Falcon F-Test User manual

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F-Test
Pixel Tester/Data Analyzer
Owners Manual
The F-Test is a small, handheld all-purpose tester/analyzer to help troubleshoot and diagnose problems in
animated lighting shows. The F-Test can help you isolate the problem to a specific component by being able to
not only send test data to pixels, receivers, etc. but to also analyze incoming WS281x, Differential data, DMX
and other common data types used in animated lighting shows.
There are many more things this hardware is capable of but has not been included in the first release because
we are unsure of demand for those features. If you have something that you would like to have the tester do
and we get enough support for the idea (or it is trivial to implement) then it may well be included in a
firmware update. Please visit https://github.com/Pixelcontroller/f-test_issues to lodge your request.

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Table of Contents
Introduction..................................................................................................................................................................... 3
F-Test Modes ................................................................................................................................................................... 3
F-Test Overview............................................................................................................................................................... 4
Front View ................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Back View .................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Side One ...................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Side Two ...................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Side Three.................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Side Four...................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Main Menu .................................................................................................................................................................. 7
Settings Page ................................................................................................................................................................... 8
Save Settings Page ..........................................................................................................................................................10
Testing Modes ................................................................................................................................................................10
Pixel Out .....................................................................................................................................................................10
Smart Receiver Out .....................................................................................................................................................12
DMX Out.....................................................................................................................................................................13
Monitoring Mode............................................................................................................................................................14
Pixel In........................................................................................................................................................................14
Data.................................................................................................................................................................15
Brightness........................................................................................................................................................16
Volts/Current...................................................................................................................................................16
Oscilloscope ....................................................................................................................................................17
Smart Receiver In........................................................................................................................................................17
Data ........................................................................................................................................................................19
Brightness...............................................................................................................................................................19
DMX In........................................................................................................................................................................20
Data ........................................................................................................................................................................20
Brightness...............................................................................................................................................................21
Data Bars ................................................................................................................................................................21
Values.....................................................................................................................................................................22
Reference .......................................................................................................................................................................23
Troubleshooting Practices...............................................................................................................................................25

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Introduction
With the F-Test you can:
Test Pixels- up to 1400.
Send test data to Differential Receivers (Smart/Dumb Remotes typically Falcon, FPP, Genius, HinksPix
and compatible receivers)
Send test data to DMX devices
Send test data to Renard/Basic LOR devices (Renard devices require an adapter cable, refer to the
Reference section of F-Test)
Evaluate and monitor the differential data coming from a “Long Range” type controller (Falcon, FPP,
Genius, HinksPix, Advatek, some Alphapix and other compatible type controllers)
Evaluate and monitor incoming WS281x and compatible pixel data.
Evaluate and monitor incoming DMX, Renard, and basic LOR data.
Save log info to an SD card for more detailed analysis or to review trend data.
The F-Test has a visual display that can show relevant data such as:
Line Voltage on pixel lines
Line Amperage on pixel lines
Connected Pixel counts
DMX/Renard/LOR values for all 512 channels
Frame rate and number of pixels that data is received.
Graphical representation of pixel data received to include the colors.
Basic oscilloscope to evaluate data signals and voltage differences on the data line.
Common wiring diagram for Ray Wu and xConnect pigtails.
Adapter Cable wiring diagrams.
When the F-Test is connected with both Pixel input data and to pixel strings, it will act as an F-Amp and clean
the signal. This can be useful to determine if an F-Amp would help in your situation.
Note: This does not apply when you are in the Pixel Output mode.
F-Test Modes
The F-Test has two operational modes, a Testing Mode to output test patterns and a Monitoring Mode to
evaluate incoming data signals.

