Guide 4: Night-of Checklist – What to Test in 15 Minutes

This guide is for the moment right before you leave, or when you’ve parked and are about to start.
Not optimization. Not perfection. Just: does it work?

The goal is to catch errors before they become stress at 2:30 AM.

The Goal of This Guide

• Detect critical errors early

• Avoid panic and rebooting

• Ensure you always have light, no matter what

• Know what’s worth fixing – and what isn’t

The Basic Rule

If the base light works, the party works.

Everything else is a bonus.

Part 1: 5-Minute Quick Check (Must Be Done)

This is the minimum. No discussion.

• Inverter on

• No error messages / beeping

• LED strips light up steadily

• No cables are hot

• Fuses are secure

If anything fails here → do not proceed.

Part 2: Base Light (2 Minutes)

This is the most important layer.

• LED strips at low intensity

• No flickering

• Colors are stable

• Responds to scene change

If the base light doesn’t work:
→ safe mode
→ skip effects
→ the party continues

Part 3: Effects – Test One by One (5 Minutes)

Don’t test everything at once.

Laser

• Does it turn on?

• Does it turn off again?

• Correct direction (not at eye level)?

Strobe

• Does it respond immediately?

• No constant flashing?

Smoke

• Fire one short burst

• Check that the inverter holds

• No reset afterwards

If smoke → reset:
→ skip smoke for the night

Part 4: Blackout and Safe Mode (1 Minute)

This is critical.

• Press blackout → everything off

• Release → base light returns

• Activate safe mode manually

If this doesn’t work:
→ fix now, not later

Part 5: What You Don’t Test Tonight

This saves you a lot of stress.

• Perfect sync

• Advanced effects

• New presets

• “Let’s just try one more thing”

If it works 90% → leave it alone.

Part 6: When Something Fails Later in the Night

Follow this order:

1. Safe mode

2. Skip smoke

3. Skip strobe

4. Keep LED strips

Don’t:

• reboot everything

• swap cables in the dark

• troubleshoot “a bit more”

The audience cares less than you think.

15-Minute Total Overview

• 5 min: power + base

• 5 min: effects one by one

• 1 min: blackout / safe

• 4 min: done

If this is done:
→ you’re ready

Common Night-of Mistakes

• Testing everything at once

• Changing setup right before departure

• Ignoring hot cables

• Chasing small errors

• Forgetting safe mode

Ready for the Next Step?

The first four guides are about the foundation:
equipment, power, safety, and structure.

The next step is how this is actually used in practice – with Y-Link.

Next Guide in the Series:

Guide 5: Y-Link on Party Bus – Control Without Chaos

In this guide, we’ll go through specifically:

• how Y-Link is used on party buses and party vans

• how DJ and lighting work together without misunderstandings

• how modes, scenes, and effects are set up in Y-Link

• how to keep full control – even when something fails

This is the guide that shows what’s different with Y-Link, and why it works better in reality than:

• auto-modes

• random DMX setups

• one person who “just fixes things a bit”