Yet Even More Control Components
Video Transcript
00:06
As the Q-SYS designer software continues to grow,
00:09
new control components get added with new version releases.
00:11
Let's take a look at some of the control components that
00:13
weren't available when we first filmed this training course,
00:15
which might be exactly what you need.
00:18
Scheduling something to happen in Q-SYS based on a particular time or day of the week,
00:23
is traditionally accomplished using the administrator tool,
00:26
where you can use the command scheduler to target named controls,
00:30
activate snapshots, launch PA announcements, and more.
00:33
But if you wanted to do this within the design itself,
00:37
you were typically restricted to something like this.
00:40
Using the date time components and comparing its outputs to
00:44
a custom text field using a string equal control function,
00:48
and if you wanted to get more granular with your control,
00:51
you'd probably have a massive additional logic components,
00:54
just to accomplish something simple,
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like shutting the system down every weeknight.
00:58
Even using scripting components wouldn't make this significantly easier,
01:02
because you'd still have to build out each condition individually,
01:05
and you'd have to update the code if you wanted to change the schedule.
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So we made the when components to save you from all this effort.
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It's quite simple.
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You just choose which days of the week and the time that you want an event to occur.
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And enable it when the time matches the active LED will become true,
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which you can use to activate any number of automations within your design.
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You can also customize how long you want to hold that LED in a true state before it resets to false.
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So I can quickly just select Monday through Friday,
01:41
enter 2200 and yes,
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please note this is a 24 hour time format.
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There's no am or pm,
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and now I've automatically got an LED I can wire to anything in my system.
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Such as a snapshot load button,
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third party plugins,
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et cetera,
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to turn my system off each evening,
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making changes to that schedule is very easy,
02:01
and you can put all of these controls onto a UCI so the user can make these changes for themselves.
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If you're getting into more complicated scheduling,
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like an event that repeats every two hours,
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or has to happen on the 12th day of every month,
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then the administrator is still the more robust tool.
02:19
But the when component makes simple timing automation quick to accomplish,
02:24
and easy to customize for the end user on a UCI.
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There are some cases, however,
02:29
when the when of when you want to do something may be variable based on the time of year.
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For instance,
02:35
you may wanna change the CSS theme of your UCI from a
02:39
light mode to a dark mode using the UCI style controller.
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Hey, look, I'm sneaking in another one here when the sun,
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but the suns at different times throughout the year.
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You don't wanna have to keep updating that.
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The astronomical clock gives you trigger outputs for sunrise,
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sunset, and solar noon,
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as well as a Boolean LED that is on during daytime and off at nighttime.
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This is all determined by your latitude and longitude,
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which you can either input manually or get.
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If your core has access to an external network between this and the when component,
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you can truly make sure your system is automated based on the time of day anywhere in the world.
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You might think of the sequencer component as an upgraded version of the control delay.
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We previously showed you how a controlled delay can take an incoming signal,
03:32
and then transform that into multiple outgoing signals,
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each delayed by a certain amount of time,
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which is great for allowing a single action to result
03:41
in a series of results based on your desired timing.
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The sequencer takes that a step further.
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You can still customize how many outputs you want.
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But the sequencer gives you individual output LEDs that are turned on in sequence,
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and remain on based on their own customizable length parameter.
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So do keep in mind that the active LED goes false again when its step is complete.
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So if you wanna activate something that is also a Boolean control,
04:08
like another toggle or LED.
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Be aware that this will turn it off again too.
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Whereas if you wire the outputs of the sequencer to trigger buttons,
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that's a great example of how you can use the rising
04:20
edge of a toggle button to activate a trigger button.
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Whereas the falling edge when the toggle turns false again,
04:27
will have no effect on the trigger.
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Another difference between the sequencer and the control delay,
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is that the sequencer genuinely operates in sequence with a control delay.
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All delay timers essentially started simultaneously,
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whereas the sequencer does not move to its next step until the previous step is complete.
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And if you need a delay between steps,
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you can customize that as well.
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Most importantly,
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the sequencer has a stop control,
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so if you need to interrupt the sequencer while it's operating,
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all you have to do is activate that momentary stop button.
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This was something the control delay couldn't do.
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Once the control delay input was activated,
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nothing could stop it from finishing its task short of a random violent power outage.
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Also,
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set the sequencer to loop by changing its properties
05:20
so that it will run in perpetuity once it's started,
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until you stop it.
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The applications here are limitless,
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not just from sequencing short term events,
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but long gluing delays could let you do something,
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like slowly change the color of your coworker's lights
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by a tiny amount once a week until after a year.
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They think they're insane because didn't those lights used to be blue?
05:42
No, Jimmy, they've always been green.
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You're the crazy one.
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But let's look at something more realistic.
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Let's say you want to start a 62nd timer after a
05:52
user turns off the display in their conference room.
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And at the end of that 62nd timer,
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you wanna send a command to turn the lights off in the
06:00
room and reset it so that it's ready for the next occupant.
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But if any activity is detected on the touchscreen controller in the room.
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They're still in there doing something,
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so we'll use that screen touch activity in the room to stop the sequencer,
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and then, hey, guess what?
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Control, delay, you're still useful.
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We'll use you to trigger the start button again a moment later,
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essentially resetting the 62nd timer every time the user interacts with the UCI.
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Of course,
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we only want this to happen after they turn off the display,
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not during their meeting.
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Let's add a logic and to make sure the touch activity only
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activates the sequencer if the display status in the room is not on.
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Remember,
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whenever you're building automations into your system,
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spend some time troubleshooting all the possible conditions the
06:48
system could be in to make sure you've covered every eventuality.
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We haven't covered every single control component in these videos,
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so if you see one that looks interesting to you,
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be sure to check out the help file to read all about.
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I'll see you next time.