Klark Teknik DN3698
A handheld remote that lets a live engineer walk the room and change the EQ on 98 channels from the palm of one hand.
Overview
The DN3698 is a rectangular metal chassis with a large display screen ringed by control buttons, a thumb-wheel on either side, and two keypads for channel select and programming. It is a portable version of the DN3600 programmable graphic equaliser's control surface - a remote built to go with the DN3600 and its slave sibling, the DN3601. The idea is simple and very useful. With the remote in hand, an engineer can wander in front of the wedges or out into the house, hear what the musician or audience is actually hearing at that spot, and make the adjustments right there. No walking back to a rack beside the front-of-house console.
The reach is the headline. The DN3698 can control up to 49 equalisers, either DN3600s or DN3601 slaves, for a total of 98 channels, or mixes, of EQ from a single control surface. The equalisers connect over standard XLR leads carrying the professional MIDI standard for send and return. The DN3600 and DN3601's "More EQ" functions (low and high pass and notch filters) can be accessed directly from the remote. A "Curve" mode gives a true representation of the frequency response created by the graphic faders combined with those More EQ filters. Two thumb-wheel encoders and dedicated, clearly labelled function buttons give instant access to every parameter, while a large LCD and two 7-segment LEDs keep EQ, mix, and memory information visible at a glance.
Power comes either from an external PSU supplied with the unit or from four internal Ni-Cad "D" cells. With the PSU connected the batteries charge automatically, and on a charge the remote runs for approximately six hours. A "Battery Low" LED warns when the cells are starting to run down, and a "Recharge Now" LED means plug in the PSU urgently. Powering up brings a Klark Teknik welcome message to the "wonderful world of equalisation," and pressing the FUNCTIONS key drops into Setup mode.
The software changed over the remote's life. The latest firmware added two setup pages, Rotary Swap and Solo Mode On-Off. Rotary Swap lets the two thumb-wheels be reassigned, so the left can select filter frequency while the right controls level. Solo mode lets the equaliser currently under control be soloed for fine adjustment while all other channels are muted, and it toggles on or off as needed. A second page brings up Solo Safe, which allows or blocks access to the solo facility, along with Morphing channel selection for the radio link and Stereo Link, which ties the two channels of an equaliser together for stereo operation just as on the DN3600.
Extended functions include a COMPARE key for checking the current setting against a previous one and for copying the current setting to another mix. An extension of compare is Morphing, which crossfades - morphs - between two settings. The transition is either Slow or Fast. The fader icons crawl across the screen while it runs, and the facility lets an operator judge the differences between settings. The movement can be stopped at any moment, particularly at the point where the setting is just right.
Out of the box the remote can be used with up to 15m of cable. The optional 2U Docking Station gives the DN3698 a home in the rack and integrates the power supply with MIDI-to-RS232 conversion, so the remote can connect to the EQs through a single 5-way cable up to 100m long. The radio link plugs into the Docking Station. It is a low-powered 2-channel system that does not have to be licensed, so it can be used anywhere without fear of reprisals from the "Wireless Police." The link gives full two-way wireless communication with a range of up to 300m. The advantage of 2-channel operation is that two operators can access different equalisers at the same time, with the software designed to prevent erroneous commands. The only operational difference is that system response is slightly slower, since the same frequency serves both channels when two remotes are in use.
In a September 1994 hands-on review, Studio Sound (September 1994, p.29) sent Terry Nelson out with the unit. He concluded the DN3698 does what it sets out to do, and he was hard pushed to find anything negative to say. There was a caveat: the original software had problems, resolved when updated chips arrived from Klark Teknik. The review flagged minor operational niggles. Exiting Auto Gain from Curve mode can drop back to the Fader screen when it isn't wanted. Recalling a two-figure memory slot demands nimble fingers, or the first digit's memory gets selected. Powering down the remote before exiting Remote Control mode by pressing 0 on the mix keypad locks all the equalisers out. The reviewer called these routines to learn rather than faults, and heartily recommended the DN3698 to DN3600/3601 users wanting an operational extension of their setups.
Klark Teknik's advertising through 1995 quotes Jim Yakabuski, front-of-house engineer for Van Halen on tour, as using the DN3698. Marketing copy is not a verdict, but it does place the unit on a major touring rig. The DN3698 is tethered by design to the DN3600 family and does nothing on its own.
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