Connecting up and Titan basics
This section covers how to connect the console up, and the basic things you need to know about operating Titan.
Radio transmitters may affect the operation of the console and we recommend that they are not placed on, above or behind the console. If you are wearing one it is best placed in a back pocket or behind you when attached to a belt.
Connecting mains power
You can safely connect the console to any voltage from 80 to 260V. If your console is not fitted with an internal UPS (uninterruptible power supply) we recommend that you should power the console via an external UPS (available from computer suppliers). If a UPS is not used, when the sound engineer pulls out the wrong plug and kills power to the console you can lose data (up to the last Autosave) and the console may want to check its disk on startup which can cause delays. The UPS will protect you from most power problems and give you chance to shut down the console normally.
If an internal UPS is fitted (Sapphire Touch, Arena, optional on other consoles), on power loss the toolbar on the screen will turn orange and display how long you've got before the console shuts down.
When the UPS battery runs low and the console is about to shut down, the toolbar turns red.
Arena only: The Network Switch inside the Arena has an independent UPS system which allows the network switch to continue to run while the console is power cycled. When the console is shut down the network switch will continue to run for about 5 minutes. This is important when a backup console is running the show through the network switch in the Arena, as it allows the Arena to be power cycled without losing the network link to the stage.
Starting up and shutting down
The console runs a Windows-based operating system internally, so you need to make sure it is shut down properly rather than just turning off its power.
Start up the console by pressing and releasing the Power switch on the face or front edge of the console (lift up the wrist rest on the Sapphire Touch). The console display(s) should come alive. The console takes up to 1 min 30 seconds to start up.
Shut down the console by pressing and releasing the Power switch again. The console will perform a controlled shutdown. Wait until the Power light has gone off (about 30 seconds) before you disconnect power from the console.
If the console has a switch on the power module on the back, do not use this to turn off the console as this does not close down the software properly and you will lose any changes to your show.
Forced Shutdown
To carry out a Forced Shutdown of the console, if the normal shut down does not work, hold down the power switch for 5 seconds. You will lose any changes to your show since the last save.
On consoles with a built-in UPS, you cannot just pull out the power to shut down the console if it is not possible to shutdown the console by any of the above means. In this case having disconnected the mains power you should press the Battery Disconnect switch on the rear panel.
Arena only: Battery Disconnect will also shut down the internal network switch so be careful if you are running a backup console via the switch. When you shut down the Arena normally, the network switch will stay on for about 5 minutes then power off. There is no harm in leaving it to do this.
Connecting up Titan Mobile and T1/T2
Do not connect the Titan Mobile panel or the T1/T2 dongle to your PC for the first time until you have installed the Titan PC Suite software, which you do simply by running the installer file. This will make sure the drivers for the panel are installed.
From Titan v7, Windows XP and Vista are no longer supported. Your PC must be running a 64 bit version of Windows 7, Windows 8.1 or Windows 10.
For best usability, your PC should have a touch screen. If not you can use the mouse to select touch buttons.
Titan Mobile: Having installed the software, connect the USB cable for the panel (older Titan Mobile panels have two USB connectors -- you only need to connect port A, nearest the DC socket). If your PC asks you for drivers, select \'Install the Software Automatically\'. If you have an older Titan Mobile panel without the built-in AvoKey you also need to attach an AvoKey to a free USB port.
Power is normally supplied down the USB connection and the external DC power socket is not used, but if your PC has a lot of other USB devices plugged in, or in the case of some laptops, an external DC power supply may be needed. The required power supply is: 9-12 volt 800mA DC. Connector: 2.5mm hole, outside diameter 5.5mm, length 9.5mm, wired centre pin positive. Example Part number: DCPP2
The first time you run Titan Mobile you will need to obtain a licence from the Avolites website. The licence is keyed to the internal AvoKey in the Titan Mobile panel so you can install the software on multiple computers but it will only run when the Titan Mobile panel is connected.
T1/T2: The T1/T2 USB devices give you a full lighting control system that will output one or two universes of DMX or Art-Net. The software to run it is called Titan Go. The first time you run Titan Go you will need to obtain a licence from the Avolites website which will license the AvoKey built into the device.
Titan Healthcheck
When the Titan software starts up, it runs a small utility called Titan Healthcheck which checks the file system and the installed firmware and software for anything that might cause you problems. If any problems are found, a warning screen is displayed which offers the option to fix the problems.
