CMA 10-RL Frequency Controller
The CMA 10-RL Frequency Controller, not called an Isolator is a Bozak product from the 1970's long before Isolators were ever designed. It was a piece of equipment to eliminate an existing problem when disco remixing was in its infancy. Only a small quantity was assembled or installed in club locations. It was to solve a problem of speakers being damaged. Here is the story.
DJs were experiencing a problem pulling the over powering bass back on vinyl recordings when two signals were being combined on the mixer. Many systems amplified the excessive bass to where speaker damage would occur. The CMA 10-RL unit was a frequency divider that with one control let the DJs pull the bottom end back, proceed with the mix, then reinsert the bottom end. Very rarely was the mid and high end controls used until a few were studio rack mounted for re-recording effects. The crossover points were standard from the Bozak 919 control center and was all fully discrete circuitry.
In 1983 several units surfaced from storage but never made it to the newly formed TAI company in Florida. The prior owner Shelly Glick stated “Most Bozak products were sold to dealers and some directly to individuals before we moved to Florida. We found some parts from the controller, but never any completed units.”
The Controller used circuit boards from the 919 mixer with several modified for installation. The original schematic was found at TAI Florida, however 1 of 5 pages stated “schematic no longer available" and signed by R Sherwood who in 1982 was in charge of file reorganization. It was joked about some schematics being hand written on note paper and never approved for production. This may not be a joke as so much red tape was involved in getting approval, tooling, and producing an actual product. Does the RL in the model number stand for Richard Long could never be confirmed. The in house designed CMA 10-2RL does exist but remains one of the original Bozak mysteries.