CONTROL SURFACE

Product Manual

Ver 1.0, Feb 2017

Ver 1.0, July 18 2012
 I. STAC VIP control surface Manual

Introduction
The Comrex STAC VIP Control Surface (CS) is an accessory to the STAC VIP mainframe hardware. The control surface
provides a series of push-buttons that echo the line control functions of the VIP Web Interface. It also provides a
handset that can be used to screen calls.

The CS acts like a Voice-over-IP (VoIP) phone extension, connecting to the mainframe in the same way the
mainframe connects to its VoIP services. Because the CS connects to the mainframe over an Ethernet-based IP
connection, the CS can be located anywhere that can be reached by the LAN (Local Area Network) to which the
mainframe is attached.

Hookup
The STAC VIP CS is primarily powered by Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) technology. If your network already supports
PoE, it can be plugged into a PoE-supporting network port directly. Otherwise, a power supply is provided that
provides PoE power to the CS. The power adapter is attached to the network using an Ethernet cable on the port
labeled Network and to the control surface using an Ethernet cable on the port labeled control surface. The power
supply accepts universal AC mains input via an IEC power cord.

Do not install the power adapter in-line with any other devices, whether PoE
capable or not. Please do not use the included PoE power adapter for other PoE
devices, as it may not conform completely to PoE requirements of other devices.
The PoE adapter must sit between a network switch and the control surface
— no other routers or switches may be placed between the adapter and the
control surface.

For environments where PoE operation is not desired or allowed, Comrex can provide a power adapter that does
not utilize PoE. Contact Comrex support for details.

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Figure 1 STAC VIP control surface networking

As shown in Figure 1, the control surface can only be associated with one STAC VIP mainframe, and must be located
on the same IP subnet as the mainframe. This means that no routers can exist between the mainframe and the CS.
The IP address used by the CS must be within the subnet mask of the IP settings of the mainframe.

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Configuration
Once a CS and mainframe are connected on the same LAN, there is no additional configuration to be done to the
CS. The CS is shipped set for DHCP operation, and as such will obtain IP credentials from a network automatically.
Most installations will use DHCP for the control surfaces.

In situations where static IP assignment of a CS is desired, you can use the Comrex Device Manager to assign
the address. Device Manager is a Windows utility that can be obtained for free from the Comrex web site, www.
comrex.com. Instructions on how to set devices for static IP are contained in the Help menu of the software.

While no configuration of the CS itself is required, you must associate a STAC VIP mainframe with a control surface.
This is done via the web configuration page on the STAC VIP mainframe. See the STAC VIP manual (page 29) for
information on how to access this page using a web browser.
Once the Configuration page is open, navigate to control surfaces and you will see an option to associate up to four
control surfaces with the mainframe. Any entries that already have an association will be displayed in blue.

When you click an unused entry, the mainframe will scan your local LAN and display a list of all control surfaces
detected. These will be displayed by Ethernet MAC address. The MAC address of a control surface can be found on
a label at the bottom of the unit.

Choose a control surface here and it will become associated with that mainframe.

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Figure 2 stac vip control surface

control surface Buttons and switches

Figure 2 shows the top controls on a six-line control surface (12-line control surfaces also available)
1 Handset - Used to answer and screen calls.
2 Dial Pad - Used to dial outgoing calls.
3 Next Button - Used to put the next call in screened queue On-Air.
4 Drop All - Useful for contests, this button will drop all current calls, and prevent new calls until
pressed again.
5 Change Priority - This button allows you to choose a new call to be indicated as “Next” in the
calling queue.
6 Auto-Attendant - This button enables/disables the Auto-Attendant function and is used dur-
ing Auto Attendant setup.
7 Top Row Buttons - These buttons are used to move calls to the handset. Depending on
configuration, they may also be used to put calls On-Hold.
8 Middle Row Buttons - Depending on configuration, these buttons are either used to put calls
On-Hold (SCREENER mode) or On-Air (STUDIO mode).
9 Drop Button - Drop the existing call on this channel entirely.
10 Button Legend - This adjustable label describes the configuration of the top two rows of but-
tons.

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1 5 2 3

Figure 3 control surface REAR PANEL

Figure 3 shows the back panel of the control surface Chassis

1 Ethernet Jack - For connection to a network. PoE capable
2 Power Jack - For attachment of an external power supply in non PoE environments
3 Dip Switches - Used to configure CS for different modes
4 Reset Switch
5 USB Port - For future use

DIP Switch configuration options

The rear panel DIP switch allows configuration of several modes of the CS.