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F-Test Overview
Front View
1. xConnect Pixel Data Input
2. Navigation Buttons (function will vary depending on the active screen)
3. xConnect Pixel Data output
Back View
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Side One
1. USB Power jack. The F-Test requires some sort of power. If connected to an energized pixel string, this will
supply the power needed. If you do not have an energized pixel string connected to the F-Test, then you can
supply power through the USB port.
Side Two
1. Smart Remote Input port. This port is used to monitor the Smart Remote data that a controller is sending to the
remote receivers. If using HinksPix controllers, you will need an adapter cable, refer to the References section.
2. DMX Input Port. This port is used to monitor DMX Signals that a controller is sending to your DMX devices. If
using Renard controllers, you will need an adapter cable, refer to the References section.
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Side Three
1. Micro SD Card slot. This is used for firmware updates when needed and for logging if selected.
Side Four
1. Smart Remote Output port. This port is used to output Smart Remote data to Smart Remote to see if they are
functioning correctly. If using HinksPix receivers, you will need an adapter cable, refer to the References section.
2. DMX Input Port. This port is used to output DMX Signals to test your DMX devices. If using Renard controllers,
you will need an adapter cable, refer to the References section.
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Main Menu
When the F-Test is powered on, it will boot up to the Main Menu unless you have configured it to default to another
menu Item
1. Navigation Buttons- These buttons are used to navigate through the different menu items. The function of each
button is labeled above the button. The up and down buttons will scroll through all of the different menu items.
Pressing the Select button will take you to the Highlighted option.
2. Main Menu. This is a listing of all of the sub menu items. The Main Menu consists of the following sub menus:
Settings
Save Settings
Pixel In
Pixel Out
Smart Receiver In
Smart Receiver Out
DMX In
DMX Out
Reference
Flashlight
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Settings Page
The settings page is used to configure your F-Test.
Pressing the Up and Down buttons will navigate through the available options in the highlighted menu item. The Next
button will move the highlighted selection to the next item in the Menu. The close button will take you back to the Main
Menu.
The F-Test has the following settings:
Startup - This is the default mode you want the tester to enter when you power it on. If you always use your
tester for one purpose then set it here. Your options are:
-Pixel In
-Pixel Out
-Smart Receiver In
-Smart Receiver Out
-DMX In
-DMX Out
Frame - This is where you select whether the tester should display frame times in Milliseconds or Frames Per
Second ... e.g. 50ms or 20fps
Logging - In input modes when an SD card is inserted, the tester can log data to a CSV file on the SD card. This
options are:
-Off- turns the logging off
-Summary. This typically logs things like voltages, current and average brightness only
-Detail level. This also logs all the pixel data being received.
Effect - This allows you to choose the effect which is used when outputting pixel data using the effect test mode.
(See the Pixel Output section). The options are:
-Twinkle
-Twinkle Random
-Twinkle Fade
-Twinkle Fade Random
-Sparkle
-Flash Sparkle
-Hyper Sparkle
-Strobe
-Strobe Rainbow

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-Multi Strobe
-Blink Rainbow
-Chase White
-Chase Color
-Chase Random
-Chase Rainbow
-Chase Flash
-Chase Flash Random
-Chase Rainbow White
-Chase Blackout
-Chase Blackout Rainbow
-Color Sweep Random
-Running Color
-Running Red Blue
-Running Random
-Larson Scanner
-Comet
-Fireworks
-Fireworks Random
-Merry Christmas
-Fire Flicker
-Fire Flicker Soft
-Fire Flicker Intense
-Circus Combustus
-Halloween
-Bicolor chase
-Tricolor Chase
-TwinkleFox
-Static
-Blink
-Breath
-Color Wipe
-Color Wipe Inverse
-Color Wipe Reverse
-Color Wipe Reverse Inverse
-Color Wipe Random
-Random Color
-Single Dynamic
-Multi Dynamic
-Rainbow
-Rainbow Cycle
-Scan
-Dual Scan
-Fade
-Theater Chase
-Theater Chase Rainbow
-Running Lights
Palette - Some effects use a color from the palette and this option allows you to select that palette of colors.
Brightness Floor - This is the minimum brightness colors should display at on the UI. By setting this you ensure
when non-zero colors are at least displayed as this value. This is necessary because the LCD screen can be very

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dim for dark colors along with not being a full 24 bit color screen (its 16 bit). Typically a value around 50 gives
the best results.
Note: After you make changes to the Settings, you need to close this menu and then select the Save Settings option in
the Main Menu in order for your settings to be saved.
Save Settings Page
When you save your settings, F-Test does not just save the settings on the settings page, it also saves all the settings on
all the pages to be the default settings when those pages open. For example ... if you want to set a default test pattern
when testing pixels then go to pixel out, choose your test pattern then go back and select save settings. Next time you
start the F-Test and open pixel out that will be the initial test mode.
Testing Modes
Pixel Out
The Pixel Out page is used to output data to pixels connected to the Pixel Output cable. This is useful for testing pixels or
displaying a selected pattern. It will also count the number of functioning pixels that are connected. Only WS2811 and
compatible pixels are supported at this time. There is limited support for 4 channel versions of these pixels with some
test patterns working with them.
Note: You have to supply sufficient power (~5V to ~24V) through the Pixel Input cable that is appropriate for the
pixels being tested. This can be via an energized pixel cable, an appropriate power supply connected to the Pixel Input
or sufficiently sized battery connected to the Pixel Input.
Pressing the Up and Down buttons will navigate through the available options in the highlighted menu item. The Next
button will move the highlighted selection to the next item in the Menu. The close button will take you back to the Main
Menu.
When you first enter the pixel output page the tester will attempt to count the number of pixels attached to the output.
It does this by turning on select pixels and measuring the current draw. It will perform the test several times to ensure