All our apps work across a wide range of modern routers and Access Points. However, we do recommend some key features when choosing your device:
- Good wireless coverage (802.11n or 802.11ac with 'beamforming' are recommended)
- Dual band wireless frequencies (2.4Ghz and 5Ghz)
- Auto wireless channel select to help avoid any interference
- Removable antennas, for repositioning
- Good security such as WPA
The right solution for the situation
We recommend using a dedicated dual-band AC router or access point to avoid interruptions and dropouts that could be caused by other devices and connections using bandwidth. Most 'off-the-shelf' routers will work, though you will need to choose one that is suitable for the situations it will be used in.
For example - you will find that long distance wireless use in a venue with many other wireless devices (e.g. mobile phones) around will require a better router than if you were just connecting at home - although connections may be good during testing/soundcheck, the extra bodies and devices brought in by an audience can heavily impact this.
Position of the router or access point will also make a difference, and it is usually best to get the aerial high up, away from walls or surfaces and within line of sight of the device.
Connection
Network control for our digital consoles runs on a Local Area Network (LAN) and no internet connection is required or used.
Use a standard network cable to connect the Network port of your console, MixRack, controller or computer to a LAN port on the router. If you are following router instructions, you can connect all devices as clients in the same way as you would connect a computer.
On initial setup your router may need to be set up using a computer prior to use.
When connected and passing data, the Lnk LED on the network port of the device will flash to show network activity.
IP addresses and router config
You must ensure that all devices on the network have different IP addresses that are within the same range. For most setups, this means that the first three numbers of each IP address will match but the last number will be different e.g. 192.168.1.124 and 192.168.1.156.
The default setting for Qu and SQ mixers is DHCP enabled. This is the recommended setting and means that IP addresses are assigned automatically by a DHCP enabled router. Go to the mixer Setup / Network screen to check that DHCP is enabled and check diagnostics to see that the mixer has been assigned an address. Most routers have DHCP enabled by default and so will work with Qu and SQ mixers out of the box.
dLive, Avantis, AHM, GLD and iLive units all default to static IP addresses. To work with the default IP addresses, configure your wireless router or Access Point with the following settings:
IP Address: 192.168.1.254
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
DHCP Scope/Range: 192.168.1.100 – 192.168.1.200
We recommend password protecting and hiding your WiFi network to avoid anyone other than engineers and musicians from connecting or even attempting to connect to your control network.
Should you experience problems with your router or Access Point, we recommend you download and install the latest firmware from the manufacturer website before contacting us.