Note that the DIP switch is mounted upside-down, and that the “ON” position
(as shown in the legend) is actually toward the bottom of the chassis.

1 Factory Reset - In order to clear all programmed settings from the CS, turn this switch ON
then press the Reset Button. Put the switch back to the OFF position and press the Reset
button again. The CS will revert to factory settings in 30 seconds.
2, 3 Reserved
4 Boosts volume to the earpiece when turned ON (down position). To change this on the fly
with a powered-on control surface, first change the DIP switch setting, then tap the Reset but-
ton.
5 If OFF, a SCREENER surface can drop On-Air calls (using the DROP button). If ON, a SCREENER
surface has no control over calls that are On-Air.
6 If ON, lifting the handset will answer the incoming call that has been ringing longest.
7 If ON, the handset hookswitch is ignored. All calls are routed to the handset only when a but-
ton is pressed.
8 OFF = STUDIO Mode; ON = SCREENER Mode.

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About STUDIO vs. SCREENER Modes
The control surface can be set for two major modes of operation: STUDIO and SCREENER. Note that the legend to
the right side of the buttons can be removed and flipped to show the current mode. The differences:
1 In STUDIO Mode, the CS can put calls On-Air. In SCREENER Mode, it can’t.
2 In STUDIO Mode, the top row of buttons has a dual function. If the handset is picked up, the
top button will route the call to the handset. After the call is on the handset, the same button
is used to place the call On-Hold.

In SCREENER Mode, the top row is only for handset, and the second row is for On-Hold.

If you only have one CS, STUDIO mode is the best choice.

control surface Operation

The control surface buttons are color coded to represent each line’s status:

While the system is booting

TOP BUTTON BOTTOM BUTTON MEANING
Line 1 Blink Red Line 1 Blink Red System is booting
Line 1 Red/White Line 1 Red/White Waiting for Network Connection
Line 2 Red/White Line 2 Red/White Waiting for mainframe Connection
Line 3 Red/White Line 3 Red/White Waiting for Internal Sip Engine init
Line 4 Red/White Line 4 Red/White Waiting for SIP connection to mainframe

Lines Ringing / Outgoing / Answering

TOP BUTTON BOTTOM BUTTON MEANING
STUTTER White Line is ringing
PULSE White/Green Line answered by auto-attendant
PULSE Green/Cyan (fast) Dialing outgoing call on this control surface
PULSE Green/Cyan (slow) Line answered on handset of this control surface
ON Green Line answered on other control surface
PULSE Red Busy or other error on outgoing call

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Lines On-Hold/On-Air
TOP BUTTON BOTTOM BUTTON MEANING
ON Yellow Line on unscreened On-Hold
PULSE Yellow (fast) Line on Screened Hold, highest priority call
PULSE Yellow (slow) Line on Screened Hold, not top priority
PULSE Red Line On-Air but unlocked, Hybrid 1
ON Red Line locked On-Air, Hybrid 1
PULSE Blue Line On-Air but unlocked, Hybrid 2
ON Blue Line locked On-Air, Hybrid 2

Change Priority/Drop All

TOP BUTTON BOTTOM BUTTON MEANING
ON White ON White Priority change mode; line is not priority
PULSE White PULSE White Priority change mode; line is priority
ON Orange ON Orange System/line is in “Drop All” mode

Answering and Placing calls

Incoming calls are answered (and outgoing calls are dialed) using the top row of buttons on the control surface. By
lifting the handset, you are instructing the system to route the next call you select (via the top row) to the handset.
If no calls are incoming, the selected line will be presented for an outgoing call. The system will present a dial
tone on the line to indicate it is ready to dial. A provider must be configured for outgoing calls in the mainframe
configuration menu in order to allow outgoing calls.

Outgoing calls are made via the numeric keypad on the control surface. One important aspect of outgoing calls is:

The # key (Send) must be pressed after the last digit is dialed. No call is actually
placed by the system until after the # key is pressed.

The reason for this is that in a VoIP system, no information is exchanged with the network until after the last digit
is dialed. Since STAC VIP is designed to be used in environments where special outbound dial prefixes (Dial ‘9’ first)
are required, as well as international environments with varying dial string lengths, it has no idea exactly how many
digits you intend to send. For this reason, it must accept a “send” command much like a mobile phone.

