First things first, one of the best pieces of advice I ever received from another tech was that almost every time something is not working properly it’s probably a button. I can’t tell you how many times the problem was a mute button and on a channel on a mixer or a power strip that is not plugged in. That’s why the first and most important tech tip is that you need to understand signal flow.
Signal flow is a pretty basic thing to understand, put simply it is the path any signal takes to go from the source, ie – microphone, to the destination, ie – speakers. When something does not work your first step is to start at the source and follow the path to make sure it’s all plugged in and that all the buttons and knobs are set properly. It could be as simple as a cable unplugged somewhere down the line or as mentioned earlier a mute button hit somewhere in the path.
If the problem is not obvious at this point, then it is time to go back to the drawing board and start over at the source. Try swapping out the source with a backup, then try the cable connected to it, then check any extension cables attached to that, then try a different mixer input channel. If it still is not working try a different output channel such as an aux out on the board. Check your output cables and extension cables that are going to the speakers/amps. If the amps are not built into the speakers then check the cables in between the amps and speakers and make sure they are on the right input and output there.
The last thing to keep in mind with signal flow and basic troubleshooting is that AV is a two part equation, not only do you need signal for things to work but they also need power. Countless times I have seen a tech in the middle of troubleshooting when a fresh set of eyes walks over and turns on the power strip. Like magic everything starts working.
That brings us to our final step in troubleshooting, CALL FOR HELP. Everybody misses a button or has a cable disconnected sometime in their career. It happens to even the best of us. If you have spent more than a few minutes going through the flow of power and signal and you are still stumped just ask the nearest tech for a second opinion before giving up and saying something is actually broken.
What is your favorite story about that nightmare happening to you? leave a comment below!