Appendix B: Connections - Mackie PPM1012 Owner's Manual

Appendix B: Connections

"XLR" Connectors
Mackie mixers use 3-pin female "XLR" connectors on
all microphone inputs, with pin 1 wired to the grounded
(earthed) shield, pin 2 wired to the "high" ("hot" or
positive polarity) side of the audio signal and pin 3
wired to the "low" ("cold" or negative polarity) side of
the signal. See Figure A.
Use a male "XLR"-type connector, usually found on the
nether end of what is called a "mic cable," to connect to
a female XLR jack.
Figure A: XLR Connectors
⁄ " TRS Phone Plugs and Jacks
1
4
"TRS" stands for Tip-Ring-Sleeve, the three
connections available on a "stereo"
phone jack or plug. See Figure B.
Figure B: 1 ⁄ " TRS Plugs
4
TRS jacks and plugs are used in several different ap-
plications:
• Balanced mono circuits. When wired as a bal-
anced connector, a 1⁄4" TRS jack or plug is con-
nected tip to signal high (hot), ring to signal
low (cold), and sleeve to ground (earth).
• Stereo Headphones, and rarely, stereo micro-
phones and stereo line connections.
When wired for stereo, a 1⁄4" TRS jack or plug
is connected tip to left, ring to right and sleeve
to ground (earth). Mackie mixers do not
directly accept 1-plug-type stereo micro phones.
They must be separated into a left cord and a
right cord, which are plugged into the two mic
preamps.
2
SHIELD
HOT
3 1
COLD
SHIELD
1
3
COLD
2
HOT
SHIELD
1
3
COLD
2
HOT
1 ⁄ " or "balanced"
4
RING SLEEVE SLEEVE RING TIP
TIP
RING
TIP
SLEEVE
You can cook up your own adapter for a stereo
microphone adapter. "Y" two cables out of a
female 1⁄4" TRS jack to two male XLR plugs,
one for the Right signal and one for the Left.
• Unbalanced Send/Return circuits. When wired
as send/return "Y" connector, a 1⁄4" TRS jack
or plug is connected tip to signal send (output
from mixer), ring to signal return (input back
into mixer), and sleeve to ground (earth).
⁄ " TS Phone Plugs and Jacks
1
4
"TS" stands for Tip-Sleeve, the two connections avail-
able on a "mono" 1⁄4" phone jack or plug. See Figure C.
Figure C: TS Plug
TS jacks and plugs are used in many different
applications, always unbalanced. The tip is connected to
the audio signal and the sleeve to ground (earth). Some
examples:
• Unbalanced microphones
• Electric guitars and electronic instruments
• Unbalanced line-level connections
• Speaker connections
Don't use guitar cords for speaker cables!
They're not designed to handle speaker-level
signals and could overheat.
RCA Plugs and Jacks
RCA-type plugs (also known as phono plugs) and
jacks are often used in home stereo and video equip-
ment and in many other applications (Figure D). They
are unbalanced and electrically identical to a 1⁄4" TS
phone plug or jack. See Figure C. Connect the signal to
the center post and the ground (earth) or shield to the
surrounding "basket."
SLEEVE
Figure D: RCA Plug
SLEEVE SLEEVE TIP
TIP
TIP
SLEEVE
TIP SLEEVE TIP
Owner's Manual
29