contacta HLD4 Portable Hearing Loop Driver Installation Guide
- June 13, 2024
- contacta
Table of Contents
contacta HLD4 Portable Hearing Loop Driver
Introduction
- Our Home Loop is a sleek and powerful hearing loop driver that connects to televisions and other audio devices.
- It enables hearing instrument wearers to listen wirelessly directly from the source, providing the best possible sound quality. Integrated clear audio processing gives the user outstanding sound quality, enhancing speech and music clarity.
- Suitable for home and business use in small rooms where a television or sound system is present.
Components
- Power supply
- HLD4 Hearing Loop Driver
- Hearing loop pad with loop aerial built into it, or, 40m hearing loop cable
- Microphone with a 1.2m cable
- 3.5mm stereo jack plug to 2 x RCA adapter
- 2 x phono to 2 x phono lead
- 1m TOSlink optical lead
Important Safety Instructions
The manufacturer cannot be held responsible for damage which is caused by not using this hearing loop system in compliance with these safety instructions.
IF IN ANY DOUBT SEEK EXPERT ADVICE
- Read and follow these instructions taking note of any warnings. Keep these instructions for future reference.
- Do not use the system or accessories near water.
- Do not expose the system or accessories to rain or any other source of moisture.
- Should the hearing loop driver require cleaning only do so with a dry cloth.
- Ensure that there is enough room around the hearing loop driver for ventilation purposes.
- Do not cover the ventilation holes of the hearing loop driver with anything.
- Do not place the hearing loop driver close to sources of heat, such as radiators.
- Place all connecting and power leads where they will NOT be a hazard or become damaged.
- Do not open casing of the hearing loop driver at any time; there are NO user serviceable parts.
- Servicing must be referred to qualified service personnel.
- Batteries should not be exposed to excessive heat such as sunshine or fire.
CAUTION: Ensure mains power is disconnected BEFORE any audio connections
are made to the hearing loop driver. To completely disconnect the system from
the mains, remove the mains plug from the wall socket.
CAUTION: The top surface of the hearing loop driver may become hot when
operating this system continuously. Do not touch the top surface during use or
block the ventilation holes.
United Kingdom – connection to mains supply
This apparatus must be protected by a 3amp fuse if a 13amp (BS1363) plug is
used. Be sure to replace the fuse only with an identical approved type, as
originally fitted, and to replace the fuse cover.
IMPORTANT: The wires in this mains lead are coloured in accordance with the following code:
- Blue: Neutral
- Brown: Live
- If you need to change the mains plug supplied, the colours of the wires in the mains lead of this apparatus may not correspond with the coloured markings identifying the terminals in your plug.
- Proceed as follows:
- The wire coloured BLUE must be connected to the terminal marked with the letter N or coloured BLACK.
- The wire coloured BROWN must be connected to the terminal which is marked with the letter L or coloured RED.
- DO NOT make any connection to the terminal which is marked with the letter E or coloured GREEN.
Quick Setup
For full setup instructions, please see page 10.
-
Before you begin, please check the contents of your package. You will have received either a loop pad kit or a loop cable kit.
-
To set up your hearing loop driver, place it near your TV or audio equipment. Connect audio leads between your TV or audio system and hearing loop driver.
-
Loop Cable: Place the loop cable around the room and connect both ends of the cable to the connectors on the rear of the hearing loop driver.
OR,
Loop Pad Kit: Place the loop pad kit in the desired location and connect this to the rear of the hearing loop driver. -
Plug the power supply unit lead into the HLD4 hearing loop driver and connect the mains lead to the power supply.
-
Connect the unit to a power source then turn the driver on.
-
Select the source button(s) on the front of the driver corresponding to your audio inputs. See buttons 4-7 on page 9 for more details.
-
Switch your hearing device to “T”.
-
Finally, adjust hearing loop driver volume/tone to suit your listening needs.
-
Setup is now complete!
TV Connections
- Connecting Directly to a Television
- If connecting directly to a TV set via optical then you must make sure that the TV is set to PCM. To do this go into the audio/sound settings menu on the TV and look for digital audio output/optical out, normally this would be set to Dolby digital, it needs to be changed to PCM. Please note that some Televisions auto switch this setting!
- NOTE: Using the microphone supplied with your equipment attached to the speaker grille of the television will return good results and is an excellent back-up way to connect to the TV.
Setting up your equipment with direct connection to Sky Q & Sky HD Boxes via Optical
- Press Home on your Sky Q remote, select Settings, then select Setup
- Select Audio visual, then select Digital audio output optical and set it to NORMAL
- Press the GREEN button to save the settings
- Power OFF the Sky Box, leave for 30 seconds and turn back on, leave for 5 minutes until the box has had chance to re-calibrate itself and then test the system
Setting up equipment with direct connection to Virgin Media Set Top Boxes via Optical
- Press Home on your remote
- Select Help & Settings
- Select Settings
- Select Audio
- Choose Dolby Digital to PCM. This setting applies to both HDMI and optical out.
