How to set up on air lights? Machine starts and stops? Tally lights? We'll explain how here.

There are three rules that guide all logic in the WheatNet-IP system:

1. A WNIP source needs to connect to a WNIP destination. Think of the crosspoint grid in Navigator. The source (columns) must intersect with the destination (rows) for everything to work.

2. A Logic Input must connect to a Logic Output. When you are setting up the logic for the source and destination, one must be set to the input direction and the other must be set to the output direction.

3. You must set each end to use the same Function Type. Functions have specific uses, which we will cover in this tutorial.

Keep these three rules in mind when you are working with logic in the WheatNet-IP system.

Function Types

Audio Associated Logic

The following functions are used with audio sources. You will assign these functions to the audio source by going to the blade, clicking to edit the source, and then selecting the LIO Info tab.

Tip: Your source can't be connected to a destination while you are editing the logic. If everything on the LIO Info tab for the source is greyed out, you need to unroute it on the crosspoint grid.

These audio sources are connected to console faders, which by default have a matching pre-programmed function. For example, every console fader, no matter what model WheatNet-IP console it is, has these pre-programmed functions:

Machine Start - This is a logic output used to start a machine, like a CD player or automation computer playback channel, when the console fader is turned on. By default, a Machine Start is a latched signal, but you can use the console's vDIP settings to make this specific audio source a pulsed signal. See the manual for your console for details on setting the vDIP.

(Notice that the Machine Start for the source is an output and the console fader (which is the destination where the audio source will be routed) has it defined as an input? That's the logic rules in action!)

Machine Stop - Logic output used to stop a machine, such as a CD player or automation playback channel, when the surface fader is turned off.

Ready LED - Logic input used to control the lighting of the OFF button on the fader to advise the operator of a condition such as the CD being cued and ready or a codec connected.

On Tally - Logic output used to provide a tally of the fader's ON button to a remote location

Off Tally - Logic output used to provide a tally of the fader's OFF button to a remote location.

Remote On - Logic input used to turn the fader on from a remote location

Remote Off - Logic output used to turn the fader off from a remote location

Cough - Logic input used to mute the fader while a switch at a remote location is pressed and held, allowing talent at a microphone to cough without being heard on the air.

Talk Back - Logic input used to put the fader that this source is assigned to into cue while a switch at a remote location is pressed and held, allowing a talent at a microphone to talk to the board operator

Timer Functions

These functions are programmed on logic-only destinations to control the timer on a surface. WheatNet-IP consoles with timers will have a timer source that is pre-programmed by default. You will need to go to the desired blade, click on destinations, click Add, choose LIO Only as the signal type, click on the LIO Info tab, and set up the signal you want on the logic pins you wish to use with the matching function.

The name of the source with the pre-programmed functions varies with console model. (E6 TIMER, LXE TIMR, DMX TIMR, etc.) If you go to the source on the console blade, edit the source, and click on its LIO Info tab, you can see what functions your console supports so you can make the matching destination for the relay that is going to connect to this source. Just don't edit anything on this source. (If you do, you'll break it until you reboot the console and the system regenerates the definitions on startup.)

Here's the LIO Info tab for a LXE console:

If you create a LIO-only destination, with a matching function and opposite direction on logic pins and connect the source to the destination in the crosspoint grid, you can wire remote switches to control the timer.

Silence Detect functions

Every blade destination can have a silence detector set up on it. The Blade 3 and Blade 4 manuals will tell you how to set up these silence detectors. When you enable the silence detector, the blade will create a LIO-Only source on the blade named (signal name) L. For example, if you create a silence detector on an output called KZZP-TX, the LIO-Only source that is automatically created will be called KZZP-TXL.

You can then create a LIO-Only destination and tie these functions to logic pins in the opposite direction, and connect the source to destination in the crosspoint grid.

SDet Failure - Logic output to indicate when an output set for Silence Detect is in a failed state; that is, when the primary source fails to provide audio to that output.

