Question: How do I navigate the Audio-Technica Wireless Manager software: Device List tab?
Answer: The feature-rich Audio-Technica Wireless Manager software may be used to create a frequency plan for all of your wireless products to ensure proper frequency coordination, and also to monitor and control your Audio-Technica networked systems. The first tab in the software is the Device List, which allows you to create a complete equipment list for your project. This list may include wireless systems installed at a venue or those in preproduction for an upcoming event. You can add networked Audio-Technica receivers and battery chargers, as well as non-networked wireless systems from Audio-Technica and other manufacturers, to the list.
Upon launching, Wireless Manager will automatically detect Audio-Technica wireless devices set to auto IP mode, when on the same local network, and display them in the Unsynced Devices window. You may also click on the Window menu in the toolbar at the top of the screen and select “Unsynced Devices.” The Unsynced Devices window will display the receivers that are on the network, and these can be dragged and dropped into the Device List window. The device list area automatically populates the devices and organizes them by predetermined categories, including Wireless Microphone, In-Ear Monitor, and Battery Charger. The list will display each networked A-T wireless device with its corresponding channel name, frequency, group and channel, and IP address, and each networked charger with its corresponding name, number of ports, and IP address. You can identify the corresponding hardware by clicking the Identify button, which is the circle located to the left of the device information. Clicking this button will cause the display or LED of the device to flash. To the right of the Identify button is the Status Link icon, which illuminates to indicate the successful link between the hardware and software. To the left of the Identify button is an arrow that allows you to expand or collapse the device information.
You may select a device to make changes to it. Right-clicking within a device allows you to select the Device Settings window. To select multiple devices, press the Shift and Control keys while clicking (Windows computers) or press the Shift and Command keys while clicking (Mac computers) to make group changes.
Device Settings Window
The Device Settings window is where you may view or change device settings for a networked device. For a wireless receiver, you will see tabs for System settings, Network settings, Group and Channel settings, and Transmitter Sync settings. Making changes to a networked device and selecting “Apply” will automatically push those settings to the receiver. Additionally, changes made to the receiver hardware will be reflected in the software. Changes that can be made to the system include the channel name, output level, backup frequency, and metering. The Network tab allows you to view and make any changes to the selected network device. Note, making any changes may require restarting the devices and may take your system off the network if improperly configured. The Group/Channel tab displays the receivers stored, scan group, and user groups. You may import or export scan data to/from a CSV file. This allows you to create your own user-defined scan groups in a way that’s much quicker than entering them manually. Changes made on the TX Sync tab may be pushed to the transmitter by selecting “Apply” and then doing a full IR Sync between your receiver and transmitter.
Adding Non-Networked Devices
You may add wireless systems to your device list that are not on the same network by clicking the Green “+” button on the lower right corner of the Device List tab. You may also click on the Edit menu, select “Device,” and then select “Add.” Doing so will open a window of preconfigured device profiles that include Audio-Technica wireless systems and other popular brands of wireless devices. Additionally, you may create a “generic” profile for those devices not listed. To add a device, work from left to right by selecting the device manufacturer, model, and frequency band. Enter the number of devices with this configuration in the lower right corner of the window or use the up/down arrows to increase/decrease the desired number. Click the Add button to include these devices in your device list.
While in the Add Device window, you may click on the Profile button to open the Model Profile window. You may also get there by clicking on the Edit menu, selecting “Device,” and then selecting “Profiles.” In the Model Profile window, you may view and edit detailed RF settings, including the RF frequency ranges and transmit powers, as well as filter and intermodulation settings. Within the Model Profile window, you may also import, export, or create a new model profile. Creating a new model profile allows you to enter the data from your wireless device manufacturer. The data you enter will be used in frequency coordination and considered for appropriately allocating frequencies to the devices used in your project. Profile configurations may be imported or exported by navigating to the File menu, selecting “Import” or “Export,” and selecting “Model Profiles.”
Tags
The Wireless Manager software utilizes tags, allowing you to easily filter and view devices based on user-defined labels. For example, you may group devices by location, such as “Stage 1” or “Meeting Room 1,” or by uses, such as “vocal,” “instrument,” or “presenter.” Devices may be given multiple tags and filtered using the and/or functions. Selecting “and” will display devices that include all of the selected tags. Selecting “or” will display devices that include any of the selected tags.
To create tags, select the Add button near the top left corner of the screen in the #tags section. When the Tags window opens, you may type up to 20 characters to name a tag. Additionally, you may select a color for this tag. Click on the colored circle next to the tag name and select a preset color or customize the color by using the color slider. Click “Add” in the Tags window to complete and add your tag to the project. To remove a tag, select the tag in the Tags window and select “Delete.” This will remove the tag from the list. Once you are done adding tags, click on a tag and click “OK” to close the Tags window. The tags are now listed and displayed in the #tags section near the top of the screen.
To add tags to devices on your device list, click the “+” symbol in the Tags column of a device and select the desired tag from the list you created. You may add multiple tags for each channel. Note, for multichannel receivers such as the Audio-Technica 5000 Series, you may add tags for the entire receiver as well as for each of the channels.
Once completed, filter the device list using the created tags by clicking on the tags in the #tags section. Remember, you may select multiple tags and filter using the and/or functions.
Project Management
You may save your work for this project by selecting “Save As” from the File menu. This will allow you to come back later and pick up where you left off or open the project on a different computer with the Wireless Manger software. Additionally, you may select “Save” from the File menu to update the project file as you continue working. To open a saved project, navigate to the File menu and select “Open Project.” This will open a dialog box and allow you to select the saved project file.
Select “Project Properties” from the File menu to view and enter details for a particular project. On the General tab, you may set the user access and password protection, if desired. The Show tab allows you to enter specifics such as the location where the project will take place, contact information, and other specifics that may help in the planning and coordinating of this project. This information will be helpful for record keeping and later when printing out a coordinated frequency plan. The Monitor tab is used for setting alerts and logging while in the software’s Monitor window, which we will cover in a future post.
In our next Question of the Week, we will look at Wireless Manager’s Frequency Coordination tab, which is a powerful tool for coordinating your devices created on the Device List tab. If you have further questions on using the Wireless Manager software, please contact the Audio Solutions Department.