Using-the-Console
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Jogging from the Console doesn’t require sneakers - just your mouse and right hand. In Spikemark software, select the motor(s) you want to move, hold down the Jog Enable button and move the joystick forward or reverse to Make It Move! You can select machines from both the Cues and Jog workspaces.
With the Jog Enable button held down, the selected motors in Spikemark should turn green to indicate that they are ready to jog. Start jogging at variable speed by moving the Jog Joystick. Allow the Jog Joystick to return to the neutral middle position before releasing the Jog Enable button to gently bring motors to a stop.
While in the Cues workspace, select the motor or group from the axis list on the left (you can even Shift or CTRL click to select multiple motors at once). Press and hold the Jog Enable button and push the Jog Joystick forward to jog forward, and pull it back to jog in reverse. When the joystick is centered motion will stop. Release the Jog Enable button and press the esc key on the keyboard to release any selected machines.
As the name suggests, the Jog workspace is where jogging happens the most often. Select the motor(s) and/or group(s) you want to move by clicking the Axis cards. The selected machines will be displayed in the Axis Dashboard. Press and hold the Jog Enable button and push the joystick forward to jog forward, and pull it back to jog in reverse. When the joystick is centered motion will stop. Release the Jog Enable button and press the esc key on the keyboard to release any selected machines.
When the Console has a network connection to Spikemark, it stands ready to run cues in your show. The status display on each Playback dial gives you some key bits of information about what cues are loaded for that playback, and if any sequences are currently running or faulted. For more details on the Playback status display, see [Playback Dial Screen].
There are three non-Playback buttons and several Playback buttons used to navigate cues in your show from your Spikemark Console.
The Previous Cue button loads the previous cue in the show. Once you press this button, the loaded cue will appear in the status dial display for all playbacks that are part of the cue. When the cue is loaded, the Playback Go button will start to pulse for any playback in the loaded cue, indicating that the playback’s sequence is ready to run.
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 dial display for all playbacks that are part of the cue. When the cue is loaded, the Playback Go button will start to pulse for any playback in the loaded cue, indicating that the playback’s sequence is ready to run.
If a cue’s sequence is loaded on a given Playback, and the Go button is pulsing, pressing the Go Cue button will run the loaded sequence for that playback. 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.
The aptly named Soft-Stop button for a Playback will trigger a soft-stop on the individual Playback. Soft-stopping will also unload any loaded sequences on the Playback. All other Playbacks will be unaffected, unless they also contain running sequences of motors that were faulted during the soft-stop. The backlight will turn on while anything is running and will be off otherwise.
The single wide button below the Playback Go buttons can be configured as a global Hold To Run or a global Soft Stop.
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 Soft Stop.
Each playback’s dial can rotate to adjust playback speed. This is a percentage speed which is shown both in Spikemark and on the dial display. Playback speed indicates how fast the current running sequences should go.
For example, 100% playback speed indicates that the sequence should be run exactly as programmed. 200% playback speed indicates that the sequence should be run with all motor movements running up to 2x faster than programmed in the cue, and 50% playback speed indicates running at half of their programmed speed - note that the speed can only be turned up to the currently running slowest motor’s maximum speed as set in the Stagehand Properties pane.
Playback speed can be adjusted in Spikemark software from the slider in the playback pane.
If you need to quickly restore the Playback’s speed back to 100% (the programmed speed), double click the bottom of the orange ring on the outside of the Playback. The orange ring is actually a button itself - you should feel a ‘click’ when you press the button down. Pressing it twice in quick succession will register as the double click.
With Spikemark Console connected to the Showstopper 4 system, the E-Stop button will be active and the System Ready indicator will illuminate when the system is ready to Make It Move.
The Emergency Stop button is the big red button in the upper right corner of the Console. Pressing it will interrupt the Emergency Stop (E-Stop) signal from the Showstopper Base. In turn, this will interrupt the 24VDC E-Stop signal that is being sent to every Stagehand in the system. Once that signal is interrupted, a CAT1 stop is initiated.
The Emergency Stop button latches down and is illuminated Red after it has been pressed. To release the button, twist it slightly clockwise. It will pop-up, and the system will be ready to move again. However, no motion will restart when you release the switch. To continue moving, you must either reload a cue, or jog a motor.
Once configured, the status of each E-Stop button in the system will be displayed in Spikemark software.
If all Emergency Stop buttons are released in the system (Showstopper Base, Showstopper Hub(s), Remotes, Spikemark Pendant), and the Showstopper Base is powered up, the System Ready light will glow green. This indicates that the system is ready to move.
If the System Ready light is not illuminated, then one or more Emergency Stop buttons have been pressed, the Showstopper Base has lost power or a Showstopper Accessory connection is no longer terminated.
