PoleFX Docs

Network

Network layout

Simplest network

The PoleFX Player is connected directly to a single pole.

Multi-device network

Add a network switch or router to control multiple poles from one PoleFX Player. This also opens the control web app over the Ethernet interface, which is faster.

Wi-Fi config

The PoleFX Player starts in Access point mode. It creates its own Wi-Fi network, and you join that network to reach the control web app. Every player leaves the factory broadcasting pfx_default with the password polefx123, and answers at http://polefx.local or http://10.10.10.10. Those values are the same on every unit.

The front-panel display shows the current name and address under Network > Wi-Fi. That is the one place that is always right, so check it first on a player that has been set up before.

  1. Power on the Player and wait

    The Player takes about a minute to boot. Its Wi-Fi network does not appear until it has.

    You should see The front panel lights up and settles on the Now Playing screen.

  2. Join pfx_default on your phone or laptop

    Open your Wi-Fi settings and pick pfx_default. The password is polefx123.

    You should see Your device joins. It reports no internet, which is correct: the Player is not a router.

    Careful Some phones drop a network that has no internet. If yours keeps switching away, turn off automatic switching for pfx_default.

  3. Open the web app

    Type polefx.local in your browser. If that name does not resolve, use 10.10.10.10, which always works in Access point mode.

    You should see The Patterns page, with the pole previewed in the right panel.

Access point or Join network

Access point mode needs no other network to exist, which is what makes it the right choice for a venue you do not control, a rehearsal room, or anywhere the house Wi-Fi has a captive portal. The player is not on the internet in this mode, and does not need to be. Join network mode gives that up in exchange for putting the player on a network you already have.

The same mode has two names

The web app calls the second mode Join network. The front-panel menu calls it Client. They are the same setting, so a value you set in one place is the value the other one reports.

Access pointFactory default
What the player does
Creates its own Wi-Fi network and serves the web app on it.
What has to exist first
Nothing. The player is the network, so it works at a venue with no Wi-Fi at all.
Network your phone joins
The player's own network. From the factory that is pfx_default, password polefx123.
Address to open
http://polefx.local, or http://10.10.10.10, which always works in this mode.
Internet
None. The player is not a router, so your phone reports no internet. That is correct, not a fault.
Join networkJoin a network you have
What the player does
Joins a Wi-Fi network you already have, with either a dynamic (DHCP) or a static address.
What has to exist first
That network, and its password. Set both on Settings > Wi-Fi.
Network your phone joins
The same network the player joined. Your phone and the player have to be on it together.
Address to open
http://polefx.local, or the IP address the front panel shows under Network > Wi-Fi.
Internet
Whatever that network has. This is the mode to use if you want the player to set its clock from the internet.
Start here Which mode should this player use?
  1. If You are at a venue whose Wi-Fi you do not control
    Do Stay in Access point mode. It needs no other network, so nobody has to give you access. Join the name on the front panel and open http://10.10.10.10.
  2. If The house Wi-Fi makes you sign in on a web page first
    Do Stay in Access point mode. The player cannot work through a captive portal. Test it by joining pfx_default and opening http://10.10.10.10.
  3. If You are in a rehearsal room, or anywhere with no network at all
    Do Stay in Access point mode, and expect your phone to report no internet. Confirm the web app opens at http://10.10.10.10.
  4. If You want the poles and your laptop on one network together
    Do Switch to Join network mode on Settings > Wi-Fi, so the player joins the house network. Test it from a laptop already on that network: open http://polefx.local.
  5. If You want the player to set its clock from the internet
    Do Switch to Join network mode and join a network that has internet. Read the address back off the front panel under Network > Wi-Fi, and open it.

Joining an existing network

On Settings > Wi-Fi, switch the mode to Join network to join a network you already have, with either a dynamic (DHCP) or static address. This is worth doing when you want the poles and your laptop on the house network together, or when you want the player to reach the internet to set its clock.

When making network changes, watch the Connection Log on the Wi-Fi settings page to see whether they applied. A reboot may be needed afterward.

  1. Fill in the new network

    On Settings > Wi-Fi, set Wi-Fi Mode, Network Name (SSID), Password, and IP Address.

    You should see Your values in the form. Nothing has reached the player yet.

  2. Press Save Settings

    Nothing changes until you press it. Old lines from an earlier attempt can be cleared first with Clear, which wipes the log.

    You should see The Connection Log below the button start filling with timestamped lines.

  3. Read the log

    The log says exactly what the player did, step by step, and names the mode, the network, and the address it ended on.

    You should see A line reporting the network and address you asked for, such as the Access point being set up with IP 10.10.10.10.

    Careful If you changed the network you are connected over, your device drops off it. Rejoin using the new name and address, which the front panel shows under Network > Wi-Fi.

  4. Reboot if it did not take

    Use System > Reboot on the front panel, and wait about a minute for the web app and the network to come back.

    You should see The player return on the new settings, with the same values shown under Network > Wi-Fi.

Ethernet config

The PoleFX Player has one fixed static IP on its Ethernet interface for talking to the poles; this address is not changeable. It is 192.168.5.101, and the poles live on the same 192.168.5.x range.

To control the poles over Ethernet, your computer has to sit in that same range. Three addresses and one netmask, and everything else follows:

192.168.5.101 The Player

Fixed, on the Ethernet port, and not changeable. Open http://192.168.5.101 to reach the web app this way.

192.168.5.x The poles

Every pole answers in the same range as the player. You do not set these yourself; the player talks to them.

192.168.5.50 Your computer

Pick any free address in the range and set it as a static IP, for example 192.168.5.50. This is the only one you have to configure.

255.255.255.0 The netmask

With this netmask, two devices can only talk when the first three numbers of their addresses match. 192.168.5.50 reaches 192.168.5.101. 192.168.1.50 does not, and nothing loads.

A second IP on the same interface tries DHCP first and falls back to a static IP if that fails. That is what lets one Ethernet port both drive the poles and sit on a house network.

Not yet

The Ethernet fallback IP is not user-settable yet.

When you cannot reach the player

Start at the front panel, not at the browser. It reports the name and address the player is really using, under Network > Wi-Fi for Wi-Fi and Network > Ethernet for the cable, so it settles most of these in one look.

Start here What does the front panel show under Network?
  1. If It shows a network name your phone is not joined to
    Do You are on the wrong Wi-Fi, usually your own home network or cellular data. Join the name on the panel, then open the address on the panel.
  2. If It shows an address you did not type
    Do A player set up before does not have to answer at the factory address. Type the panel's IP address into the browser, digits and dots only, not polefx.local.
  3. If You are on a cable and Ethernet shows 192.168.5.101
    Do The player is fine and your computer is not in its range. Give the computer a static 192.168.5.50 with netmask 255.255.255.0, then open http://192.168.5.101.
  4. If The panel is blank, or has not settled on the Now Playing screen
    Do The player is still booting, and its network is not up until it has. Wait about a minute from power on, then read the panel again.
  5. If The panel matches what you joined and typed, and still nothing loads
    Do Work down the "Nothing loads?" checklist on Web App Overview, which rules out the name, the network, and stale settings in that order.

The front panel also carries the way back if a setting has left the player unreachable: System > Factory Reset > Settings puts every setting back the way the player left the factory, Wi-Fi included, and then shows you the name, password, and address to use. Your patterns, scenes, playlists and output settings are not touched, but your brightness, autoplay, colors, saved messages and DMX addressing are, so it is a bigger step than it sounds when you reach for it to fix a network. See the On-Screen Display page.