Running Cues

When the Consolette has a network connection to Spikemark, and the Jog Enable button is released, it stands ready to run cues in your show.

Status Display

The status display gives you some key bits of information about what cues are running or loaded.

• Line 1 – Displays either SIMULATOR or LIVE depending on Spikemark’s mode. An asterisk will appear here if there are any faults in the cues. To get more details about any faults, look at the Spikemark screen.

• Line 2 – Shows the cue number when a cue is currently loaded. If you selected the Hold-To-Run option in the Consolette Settings in Spikemark, the letters HTR will be displayed as a reminder that you need to hold down the HOLD TO RUN button to run a cue.

• Line 3 – A list of all the running cues will be shown. If there isn’t enough space on the screen to show all of the cues running, the list will be truncated. But you can always look at Spikemark to see what cues are still running.

Cue Control Buttons

There are five buttons used to navigate cues in your show from your Consolette.

Previous Cue

The Previous Cue button loads the previous cue in the show. Once you press this button, the loaded cue will appear in the status display. When the cue is loaded, the Go Cue button will start to pulse, indicating that a cue is ready to run.

Next Cue

Unsurprisingly, the Next Cue button will load the next cue in the show. Once you press this button, the loaded cue will appear in the status display. When the cue is loaded, the Go Cue button will start to pulse, indicating that a cue is ready to run.

Jump Cue

Pressing the Jump Cue button will display a cue list in Spikemark where you can quickly select a cue to load either by clicking on a cue, or by typing the cue number or description in the search field. When the cue is loaded, the Go Cue button will start to pulse, indicating that a cue is ready to run.

Go Cue

If a cue is loaded, and the Go button is pulsing, pressing the Go Cue button will run the loaded cue. However, if you selected Hold To Run in the Spikemark settings panel, you will have to hold the HTR button down for the cue to start. While a cue is running, the Go Cue button will glow steadily. The backlight will turn off once all running cues have completed. The status display updates to show what cues are running.

HTR / Soft Stop

The button to the left of the Go Cue button has a dual purpose, depending on how you have configured it in Spikemark. By default, this button functions as a Hold-To-Run (aka "dead man's switch") which means it has to be held down for cues to run. If the button is released, or the Showstopper loses connection with Spikemark, all motors will decelerate to a stop.

However, if you selected the Soft Stop behavior, you can run cues without holding this button. In this case, pressing the button will initiate a soft stop. Should you choose this option, a separate key cap was shipped with your Showstopper. That key cap has a legend that reads “soft stop”. Swap the key cap so it is clear how you intend the Showstopper to be used.

The HTR/Soft Stop mode is stored in your show file. If you transfer the show file from one computer to another, this preference sticks with the show. However, each new show file will start with a default of Hold-To-Run (HTR).