Checklist for Preparation for the Next Business (Town, City Council, Board) Meeting

PROBLEM

You are trying to make sure that all of your Meridia equipment is fully functional before the start of your next (town, council, board) or other business meeting.

SOLUTION

Here is a simple workflow to follow to make sure you are prepared before every meeting:

CHECK KEYPADS

CHECK THE BATTERIES

• Turn each keypad ON and visually confirm that there's no 'low battery' indicator on the screen.
  • This article talks about the keypad display notifications
• If the battery is low, change it now, even though it might still last through the next meeting
  • We recommend buying the batteries in bulk, but only as many as you need for the NEXT battery change, because storing batteries on the shelf for a longer period of time may degrade their capacity (voltage) over time.
  • Here are the two vendors that we use because they sell the batteries in 'tray' packaging that's easier to open and the price per battery is around $0.25/piece.
    • BestByte
    • Battery Junction
• If you're missing battery covers (backs), let us know; we have a few spares we can send you.

• The number (Keypad ID) stickers on the back of the keypads get 'smudged' or 'scraped' through use over time, so it's a good idea to reprint them once in a while.
  • See this Article if you want to reprogram keypad IDs or contact Meridia Support.
  • We recommend that you use ready-to-print labels from OnlineLabels, model OL5400WR
    After you order and receive the labels, use our ready-to-print templates, and print those on any regular printer.

TEST THE KEYPADS

• Start the TownVOTE app and create a Test Vote on your Agenda page
  • Use the Participant Grid mode to show all the keypads as their votes are registered
• Don't forget to connect your base receiver to the computer and observe that on the Agenda page, the Base Connectivity Indicator is green and says "Base Connected"
• Open the vote
  • Once the vote is opened, using the Settings Panel, you can adjust the grid size to show a maximum of 400 keypads at a time (20 x 20), but you can navigate through pages of 400 by using the right and left arrow, or your mouse wheel when scrolling over the window
  • You may find this article about How to Access the Settings Panel in TownVOTE useful.
• Push any valid button (YES/NO/ABS) to cast a vote on each keypad, which should result in the Voting Box for that Keypad ID to light up blue.
  • You can access the Settings Panel and turn off the Delay Vote Values to see the Yes/No/Abs values in real-time
  • DO NOT FORGET TO TURN THIS OFF AGAIN BEFORE THE MEETING or turn OFF the Show Vote Values altogether if you want the voting (after testing) to be anonymous.
• If any keypad registers on the Voting Grid as a number/ID different from the one that it's labeled as, contact Meridia Support and we'll help you reprogram the keypads.

TROUBLESHOOTING

What if the keypads don't register when I vote (push a valid answer choice)?

• Did you open the vote in the software and did you confirm (a second time) that you wanted to open the vote? The vote status in the Status Bar should say "Open"
• Does the keypad show a number or a letter when you push a valid option?
  • If it's a letter (e.g., A, B, C) then the vote is NOT open, or the base receiver is in Match Mode and your keypad has not been 'matched' to the receiver.
    • Either use a receiver that the keypad(s) is/are matched to, or replace the receiver with an Auto Mode (Open Mode) receiver, or reset the Match Mode back to Open/Auto on the current receiver.
      
  • If it's a number (e.g., 1, 2, 3) the vote is open and you should see "OK" after you press a valid answer.
• If you see "OK" but the number that corresponds to the keypad ID does not show in the Voting Grid, the keypad may be:
  • Outside of the keypad range of your Participant List
  • Outside of the keypad range of the hardware (check the Settings page on the Connect Dashboard)
    

SETUP HARDWARE

• Set up the connections on the desk first
  • receivers > computer
  • boosters > receiver (verify blue light is flashing on silver boosters, red light is on when using black booster)
• Run cables as necessary, leave slack below the tripod to allow for up to 13' of height increase
  • avoid running across stage when able (run along, below, etc.)
  • run double cables, if possible (primary and backup)
• LAST STEP of setup: tape all cables that are in public access areas
  • mount the equipment to the tripods at low level
  • install shelves securely and strategically
  • establish all electric and RF connections, verify
  • raise the tripod to desired height (min. 9' when possible)
  • organize cables neatly along the tripod
    • Refer to the (attached) "Optional Electronic Voting, Audio-Visual and Power Equipment - Categorized Price List" spreadsheet
• Verify connections again (visually confirm two blue lights on EA4000T and EXT-S receivers, as well as doing a test vote. If vote collection is slow, there's interference from Wi-Fi, or the booster connection has been severed and needs to be checked and fixed
• Check channels
  • are four of them turned on?
  • do you need all four? If the group is smaller (up to 200 people), you can get away with using only 1-2 channels (keep in mind Wi-Fi interference below)
  • check through a mobile "Wi-Fi Analyzer app" - are they avoiding Wi-Fi in the room?
  • ask the venue/IT to disable as much Wi-Fi as possible
    • Refer to the "Base Station Channel and Wi-Fi Channel Optimization (Meridia)" spreadsheet (attached)
• Check software setup
  • check participant list, include only what's being used at the event (full range of available keypads)
  • check keypad range, include only what's being used at the event (full range of available keypads)
  • set event wallpaper
  • walk through agenda, voting rules, design of the motion text (# of lines, spacing, punctuation, etc.)
• Keypad distribution
  • who is in charge of registration, keypad distribution, collection?
  • where and when are keypads going to be distributed from?
  • who is the 'custodian' responsible for the voting devices (at registration, overnight, during collection?)
  • provide us with the number of registered voters at the beginning of the meeting, and throughout, especially as people are leaving
  • how are keypads collected? who is in charge of that?
  • if collections bins are used, make sure they are clearly labeled (NO TRASH!! DROP VOTING DEVICES HERE)
    • See Downloads page on our website
  • work on an announcement from the stage that reminds people the voting devices are not to be taken home and where to drop them off
  • check floor/seating area for lost/dropped keypads

ARS Event Checklist

CloudVOTE & TownVOTE Online & Hybrid Event Best Practices

Event Checklist PDF

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