Signal Pins and Wiring in the Schematic

Overview

When a Schematic Element is placed in the Schematic, you can make virtual connections (in some cases representing physical connections) from one Schematic Element to another.

Connections can be audio, data, loudspeaker, or control type connections. When connecting the virtual components (proxies) representing physical hardware, it is extremely important to ensure the virtual connections match the actual physical connections.

There are three ways to wire components in Q-SYS Designer:

 

Traditional Wiring (click for details)

Signal Names (click for details)

Signal Snakes (click for details)

Other information contained in this topic:

Connection Types (click for details)

Traditional Wiring

You can use traditional type wires or Signal Names to connect components. The following section describes the use of traditional type wiring.

Wiring Tips for Schematic Elements

Q-SYS restricts the types of connections that you can make. For example, you cannot connect an input to an input, a control connector to a data connector, or a data connector of an amplifier to a data connector of another amplifier. The Schematic Elements you connect together is up to you as long as you're connecting the correct connection types and directions.

Wiring connections are made by selecting and dragging one or more of the connections on a Schematic Element to connections on one or more Schematic Elements.

Routing Wires

Physical wires can be difficult to route and organize, virtual wires are no different. In Q-SYS Designer you can add breakpoints to wires to help alleviate the problem.

Signal Names

Signal Names provide the capability to assign user-defined names to signal pins (digital and analog audio, DataPort, and control) then use those names to connect to the next component without using wires. Signal Names allow for less cluttered schematics.

Creating Signal Names

When you use Signal Names, it is important to plan your naming conventions before starting in order to avoid confusion.

Using Signal Names

Deleting Signal Names

Connecting Schematic Elements Between Schematic Pages

You can use Signal Names to connect Components on different Schematic Pages in the same way you use Signal Names on the same Schematic Page.

Signal Snakes

Signal Snakes provide the means to reduce a set of signals to a single graphical wire or named signal, similar to wrapping a number of wires into a bundle.

Signal Snakes are comprised of two components: a Signal Snake Input, and a Signal Snake Output. Signal Snakes can have from 1 to 256 channels, and the signal types of those channels can be mixed.

The number, type and order of the signal pins must match on a Signal Snake Input and Signal Snake Output that are to be wired together.

As with other wiring, Signal Snakes can be connected using a graphical wire and/or a Signal Name.

To Create Signal Snakes

  1. Select one or more pins on one or more components.
  2. Click one of the pins and begin dragging away from the component.
  3. Press the space bar. The Signal Snake is created.

OR

  1. Drag a Signal Snake Input and/or Signal Snake Output, from the Schematic Library > Layout section, into the Schematic.
  2. Manually wire the Signal Snakes to and from the desired components.

Or, you can copy and paste Signal Snakes.

Signal Snake Input or Output Properties

Select the following Properties:

  1. Fill
  2. Channel Count - can be any number from 1 to 256.

Signal Pin Types

Most of the Components you place in your design have Signal Pins of some type. The pins are distinguished by the shape of the pin. Each type of signal pin carries a different signal, and can only connect to the same type of pin.

Audio Signal Pins

Audio signal pins are represented by a () circle, and traditional wiring is represented by a thin black line. You can use Signal Names on audio signal pins.

The wiring between audio signal pins are the means by which the audio signal is passed from one DSP component to another. The number of signal pins, for most components, is variable and set in the component's Properties. Input (sink) pins are on the left, output (source) pins are on the right. Some components do not have both inputs and outputs.

Control Signal Pins

Control Pins represent the Controls available in the component's Control Panel. Control Pins are used to link controls between Schematic Elements, and link to/from Control Scripts. Control Pin signal pins are represented by a () square, and the wiring is represented by a thick blue/white line. You can use Signal Names with Control Pins.

When you place a Schematic Element in the Schematic, none of the Control Pins are available, you must specify the Control Pins you want by clicking the associated checkbox under Properties > Control Pins. The Control Pins on the left side of the element are inputs, on the right side, outputs. Not all Controls of a component have both input and output Control Pins.

Examples:

DataPort Signal Pins

Data type signal pins are represented by a right-pointing () triangle, and the wiring is represented by a thick black/white line. You can use Signal Names with DataPort signal pins.

Data signal pins are proxies for physical connectors. They are called Data signal pins because they are on DataPort cards (in a Core or an I/O Frame), and DataPort amplifiers, and are used to pass audio, control signals, and telemetry information between Q-SYS and the DataPort amplifiers. In the physical world, the connection is made with DE-15HD connectors and cable.

Loudspeaker Signal Pins and Wiring

Loudspeaker signal pins are represented by a left-pointing () triangle, and the wiring is represented by a thin orange line. You can use Signal Names with loudspeaker signal pins.

Loudspeaker signal pins are proxies for physical connectors on QSC DataPort amplifiers and Loudspeakers.

Page Station Control Pins

Page Station Control pins carry control type signals unique to a Q-SYS Paging System. They are found on Page Station Components (proxies for the hardware), Virtual Page Station Components, and the PA Router to which both of the Page Station Components connect. The pin is represented by a down-pointing triangle.

Signal Snake Pins

Signal Snake pins are unique; they change based on the type of pin to which they are connected.