11 "INNOFADER TEST INPUT".
3) Ensure no loose parts touch the mixer, and turn on the mixer power.
4) If the green LED lights up, you can safely connect the Innofader.
Turn off the power, install the Innofader, and you aree ready to go!
5) If the red LED lights up, power and ground are reversed, and you should not turn on the mixer until you fix this.
We will update this site soon to show you how to swap the power and ground pins safely.
FITTING HARDWARE:
The Innofader includes height adjustment hardware to ensure that the Innofader stem sticks through enough to prevent the knob from rubbing against the faceplate, but not so much that your fingers get caught under the knob. For Allen & Heath Xone:42,62,and 92 mixers, we have a special adapter plate available; these mixers use a P&G fader standard with different hole spacing.
CALIBRATION:
All Innofaders are calibrated at the factory. However, you may wish to recalibrate the fader, especially if it has been handled extensively outside of a mixer or dropped.
To calibrate, please do the following:
1) Hook up the Innofader to your mixer as above.
2) Connect J12 from the MISC ADAPTER BOARD to J1 on the Innofader.
3) Turn on the mixer power.
4) Start with the Innofader knob all the way to the left.
5) Slide the Innofader all the way to the right.
6) Press SW1 and release.
7) Slide the Innofader all the way to the left.
8) Press SW1 and release.
SPECIAL THANKS...
go to our DJ friends and manufacturers who have helped in this endeavor. We will have more people to thank as we go along.
Thanks to DJ Mart in Taiwan for offering a variety of mixers to test.
Thanks to Moto from the Skratchlounge, Ivan from Turntablog, and Jayo from DJ Forums for doing mixer measurements, emailing specs, and taking pictures.
Thanks to D-Styles for being the first guinea pig and providing feedback so quickly. ;)
Thanks to Mackie for sending me a d.2 for testing.
Thanks to John Ghoddoussi for explaining the whole "Eternal Compatible Mixer" deal and giving me an Ecler Eternal Compatible fader to test.
Thanks to Numark for engineering assistance and getting test product.
Thanks to Vestax for helping ensure the Vestax adapter included with the Innofader will work.
AND Very special thanks go to DJ Philly and Punky for all of your great feedback!
BASIC INSTALLATION:
1) With the mixer turned off, disconnect the power, and remove the faceplate and crossfader. In this case, it doesn't look like an adapter is needed, so the crossfader cable is plugged into the J11 test input. When the power is turned on, the red light comes on, indicating the fader power is backwards.
2) Turn off the power to check. Hook up the appropriate adapter from either the Eternal Adapter board or the Misc. adapter board. In this case, J6 on the Misc. adapter board looks like the correct on. Then to retest, plug in J4 from the Misc. Adapter board to J11 "Innofader Test Input" on the Eternal Adapter Board. (In the Ecler Eternal case, you would plug in J7 from the Eternal Adapter Board to J11 on the Eternal Adapter Board.)
3) Turn off the power, disconnect J11, and plug in the 4 pin connector from J4 to the Innofader. In the Ecler Eternal case, you would plug in J7. Before you put it back in the mixer, we recommend you turn on the power again with the Innofader outside of the mixer. Double check to make sure that the curve, cut-in, red jumper, orientation (might be backwards), and tension are all set to give you the feel and fade style that you are looking for. Then when you're done you can turn off the power and install the fader. NOTE: Be careful that the adapter board doesn't short to any metal parts. See the Multi-Fader Installation below.
4) Before you close up the mixer, you may want to check the fader height. If there is a gap between the fader plate and the mixer faceplate, you probably need to raise the height. If the fader is replaceable without removing the faceplate, you probably need to lower the height. Do this using the self-adhesive washers.
MULTI-FADER INSTALLATION:
1) If you hook up muliple faders, in some VCA mixers it will be necessary to obtain line fader power from the crossfader. This requires the use of the Line Fader Innofader Cable, Line Fader Power Cable, and the Mini Line Fader PC Board as shown below. The Mini Line Fader PC Board has the vertical connectors going to the line faders and the horizontal one going to the crossfader. The line fader power on Eternal compatible mixers needs to come from the Eternal Adapter PC Board.
2) Using the twist ties included with the Innofader, the adapter boards can be tied together to prevent shorting and to reduce the chance of wires moving around and causing audio interference. Many mixers can be accessed from the bottom which makes this much easier. We remind you this can be dangerous so please read the Legal Disclaimer below. The left side of the picture is a switching power supply which has hazardous voltages!
