Overview of Setup and Operation of Sampson Portable Public Address System

Control Panel

The picture below shows the various controls of the Sampson EX30. A description of each function is listed below the picture.

Tone Control (blue knobs): These allow the user to change the tonal quality of each channel's input. There are two controls: high and low. Think of these as bass and treble controls. Rotate either control clockwise to increase the amount of bass or treble. Rotate either control counterclockwise to decrease the amount of bass or treble.

Reverb (red knobs): this allows the user to insert reverberation into the signal. Each channel has a knob that increases or decreases the amount of reverb that you want to insert into the channel. In the top center of the unit is a control to select the type of reverb you want to use.

Pan Control (black knobs): this control is used only if you have a pair of external speakers connected to the "Main L and Main R" output. If you chose to do this, you can control the amount of signal that is routed from each channel into the left or the right speaker. Rotating this control counterclockwise will send more signal to the left output, while rotating this control clockwise will send more signal to the right output. If the knob is straight up and down (in the 12 o'clock) position, an equal amount of signal will be sent to both channels.

Volume Control (white knobs): this controls how much of the channel's signal will appear at the output. Again, rotating this control clockwise will increase the volume, while rotating this control counterclockwise will decrease the volume.

Refer to the picture above for the following descriptions:

Line In: this 1/4" phone jack allows the user to plug instruments or other line level devices into the channel. Please use this input when plugging guitars, keyboards, or other types of line level devices into the system.

Mic Input: 3 pin XLR type connection that is used for plugging in microphone level signals. The most common of these is the microphone itself.

CD In: This allows the user to connect a CD player or other external playback device directly into the system without the use of adapters. Note that the RCA jacks are color-coded. White jacks are for the left channel while red jacks are for the right channel.

Stereo/Mono switch: This switch allows the user to choose between a mono and a stereo output configuration. It is recommended that the switch be in the "mono" position while using the internal speaker itself. If you have a pair of external speakers connected to the "Main Outs", it is recommended that this switch be in the "stereo" position. It is also possible to run externally connected speakers in the mono position.

Main Volume (white knob): this knob controls the overall output signal level. Rotating this control in a clockwise direction will increase the overall volume of the system, while rotating this control in a counterclockwise direction will decrease the overall volume of the system.

Main Left/Main Right Out: These 3 pin XLR connections allow the Sampson to be connected to a pair of external speakers. They can also be used to send a feed to another mixer or amplifier.

Connecting the microphones

1. Locate the provided microphone and microphone cable. The microphone cable looks like this:

2. Plug the hollow (male) end of the mic cable into Channel 1 of the system. Be sure that the channel's volume control is turned all the way down before doing so. This is good practice whenever you are plugging anything into the sound system.
3. Plug thegreen-tipped, filled or end of the cable (female) into the microphone's output. When you are finished, the result should look like this:

4. While speaking into the microphone, turn up the volume on Channel 1 until an adequate amount of volume is achieved. If feedback occurs, turn the volume down until the system stops squealing. Note: if the feedback is very high or low in pitch, you can try to eliminate it by adjusting the high and low controls (blue knobs). Keep in mind that doing so will change the timbre or tone quality of the sound.
5. Repeat the above instructions for any additional microphones.
6. If any instruments need to be amplified, plug them directly into the 1/4" "line in" input of the channels. Caution: Line level signals are much higher in level than microphone signals! Be extremely careful when adjusting volume levels for line level devices such as CD players and musical instruments such as a guitar or keyboard. Start the volume control at the lowest level and raise it slowly until the desired volume is obtained.
7. Any questions about or issues with this system should be directed to the Media Services Technician. Operational training for first-time users is mandatory. Repeat users may have refresher demos at their request.

Reserve the portable PA system
More a/v information

Web site comments

Need immediate assistance? Call the HelpDesk at (715) 425-HELP

Site Map  |

Last modified: October 20, 2006