FIRST Chesapeake Knowledgebase

FTC A/V Home

4 min read

This series of articles is intended to walk an event volunteer through setting up the audio/visual system for FIRST Chesapeake FTC events. We will walk step-by-step through the items, actions and connections necessary for successful AV setup. This is the “hub” article, off of which each distinct setup stage (described in the Stages and Order of Setup section below) will branch. You can return here at any time. First, however, we must discuss where to find all of the items you will need to setup A/V.

Equipment Locations and Storage Descriptions

All A/V equipment will be located in one of the following locations, and it all must go back into one of these locations at the conclusion of the event. It is important to keep the equipment organized. The equipment should be placed back in the locations where you found it unless the Equipment Manager or FTA states otherwise. Here is a list of all of the locations where our A/V equipment can be found:

  1. Streaming Unit case
    This is also known as the “Webstream Unit”, “Streaming Unit”, or other similar names. It is a large, tall black case on wheels labeled as the “streaming unit”. It contains the main streaming computer, audio mixer, and interface panels to connect other equipment to. You can see the open streaming unit below.

  2. Storage case
    This is a short, wheeled black case that contains storage drawers for key A/V equipment. It contains many key cables and smaller items for AV setup.

  3. A/V Totes
    These are a series of four green totes, labeled on each short side with gaff tape as “A/V”, a route label (north or south) and a specific type label. There are four A/V totes: Audio, Power, SDI, and Ethernet.

  4. A/V Case
    This is also known as “Case 26”. It is a large tan or brown wheeled case that contains miscellaneous larger equipment used for A/V. Commonly used items in this case include the projector, speakers, and tripods.

  5. Projection Screen case
    This is a short, long, black wheeled case that contains the large projection screen used at events.

Let’s now discuss the organized chaos of A/V setup (not to be confused with that of the field setup, which is its own beast!).

Stages and Order of Setup

The setup of the FIRST Chesapeake Audio/Visual equipment can be broken down into distinct tracks of tasks, each of which may be accomplished in parallel. However, within each distinct track certain tasks rely on others, so the order of tasks within them is important to follow. Also note the following dependencies on other tracks:

  • The scoring system relies on the Streaming Unit being cabled up to the Internet and active. Expect intervention from the FTA if this is not very quickly setup.

  • Most tracks rely on Track 1 being finished. At a minimum the Streaming Unit case needs to find its “home” for the event, and the back panel needs to be removed so the I/O panel is accessible.

Track 0 (Gathering Materials)

Each of the five pieces of Equipment Storage described above should be moved to near where they will live during the event after they are removed from the PODS. Each event has a designated location for the screen and for A/V equipment, please consult with the Equipment Manager to determine where the setup is to be located. In the Equipment Manager’s absence, the Event Manager can also provide guidance.

Track 1 (Core Streaming Unit & Network Setup)

Track 2 (Audio Setup)

Track 3 (Camera Setup)

Track 4 (Screen and Projector Setup)

Track 5 (Finishing Touches)

Track 6 (Venue-Dependent Items)

Reference Materials

These guides have been written to aid AV operations efforts during the event.

7 items under this folder.