Adding and Configuring a Paging Station Block

There may be situations where you decide to create your own paging station instead of using the Pager1 paging station. For example, if your system requires only one paging station that pages all zones, you do not have to worry about paging conflicts and, therefore, may decide to use a simple page microphone with a talk button. The HAL System contains the building blocks for you to construct a more complex paging station, but if you need anything more complex than a simple switch closure, your best bet is to use the Pager1 RAD. Because it is designed to work with the HAL System, its configuration and use is seamless and simple.

The following procedure explains how to configure a simple page microphone with a talk button controlled by a switch closure.

To add and configure a custom paging station:

1. In the Hardware Workspace, configure the appropriate hardware for the page microphone. You have several options. You could plug the microphone into a RAD that is dedicated to this purpose or you could connect the page microphone directly to one of HAL's analog input ports.

If using a RAD, you need to add the RAD to the Hardware Map. If connecting the microphone to a HAL analog port, you do not need to add any hardware to your Hardware Map. But you may want to customize the name of the Analog Input Port where you plan to connect the microphone.

2. Assuming you are using a switch closure to control the microphone's talk button, customize the name of the Logic In port where the switch closure will be connected (not a requirement, but it certainly helps!).
3. Move to the Processing Workspace and open the I/O palette by clicking its tab. Locate the microphone input block—the RAD Mic Input block or the analog Mic/Line Input, depending on the approach you are taking—and drag it into the Processing Map, dropping it in the appropriate location. If necessary, configure the block's properties. (Open the block's properties by double-clicking the block or hovering and clicking the properties icon that appears in the upper right of the block's title bar.)
4. Open the DSP palette by clicking its tab. In the Paging/Room Combine category, locate the Paging Station block and drag it into the Processing Map, dropping it to the right of the microphone input block.
5. Customize the block's Station name. This is the name that will appear in the Stations column in the Paging Manager. To do so, click the block's green Station rectangle and then type a name in the text box that appears. Click X to save the name and close the text box.
6. Open the Paging Station's properties dialog box and configure its internal blocks (Level, Compressor, 2-band PEQ) as necessary. Leave the properties dialog box open as you'll need it in the next step.
7. Create a control link between the switch closure Logic In port and the microphone's talk button. To do so, open the Control palette by clicking its tab. Locate the relevant Logic In control. Click and drag its link icon to the Paging Station properties in the Processing Map. Drop the icon onto the Talk link icon. Close the Paging Station properties dialog box.

note: The Paging Station Scenarios selector is also linkable. You could, for example, link it to a DR that would display the various paging scenarios available, allowing the end user to select a Scenario to page into. This functionality is provided in case you need it, but when working with multiple Scenarios, we highly recommend using the Pager1 instead, as it has all of this functionality built in already. Also, if using multiple paging stations, the Pager1 indicates if a Scenario is available to page into. Remember that the standalone Paging Station block is intended primarily for simple single pager, single Scenario systems.

8. In the Processing Map, wire the microphone block's Output node to the Paging Station's Input node.

The next step is to open the Paging Manager and configure the page routing. For the full workflow, see Creating a HAL Paging System. You are on step 5.