3) If not properly isolated, it is possible on the HAK 360 and mixers from other manufacturers that the Innofader grounding may interfere with proper Innofader operation. In these cases, we recommend that you use at least two self adhesive washers on the Innofader to isolate the case from the mixer body, and use the insulating screws included in the Innofader kit when putting the mixer back together.
LINE FADER MOD:
This is an easy way to get VCA Line faders in a mixer which either doesn't have VCA line faders like the Vestax PMC-06 or PMC-05, or has a VCA circuit not compatible with the Innofader, such as an SA-5. All that is necessary to make this work is a mixer with an Innofader compatible VCA fader, enough depth and space in the line fader slots for the Innofader.
The first thing you want to do is set the original line faders included with the mixer to the top. Secure the faders in the max position and place them inside the mixer in a place where they will not short to anything. If you are a skilled technicial, you can modify the line fader connector to include any circuitry needed to emulate the fader in the maximum position.
Now we'll show you how to modify the wires in the connector. To remove wires, you will need to carefully wedge the mini screwdriver under the wire tab and lift it up as shown in the below picture.
Before you do this mod we recommend you recalibrate the line faders. Calibrate the line faders by hooking them up to the crossfader. try to push the line fader as close to the top as possible, and add a little extra dead space at the bottom. This will ensure proper operation of the fader when used in the mod outlined below. You can skip down to the Calibration procedure below for calibration directions.
First start with the setup shown in the Multi-fader setup, except use the original Innofader cables on the line faders. Then do modifications as follows:
A: Remove the black wire from the Line fader Power cable.
B: Disconnect the yellow control cable from the crossfader. Pull out the green control cable on the line fader and replace it with the yellow control cable from the crossfader.
C: Disconnect the green control cable from the crossfader. Pull out the yellow control cable on the line fader and replace it with the green control cable from the crossfader.
D: Connect one of the wires removed in step A from the crossfader connector 2nd pin from the left to the left line fader connector.
E: Connect one of the wires removed in step A from the crossfader connector leftmost pin to the right line fader connector.
In addition, you should do the following settings:
1) Before powering the faders, set the cut-in point to the absolute tightest on the line faders.
2) Connect the crossfader and power on the mixer
3) Set the mixer curve to a soft curve
4) Set the crossfader and line fader curves to the curves you wish to use during mixer operation.
5) Turn off the mixer and install the faders.
NOTE: With this installation, the curves and reverse on the mixer won't work. To make these work, you will need to do the below mods. After doing the line fader mod, do not mod the cut-in or reverse controls on the line fader or the mixer will have unusual operation
ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATION: Spreading the wires on the crossfader cable puts extra stress on this cable. We recommend that you use one of the twist ties near the 4 pin cable to limit the chance of breaking the wire from moving it around.
ADDING REVERSE, CURVE, AND CUT-IN CONTROLS
1) REVERSE: Use a switch to swap the yellow and green wires going from the fader to the connector.
2) CURVE AND CUT-IN: Remove the trim pots from the fader, and connect external adjustments. The middle position is the wiper. We recommend that the external adjustment maximum resistance is between 10k and 250k.
CALIBRATION PROCEDURE:
You may want to do this in case the fader has been banged around or you want to recalibrate the fader for different cut-in points on the left and right side. Proceed with calibration as follows:
1) Hook up the Innofader to your mixer as above. Connect J12 from the MISC ADAPTER BOARD to J1 on the Innofader. Turn on the mixer power, and start with the Innofader knob all the way to the left as shown below.
2) Slide the Innofader all the way to the right. If you want the right side to have more cut-in space than the left, then pull the fader back to the left accordingly.
3) Press SW1 and release. This stores the right side calibration point into permanent memory on the Innofader microcontroller.
4) Slide the Innofader all the way to the left. If you want the left side to have more cut-in space than the right, then pull the fader back to the right accordingly.
5) Press SW1 and release. This stores the right side calibration point into permanent memory on the Innofader microcontroller.
Legal Disclaimer
The preceding information is based on our own testing. We will make every attempt to keep this information accurate but cannot guarantee 100% accuracy.
Manufacturers will not warranty a mixer that is modified by the user in ways not authorized directly by the manufacturer, including the installation of the Innofader. In addition, mixers provided by many manufacturers have hazardous voltages inside the mixer and are not user serviceable. Please read and follow the warnings on the manufacturer's product literature. While we do a standard 1 year warranty on the fader itself, we cannot warranty the mixer into which you install the fader and we cannot be responsible for any exposure to hazardous voltages which may result from not following the manufacturer warnings.
We advise you to do the following:
1) Refer the servicing of your mixer to a qualified repair technician.
2) Test the mixer before installing the fader to note any defects prior to installation.
3) A repair technician should carefully study and follow any necessary modifications prior to installation.