Audio Solutions Question of the Week: How Do I Navigate The Audio-Technica Wireless Manager Software: Monitor Tab?

Question: How do I navigate the Audio-Technica Wireless Manager software: Monitor tab?

Answer: This is the third and final post in our series about the tabs in the Audio-Technica Wireless Manager software. The first tab we looked at was the Device List, which allows you to build a complete list of your networked and non-networked equipment. The second tab we examined was Frequency Coordination, which is a powerful tool for collecting the RF spectrum and calculating a complete frequency coordination plan for your equipment. The last tab is the Monitor tab, and it allows you to monitor Audio-Technica networked devices in real time. With many customizable configurations, this is the tool to use during an event to keep an eye on the wireless system’s performance.

Once on the Monitor tab, there are two subtabs to view the connected equipment. The default subtab is a User Defined area where you can dig into customization. The second subtab is Online Device(s). Clicking on that tab opens up a workspace that autopopulates with all the connected devices currently online and synced with the software. Each device displays key parameters, including RF metering, diversity antenna indicators, receiver output level, mute status, channel name, and frequency or group/channel information for wireless microphone receivers. Wireless microphone transmitter data being received by the receivers (transmitter power level, mute status, audio gain setting, and battery level) is also displayed. Audio-Technica network battery charger status may be monitored in this tab as well. The charger name, number of linked chargers, and the battery charging status are displayed. The right side of the display is the Log area, which records any alerts. To expand or collapse the Log area, click on the double arrows next to “Log.”

User Defined Tab

On the User Defined tab you can create a customizable layout depending on your needs. To add Audio-Technica networked devices, click on the green “+” button at the bottom right corner of the page, which will open the Import Channel window, displaying all the connected devices. If desired, use the tags to filter the device list, and then select the devices you want to add to this specific workspace. To select all the devices, click the box at the top of the list. When you have selected all the desired devices, click the Add button to display the devices on the User Defined workspace. Click the Close button to close the Import Channel window.

You can sort the devices on this workspace by clicking on the Sort drop-down near the top of the User Defined tab. Clicking on the up or down arrows in the drop-down sorts the equipment in ascending or descending order. Each equipment display strip may be reduced in size by double-clicking anywhere in the strip or by clicking on the icon in the upper right corner of the strip. Reducing the size of the strips allows for more strips to be visible in the workspace. Double-clicking the strips again or clicking the upper-right icons will expand the strips back out to their original, larger sizes. You may drag and drop each equipment display strip anywhere in the workspace and arrange them as you see fit. This is a helpful feature when you add a background image, which we will explain below.

Monitor Settings

Clicking on the gear icon in the upper right corner of the User Defined tab opens up the Monitor Settings window. This is where you can set a background image and create user-defined pages. This may be helpful for creating a user page customized specifically for a concert on Friday evening, another page for a Saturday meeting, and another for Sunday worship. To set a background image behind the channel strips, click “Open” under Background Image. Navigate to the JPEG or PNG file on your computer and click “Open” to select and close the window. The image may be oriented in one of three different styles: tiled, centered, or stretched. The user page may be renamed by clicking in the Monitor Name area, changing the name, and clicking the Save button at the top of the window under “Monitor Position.” Note, if any additional changes are made to the user page, going back into the Monitor Settings window and clicking “Revert” will recall the last saved changes.

Additional user pages may be created with different images, layouts, and names. Click on the green “+” button in the lower right corner of the Monitor Settings window. Follow the steps above to create a new page layout. To delete a monitor page, click on the desired monitor page in the Monitor Settings window and click the red “-“ button.  Click on the “x” at the upper right corner of the Monitor Settings window to close.

Grouping Channel Strips

You may group multiple channels strips by holding the Ctrl key (Command key on Mac) while selecting the desired channels. Clicking on the Group button near the upper right corner of the User Defined tab will open a dialog box where you can enter a monitor group name and color for easy identification. Click “OK” to save this monitor group. You may create multiple monitor groups by repeating this process. To dissolve a group, right-click on the group channel header and click “Delete group.”

Alerts and Logging

The Wireless Manger Monitor tab lists and generates a status log of select system parameters. Parameters such as a low transmitter battery, low RF receiver signal, transmitter and/or receiver mute, and charging status can be enabled or disabled depending on your preferences. To make these changes, navigate to the File menu in the upper left corner of the software and select “Project Properties.” In the Project Properties window, select the Monitor tab. Check or uncheck parameters for alerts and/or logging. Additionally, you can set the event log file for maximum file size, number of hours to monitor, and number of days to keep files. The log file is directed to your computer’s default user drive.

When an alert is activated, a red Alert notice will appear under the exclamation point icon in the upper right corner of the Monitor tab. Click on the exclamation point to open, view, and clear the alert.

Password Protect a Session

You may password protect a session in the Wireless Manager software. This may be helpful, for example, when volunteers are using the Monitor tab and you want to prevent them from accidently making changes to the tab. Once your User Defined pages have been created, navigate to the Project Properties window from the File menu. On the General tab, check the box next to “Password” and enter your desired password. Under “Access Permission,” uncheck the Edit Function box and, if you wish, the Device List box. Doing so will allow a user only to view (and not edit) the Monitor tab. You may also only allow access to a particular User Defined page by choosing that page from the Monitor Page Name drop-down under “Default Monitor Window.” Click the Apply button to save the password and access changes and close the Project Properties window.

Once limited access has been applied, Wireless Manager hides the Device List and Frequency Coordination tabs, and the Project Properties window displays only the Show tab information. The Monitor tab and the log remain accessible. On the Monitor tab, a user may still drag and drop channel strips, resize them, and filter the visible display by using the user-created tags. Right-clicking on a channel strip will still display the Device Number and network parameters.

To remove the lock on editing rights, navigate to the System menu at the top of the screen and select “Change to edit mode.” This opens an input password box. Entering the correct password will revert the Wireless Manager software back to its original state with full editing capabilities.

If you have not already read through the blog posts for the previous tabs in the Audio-Technica Wireless Manager, you may do so by clicking the links below:

Wireless Manager: Device List tab

Wireless Manager: Frequency Coordination tab

If you have additional questions about the Audio-Technica Wireless Manager software, please contact the Audio Solutions Department for assistance.

You may also find the following video about the Monitor tab to be helpful.