Hi, I currently own a few SQ’s and GX4816’s.
I’m looking at purchasing an Avantis.
I know I can use a GX4816 with the Avantis but can I connect a second GX4816 as an expander?
Unfortunately not.
You only have two DX ports available on your GX4816 and could connect up to four DX168s there, for example.
To connect an additional GX4816, I believe you would have to invest in a GigaACE card and install a second CAT cable.
SQUser is correct - each GX4816 needs a dedicated GigaAce port on the Console to attach to. The SLink port is a multi-protocol port that will automatically switch to GigaAce when a GX4816 is attached to it. But if you want to connect more than one GX4816, then you will need to install GigaAce expansion cards in the I/O card slots - one for each additional GX4816.
The Avantis has two I/O expansion ports, so you could connect a total of three GX4816s to the console using the built in SLink port and both I/O expansion card slots with GigaAce cards installed in them.
This is quite frustrating given that the price of a gigace card is more than a DX168 which would connect straight to the GX4816 without the need of a second network cable.
Once you comprehend the amount of I/O that the GX4816 can support, it’s easy to understand why the GigaAce protocol (which supports up to 128 in and 128 out) is required. With the possibility to add up to four DX boxes (up to 64 in/64 out) or two DX box and the ME system (up to 32in/72 outs) in addition to the I/O already available on the GX4816, there is no possibility to use any of the other A&H protocols (DX, Dsnake, etc) because none of them can support that much I/O.
You are correct that adding up to four DX boxes directly to the GX4816 is a very convenient way to add more I/O and it does not require any additional I/O cards.