Procedure

Overview

This integration guide will provide step by step instructions on how to configure the Attero Tech Axon C1 controller for use with the Audio Technica SmartMixer products.  In this scenario, the Axon C1 acts as a control system for the Smart Mixer and utilizes the 3rd party control API published by Audio Technica. 

While the Axon C1 can be customized to control many different functions of the Audio Technica SmartMixer, it is optimized for creating a dedicated control solution that complements the Audio Technica Web Remote.  All examples presented here will be shown in context of using the C1 to replicate the Web Remote control functions.  When used in this manner, the C1 will also synchronize to changes made by users through the SmartMixer web interface.

All examples presented here include C1 template files that can be used for quick integration with the Audio Technica Smart Mixer and provide a good starting point for further modifications and customization.  These files are listed at the end of this article for download. Note that the files include customization of a target IP address, this address will need to be adjusted for your target device.

Additionally, the Audio Technica Smart Mixer API documentation is available here for reference.   To ensure proper functionality, ensure that the target product(s) have up to date firmware and the corresponding API documentation is used throughout the configuration process.
 

Simple Room Volume Control Example

In this example, the C1 provides very basic control.  A single vertical bar graph is shown to the user to show the room volume level. The encoder may used for volume control and also pressed to enable disable muting of the room.
 

Step 1: Configure Audio Technica SmartMixer

Using the Administrator mode of the SmartMixer web application, the operate page is configured as follows:

These settings provide a simple Operator page view to allow a single fader control mapped to the first analog output channel.  The corresponding web operator page is shown below.

Step 2: Configure the Axon C1

In order to configure the Axon C1, at least one C1 must be connected to the network. 

Run unIFY Control Panel(UCP), select the correct network adapter attached to the network where the C1 is present.  Locate the Control tab on the left side of the UCP.  Once the device is located, double click on the device to open the configuration plugin.

The first tab (C1 Control) provides configuration of the device screen timeout, the security PIN and display brightness.  Additionally, the network settings and device name may be customized here as well.
 

Step 3: Configure the Axon C1 Menu Structure

Next click on the Menu Builder tab and select "Third Party" from the Mode drop-down box.  The following options will be presented.

Click on Default Volume/Mute to enable the vertical bar graph volume control on the C1 user interface.
 

Step 4: Add the SmartMixer Device

Next, click on the 3rd Party Device List tab.  

Click on the "+" icon in the device list control to begin adding the SmartMixer.   Change the newly added device to a sensible name for later reference.

Using the Device Type control, select the General option. 

In the Control Port Settings section, enter the IP address of the target device and the the port number.  For the SmartMixer this should be set to 17300.  Lastly, select TCP as the Type options.
 

Step 5: Configure Menu Actions

Click on the Menu Builder Tab to reopen the menu structure that was created. 

Click on the level icon,to open the action configuration controls.

The following controls provide an interface for configuring the C1 controller to send and receive the proper commands necessary to remotely control the SmartMixer.

Level Configuration - Config

Select the SmartMixer by name from the Destination dropdown list.  This control will be populated from the 3rd Party Device list entries created previously.

Once selected, the networking details of the target devices are shown for reference.

Since the SmartMixer does not use stateless increment / decrement style controls, select Explicit from the Type control.  

In the Attributes section, configure the desired range for the user volume control settings.  The SmartMixer Web Remote provides similar range configuration with a range of 0 to 100 and does not support decimal or fractional values.  The Step parameter allows customization of the step size.

In the Label section, you may add the numeric value to the C1 display below the vertical bargraph by checking the Display Level: Enable checkbox.  If enabled, you may also add a custom text prefix and/or suffix that is added to the displayed value.

Level Configuration - Set

To configure the commands that the C1 will send to the target in response to a user rotating the level encoder, click on the Set tab. 

Enter the corresponding SmartMixer volume control API command into the edit box.  For this example, the corresponding API command is the s_operator_channel command. 

[Example] s_operator_channel  S 0000 0 NC 1,0,”Mic”,0,70,0,100,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0̺↲

In this example command, the first parameter after the s_operator_channel S 0000 00 NC prefix is the channel number.

The active volume parameter in this command is the 5th parameter after the common s_operator_channel S 0000 00 NC prefix.  Note that the SmartMixer allows parameters to be ignored by simply entering no value between the comma delimiter.

To add the volume parameter indicator, click the ❶ button.

