Signal Map

The Signal Map is the diagram of your system: every device as a card with its ports, and every cable between them. You use it to wire devices together, group them into rooms and racks, and follow a signal from source to screen. Luminos and the 910-WORSHIP phone line troubleshoot from this diagram.

Where to find it

Open Patch > Signal Map. It works the same in the web app and in Tech Manager. The devices on it are the ones in Patch > Devices, and every cable you draw also appears on Patch > Patches.

Add devices to the map

1. Go to Patch > Signal Map and click Add device in the top bar. The full device form opens; the new card lands in view.
2. To place a device at a spot, right-click the empty canvas and choose Add device (quick) (name, category, make, model; press Enter to add and start the next one) or Add device here… for the full form.
3. Devices that have no cable and no place on the map yet wait in the Not yet wired tray. Drag one onto the canvas, or click it to place it.

On an empty map you also get Add your first device.

Describe your rig in words

1. Go to Patch > Signal Map, click the arrow beside Add device and choose Describe your rig.
2. Under What have you got?, type a sentence or a paragraph, for example quantities, rooms and what plugs into what ("3 cameras into the ATEM", "in the booth").
3. Click Read it.
4. Check Here is what we read. Click Add all to add the devices and the proposed cables, Add devices only to skip the cables, or Edit to change your description.

Nothing is added until you choose.

Connect two devices with a cable

1. On Patch > Signal Map, find the port dot on the first device's card.
2. Drag from that dot to a port on the other device. Or click the dot (the top bar says Connecting… click a target port) and then click the target port. Click Cancel to stop.
3. If the two ports do not match, an Incompatible connection box explains why. Click Connect anyway only if the cable really runs that way (for example through an adapter).

Another way: right-click a card, choose Connect, pick the port, then the destination device (only devices with a free matching port are listed; Show all devices lifts that), then its port. A device with no ports offers Connect to the device.

Edit or delete a cable

1. On Patch > Signal Map, click the cable. It lights up and the Cable panel opens on the right.
2. Type a Cable label (for example SDI-001) and press Enter, or change its signal.
3. To move one end, drag the end of the highlighted cable to another port.
4. To remove it, click Delete cable (or press Delete).

Follow a signal through the system

1. On Patch > Signal Map, click a device card. It and its connections light up; everything else fades. Click it again or click the canvas to clear.
2. Double-click a card for the focus view: that device in the centre with everything connected to it around it.
3. Click a device around the edge to move along the chain. Use Back to step back and Exit (or Esc, or a click on the canvas) to leave.
4. Use the search box (Search devices, cables…) to jump to a device or cable by name.

From Patch > Patches, the Map button on a cable row opens the map with that cable traced.

Organise rooms and racks

1. On Patch > Signal Map, click the arrow beside Add device and choose Add room, or right-click the canvas and choose Add room here. Drag devices into the room.
2. To move several devices at once, select them (drag a box around them with the select tool, or Ctrl-click), then click Move to room and pick a room, New room…, or Unassigned.
3. Right-click a card and use Room to move just that device.
4. To group devices in one room as a rack, select them, right-click and choose Group as rack…. Remove from rack undoes it.
5. Double-click a room to show only that room. Click ‹ All rooms to go back.

A device's room is the same as its Physical location on Patch > Devices. Right-clicking inside a room also lets you tint it.

Tidy and read a busy map

On Patch > Signal Map:

• Arrange lays the map out with the least cable travel and fits it to the screen. The arrow beside it offers Tidy rooms and Signal-flow columns.
• Auto, Detailed and Simple control how much of each card shows. Detailed shows every port at any zoom; Simple shows only the header.
• The coloured category chips in the top bar hide or show each kind of device. The signal list along the bottom filters cables by signal type; Clear resets it.
• The top-right buttons set Cable opacity, show Cable labels, and Bundle parallel cables into one line.
• The dock at the bottom has the hand tool (H), the select tool (V), undo (Ctrl+Z), redo (Ctrl+Y), zoom, Fit to view, Hide unconnected ports and Snap to grid.

Finish setting up the diagram

On Patch > Signal Map, the pill in the top-left corner shows your setup percentage and any problems found.

1. Click it to open the list. Setup tracks Devices documented, Devices with ports, Cable ends on a jack and Devices wired. Click a row to show just the devices it means.
2. Under Issues, click a row to jump to the cable or device.
3. If cables only land on a device rather than a specific jack, click Finish the wiring and pick the jacks.

Change or delete a device

On Patch > Signal Map, right-click the device's card:

• Device info opens the device's settings panel (ports, network, health).
• Duplicate makes a copy with the same make, model, room and ports, but no IP and no cables.
• Delete removes the device from your inventory with its ports and cables. It cannot be undone.

Troubleshooting

I cannot connect a port

Check that the target port is free and of a matching kind. The card menu's Connect only lists devices with a free port that fits; click Show all devices to see the rest. To free a port, click its cable and Delete cable. If the map warns Incompatible connection but the cable really goes there, click Connect anyway.

A device has no ports, so there is nothing to wire

Open the card's Device info and add ports on the Connection tab, or use Find missing ports on Patch > Devices. You can also wire to the device itself with Connect to the device.

I made a mistake

Click undo in the bottom dock or press Ctrl+Z.

The map is empty

Click Add your first device or Describe your rig. In Tech Manager you can also run Scan on Patch > Devices, or import an integrator's drawing there with Import drawing.

Good to know

• Cables you draw here are listed, with their labels and signals, on Patch > Patches, which also prints the patch sheet and the wiring diagram.
• If a change fails to save, the map keeps it and offers to retry.