ION Audio Tailgater
®
XL User Guide 2
I
NTRODUCTION ......................................................................... 3
Box Contents .............................................................................................................. 3
Support ......................................................................................................................... 3
SETUP ........................................................................................ 4
Charging and Battery Information ..................................................................... 4
FEATURES ..................................................................................5
Front Panel .................................................................................................................. 5
Rear Panel .................................................................................................................... 9
OPERATION .............................................................................. 10
App Control ............................................................................................................... 10
Pairing a Bluetooth® Device .................................................................................. 11
Linking Two Speakers ............................................................................................ 12
Using the Radio ......................................................................................................... 13
Using the USB Charge Port .................................................................................. 14
TROUBLESHOOTING ............................................................... 15
APPENDIX ................................................................................. 17
Sound FX ..................................................................................................................... 17
Technical Specifications ........................................................................................ 18
Trademarks & Licenses .......................................................................................... 18
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ION Audio Tailgater
®
XL User Guide 3
Thank you for purchasing the Tailgater® XL. At ION, your entertainment is as important to us
as it is to you. That’s why we design our products with one thing in mind—to make your life
more fun and more convenient.
Note: Before you first use the product, please fully charge the batteries. Your unit was
purposely shipped with a reduced battery charge to ensure safe transit. USB charging only
functions when the unit’s power is turned on.
Use the included power cable to connect the unit to a power outlet and let it charge for up to
12 hours. This helps ensure the longest life for your battery.
Box Contents
Tailgater® XL
Power Cable (IEC320 C13, 6 ft. / 183 cm)
Microphone with Cable (8 ft. / 250 cm)
Quickstart Guide
Support
For the latest information about this product (documentation, technical specifications, system
requirements, compatibility information, etc.) and product registration, visit
ionaudio.com.
For additional product support, visit
ionaudio.com/support.
INTRODUCTION
ION Audio Tailgater
®
XL User Guide 4
Charging and Battery Information
For the quickest charging time, power o Tailgater® XL and use the included power cable to
connect to a power outlet. A full charge can take up to 12 hours.
Rechargeable lead-acid batteries are the same type used in automobiles. As with your car
battery, how you use this battery has a significant impact on its lifespan. With proper use and
treatment, a lead-acid battery can last for years. Here are some recommendations for getting
the longest life from the internal battery.
G
eneral
U
sage
Fully charge the battery before using it.
Charge the battery completely after each use.
S
torage For best product longevity, do not store at exceedingly hot (greater than
90°F/32°C) or exceedingly cold (less than 32°F/0°C) temperatures.
It is acceptable to leave your sound system plugged in. This will not overcharge
the battery.
If you leave the battery level low and do not charge it for 3 months, it may
permanently lose capacity.
R
epair If the battery fails to charge, contact ION Audio at ionaudio.com.
D
isposal Bring the unit to a recycling center or dispose of in accordance with local
ordinances.
SETUP
1
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13
11
10
9
3
4
5
6
7
8
12
2
14
ION Audio Tailgater
®
XL User Guide 6
1. Display
Shows information relative to the current operation:
• Battery Indicator : The battery icon displays the battery life percentage. When
fully charged, the battery icon will be completely filled.
• Power Status Icon : This icon will illuminate when the speaker is connected to a
power outlet and powered on.
• Lightning Bolt Icon : The lightning bolt icon will display when Tailgater® XL
is
connected to a power outlet and charging. When the battery is fully charged, the
icon will disappear.
• Stereo-Link
TM
Icon : The Stereo-Link
TM
icon will display when Tailgater® XL
is
linked to another speaker. The Stereo-Link
TM
icon will be off when a single speaker
is used. See Operation > Pairing a Bluetooth® Device below for instructions on how
to link two speakers.
• Bluetooth® Icon : The Bluetooth® icon will display when a device is paired to
Tailgater® XL. See Operation > Pairing a Bluetooth® Device to learn how to connect
a Bluetooth® device.