- Power down the box for 5 minutes, restart the box, leave for a few minutes and test the system
- Virgin Media 360 Boxes ONLY: Select Settings > Audio & Video > Follow Content > Restart Box
Why don’t I get audio from digital sources (Netflix, Apple TV, FireStick, etc)?
- Audio coming from certain content providers or devices (Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple TV etc.) is by default set to output Dolby and not PCM.
- In order to resolve this, you will need to change the digital audio output format in the app or device to PCM, firstly try the normal audio settings within the app, however very often these audio settings are only available once something is playing on screen.
- This does NOT guarantee that you will hear the audio from these sources through your device, but it does give the best chance.
- N.B when connecting directly to an external device such as SKY or Virgin Media you will not hear channels and smart services from the TV through the connected equipment.
Product Overview
Note: Numbers in the following setup instructions refer to the images below.
- Volume control
- Tone control
- Loop level indicator
- Microphone input select
- Line input A select
- Line input B select
- Digital audio input select
- Power on / standby
- DC power socket
- Loop cable connectors
- Headphone socket
- Digital Audio Input Select
- Optical Digital audio
- Coaxial Digital audio
- Line Input B
- Line Input A
- Microphone Priority
- Microphone Input A
- Microphone Input B
Setup Instructions
HLD4 Hearing Loop Driver
- Place the driver in a convenient and well ventilated area near to the TV or other audio source. Ensure all necessary connection leads can reach the relevant device.
Option 1
Installing the Hearing Loop Cable
- Run the loop cable around the room starting and ending at the hearing loop driver. The cable may be tucked under the edge of the carpet, or fixed to either a picture / dado rail or skirting board with the clips provided.
- Where the cable passes a door or other obstacle, ideally tuck it under the carpet or fix the cable around the frame if tucking under the carpet isn’t possible. For best performance the cable should stay on the same plane.
- The cable only has to go around the area to be looped.
- Excess loop wire may be cut off, provided a MINIMUM of 11 metres (35 feet) is left connected to the hearing loop driver. DO NOT leave spare cable coiled on the drum.
Option 2
Installing the Hearing Loop Pad
- Place the loop pad in a suitable position on the chair to be used for listening, either on the chair back or under the seating area.
- Lay the connecting lead from the Pad to the back of the driver.
- Make sure that the connecting lead is kept out of the way to prevent injury or obstruction.
Connect Loop Cable or Loop Pad to the Driver
- When the loop cable connector buttons are pushed in a hole will appear. Push the bare wire into the hole. Ensure that only the bare wire and not the plastic insulation goes into the hole, then release the button to lock the cable in place.
Connect Audio Inputs from TV or other Audio Source to Loop Hearing loop driver
Driver Connections
Direct Audio Connections
-
The best way to connect your hearing loop driver to your TV and other audio devices is by using direct audio connections. These connections give you the clearest sound without any background noise.
-
The HLD4 hearing loop driver is fitted with digital and analogue audio inputs.
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Most current TVs and audio equipment have digital optical TOSlink or coaxial outputs that provide the clearest sound input to your system.
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Use the digital audio input select switch to choose the setting for the digital audio connection in use. You may need to alter the settings of the digital audio out on your TV to PCM so that the digital audio out signal matches the hearing loop driver.
-
Analogue audio inputs use red/white phono connectors. These connectors are widely available on most audio devices and
provide good sound quality for your system. -
You can connect up to three audio devices to your hearing loop driver at the same time: one digital device using either TOSlink or coaxial cable (but not both), and one or two analogue devices using red/white phono connectors.
-
If your TV or other audio device does not have phono connectors, you can use SCART or jack adapters to connect them to your
hearing loop driver. If you use a jack adapter with a headphone socket on your TV or other device, this may turn off the internal speaker. Some TVs have a switch or a setting that lets you keep the TV speaker on.
Microphones
- If a direct connection is not possible then a microphone can be used to pick up the sound from a TV or other loudspeaker. Microphones can also be used for someone to speak directly into the loop system so they can speak directly to the hearing aid user while they listen to TV. A microphone can be used at the same time as the line inputs to monitor other sounds such as a doorbell or telephone bell.
- One or two microphones can be used at the same time.
- A priority function also exists when using a microphone in channel B to override sounds from any other input to the hearing loop driver.
Power
- Plug the power supply lead into the socket on the rear of the hearing loop driver. Connect the mains lead to the power supply and then plug into a mains outlet. Switch on the power at the outlet.
