Home New  Equipment Used Equipment Specials Our Office What We Do Customers Rate Card Web Links Personal Contact Us	Radio Broadcast Technical Consulting and Sales  10032 Island Drive, Brainerd, MN  56401 E-mail:  teki@mwpersons.com
	MAX-Z REMOTE BROADCAST TELEPHONE:
	Note:  These units are sold out.  No more production is planned.  We will do warranty and non-warranty repairs for many years to come.

In a nutshell:  The Max-Z is a telephone, similar to what you might have at home.  Plug it into an ordinary dial-up phone line.  Push the line button and you will hear a dial tone.  Use the dial pad on the front of the Max-Z to dial the call.  There are four audio inputs for microphones or other audio devices and there are four headset outputs so you can hear your audio and audio from the other end of the phone line, just as you would on a regular telephone.  The difference is the convenience and quality of a microphone mixer and headset amplifier.  The unit is not an ISDN or other digital type device.

The Max-Z is an industry favorite for remote broadcasting of sporting events via standard telephone lines.  It was designed by broadcasters for broadcasters.  This is a rugged and dependable unit.

Wiring for the four microphone/line input connectors:  The Max-Z input is unbalanced.  Use a Switchcraft A3M or equivalent connector.  Pin 1 is shield.  Pin 2 is source -, and is also shield/ground.  Pin 3 is the + input.  Each input is gain adjustable on the rear of the Max-Z from -50 dBm microphone level to +24 dBm line level. 

Outputs: The Max-Z has a dial-up telephone line connection with an RJ11 jack.  This is the same as a telephone you might use at home.  It also has an active balanced output so it can be used to drive a dedicated telephone line at 0 dBm.  This makes it possible to use it as a small studio console.  The connection is an RJ-11 jack.  There is a microphone level (-50 dBm) record output on a 1/8" monaural jack.  

Wiring for the four headset connectors:  There are four 1/4 inch diameter three-circuit headset jacks connected to a two-channel low impedance headset amplifier.  Any headset, 4 ohms and up, can be used with the Max-Z.  There are isolating resistors on each headset jack so that a shorted headset will not prevent audio from being heard on the remaining headset jacks.  The jacks are wired "stereo."  Under normal circumstances, Max-Z program audio and telephone audio are heard in both ears of every headset.  When Channel 1 and/or Channel 4 are put in the "Cue" position, The audio in one ear is switched to the cue audio only while the other headset ear has program audio. 

Size: The Max-Z is 17" wide, 5" high, and 13-1/4" deep.  The unit has an internal 12-volt rechargeable battery that will run for 8 hours.  Included is a carrying case, and a 120 VAC power cord for battery charging and continuous operation.

Frequently requested repair parts that we stock:

Price Each

Battery.  This is rechargeable and should last 3 to 5 years. (requires disassembling the unit to install)

29.80

Front panel audio gain, balance, and headphone level knobs with pointer-skirt and cap.	3.98
Front panel audio level controls and headset volume control (A5K)	$8.88
Front Panel Balance/Null control (B10K)	8.88
Front panel momentary switch without light.  Used for clock hr/set, min/set, timer start, and timer zero.	16.20
Front panel push-on, push-off switch without light. Used for clock hr/min, and timer on/off	18.58
Front panel push-on, push-off switch with red light. Used for Cue 1, power, tone/pulse, line, and cue 4.	26.80
External wall-mounted power supply with 5-pin DIN plug (used on later production units).  Model number A482400400U.  Not available at Radio Shack. (best to buy two so you have a spare on hand when you loose one.)  Details	22.00

Carrying case with pockets, zipper, and handle.

49.00

Instruction manual with schematic diagrams

20.00

120 VAC IEC power cord (used on earlier production units) (same as power cords on most computers)	6.00
Rear panel input channel audio gain controls	5.82
Rear panel level knobs	3.00
LCD Bezel and filter for clock and timer displays.	11.00
LCD Displays.	23.00
Piezo buzzer.	17.00
Signetics NE5533N IC's (It is normal for the audio to have hiss when the back panel audio gain is turned all the way up.  Just turn it down 1/8 turn.  This does not indicate a bad IC.)	25.00
Keypad for Touchtone dialer	38.00
HM9113A Dialer Integrated Circuit	1.00
Telephone line transformer T1	21.82
Telephone cable, 14 feet long.	2.00
Additional parts available upon request	e-mail

INQUIRIES:  The best way to get answers to your questions is to e-mail teki@mwpersons.com.  If we are in the office, you will have a reply within an hour.  If we are not in the office, you will have to wait.