• Radio Station/Numerical Display: The centered numerals indicate the current radio
station that is selected. See Operation > Using the Radio for more information.
• Radio Band (FM1/FM2): These icons indicate which radio band is selected. See
Operation > Using the Radio for more information.
• Record Indicator : When this icon is flashing, the speaker is in FX record mode
recording your sound fx.
2. Control Knob
Press to toggle between controlling the volume of the music source (Bluetooth®, Aux, or
Radio), mic input, or instrument input/FX, bass, and treble, as indicated on the display.
Turn the knob to increase or decrease the selected setting.
3. Power
Press and hold this button to turn Tailgater® XL on and off.
4. Bluetooth®
Press this button to enter Bluetooth® pairing mode. When connected to a Bluetooth®
device, double-press this button to disconnect a paired device and re-enter pairing mode,
or single-press to disconnect a paired device and enter Aux mode. See Operation > Pairing
a Bluetooth® Device to learn how to connect a Bluetooth® device.
Tip: Press and hold the Bluetooth button for three seconds to enable and disable the voice
prompt feature.
ION Audio Tailgater
®
XL User Guide 7
5. Stereo-Link™
Press and hold this button for three seconds on two Tailgater® XLs to Stereo-Link™ them
together. See O
peration > Linking Two Speakers for more information.
6
. EQ
Press to cycle through the four EQ modes.
7
. Radio
Press this button to select FM1 radio mode. Press again for FM2. Press a third time to turn
the radio o. See O
peration > Using the Radio to learn more.
8
. Presets
In Radio Mode, press these buttons to select a previously saved preset station. To save
the current station as a preset, press and hold these buttons. See O
peration > Using the
R
adio to learn more.
9
. Previous
In FM mode, press this button to go to the previous station. Press and hold this button to
seek to the previous strong station.
In Bluetooth® mode, press and hold this button to go to the beginning of the current track.
Press the P
revious button again within one second to skip to the previous track.
1
0. Play/Pause
Press this button to start and stop Bluetooth® audio.
1
1. Next
In FM mode, press this button to go to the next station. Press and hold this button to
seek to the next strong station.
In Bluetooth® mode, press and hold this button to go to the next track.
1
2. Lights
Press this button to cycle between light modes.
• S
olid Mode: Each button will stay lit on a specific color and not change. All 4 FX pads
will be dierent colors.
• B
eat Sync: The lights will flash to the beat of the audio being played through the
speaker.
• O
ff: The lights turn o except for the button that is being pressed.
1 - PRESS AND HOLD FOR 2 SECONDS
2 - SPEAKER 1 - PRESS AND HOLD FOR 3 SECONDS
4
TAILGATER™ XL
3 - SPEAKER 2 - PRESS AND HOLD FOR 3 SECONDS
ION Audio Tailgater
®
XL User Guide 8
13. FX REC
Press this button to record up to 30 seconds of your own sound eect. Once the R
EC
i
con begins flashing, press and hold an FX pad to begin recording from any sound source
(such as Bluetooth®, radio, or the Inputs) while the pad is held. Once recorded, press the
F
X pad to trigger your sound. Press and hold this button and press an FX pad to delete
a recorded sound. Higher volume from your input will result in a higher quality sound
recording. When using the microphone to record a sample, point the microphone away
from the speaker to avoid feedback.
1
4. FX SELECT
Press this button to change the sounds on each FX Pad. Once the FX Pads are lit white,
press each one to cycle through all the sound eects. Once you have found the sound
eects you like, press this button again to lock them in. To revert to the default sounds,
press and hold this button.
1
5. FX Pads
Press these pads to trigger a sound eect. Press the Control Knob and select INST to
adjust the FX volume. See A
ppendix > Sound FX for a full list of sounds.
1
6. Microphone Input (1/4” [6.35 mm], unbalanced)
Connect a microphone to this mono input. Press the Control Knob and select MIC to
adjust the microphone volume.
