Pathway Rooms Design User Manual

Rooms

DMX Management

For Divisible Halls

Operations, Maintenance

and Design Manual

May 2008

Pathway Connectivity Inc

#103 – 1439 17 Ave SE Calgary AB T2G 1J9

403-243-8110

www.pathwayconnect.com

Table of Contents

Overview 3
Operational Philosophy 3
Operation 4
Maintenance 4
Troubleshooting 5
Layout and Configuration - Overview 6
Layout and Configuration – Design Process 7
Appendix 1 – Typical System Layout 9
Appendix 2 – Design Tables 10
Appendix 3 – Rooms and Pathport Components 15

Pathport Rooms – Operations, Maintenance and Design – Page 2

Overview

Pathport® Rooms is a room-combine system for control consoles, providing a
DMX Management System for Divisible Halls.

Convention centers, meeting rooms and ballrooms often have the ability to be
reconfigured into several smaller rooms. While architectural control systems can
manage the control of room lighting in these special facilities, portable
entertainment control consoles can be a problem. Pathport Rooms ensures that
a console connected in one room doesn’t “spill over” and control lights that it
shouldn’t in the next room.

In this document, “Hall” refers to the entire space. “Room” refers to a smaller
area within the hall created by moving or closing temporary interior walls. Many
hotels and convention centers refer to these smaller rooms as ‘salons’.

Operational Philosophy

The Rooms Control Module is preprogrammed with a map of the hall and all
possible room layout schemes within the hall. Associated with each layout
scheme is a specific DMX channel routing table. Routing tables are based on
the initial design specification and are created during the set-up, programming
and commissioning of the system. With this information, the Rooms Control
Module acts like a DMX patch bay with built-in signal splitting and merging
options.

System hardware is interconnected using readily-available Ethernet wiring and
switches. Power-over-Ethernet is supported to further minimize wiring
requirements.

DMX input and output access points are provided in each possible room, using
Pathport® nodes. Contact closure modules or an installation-specific selection
interface – typically a pushbutton switch matrix (by others) – report the hall’s
current layout scheme to the Rooms Control Module.

As the configuration is changed, Rooms dynamically reassigns the DMX
channels available in each given room of the hall. By automatically managing
the channel routing, Rooms ensures an entertainment control console can only
access the dimmers, moving lights and other devices within each desired area.

Because reassignment can include the merging or prioritizing of input sources, a
Rooms system is typically interfaced with an architectural control system, so the
general room or ‘house’ light controls are also automatically reconfigured
according to the specific layout schemes.

Pathport Rooms – Operations, Maintenance and Design – Page 3

Operation

Operation of the Pathport Rooms system is intended to be transparent to the end
user.

To change the configuration, the user simply properly closes the walls necessary
to create the rooms desired, or the user sets the new configuration with the
installation-specific interface (by others). The Rooms Control Module detects the
changes and automatically reassigns DMX channels accordingly.

Maintenance

The Rooms system requires very little maintenance.

The Rooms Control Module should be powered directly from an appropriate,
unswitched electrical source, ideally incorporating an uninterruptible power
supply (UPS). In the event power is lost to the Control Module, adequate time
must be allowed once power is restored for the Control Module to reboot and re­establish the hall’s configuration before any reconfiguration is undertaken.

Contact closure modules should be periodically inspected for damage or loose
connections and tested.

Pathport nodes should be periodically inspected for physical damage from
impacts or spilled liquids, but otherwise require no maintenance.

If an installation-specific switch interface has been provided, please follow the
interface’s documentation regarding maintenance.

Other elements of the Rooms system, such as Ethernet switches and wiring,
should be maintained and inspected according to their manufacturers’
recommendations.

Pathport Rooms – Operations, Maintenance and Design – Page 4

Troubleshooting

Please remember Rooms is a signal distribution system. The vast majority of
problems that arise lie with the control console or the equipment at the other end,
rather than the wiring in between. Before attempting the recommendations
below, ensure that the controller and the end equipment are powered up,
configured and functioning correctly.

1. Lights or other equipment come on in unexpected or undesired places.
a. Ensure that all moving or temporary walls are properly closed for this
particular room configuration, the manual room-combine switches are set
correctly, and that the contact closure modules are undamaged and
properly engaged.
b. If an oversight in the original channel assignments is suspected,
contact the original installer or integrator for correction.

2. The Rooms Control Module appears to be frozen.
a. The Control Module is able to auto-recover from errors. Do NOT
manually reboot the server by cycling the power.

3. The input and output Pathport nodes don’t appear to be on.
a. Rooms systems typically employ Ethernet switches with a Power-over­Ethernet capability. Ensure the switch is on and follow the switch
manufacturer’s instruction to ensure PoE is active.
b. Contact your installer or integrator to test the wiring between the switch
and the nodes.

Pathport Rooms – Operations, Maintenance and Design – Page 5