Watch the whole line

On a line with more than one fixture, the fault can be a unit that stops answering now and then while the rest carry on. Watching the whole line asks every fixture the bench found, round after round, and names the one that drops out.

Starting it

Choose Fixture → Watch Whole Line (⇧⌘M) (macOS), or open the Monitor tab, choose Whole line and click Start. Every sets how often to ask, as it does for one fixture (see Starting a session). Starting ends any other session that is running, and Stop ends this one.

This scope is for finding the unit that drops out, so by default it does not read sensors and each round stays quick. Turn on Sensors too to read them as well. Each round is then slower, and a brief drop-out can fall between two rounds. With sensors on, each fixture’s row also shows its worst sensor: the one rated worst now (or closest to the top of its normal range), with a small line of its readings. For every sensor’s trend, watch that fixture on its own (see Trends).

Reading it

Each fixture gets a row with its address, whether it is answering now and how many events it has had. Every event is listed together, with the fixture’s name in front. A red line at the foot names any fixture not answering at the moment, and in the sidebar its row’s badge turns into a red warning.

A unit that drops out is not always the unit at fault. If the fixtures after it on the line drop out with it, look at the cable and the connectors between them first (see Wiggle the cable).

The summary

Stopping opens the Line summary: how many rounds over how long, one row per fixture with its Polls, how many went Unanswered and how many Events it had, then every event. Any fixture still not answering at the end is named at the top. Summary… opens it again until the next session starts. Every session is kept in the bench’s captures folder, one file per fixture, written as it runs.

From the command line

rdmbench-cli monitor --all watches the whole line, and --sensors adds sensors to it. --interval, --duration and --json work as they do for one fixture (see From the command line).