Laser output with BEYOND

Your screens: see the action and the answer together

Two screens

The console on one, BEYOND maximised on the other. Keep BEYOND's preview (top right) and the strip under its grid in view: the strip reads "Input 1: ArtNet universe 2. packets per second 44" and draws a green bar for every channel that is not 0. Press a key on the console and watch the bar and the preview answer.

One screen

Switch between the two with Alt+Tab. DMX holds its last value, so nothing is missed: set a value on the console, then read it in BEYOND's DMX Monitor (Settings → DMX → DMX Monitor…), where every channel of Input 1 is listed with its number and a history.

What to compare

The console's value and BEYOND's channel: cue 12 is 78 on channel 3, Fade at full is 255 on channel 5, and channel 1 stays at 255 whatever you do — the console holds BEYOND's access open.

Field troubleshooting

When BEYOND does not answer, ask these four questions in order. Each one either finds the fault or proves the layer beneath it is clean. BEYOND's DMX Monitor (Settings → DMX → DMX Monitor) splits the problem in two: if the monitor is wrong, it is communication; if the monitor is right, it is how BEYOND uses the data.

1. 01Is it sent?The console

   • The Laser page says NOT SENT — universe N not sent

     Check

     The BEYOND is patched on a universe the console does not output

     Fix

     UNIVERSES in the top drawer: raise the count, then RESTART

   • The Laser page reads held dark, or KILLED

     Check

     Not armed, or a KILL has latched

     Fix

     Press ARM twice. A KILL between the two presses starts the sequence again

   • Armed, but the laser stays dark

     Check

     The laser master or the grand master at zero; BLACKOUT on

     Fix

     Raise the laser master and the grand master; release BLACKOUT

2. 02Is it on the wire?The network

   • BEYOND on the console's PC receives nothing

     Check

     The adapter on BEYOND's Art-Net tab must be the one the console sends on. With the console on loopback that is 127.0.0.1; on the show network, the console's Ethernet adapter

     Fix

     Match the two adapters. Watch the strip under BEYOND's grid: "Input 1: ArtNet universe N. packets per second" counts what arrives

   • BEYOND on another PC receives no Art-Net

     Check

     Network → Interface on the console: output must be on the wired LAN. Art-Net leaves as a directed broadcast (2.255.255.255); a unicast route to one node's address never reaches BEYOND

     Fix

     Choose the Ethernet adapter in the 2.x network; keep broadcast, or add BEYOND's address

   • BEYOND on another PC receives no sACN

     Check

     sACN is multicast with a TTL of 1: BEYOND must be on the same subnet. A managed switch with IGMP snooping and no querier can stop forwarding the group

     Fix

     One subnet; enable an IGMP querier on the show switch, or turn snooping off

   • Nothing arrives on either protocol

     Check

     Windows Defender Firewall on the BEYOND PC blocks inbound UDP to BEYOND, and a network marked Public blocks more by default

     Fix

     Windows Security → Firewall & network protection → Allow an app: BEYOND on Private networks; mark the show network Private

3. 03Is it in BEYOND's monitor?BEYOND — communication

   • The monitor is flat

     Check

     The input's type and universe (Settings → DMX → DMX / ArtNet Settings, Connection tab), and the adapter on its Art-Net or SACN tab

     Fix

     sACN: the console's universe + 1. Art-Net: SubNet 0, Universe = the console's universe (0–15)

   • Values arrive in the wrong channels

     Check

     BEYOND's FB3-style input reads sixteen channels from one starting channel (DMX / Art-Net Setup → Input option → Starting DMX Channel)

     Fix

     Set the starting channel to the laser's address in the console's patch — 1 in this lesson

   • Off by one universe

     Check

     Art-Net counts universes from 0, sACN from 1

     Fix

     Console universe 2 = Art-Net 0 · 2 = sACN 3

   • Values jump between two states

     Check

     Two sources on one input. The console sends Art-Net and sACN at once, and BEYOND unites all its inputs into one array of channels

     Fix

     One protocol per input; one source per universe

4. 04Is BEYOND using it?BEYOND — the reaction

   • The monitor is right, the preview shows nothing

     Check

     BEYOND's DMX IN toolbar button is up (its default); BEYOND's Blackout also stops DMX IN

     Fix

     Press DMX IN. Confirm no projector is connected before enabling any output

   • The cue plays in BEYOND but nothing is drawn

     Check

     With channel 1 at full, BEYOND reads all sixteen channels: Fade (channel 5) at 0 is dark, and Zoom (channel 6) or Visible Points (channel 12) at 0 draws nothing. The console rests Zoom, Size and Visible Points at full; Fade starts at 0

     Fix

     Raise the zone's Dimmer — channel 5, BEYOND's Fade; if Zoom or Visible Points were lowered, raise them on the BEAM pages

   • The wrong cue, or none

     Check

     Channel 1 (Access) below 33 blocks everything; the page and cue map may have been edited on the laser PC

     Fix

     The console holds Access at 255. If the map was edited in BEYOND, the console's BEYOND layout must follow it

   • The colour does not change

     Check

     Channel 15 from 0 to 31 keeps the frame's own colours

     Fix

     Above 31 for a hue, above 224 for white

   • Flicker

     Check

     Two sources on one universe; Wi-Fi in the path; with real hardware, an FB4 sharing the Art-Net network (Pangolin advises a separate one)

     Fix

     One source, wired LAN, a separate laser network