1
7. Instrument Input (1/4” [6.35 mm], unbalanced)
Connect an instrument such as an electric guitar to this mono input. Press the Control
Knob and select INST to adjust the instrument volume.
1
8. Aux Input (1/8” [3.5 mm], balanced)
This stereo input can be used to connect a CD player, MP3 player, or other audio source.
To hear this signal, disconnect Bluetooth® and enter Aux Mode by pressing the
B
luetooth® button.
1
9. USB Charging Port
Connect your device’s charge cable here to charge it. USB charging only functions when
the unit’s power is turned on.
ION Audio Tailgater
®
XL User Guide 10
A
pp Control
IMPORTANT: To ensure the best possible experience with the app, use the most current
Android OS or iOS on your device.
F
ollow these steps to download the free app on your device:
1. Open the Apple App Store or Google Play on your device. Then, search for the I
ON Sound
C
ontrol® app.
2. Follow the on-screen instructions to download and install the app. Once downloaded, the
I
ON Sound Control® app will appear on your device's home screen.
3. Connect your device to Tailgater® XL via Bluetooth®. See O
peration > Pairing a Bluetooth®
D
evice to learn how to do this.
4. Open the ION Sound Control® app. If prompted, allow the app to access your device's
Bluetooth® and Location Services.
5. Follow the steps on screen to find and connect to your Tailgater® XL. Once connected, you
can control various functions of the speaker, such as:
• S
ource Selection: Select the source to use (Bluetooth®, FM, or Aux).
• V
olume: Adjust the speaker's volume.
• M
ic Volume: Adjust the volume of the Mic input.
• E
Q: Adjust the speaker's equalization.
• F
M Radio Stations and Preset Selection: Use the app to save radio preset stations. The
presets on the app will sync with the presets on Tailgater® XL.
• V
oice Prompts: Enable or disable the voice prompts.
• L
ights: Choose the lighting eect and select the lighting color.
• B
attery Life: Check the speaker’s battery life status.
• S
upport: Visit ionaudio.com, contact Technical Support, and view Warranty
information and Frequently Asked Questions.
OPERATION
ION Audio Tailgater
®
XL User Guide 11
Pairing a Bluetooth® Device
1. Turn on your Bluetooth® device.
2. Power on Tailgater® XL by holding down the P
ower button for 2 seconds. The speaker will
then enter Bluetooth®
pairing mode.
3. Navigate to your device’s Bluetooth® setup screen, find T
AILGATER XL, and connect. The
B
luetooth® icon will appear in the display, and if voice prompts are enabled, you will hear
“Bluetooth®
Connected”.
If the speaker does not connect to a Bluetooth® device within 60
seconds, it will switch to Aux mode. You will need to single press the Bluetooth®
button to
enter Bluetooth®
mode.
Note: If your Bluetooth device prompts for a pairing code, enter “0000”.
Note: Do not connect to iPA150C_BLE; this is reserved exclusively for connecting to the
ION Sound Control
TM
app. If you experience trouble in connecting, select “Forget this
Device” on your Bluetooth device and try to connect again.
T
o disconnect a paired device, do any of the following:
• Turn o Bluetooth® from your device’s Bluetooth® settings. The speaker will enter
Bluetooth® pairing mode to make it available for another device.
• Double-press the B
luetooth® button to disconnect and re-enter pairing mode.
• Briefly press the B
luetooth® button to disconnect and enter Aux mode.
Once you have disconnected, you will hear “Bluetooth® Disconnected” if voice prompts are
enabled.
Tip: Press and hold the Bluetooth button for three seconds to turn voice prompts on or o.
1 - PRESS AND HOLD FOR 2 SECONDS
2
TAILGATER™ XL
1 - PRESS AND HOLD FOR 2 SECONDS
2 - SPEAKER 1 - PRESS
4
TAILGATER™ XL
3 - SPEAKER 2 - PRESS
ION Audio Tailgater
®
XL User Guide 12
Linking Two Speakers
If you would like to play music from a Bluetooth® device, you can first “link” two Tailgater® XL
speakers together in order to listen to your music in stereo. One Tailgater® XL will serve as the
left speaker and the other will serve as the right speaker.
