SLOrk/2016/station setup

This page details how to set up a SLOrk station.

Ingredients

• 1 large rectangular SLOrk pillow.
• 1 small circular SLOrk pillow.
• 1 small IKEA table.
• 1 MOTU, preferably the MOTU Ultralite mk3
• 1 firewire cable (FW800 to FW400 - for connecting MOTU to laptop)
• 1 Hemi speaker
• 1 power adapter (for Hemi speaker)
• 1 SLOrk Laptop (aka a SLOrktop)
• 1 laptop power adaptor
• 1 blue cable snake (6-channels, for connecting MOTU to SLOrktop)
• 1 AC power splitter (multiple outlets)

Several hemis, the hemispherical loudspeaker arrays used by SLOrk.

Assembly

1. Place the large rectangular pillow on the floor where you'll sit.
2. Place the circular pillow on top of the rectangular pillow. This is where you'll be sitting.
3. Place the small IKEA table directly in front of your pillows.
4. Place the SLOrk laptop on top of the IKEA table.
5. Place the MOTU directly underneath the IKEA table.
6. Place the Hemi speaker next to the IKEA table.
7. Plug your local power splitter into power so you have some outlets you can use
8. Plug in the laptop power.
9. Plug in the Hemi speaker power.
10. Use the Firewire cable to connect the MOTU to the laptop. (Note: when using the Firewire cable, we don't need a separate cable to power the MOTU.)
11. Use the cable snake to connect the MOTU to the Hemi.
    • The cables are numbered on each end.
    • The jacks are fatter on one end than the other. IMPORTANT: you'll plug the fatter side into the Hemi, since they won't fit side-by-side into the MOTU.
    • Cables 1 and 2 plug into the MOTU main (left, right) outs. Cables 3-6 plug into MOTU analog audio out channels 1-4, respectively.
    • On the Hemi side, the channels are (from left to right) 1-6.
    • But actually we usually don't care which channel is which

The front (top) and back (bottom) panels for the MOTU Ultralite mk3.

Testing

• Open up the laptop and sign in.
• Your MOTU should be powered on as well; use the MOTU's master volume knob and set it to -20 dB.
• In your laptop's system preferences, ensure that the sound output is the MOTU Ultralite.
• Open up a terminal and type hemi-test. This will output a click in each channel successively, with ascending pitch. You should hear six distinct clicks over and over again.
• Feel free to find us for troubleshooting, or consult the FAQs.