SDet Mux Pos - Logic output to indicate when an output set for Silence Detect has switched to its backup audio source.

SDet Force Pri - Logic input to force an output with Silence Detect enabled to switch to the primary source.

SDet Force Sec - Logic input to force an output with Silence Detect enabled to switch to the backup source.

studio tallies

These functions are programmed on logic-only destinations to indicate when certain sources on the surface have their fader on.

Each console has a pre-defined LIO-Only source with the word TALLY in it. The exact name depends upon the console model (example, E6TALLY, LXE TALY, IPTALLY, or TALLY)

On the vDIP tab of your console setup software, you will assign sources to be part of a Studio Tally group. For example, this is a microphone set up for Tally 1 on a LXE:

If multiple sources are assigned to the same tally number, then the relay will turn on when the first source is turned on at the console and remain on until the last source in the group is turned off at the console.

Note that while in this example, there are 8 Studio Tallies available, most consoles only have 4 available. We suggest using Studio Tally 1 for the control room on air light and Studio Tally 2 and up for microphones and groups of sources outside of the control room (for example, mic booths or studios outside of the control room).

This is the LXE TALY source LIO Info:

So, to set up a studio on-air light, you would create a LIO-Only destination on the pins hooked to your relay with direction Output and matching function of Studio x in Use. That destination would then crosspoint to the console TALLY source.

Tip: If you want a tally light just for one microphone so a LED ring on a mic arm lights up just for that one microphone, you would use the ON TALLY function on each microphone source connected to the mic arm lights. Then you would set up the group for all the mics in the studio in the console's vDIP page. Then you would set up this studio tally for the on-air light outside the studio door. The individual sources would hit the ON TALLY for the mic arms and the STUDIO x IN USE would take care of the group.

Console Spare buttons

Different model consoles have varying numbers of Spare Buttons, which are user-definable. There will be a pre-defined source called Spare x, where x= the button number.

Here is the LIO Info of a spare button on a Strata television console:

These are the functions found on each spare button:

Switch n (where n = any integer between 1 and 14) - Logic output to read a spare button. No matter which spare button you are using, the function MUST be Switch 1; use of the remaining values for n is currently not supported.

You would create a LIO-Only destination set to logic pins with the Output direction and matching function to have a spare button fire a relay closure or SLIO.

Switch LED n (where n = any integer between 1 and 14) - logic input to light the LED in a spare button. No matter which spare button is being lit, the function must be Switch LED 1; use of the remaining values for n is currently not supported.

User defined

These functions are completely user-definable; they do not have a specific purpose within the system. They may be associated with audio signals or programmed on logic-only signals as needed. Keep in mind the master rules of system logic: (1) a logic input must connect to a logic output; and (2) the same function name must be used at both ends of a logic connection.

User n (where n = any integer between 1 and 500)

A common use of user-defined signals is routing logic through blades. For example, you have a contact closure coming in from a satellite receiver that is wired to a logic port on a blade in the rack room and you need that closure to appear as a SLIO on a PC driver on an automation computer in the studio.

You would then create a LIO-Only source on the rack room blade, on the logic pins the satellite receiver is wired to, direction Input, function User 1.

Then you create a LIO-Only destination on the PC Driver blade, on the SLIO number that your automation computer is expecting the closure, direction Output, function User 1.

Then in the crosspoint grid you connect source to destination. The logic will flow from the satellite receiver to the computer.

Talent Stations

When you are setting up a talent station, you will add it as a peripheral device to a blade.

Once you do that, it will appear in the LIO Info tree as a child of the parent blade.

You will then go to the microphone's LIO Info tab and add all of the audio associated logic to the mic source, which will then map the buttons accordingly. See the talent station manual for instructions.

Wheatstone Scripting & Logic Forum

For more help understanding Wheatnet logic, please visit our Scripting & Logic forum.