T
o link two Tailgater® XL speakers together:
1. Power on both speakers.
2. After you hear the voice prompt “Bluetooth® pairing,” press and hold the S
tereo-Link™
button for three seconds on one speaker. Then press and hold the S
tereo-Link™ button for
three seconds on the other speaker to connect.
Note: The linking process can take up to 30 seconds to complete. The closer the two
speakers are to each other, the quicker the link is established.
3. Once linked, the primary (left) speaker will enter Bluetooth® pairing mode. Navigate to your
Bluetooth® device’s setup screen, find T
AILGATER XL, and connect. The Bluetooth® icon on
the primary speaker will flash to indicate it is searching for a Bluetooth® device to pair with.
When the connection is successful, you will hear "Bluetooth® Connected" from the primary
speaker (if voice prompts are enabled). When audio playback begins, you should hear it
through both speakers. The primary speaker will play the left channel while the secondary
speaker plays the right channel. Playback controls are active on both speakers.
T
o disconnect two speakers or cancel linking between the two, double press the
S
tereo-Link™ button on either speaker.
Note: Pressing and holding the Power button on the primary speaker while in Stereo-Link™
mode will power o all connected speakers. Tailgater® XL speakers powered o in
Stereo-Link™ mode will automatically enter Stereo-Link™ mode the next time they are
powered on and begin searching for secondary speakers to connect to.
1 - PRESS AND HOLD FOR 2 SECONDS
2 - SPEAKER 1 - PRESS AND HOLD FOR 3 SECONDS
4
TAILGATER™ XL
3 - SPEAKER 2 - PRESS AND HOLD FOR 3 SECONDS
ION Audio Tailgater
®
XL User Guide 13
Using the Radio
To use the radio, press the Radio button to select FM1, press it again to select FM2, and press
it a third time to turn the radio o.
While in radio mode, briefly press the P
revious and Next buttons (</>) to move to the
previous or next station. Press and hold the <
/> buttons to seek for the next strongest station
in that direction.
T
o save a radio station as a preset, press and hold one of the Preset buttons (or use the ION
Sound Control® app).
T
o recall a previously saved preset, briefly press one of the Preset buttons. There are six
presets for FM1 and six for FM2.
1 - PRESS AND HOLD FOR 2 SECONDS
2 - SPEAKER 1 - PRESS
4
TAILGATER™ XL
3 - SPEAKER 2 - PRESS
PRESS AND HOLD TO SAVE A PRESET PRESS TO RECALL A SAVED PRESET
2 - PRESS TO SELECT PREVIOUS OR NEXT STATION
1 - PRESS
3 - PRESS AND HOLD TO SEEK
ION Audio Tailgater
®
XL User Guide 14
Using the USB Charge Port
To use the USB charge port:
Note: For optimal charging, power o the speaker and connect it to a power supply while
charging.
1. Connect a USB type-A cable to the U
SB Charge Port on the rear panel of your Tailgater®
XL speaker (see image).
2. Connect the other end of the cable to the charging input on your smartphone, tablet, or
other compatible device.
ION Audio Tailgater
®
XL User Guide 15
If the unit is not charging: Make sure the included power cable is properly connected to the
power input and the power outlet.
I
f the sound is distorted: Try lowering the volume control of your sound source.
I
hear a hum when cables are connected:
• Disconnect cables from the input jacks to see if it’s a faulty cable.
• Make sure the signal cables are not placed near power cables.
• Connect all audio equipment power cables to outlets which share a common ground.
I
f there is a high-pitched whistling noise when using microphones: This is probably
feedback. Point the microphone away from the speaker.
I
f you can’t hear the microphone over the music volume: Turn down the music volume from
your source.
I
f there is too much bass: Try adjusting the tone or EQ control on your sound source to lower
the bass level. This will allow you to play the music louder before clipping (distortion) occurs.
