Radial Engineering Ltd. is pleased to announce the BT-Pro™ is now shipping.
The BT-Pro is a Bluetooth® direct box designed to capture the wireless transmission
from a Bluetooth enabled device and convert the signal to a balanced line for use in
a PA system. According to Radial President Peter Janis: “It seems that today,
Bluetooth wireless technology is everywhere. You can connect your phone to your
car, your laptop to your house and tablet to your TV. It only makes sense that
Bluetooth wireless technology would hit the stage. In recent months, we have had a
number of requests to bring Radial’s legendary build quality to this endeavour and
we are pleased to announce the BT-Pro as a solution. I think it is most impressive
how our engineering team managed to solve the problem of durability with the need
for wireless transmission. The BT-Pro employs a T-shaped access cavity behind
which we located the antenna. This is protected by a milled Sintra™ insert made
from a rugged closed-cell PVC that allows the wireless transmission signal to pass.
This innovation allows reception distances of 12 meters (40′) or more.”
As with all Radial products, the BT-Pro is made from 14-gauge steel with an I-beam
frame that makes it impossible to torque the sensitive PC board, eliminating outside
stress and the chance of solder joints going cold. A unique book-end cover creates
protective zones at each end that keep the volume knob, switches and connectors
out of harm’s way. Connecting to the BT-Pro is easy. The BT-Pro is powered by an
external power supply, either with a USB power adapter or a USB port from a
laptop. Two top-mounted LEDs will toggle as it awaits paring. Turn on your
Bluetooth device, it will identify the BT-Pro as ‘Radial Eng’ in the Bluetooth devices
menu. A connection pass code is then used to initialize the connection. This
important safety feature ensures other nearby Bluetooth devices cannot ‘pollute or
hijack’ the system. Once paired, the BT-Pro’s blue LED will flash every three
seconds to let you know the two Bluetooth devices are talking to each other.
The BT-Pro audio signal path takes advantage of the latest Bluetooth wireless A2DP
interface over 2.0 EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) for higher speed transmission and
best audio quality. This employs a 16-bit wireless compressed format with the
actual bit rate determined by the source material. Inside, the BT-Pro converts the
data to a stereo analogue signal, producing up to +4dB at the output. The signal
level is controlled by a front panel potentiometer that is shared with the built-in
headphone amp. This features a standard 3.5mm mini TRS and is used for trouble
shooting. For greater flexibility, a stereo-to-mono switch is provided that sums the
input for dual-mono operation to reduce input requirements on the mixer or split
the signal to the PA and monitors. Should noise be encountered, two side-mounted
switches insert isolation transformers into the signal path. This is supplemented by
a ground lift switch for the XLRs to further help eliminate ground loops.
