ProAudio: Setting Up Paging System (Control 4)

Modified on Tue, 15 Jun 2021 at 11:33 AM

When a page or doorbell is triggered (from now on just referred to as a "page"), all the zones switch to a predetermined source, and a predetermined volume. When the page is finished, all the zones are restored to their normal operation.


There are two page settings, with their own setups. For instance page '1' could be used for the front door, and '2' for the back door, and if you have two different sound generators you could have a different sound for the two doorbells, and setup the pages to connected to two different sources.


To make all this work, the installers sets up, in advance, all the things each zone should do when a page is triggered. On Control4 this can all be done on the Properties tab of the Control4's Composer.


Note: After these settings are changed, they should be backed up in case of power failure by going to Composer's Action Tab and pressing the "Backup Paging Settings" button.


Each zone can have its own setting, so each zone must be setup individually. To start with, the zone must be selected:

Once a zone is selected, the zone's current parameters will fill in. 

Then select the page number under "-- Page Select --" there are two page settings for each zone ('1' or '2'), for things like front door, back door, etc. Choose one using "Page Select":

 


For the most part the above settings are a good test of the paging system -- assumes the doorbell sound generator is connected to source 16. Also assumes a relay or switch is connected to the DB-1 connection on the back of the switch, and is wired like this:


 

These settings are a good test to see if paging is working. The zones should all switch to source 16 when the DB-1 switch is pressed, and go back to normal when it's released.


Page Select '1' is triggered by DB-1 and Page Select '2' is trigger by DB-2.


Per Zone Setting Definitions:

Page - Source: Used to select the source connected to the doorbell sound generator.


Page - Source Change: You can prevent the source from changing. The volume settings will still work, but the source will not change. This is useful if the client just wants to hear the doorbell, but not play it over their speakers.


Page - Volume Mode: The volume mode can be set to Absolute or Relative. Absolute just sets the volume to level given, regardless of what level the zone was set to before the page. Relative allows you to raise or lower the volume from the current level of the zone. This allows the page volume to go up and down with the zone's volume.


Page - Volume: Either the absolute value to set the page, or a +/- relative volume.


Page - Minimum Volume: When using Relative Volume, it's possible the user has the volume turned way down. If the page volume is calculated to be below the minimum volume, the minimum volume will be used instead.


Page - Mute: A user may have their zone muted when the page happens, this allows you to unmute a zone if this is the case. It also allows you to always mute a zone. If all zones are muted during a page, the paging system can be used as an emergency system wide mute. Some places require an audio system to be fully muted in emergencies, like when a fire alarm is going off.


Page - Do Not Disturb: When this is on, the zone is temporarily removed from the muting system and will be ignored during a mute.


Global Page Setting Definitions:

Page - Startup Delay: The time to wait before playing a page, in milliseconds. 1000 = 1 second. This can be used to wait for a power amplifier to come on before playing doorbell sound.


Page - Min Page Time: When the "DB SW Action" is set to "Play While Pressed", it's possible the switch can be pressed for a very short amount of time. If the time the button is pressed is less than the Min Page Time, the Min Page Time will be used instead.


Page - DB SW Action: This defines how the page system responds to a switch press. It can either continue to play while a switch is pressed, or play for a set amount of time, regardless of how long a switch is pressed. If a switch is set to play a set amount of time, use the "DB SW Timeout" to set the amount of time. N.O. = Normally Open, this means the switch contact is normally not making contact, and is closed when a user presses the switch. N.C. = Normally Closed, this means the switch is normally shorted, and breaks the connection when the switch is pressed.


Page - DB SW Timeout: Use to set the amount of time a triggered page plays. Used with "DB SW Action".


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