I
f the audio drops out when recording: Make sure the volume is turned up if you are trying
to record audio using the FX Rec function.
I
f you cannot connect your audio device to Tailgater® XL via Bluetooth®:
• Have your audio device (e.g., smartphone or tablet) and Tailgater® XL as close together as
possible while trying to connect. Make sure both the audio device and Tailgater® XL are
unobstructed by walls, furniture, etc.
• Double-press the Bluetooth® button to disconnect Tailgater® XL
from any other audio
device and restart the search process. If this does not work right away, power o Tailgater®
XL and then power it back on. See O
peration > Pairing a Bluetooth® Device for more
information.
• Reset the Bluetooth® connection on your audio device by turning Bluetooth® o and back
on. You can find this under the Bluetooth® menu in the Settings for your phone or other
audio device.
TROUBLESHOOTING
ION Audio Tailgater
®
XL User Guide 16
If this does not work, and you have connected to Tailgater® XL
before, find Tailgater® XL in
the list of available or previously connected devices in your audio device's Bluetooth®
menu, tap the "gear" or “i” icon located next to it and then select U
npair or Forget. Turn
Tailgater® XL o and back on and try pairing again once it reappears in your available
devices list.
Note: If Tailgater® XL has been paired to another audio device recently that is still within
range, you may need to repeat this process with that audio device to fully disconnect.
ION Audio Tailgater
®
XL User Guide 17
Sound FX
D
J Effects
1. DJ Scratch 2 6. Fat Zap
2. .7 2 hctarcS JD Scream
3. .8 3 hctarcS JD Metallic Percussion
4. .9 4 hctarcS JD Electronic Clap
5. .01 esioN peeD Orchestra Hit
D
rum Hits
11. Dance Kick Drum 16. Snare Drum
12. .71 llebwoC Drum Roll 1
13. .81 labmyC Drum Roll 2
14. .91 rekahS Punchline Fill 1
15. .02 murD kciK kcoR Punchline Fill 2
C
rowd Noise
21. .62 esualppA giB Organ Fanfare
22. .72 esualppA anerA Ref Whistle 1
23. Arena Drum Beat 28. Refs Whistle 2
24. .92 reppaZ Surprise Party
25. .03 stekcirC Arena Whistle
P
arty Sounds
31. .63 nroH goF Car Honk
32. .73 enohpeleT dlO Thunder Clap
33. .83 pmuJ tiB 8 Dog
34. .93 peewS tiB8 Glass Hit
35. .04 ooM woC Singing Plastic
APPENDIX
ION Audio Tailgater
®
XL User Guide 18
Technical Specifications
Speakers (2) 1.0” / 25 mm tweeters, 8.0” / 203 mm driver, (2) 3.0” /
76 mm side-firing drivers
Wireless Technology Bluetooth®
- Classic Audio
Wireless Range * Bluetooth® Range: Up to 100 ft. (30.5 m)
T
WS Range: Up to 75 ft. (22.9 m) between speakers
Other Features Wheels, telescoping handle
Battery Capacity: 12 V / 7000 mAh, 84 Wh
C
harge Time: Up to 12 hours
Power Cable: IEC320 C13
I
nput Voltage: 100–240 VAC, 50/60 Hz
Dimensions
(width x depth x height)
10.94 x 15.43 x 18.90”
27.7 x 39.1 x 48.0 cm
Weight 24.91 lbs.
11.3 kg
Specifications are subject to change without notice.
* Bluetooth® and wireless reception and range are aected by walls, obstructions, and
movement. For optimal performance, place the product so it is unobstructed by walls or
furniture and is raised o the ground.
** Battery life may vary based on temperature, age, and volume usage of product.
T
rademarks & Licenses
ION Audio is a trademark of inMusic Brands, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
The Bluetooth word mark and logos are owned by the Bluetooth SIG, Inc., and any use of such
marks by ION Audio is under license.
App Store is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
Android and Google Play are registered trademarks of Google Inc. All other product names,
company names, trademarks, or trade names are those of their respective owners.
