N>Trans professional CF-Audio Card

N>Trans (pronounce: entrance) is Maycom's newest product addition, a new platform for computerized audio recording. A Compact Flash sized audiocard for use in a PDA or laptop computer.  A lot of broadcasters nowadays do not only have a transmitter but also have a website that enhances or even substitutes the regular broadcast. So there will be a demand for not only audio but text and pictures as well. The reporter becomes a multimedia reporter. By using the N>Trans audiocard together with a PDA, a reporter has everything with him in a single package to record and distribute all different kinds of content. Maycom only manufactures the N>Trans, and provides a SDK (Software Development Kit) for third Party software developers. The card will have support for both windows Pocket PC and Windows 2000/XP. At this moment Technica del Arte developed the first piece of software: Luci. The combination of N>Trans, a PDA and Luci will enable a reporter to make a recording (MPEG or Linear), edit the recording and send it to the studio using the communication features of the PDA. 

N>Trans will appear in two versions: N>Trans and N>Trans Pro. The difference will be the type of connector and the type of microphone power supply. N>Trans will have two 3,5 mm Jack connectors: Left (balanced), Right (balanced) and a stereo input (unbalanced). The unbalanced input has a 6Volt microphone bias for electret microphone support. The N>Trans Pro will have a single 5-pin LEMO connector wired for Left an Right balanced inputs. Both inputs can supply  12V, 24V or 48V Phantom power.

                                  N>Trans                                                                           N>Trans Pro

Both versions have a 24-bit 96kHz A-D/D-A converter onboard. It is up to the developers of the software and the type of PDA what the maximum conversion will be, that can be used . Luci for instance is targeted for Electronic News Gathering applications and uses MPEG compression and linear to 16-bit 48kHz. Luci is basic mono recording and editing software. Luci Edit is stereo recording and non-destructive editing software and more. For more detail regarding the Luci software, please see www.luci.eu.        

The audio front end consists of pre-amplifiers that can be configured in MIC, MIC-20 and LINE mode, a hardware limiter, automatic gain control, microphone power supply (MIC-bias or Phantom) and a high power headphone amplifier.

Technical specifications

Frequency Response:
20 Hz - 20kHz, +/- 1 dB

THD+N (BW 20 Hz - 20 kHz ):
MIC :         0.08% (balanced)    ;    0.09% (unbalanced)    (Input: -50dBu)
MIC-20:    0.03% (balanced)    ;    0.03% (unbalanced)    (Input: -30dBu)
LINE:        0.02% (balanced)    ;    0.03% (unbalanced)    (Input: +2 dBu)

Dynamic Range (16-bit resolution, fs=48kHz):
MIC:         76dB (balanced)    (Input: -36dBu)
MIC-20:   86dB (balanced)    (Input: -16dBu)
LINE:       88dB (balanced)    (input: +10dBu)

Phantom power on balanced input (Pro version only):
12V, 24V or 48V through 6.8kOhm resistors, each balanced MIC input can supply up to 7 mA

MIC-bias on unbalanced input (Standard version only):
6V through 2.2kOhm resistors, unbalanced input can supply 3mA

A/D-D/A Converter:
24-bit, multi-bit delta sigma

Supported Sample Rates:
Record & Playback: 8,11.025, 12, 16, 22.050, 24, 32, 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96 kHz

Interface:
2x 3.5mm female jack balanced mono input*
1x 3.5mm female jack unbalanced stereo input*
1x 5-pin heavy duty LEMO connector balanced stereo input**
1x 3.5mm female jack unbalanced stereo output
Compact Flash Type II - 5mm extended card

* Standard version only
** Pro version only

All specifications, prices and dates are subject to change without prior notice.