Alesis ADAT-XT manual Master /SLAVE Interaction, Achieving Lock

Chapter 5: Multiple ADAT-XT Operation

	Synchronization requires a dual male, 9 pin D connector cable for each slave to be
	synchronized. Use only Alesis cables. Alesis Sync Cables are available in three
	different lengths: 8", 30", and 30' from your dealer. Other types of cables may cause
	incorrect commands to be received, and erratic sync performance. This connection
	should be made while power is off, but the machines do not need to be turned on in
	any particular order. For more about connections, refer to the section entitled Sync
	In/Out in Chapter 3.
	After you’ve connected multiple XTs and/or ADATS together and turned them on, the
	master’s display will show “ID 1” (identifying itself as the number 1 machine in the
	system). The second machine will display ID 2, the third ID 3, and so on. The ID
	order is automatically assigned according to how the cables are hooked up. You can
	re-check a machine’s ID at any time by holding [SET LOCATE] and pressing [PLAY].
J	If a slave does not display an ID number on power-up, then it does not see anything
	connected to the [SYNC IN] jack. Check the cables and connections.
	If needed, the machines will renumber their IDs if more XTs or ADATs are connected
	later. Example: Suppose you have three XTs hooked up so that machine 1 is the
	master, and machines 2 and 3 are slaves. If you turn on only machines 2 and 3,
	machine 1 will not be active so machine 2 decides it’s the master (ID 1) and machine
	three the only slave (ID 2). If you then turn on machine 1, the machines will renumber
	themselves so that machine 1 becomes the master (ID 1), and machines 2 and 3
	become the slaves (ID 2 and 3, respectively). Note that in this example, if machines 1
	and 3 are turned on but machine 2 is turned off, machine 3 will not slave to machine 1
	because machine 2 is turned off, so the sync signal cannot pass through it from 1 to 3.
	All slave XTs will automatically be placed in External Clock mode (the EXT icon will
	be lit in the CLOCK icon group). The [CLOCK SELECT] button will not function on the
	slave XTs since External Clock is their only option. Simultaneously, each slave’s
	CHASE icon will light whenever it is chasing the location of the master.
	MASTER/SLAVE INTERACTION
	Pressing any of the transport buttons ([PLAY], [STOP], etc.), or [AUTO REC],
	[LOCATE 0] – [LOCATE 9], [ALL INPUT], [AUTO INPUT], PITCH [s] or [t] will
	automatically trigger the same functions on the slave machine(s) as well. Alesis
	recommends that you always initiate operations from the master, including all
	transport control functions, to minimize confusion. When you press [PLAY] on the
	master, the slave(s) will locate to the same timecode point and begin playing once
	sync is achieved (indicated by the LOCKED icon being lit). Pressing [EJECT] on the
	master ejects all slave’s tapes as well. To eject only the master’s tape, hold [SET
	LOCATE] and press [EJECT] on the master.
	When recording or punching in on the slaves, initiate recording on the master but do
	not have any master tracks record-enabled (unless, of course, you need to record
	tracks on the master). Any tracks that are record-enabled on the slaves will go into
	record, while the master will simply play . This is why record enable is an independent
	function for each slave. There are two other functions when the slave(s) act
	independently. Formatting is initiated independently on each slave for a number of
	reasons, as detailed in the next section; however, simultaneous formatting on all
	slaves is possible. Digital Input can also be set independently for the slave(s) since
	you may want to record via the analog inputs on some machines and via the digital
	inputs on others.
	ACHIEVING LOCK

56 ADAT XT Reference Manual