Placing calls On-Hold and Screened Hold

STAC VIP has three distinct ways of displaying calls On-Hold
1 On-Hold - A call has been answered and placed On-Hold (either by an operator or the Auto-
Attendant) but no screener has interfaced with the caller yet.
2 Screened Hold - A call has been screened and is ready to go On-Air.

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 3 Priority Hold - A call has been screened and has been on Screened Hold longer than any other
call. Pressing the Next button will put this call On-Air.

As shown in the Button Color table above, these On-Hold states are shown by differing cadence of yellow on the lit
button.

Calls that have been put On-Hold can be changed to Screened Hold mode by pressing the relevant Hold button a
second time. The line will toggle between On-Hold and Screened Hold mode on subsequent button presses.

The button used to place calls On-Hold varies with the setting of Dip Switch #8, which chooses whether the CS is
set for STUDIO or SCREENER mode. In STUDIO Mode, the top row of buttons is used for all On-Hold functions (this
is shared with the “to Handset” function). In SCREENER mode, the second row of buttons is used for the On-Hold
function exclusively.

Changing Priority
In some instances, the screener may wish to change the call considered to be the “Priority” call, or the next call to
go On-Air. This can be done by pressing the Change Priority button on the CS. When this button is pressed, the CS
will enter a special Priority Select mode where all lines on Screened Hold glow white. The current priority call will
be flashing white. Choose the new priority call via the top row of buttons. The CS will exit the special mode and
return to normal operation with the new priority call indicated correctly. Priority Select mode may be canceled by
pressing the Change Priority button again.

Putting calls On-Air

Calls can only be put On-Air by control surfaces set for STUDIO mode.

Calls put to On-Air state can be either “locked” or “unlocked”. All calls are “unlocked” the first time the On-Air
button (second row of buttons) is pressed. The CS indicates this by a blinking indicator. If the On-Air button is
pressed a second time, the call is “locked” and the button glows solid.

If a call is “unlocked”, putting an additional call On-Air will cause that call to be dropped. In order to have multiple
calls On-Air simultaneously, all calls must be “locked” before a new call in put On-Air.

As described in the STAC-VIP mainframe manual, the system can be configured to put specific calls on either one
of two “hybrids”*. The order in which calls are routed to each hybrid is specified in the configuration setup of the
mainframe. If only one call is On-Air at a time, it will always be routed to Hybrid 1.

The control surface gives an indication of whether an On-Air call has been routed to Hybrid 1 (Red) or Hybrid 2
(Blue).

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 *In VoIP, the concept of “Hybrids” isn’t really relevant, but we use it for
simplicity. Feel free to substitute “input and output channel” in place of the
word “Hybrid”.

Dropping Calls
Most calls in the On-Hold or On-Air state that are ended by the caller will automatically revert to “idle” state. Calls
can be terminated in any state locally by pressing the Drop button for that line. Depending on the setting of Dip
Switch #5, a SCREENER CS may or may not have the ability to drop calls currently On-Air.

Drop All mode

Drop All mode is designed for studios that need to clear all lines in advance of a contest or promotion. The button is
a toggle. On the first press, all lines are cleared and further incoming calls are disabled. During this time all buttons
will glow Orange. Pressing Drop All a second time will put the system back to normal, ready to take calls.

On the mainframe Configuration page, it’s possible to change the Drop All function to exclude calls that have been
“locked” On-Air. This can be useful in an environment where you wish to maintain a “VIP” caller during a contest.

Auto-Attendant
Auto Attendant mode (AA) is designed for studios with busy or no screeners. It will handle the first stage of call
answering and screening for you. When enabled, incoming calls will be answered, a pre-recorded message will play
out to the caller, and the call will be put in On-Hold state. It can be enabled either by the mainframe web control
interface, or via any control surface connected to the system.

AA mode is enabled on the CS by pressing the Auto Attendant button once. It will glow red to indicate AA mode is
active. It can be disabled by pressing the button again.

Configuration of AA is done via the control surface via voice prompts. To enter AA config mode, lift the handset and
hold the Auto Attendant button for 5 seconds, then release it. The button will start to flash and voice prompts will
be heard on the handset.

During the AA configuration sequence, you can record up to two separate outgoing messages to be played to callers
(e.g. thanks for calling, turn your radio down etc). You can also play these messages back for evaluation and choose
which message is active. Pressing AA again ends AA configuration mode.