SHIPPING:  We normally ship via United Parcel Service.  We DO NOT SHIP INTERNATIONALLY.  If you are an international buyer and have a shipping broker in the United States, we will be glad to ship to them.  We do not ship packages outside of the 50 United States.

ORDERS:  E-mail your order with a complete street address and telephone number.  

PAYMENT:  We now handle VISA credit cards.  Send us your credit card information along with your order.  If you would rather not send the credit card data in an e-mail, then give us your telephone number and we will call you to get the number. 

You can also pre-pay by check to keep your cost down.  We will e-mail you the UPS shipping amount based on weight and your zip code.  We can ship immediately if we send it via UPS COD.  The COD adds $9.00 to a shipping charge.  In that case, we will e-mail you the amount that will be due when the UPS driver arrives.  Orders over $100.00 must be paid by cashier's check or money order.  

Make checks payable to: M. W. Persons and Associates, Inc.  Send to:

M. W. Persons and Associates, Inc.
10032 Island Drive
Brainerd, MN  56401

GUARANTEE: All items are guaranteed to your satisfaction or you can return the merchandise, in original condition, for a refund minus the shipping charges.  You must notify us within 10 days of receiving the equipment and you must get the equipment back to us within 20 days to get the refund.

Non-warranty repairs:  Click here

Tech Tips:

If the Touchtone dialer does not seem reliable, the battery voltage might be below 9 VDC.  The normal battery voltage is 12 VDC.  As battery voltage drops, Touchtone audio drops in level and becomes distorted.

A good battery will run the unit for 8 hours on a full charge.  When the power cord is plugged into 120 VAC power, the battery will charge regardless of whether the unit is turned on or off.  It takes 24 hours to recharge a dead battery.

On most units, there can be excessive noise in an input channel if the input gain control, at the rear of the unit, is turned to maximum.  Back it off 1/8 of a turn and the noise will go away.

For analog cellular to Zercom Max-Z or Max-ZII, use a "data jack" or "fax Jack." These items are provided by and installed on a cell phone by the people who sell cellular telephones. For Motorola cellular phones, Motorola suggests the " S1936C Cellular Connection Data Jack." The jack provides the equivalent of regular telephone service like fax, computer modem, answering machine, etc. The Zercom unit plugs into the jack on the side of the telephone using it's standard modular telephone cable. The S1936C even accepts rotary dial pulses. Could cost $250 installed.  We recommend you use an analog cell phone rather than digital for the best audio quality.

To connect a Max-Z to a digital cellular telephone, you can use a JK Audio Daptor One priced at about $119.00 from http://www.jkaudio.com  However, the Max-Z will show an alarm because there is no DC current flowing through its telephone line input.  This Max-ZII alarm can be turned off for this kind of connection.  If you need this done, send the Max-Z to us for modification.  The cost is $50.00 plus shipping.  This is also an opportunity for you to have the unit repairs made as necessary to keep it in good working condition.  e-mail us

Hum in Headsets:  Some customers report they would like to reduce the hum that is heard in their headsets.  This hum is heard when the unit is plugged into 120 VAC power.  The hum is not heard in the programming that runs through the unit.  To dramatically reduce the hum, we have an upgraded version of the external wall-mounted power transformer.  The transformers are $30.00 plus shipping and tax.  The change may require swapping two wires inside the Max-Z unit to get the "power" light to come on.  If your unit has a standard computer-type power cord, then the unit will need to be modified to accept an external power supply.  The modification, in our shop, runs $90.00 plus shipping. A new $30.00 power supply is included in the $90.00 price.

Unsolicited e-mail on January 31, 2007:  "Thanks Paula. I got the box today from UPS, just in time to replace the missing power supply and knob on the used Zercom Max-Z unit. I sent it out with our second team for a girls basketball broadcast. It's working fine.  I'm glad you are still providing service and support for the Max-Z's as they are still the best thing out there for those of us who are on a budget and can't afford the new codec systems."

"We are Southwestern Ohio Public Radio (WSWO-LP 97.7).  Being an LPFM on a thin budget, I don't see us going to Comrex units anytime soon, so we are doing our sports via cell phone or land lines using the Max-Z.  They are easy for our volunteer announcers to set up and operate even though they may not be very familiar with broadcast technology."  Zack Riepenhoff.