Only run fixes if you have plenty of time as some fixes can take up to an hour to complete.
Connecting DMX Lines
The console communicates with lighting fixtures using the DMX512 system. The console itself can output 16 universes of DMX (each 512 control channels). If you need to output more universes, it is recommended to network the console to one or more Avolites TitanNet processing nodes. This off-loads the DMX processing, allowing the console to control up to 64 universes of DMX in total. See the DMX output section for more information.
The console has DMX outputs on 5-pin XLR for direct connection to fixtures and dimmers, and can send DMX over Ethernet and wireless Ethernet systems to allow connection to remote DMX Ethernet nodes, media servers, and so on.
When you patch a dimmer or fixture you tell Titan which of the DMX universes it is on. Each universe can be configured to come out of one or more of the standard DMX outputs on the back of the console, and/or over an Ethernet protocol.
The Arena includes a built-in Ethernet switch and has an optical network connection.
By default on a new show, the XLRs on the console are automatically connected to DMX lines starting at line 1, however if you are loading a show from a different model of console or the simulator, check the DMX Settings option to confirm how the DMX outputs are set up.
The 5-pin XLR sockets on the console are wired like this:
| Pin # | Use |
|---|---|
| Pin 1 | Earth |
| Pin 2 | Data - |
| Pin 3 | Data + |
| Pin 4 | Not used |
| Pin 5 | Not used |
Each DMX line should pass through all the fixtures to be connected on that line one after the other and have a DMX terminator fitted at the end (120 ohm resistor between pins 2 and 3). You should not split the DMX lines using passive splitters (Y-splits) as this can corrupt the data.
Connecting a Monitor
You can connect an additional monitor to the console (2 monitors on Sapphire Touch). This gives you extra screen space for workspace windows which can be handy for showing Visualiser or additional buttons. Touch monitors are very useful to give additional control surfaces. We advise you use a monitor compatible with Windows Touch to avoid problems with touchscreen drivers. Titan Mobile will also support 2 monitors if the PC you are using has the facility.
An external monitor is disabled by default and will show a \'disabled\' message. To enable, switch to System mode (press Avo+Disk) and select Display Setup then press External Display Disconnected. The option will change to External Display Connected and the display will be enabled.
If you need to change the monitor resolution or settings, touch \'Tools\' at the very top of the screen and select \'Control Panel\', then \'External Monitor\', then select the option to match the resolution of your monitor.
Click here for more information about setting up an external monitor.
Other Connections
You can connect a USB keyboard and mouse to the console. If you are using an external non-touch monitor on a console without a built-in keyboard/touchpad you will need a mouse to access the buttons on it, or on the Sapphire Touch you can use the trackball in mouse mode.
You may need to use a small USB hub to connect additional devices if the console does not have enough USB sockets itself.
All consoles provide MIDI connections which can be used to trigger playbacks or connect MIDI timecode to the console for timecode-controlled cue lists. Except for Pearl Expert, a SMPTE input is provided on the rear panel to allow the console to be linked to a timecode source. MIDI cannot be used with the T1 dongle, but can be used with T2 if you attach a USB-MIDI device.
You can connect the console to a LAN (local area network) using the RJ45 network socket on the rear. This allows you to operate many more universes of DMX using DMX network protocols, and also allows backup and multi-user consoles to be connected to each other. The Arena has several network ports and also has one or two optical fibre terminals allowing direct fibre connection to the control network.
One or two 3-pin XLR sockets for desk lamps are provided on the rear of the console. Suitable lamps are available from Avolites. The lamps are 12 volt DC, wired from pins 1 (negative) and 2 (positive) of the XLR (not all desk lamps are wired like this and may require rewiring to work). You can set the brightness of the desk lamps from System mode.
Connecting Console Wings
"Wings" are additional control surfaces which can be connected to the console to provide more faders and buttons. They connect to the console by USB.
The Pearl Expert Touch Wing can only be used with the Pearl Expert console and should be connected before the console is powered up.
Controlling Dimmers and Fixtures
When you are programming a show, and sometimes when you are running a show, you need to manually control the fixtures and dimmers to set the intensity, position, colour, etc. To do this you first select the fixtures you want to change using the select buttons, then you set the attributes of those fixtures using the Wheels and Attribute buttons.
You can also set fade/timing information for each attribute of each fixture which is treated as an additional attribute of the fixture.