Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1546075
Hugh Healy and chickens. Jeff Petersen almost always either a Calrec Hydra Box or a Studer Box. Here on the Pat Ourselves on the Back Awards, we are fortunate to have a Denali truck with Hydras. When Hercules was an A2, setting up the Hydra was the second of his Twelve Labors. For the record, putting out Audience Mics was tenth ... maybe eleventh. Here on the Denali truck, we usually see two types of Hydras: Fixed Format and Modular. Let's look at a Fixed Format forty-eight inputs X sixteen outputs. Other configurations are available, but for us, connectivity and the LED status lights are consistent. Connect the Hydra with a SMPTE jumper (if you are using the Denali box that takes in two Denali Tac 12's with Delphi connectors and breaks them out to six SMPTE cables (don't forget to bring the jumpers) and 12 ST connectors on the front of the box. If you are connecting to the Hydra with ST's from a Tac-12, make sure the Hydra is patched that way. Once you have AC power and fiber connected, look at the front of the Hydra. A series of LED's will help you find out the status of your connection. If your Hydra(s) are lit, like the example, check with the mixer or audio maintenance person to see if the Hydra is making the proper connection to the desk. If the lights are not like the picture, clean the fiber, swap the two fibers, check the lights after each change. If you still do not have satisfactory LED's, squirt some light from the truck and check the fiber cable at the Hydra. The Status LED information from Calrec gives a more detailed description of the function and explanation of the display. Once you have taken the troubleshooting steps and can describe the current status of the LED's, ask for help. A few more things to think about. Clocking. Albert Einstein once quipped, "The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once." A lesser known aphorism from his days as an A2 states, "The only reason for clocking is so that everything will happen at once." Clocking is the process of locking all video, audio, and production equipment to a single, ultra-precise master reference signal. For A2's, it is important to be aware that guest tuning and playback systems may not be set up to follow our master clock. Ticking, clicking, or popping is an indication that the clocking should be checked. SMPTE Timecode. Now that we have every frame clocking together, we need a way to identify each one. Timecode! Eight digits: hours, minutes, seconds, frames. It can display Time of Day, or in a music show, a separate hour start code assigned for each performance. Timecode triggers video, lights, special FX, and other things. On a recent show, I had six devices at FOH that each needed timecode. Three lighting boards, special FX, video, and "Lasers." For long cable runs, often we use a Distripalyser, a very handy tool that identifies the format, the drop frame status, the frame rate, and displays the code in real time. It reshapes the code before sending it out and can identify issues such as repeated frames and drop-outs which triggers it to play Disney's "It's a Small World" over and over until the problem is resolved. The first line of troubleshooting is to listen for the timecode. Second, make sure that the devices are looking for the timecode format you are providing. Level matters, signal cleanliness matters, hum matters. Hugh on Dante: It's not the best system for AoIP, none of them are. To paraphrase Winston Churchill: "Dante is the worst network audio protocol there is—except for all the others." There are plenty of ways to attain a helpful skill level in the Dante and networking world. With some time and education, we may disprove Joe's Axiom. Imagine if we could help troubleshoot by knowing the meaning of LED lights and accurately describing an issue. And then go mic a challenging gown on the Oscars and a band on the Grammys. Well, the Pat Ourselves on the Back Awards is finished, the confetti are everywhere, and as Guy Jones often says, "The show is on its way to Pluto." The only thing left is to give my profound thanks to Jeff and Hugh for co-writing this column. Your expertise is always very much appreciated. I read somewhere that there are two stages in an A2's life. 'Youth' and 'You look great.' Being just shy of five decades in, I am grateful to still be on the call sheet.