Video Transcript
Advanced Testing Tools
6m 4s
0:08
Welcome back. There are a few more test and measurement tools that I’d like to tell you about,
0:12
some of which are brand new to Q-SYS Designer 4.0 and higher.
0:17
Before we leave the Signal Injector and Signal Probe behind,
0:20
I wanted to show you one advanced trick with these tools.
0:23
First of all, it’s a good idea to build a block like this in every one of your Q-SYS designs
0:28
That way you can always use the signal injector and signal probe to troubleshoot your design
0:32
without taking it offline. However, I recommend incorporating a Router in between your noise generators
0:38
and the Signal Injector. A Router is a very simple component which simply lets you toggle
0:43
which of its inputs is routed to each of its outputs. I’ll change mine to have 4 inputs and 1 output,
0:51
so that I can choose to have the injector use any of these Noise Generators
0:55
...or... the output from the Signal Probe.
1:01
Why would I do this? Well I’ve just given myself the ability to create a soft patch anywhere I want in the design.
1:08
Let’s say that it’s one minute before show time, for instance,
1:10
and the band needs a monitor mix someplace you hadn’t prepared for.
1:15
All you have to do is attach the Probe to your signal path,
1:18
route it to the signal injector, and inject that audio wherever you need it.
1:23
It’s a handy trick to keep in your design, and you never know when you might need it.
1:27
However, there are some places that a Signal Injector and Signal Probe just can’t attach to
1:33
such as a DataPort pin or the connection between a DataPort amplifier and a loudspeaker.
1:39
So how can you test the connection here? Well if you look at your Core over in the Inventory panel,
1:46
you’ll see that there is a component called a Loudspeaker Monitor.
1:50
Drag this into your schematic, and you’ll see that it has one output audio pin
1:54
and nothing but a mute button and a gain fader in its Control Panel.
1:58
So what kind of audio comes out of this component? Well if you’re using QSC DataPort amplifiers,
2:05
then each one is represented in your design with its own Status/Control component.
2:10
Open up its Control Panel and you’ll see a section on the far right labeled Monitor,
2:15
This is associated with the Core’s Loudspeaker Monitor Component. Simply activate the Listen button,
2:20
and the output of this amplifier will be sent to your Loudspeaker Monitor.
2:24
You can only send one amplifier channel to the Loudspeaker Monitor at a time,
2:28
so if you activate a new one then it will turn off the previous one.
2:32
Now that you have an audio pin of your amplifier signal, you could attach the signal probe to this pin,
2:37
or you could even wire the Loudspeaker Monitor to an output card
2:41
that leads to an amplifier that goes to a loudspeaker here in your amp room so that way you can listen to the output
2:47
of any loudspeaker in the entire design right from one place.
2:51
No matter how you use it, the loudspeaker monitor can only be accessed if you have dragged it
2:56
into your schematic. So this is another component that we recommend
2:59
always putting in the Test and Measurement section of every design.
3:03
There’s one more component that you’ll find as useful as the Loudspeaker Monitor, that one is called the IO Monitor,
3:09
the IO monitor can be found in the Test and Measurement branch of your Schematic Library.
3:14
It operates much the same as the Loudspeaker Monitor,
3:17
with only one pin that you could wire to a nearby loudspeaker, or to use the Signal Probe on.
3:22
But if you double-click its Control Panel you’ll see that you can select
3:26
any analog input or output in your entire design.
3:30
Simply select the Location of your desired device, based on the names you have provided
3:34
your Inventory items, then select the name of the Device,
3:37
and finally specify which channel you want to listen to. Again,
3:41
this can be any input or output channel, just as long as it is an analog connection.
3:46
This is another wise addition to the troubleshooting section of every design you create.
3:51
So the question is: are you actually going to build this for every single design?
3:56
Sounds kind of like telling your dentist you’re really going to floss every day
4:00
he knows you’re lying. Well there’s one more tool I want to show you to make this incredibly easy.
4:05
If you’re using Q-SYS Designer 4.0 or higher, there’s an empty panel in the Right-Side Pane
4:10
called the User Library. You can populate this panel with your own components
4:15
or groups of components to make a library of specialized components that you use often.
4:20
All you have to do is highlight all of these test and measurement tools, for instance,
4:25
and drag them into the User Library. It will ask you to name it,
4:28
so I’ll name this one “Test and Measurements,” and now it lives as a single item in my User Library.
4:35
I can drag it out and all of my test and measurement components are there, already wired together.
4:40
And guess what – this User Library is global to your computer,
4:44
so when you start a new design, your User Library carries over. Just drag it in and you’re ready to go.
4:54
Now there are certain components that are part of the Core that might not be able to be duplicated,
4:58
like the Line Out card that we used or the Loudspeaker Monitor, but I think you can see how valuable
5:03
the User Library can be for saving a group of components that you’re going to use frequently.
5:09
So now you’ve got the IO Monitor, the Loudspeaker Monitor, and all your Test and Measurement components
5:14
and you say to me, “Hey Nate. That’s great, and you’re really cool,
5:18
but it’s only useful if I’m in the venue when there’s a problem.
5:22
Well A – it is great, B – thank you, and C – watch this. If you go to the File Menu and select Preferences,
5:31
you’ll see a tab that's called Hard Links.
5:34
Here, you can manually input an IP address so that you can access your design remotely.
5:39
As long as your Q-SYS system has access to an external network,
5:43
you can connect to the Core and manage all of these troubleshooting tools from anywhere in the world.
5:49
So those are the test and measurement tools – everything you need to monitor your signal
5:52
and diagnose problems while the system is running, from anywhere you want.
5:57
Thanks for watching, and we’ll see you next time.
Lesson Description
Advanced Testing Tools
6m 4s
This video teaches you how to use a router to create soft signal patches. Also, we learn how to integrate the loudspeaker monitor, IO Monitor and hard link.
Downloads and Links
Advanced Testing Tools
6m 4s