The resulting command should look like the following text string:

s_operator_channel S 0000 00 NC 1,,,,❶,,,,,,,,,,,,,,  

Note that there is a trailing space and carriage return required on all of the SmartMixer commands.

If the Set Requires Acknowledgement checkbox is checked, then the C1 will only change display values if a proper command acknowledgment is received from the target device.

Enter the required acknowledgment message in the Response edit box.  For this example the command response is:

s_operator_channel ACK <CR>

Level Configuration - Query

In order to provide synchronization of the C1 parameter state to the target device state, a device query or processing of asynchronous status messages must be configured.  In this example, the SmartMixer does not support asynchronous status reporting, so we will use the Query options to poll for the parameter status.

The command required to retrieve the level status is:

g_operator_channel O 0000 00 NC 1 <CR>

This command will produce a response similar to the following:

g_operator_channel 0000 00 NC 1,1,"Mic",0,32,0,100,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,0 <CR>
 

The Response field is similar to the Response field used in the Set message configuration.  In the case of the SmartMixer the responses may include other parameter data in addition to the volume parameter that changes.  Due to this scenario, the Wildcard indicators must be used to configure the expected response formatting.  Similar to the parameter indicators, the Wildcard indicators are added to the response string by clicking the Wildcard button.

g_operator_channel 0000 00 NC 1,✪,✪,✪,❶,✪,✪,✪,✪,✪,✪,✪,✪,✪,✪,✪,✪,✪,✪,✪ <CR>
 

Level Configuration - Response

Click on Query Should Poll to enable sending the previously configured Query message at the specified interval. An interval of 500 ms is recommended.

Since the SmartMixer does not support asynchronous status we will leave the remainder of the controls unconfigured.

Configuration of the C1 to configure and synchronize the CH1 volume of the SmartMixer Web Remote is now complete!
 

Step 6: Test

Now that configuration of the volume control is complete, it is recommended to save the current settings and perform some basic testing.

Click Save to File, to save a snapshot of the current configuration to a file for later use. 

Next, click the Apply button to send the current configuration to the connected C1.

Open a browser and connect to the SmartMixer Web Remote.

Adjust the encoder to observe the volume changing on the Web Remote.  You may have to manually refresh the remote to see the control state change.

Now adjust the volume fader in the Web Remote and observe the level synchronizing on the C1.

If either of these tests fail, it is likely that the message configuration is not accurate.  Refer to this troubleshooting guide on some tips to test and diagnose the issue.
 

Step 7: Repeat Configuration for additional actions

Following the a similar approach taken for the volume control. Repeat the process for the mute control.

This mute configuration is accessed by clicking on the Mute tab.

The process to configure the Mute control is identical to the volume configuration with the exception of the Attributes fields.  Unlike the continuous level control, the mute is simply a two state control.  The Inactive State and Active state fields provide a method to customize the parameter state used to construct the mute control messages sent to the SmartMixer.

For the SmartMixer muting functionality the s_operator_mute command and g_operator_channel commands are used.  The pre-configured preset files include the complete control customization.
 

Step 8: Startup Synchronization

To enable startup device synchronization, click the Sync Action checkbox.  

Then click on the trigger action icon

For this example, we will send the SmartMixer identify command: s_identify and simply wait for the acknowledgement.

Apply these setting to the C1 and test by power cycling the C1.  On boot, the C1 will pause briefly at the splash screen while sending the Startup Synchronization command to the SmartMixer.  This provides a method to ensure that the C1 can communicate with the target when both devices are power cycled.  If no acknowledgment is received, the C1 will continue to poll and wait for a response while the booting splash screen is displayed.

With these changes applied you should see the front panel LEDs of the SmartMixer enter the Identify mode and flash for approximately 5 seconds.  This confirms that the startup synchronization message is being sent and received properly.

You've now successfully completed the volume and mute control configuration example.

In the following examples we will present additional use cases and C1 capabilities.

Volume Control with Presets Example

Building on the previous example, we will add an additional menu screen to provide user selection of presets.

To add this menu screen, click the Root Menu checkbox and click on the item to open the editor.

Once the editor is open, add four items and name them Preset 1 through 4.  Set each action type to trigger.

The name of the menu screen can be customized by replacing the Root Menu text with the preferred text.

For each Preset menu item select the destination as the SmartMixer and add the following commands to each Preset trigger action, modifying the preset number in each command:

call_preset S 0000 00 NC 1 <CR>   ( The last digit is the preset number)

Since the preset recall is a trigger type action, no synchronization is performed.

You may now Apply the settings to the C1 and test.