A Mercury system is comprised of one or more Mercury Interface Units, PCI Cards or USB devices connected to each other over a standard IP network. These devices, known as Mercury hosts, have varying capacities to suit differing operational requirements. The MIU offers the highest capacity of the available hosts. It acts as a versatile audio processing unit and IP gateway which allows a wide range of external devices to be connected. These interoperable user interfaces and devices include:
- Mercury virtual panels
- Rackmount or desktop hardware control panels
- External 4 wire or 2 wire audio devices
- Radios
- Telephony equipment, and
- Recording and logging systems.
The MIU may also be used as a standalone intercom system to conduct communications between up to 32 users in close proximity (at distances up to 1500 ft. from the MIU) using CAT-5 cable without the need for IP network connectivity.
The MIU is a 2 rack unit 19-inch wide rackmountable unit which contains a power supply, processor boards and Mercury mixing engine. A second, redundant power supply may be added if desired. The MIU has the capacity to take up to four expansion boards each with 4 or 8 ports (dependent on type) giving a maximum capacity of 32 ports in a single unit. Expansion board options include:
- Audio Expansion Boards
- Radio Interface Boards
- Telephone Interface Boards ( Foreign Exchange Office (FXO), Foreign Exchange Subscriber(FXS), Ear & Mouth (E&M) )
In addition to the four expansion slots there is provision for other cards to be added which further enhance the capacity and flexibility of the unit, including:
- General Purpose Interface (GPI) Board
- Mixer Board (combines 6 I/O on a single port)
- DSP Expansion Module