- This hearing loop driver may also be used with DC power supplies directly connected to the hearing loop driver such as those found in buses and coaches.
Operation
- When connecting power to the hearing loop driver for the first time, the power button will illuminate blue and the hearing loop driver will be “On”.
- Pressing the power button will change the colour to red and the hearing loop driver will be in the standby mode which uses low power and no signal will be passed to the loop. In order to remove all power from the unit the power supply must be disconnected from the hearing loop driver and the mains outlet.
- Press the button power again and it will light up blue. The system is now ready for use.
- Set the television or other audio equipment to the normal listening level for other members of your household.
- Select the sound source required. See page 9 for more details.
- Set the volume control to minimum.
- Set the tone control to the normal position ( 12 o’clock).
- Switch your hearing aid to the ‘T’ or loop function.
- Adjust the volume and tone to suit your listening.
Pressing the power button will turn the hearing loop driver off and the light will go red. The next time the power is turned on the volume, tone and source selections from the previous session will be restored.
Volume control
Use to adjust the volume of the signal received by the hearing aid. As the
signal increases the blue light will travel around the control indicating the
volume level in use.
Tone Control
Use to vary the tone of the signal. Turned in the clockwise direction the
higher frequencies will be emphasised and in the anti-clockwise direction the
lower frequencies will be emphasised. As the tone control is moved the blue
light will travel around the control indicating the tone position in use.
Loop Level Indicator
This indicates that a signal is being transmitted by the loop cable. It
flickers with a low volume and remains steady with louder volumes. Testing the
system can be done by speaking into a microphone and seeing the light flash,
this will indicate that a signal is flowing round the cable.
Sound Source Selections
Pressing one of these buttons will select the sound source connected to the
hearing loop driver in the corresponding sockets on the rear of the hearing
loop driver. One or more of these can be selected at any one time. When the
channel is selected a blue light will show in the button. Press the button
again and the light will go out showing that channel is off.
Microphone
Selecting this will allow sound from connected microphones. If a microphone is
plugged into socket B and the priority button is pushed in then any sound
received by this microphone will override all the other sounds connected to
the loop system. This can be useful when used to monitor a doorbell or
telephone bell or if a partner wants to talk to the hearing aid wearer through
the loop.
Analogue Line Input Aand Analogue Line Input B
Allows the selection of the line input signals from channel A or B. Useful to
connect to a TV and DVD player so that either may be simply selected from the
front panel. Either or both channels may be selected simultaneously.
Digital Audio
Allows the selection of digital audio. When selected the button light will be
blue. Should the light show red then there is no audio being received by the
digital equipment.
Headphone Socket
The Headphone socket may be used with headphones that have a stereo 3.5mm plug
fitted. This may be used by a non-hearing aid user to receive amplified sound.
- It can also be used to test that the loop system is set up correctly. Headphones used in this way will not affect the performance of the loop system for hearing aid users.
- The headphone socket may be used without a loop cable connected but the loop level indicator will not show.
- Note: When using this socket to listen with headphones the sound levels may be high especially if no loop wire is connected. Please set the volume to minimum before use and adjust accordingly.
- Headset is not supplied with the system.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Possible Fault |
|---|---|
| No sound | • Recheck all connections. |
• Check diagrams.
• Hearing loop driver not switched on. Switch on at the main socket. Press the mains switch. Check blue light is on.
• Microphone or audio source not connected or selected.
• Check Digital audio setting on the TV is PCM.
• Hearing aid not on the ”T” or loop program.
Low sound| • Microphone too far from sound.
• Loop cable wired incorrectly. Consult the wiring diagram and fix any errors.
• Volume control set too low. Increase volume.
• TV or audio volume set too low. Increase volume.
Distorted sound| • Volume control set too high. Loop level indicator showing permanently. Decrease volume.
• Audio volume set too high.
• Move the microphone away from the loudspeaker / adjust the TV volume.
• Microphone plug/lead damaged.
• Using multiple inputs at the same time may lead to distorted
output, only select the inputs you wish to listen to.
Background noise (hum or buzz)| • If the noise remains when the hearing loop driver is turned off but the hearing aid is still on the loop program this interference is caused by other equipment such as fluorescent lights or dimmer switches. With the hearing loop driver turned off and the hearing aid still on the loop programs turn items off and on until the interference can be identified.
• If noise stops when the hearing loop driver is turned off there may be a fault in the system or a microphone lead or noise is being picked up by the microphone.
If you are still experiencing problems, please reach out to sales@contacta.co.uk for support.
UK & ROW
- +44 (0) 1732 223900
- sales@contacta.co.uk
US & Canada
- +1 616 392 3400
- info@contactainc.com
- www.contacta.co.uk
References
Read User Manual Online (PDF format)
Read User Manual Online (PDF format) >>