Jogging Motors
Last updated
Last updated
One of our favorite features of the Showstopper Consolette is jogging. The physical jog controls are more convenient than having to walk over to each Stagehand, and more ergonomic than the Spikemark on-screen controls. After you use the Consolette for a couple of shows you’ll never want to go back to the old way.
To pick which motor or Group you want to jog, simply navigate to the Jog Workspace in Spikemark
Select the desired motor, motor groups, or any selection of motors you wish to move. Use familiar CTRL and Shift buttons to select multiple motors or a range of motors respectively in Spikemark.
The motors or motor groups you select will glow orange and be displayed in the Axis Dashboard.
Once the motors are selected, you are now able to jog all the selected motors with either the paddle or the Jog Wheel on the Consolette.
The Jog Wheel moves the motor(s) by position, each click on the wheel moves a set distance either forward or back. The paddle moves the motor by varying speed. Pressing the paddle further in either direction increases the motor speed.
To use either control, start by pressing and holding the Jog Enable button. This button must be held down during a Jog move. If you release the button, the motor will stop instantly.
With the Jog Enable button held down, the Consolette status display will change to show motor information.
If the Consolette jumps straight into paddle Jogging mode, showing motor speed, it is detecting a paddle bias and thinks that you are slightly pressing the paddle. This indicates that the paddle needs to be calibrated.
At this point the Consolette is in limbo, waiting for you to choose how you want to jog. Start jogging to a position by pressing either the Coarse or Fine button, or by turning the Jog Wheel. Start jogging at variable speed by moving the Jog paddle. Once you start using either control, the Consolette will continue using that control until you release the Jog Enable Button. Below are details for both controls.
The Jog paddle is intuitive to use.
In the center position, the selected motor does not move. Pressing the paddle up causes the speed to increase in the forward direction. Pulling the paddle down causes the speed to increase in the reverse direction. When you start moving the paddle in either direction, the status display changes to show jogging speed information.
The motor or group name is displayed. An asterisk will appear next to the name if the motor has a fault. To get details on the fault, look at the Spikemark screen. The speed is shown with a direction and percentage. The motor’s current position is shown last.
The Jog Wheel will incrementally move the selected motor. It has a coarse and fine mode to determine how far the motor will move with each click of the wheel. In coarse mode, the motor will move 1 unit. In fine mode, the motor will move 0.1 unit. Press the Coarse or Fine button on the Consolette to switch between respective modes. The speed used for the movement is determined by the default speed set in Spikemark. The unit is determined by the motor properties inside Spikemark.
When you start moving the jog wheel, the display changes to show relevant information. The motor name continues to be displayed. An asterisk will appear next to the name if the motor has a fault. To get details on the fault, look at the Spikemark screen. The target position shows what position the motor is attempting to run towards. Next to the target position is a letter to distinguish whether the Jog Wheel is counting in Coarse (C) or Fine (F) mode. The motor’s actual position is shown last.
The Jog Wheel is a great way to fine tune a motor's position on stage as you are writing cues. I often find it handy to place a motor roughly in position with the Jog Paddle and then dial in the position with the Jog Wheel. Your mileage may vary.
