Setup Zones

The operating boundary is required for the operation of Autopilot II. The operating boundary is setup automatically after receiver calibration. If it is desirable to change this boundary, that can be done here.

Zones are optional and are small sub divisions of the stage. Zones will only function inside the operating boundary. If it is desirable for a set of lights to only work in a subdivision, then the lights can be assigned to a zone. The original use for this was a fashion show runway which used 4 sets of lights and 4 zones to keep the lighting angles the same as the model moved down the runway. A fringe benefit was to keep the lights at one end of the runway from shining in the eyes of the patrons and photographers at the other end of the runway.

  1. Check the placement of the Operating Boundary

    2. The operating boundary defines the area in which the lights are turned on. Outside this area is called the blackout area. Normally it is set to be just inside the rectangle described by the receiver setup. If it is not desired for it to be a rectangle, then the editing tools described below will allow you to change the shape of the area.

  2. Adding to the Operating Boundary using Box Draw.

    3. Click on the Stage Bounds button and then Box Draw. Using the mouse left click on one corner of the new area and drag the mouse diagonally to create the box. To finish the box, release the left mouse button. To add to the existing area the new box must overlap the existing one.

  3. Subtracting from the Operating Boundary using Box Erase.

    4. The box erase works just the opposite of Box Draw. Using Box Erase can subtract from an existing area or erase all of it by completely covering the desired area and releasing the mouse button.

  4. Set up the 4 Zones.

    5. (optional)

    Zones 1-4 can be created in the same way, and the shape edited just like the operating boundary. After the zone is created, remember to assign the lights to it. This is done in the SYSTEM SETUP> CONFIGURE LIGHTS screen. Select advanced features to find the zone assignment button. In the zones screen, beltpacks are live. This means they can be placed on stage to mark a zone. Then they are used on the zones screen as position markers to help create the zone.

  5. Set up fade distance.

    6. Fade distance is a concept Autopilot II uses to describe the action of a light as it nears an operating or zone boundary. If the fade distance is set to 3.0 feet, then when the light is more than 3 feet from the edge it will be full intensity, and fade to zero as the beltpack approaches the boundary. If a crossfade is desired between zones, the zones must overlap a distance equal to the fade distance.

  6. Updating the Controller.

    7. Drawing the zones generates a huge amount of changing information and for that reason zones are not automatically updated. After they are defined, changes in zones or the operating boundary must updated manually. If the Update APII Box button is not greyed out, then an update must be performed. Bear in mind that large quantities of data are being passed and then massaged in the controller box and 15-30 secs should be allowed for all data to be assimilated by the Autopilot II Controller.