Troubleshooting

Start by checking the audio source, then match your symptom to the sections below. Use a built-in demo track to separate a source problem from a display problem: you should see a named source, moving left and right meters, and a figure on the scope. Change one setting at a time.

Display Runs Slowly / Low FPSCopy Anchor Link

Cause: Presets with heavy bloom and afterglow (for example Amber CRT and Hitachi V-650F) require more graphics performance.

Workaround: Switch to Basic Green, enable Performance Mode / Analysis in Settings, or reduce Blur in the Beam Bloom / Glow section.

Bloom Flickers During PlaybackCopy Anchor Link

Some beam presets can flicker while the figure changes quickly.

Workaround: Reduce the Blur iterations in the Beam Bloom / Glow widget. You can also try a different preset — Tektronix 465 and HP 1740A are the most stable under rapid signal changes.

No Audio Output / Speakers Are SilentCopy Anchor Link

OSC-1 is a visual XY display — it does not output audio to your speakers unless:

• You have a track loaded from the Track Library (audio playback)
• You have the Viktor NV-1 synth active and a note playing
• You have Microphone input active (monitoring)

The XY signal IS audio (it's the left/right channel values), but it's used to drive the display, not your speakers. To hear the audio representation of a shape, export it as WAV and play it back.

For a known starting point, open Settings → Audio, choose CHANGE if a source is already loaded, then DEMO TRACK. Pick Scope Etude from TRACK LIBRARY and check the mute button and speaker volume in the current-source summary.

MIDI Controller Not DetectedCopy Anchor Link

Requirements: Chrome and Edge support Web MIDI directly. Firefox supports it after a one-time permission add-on; Safari does not. See Browser Support.

Steps:

1. Connect the MIDI device before opening OSC-1
2. When OSC-1 loads, accept the MIDI permission prompt (and Firefox's one-time permission add-on, if offered)
3. Open Settings → MIDI and check Connected Devices — your device should appear
4. If it doesn't appear, disconnect and reconnect the USB cable, then refresh the page

Laser DAC Not Connecting (Helios)Copy Anchor Link

Check:

1. Use a supported desktop browser such as Chrome or Edge.
2. Connect the Helios USB cable before clicking Helios (WebUSB).
3. Select the Helios in the browser's USB permission window and choose Connect.
4. Close any other laser software that may already be using the DAC.
5. If it still fails, disconnect the cable, reconnect it, refresh OSC-1, and try again.

Laser DAC Not Connecting (Ether Dream / LaserCube)Copy Anchor Link

These are network DACs — the browser cannot reach them directly, so the DAC Bridge must be running on the same computer as the browser. See the Laser DAC setup guide for full instructions.

Check:

1. The BeamTracer DAC Bridge is running on the same computer as OSC-1.
2. The DAC and your computer are on the same local network.
3. Your firewall has allowed the Bridge when prompted.
4. For LaserCube, set Control Mode → LaserOS with LAN client, prefer Ethernet, and quit LaserOS on every device before connecting from OSC-1. Full setup: LaserCube.
5. Open Bridge Info in the Laser Output panel and follow the current connection guidance, then try the DAC button again.

Audio Not Reactive to MicrophoneCopy Anchor Link

1. Check browser microphone permission (lock icon in address bar → allow microphone)
2. Open Settings → Audio, choose CHANGE if a source is already loaded, then MICROPHONE. Click ENABLE INPUT, choose your interface, and click START LIVE INPUT
3. On macOS: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone → grant Chrome access
4. Try disconnecting and reconnecting your audio interface, then refresh

The Image Drifts Back to the CenterCopy Anchor Link

On a hardware scope, this is almost always AC coupling. AC coupling filters out the constant part of a signal, and the constant part is what holds the image away from the center. Set both channels to DC coupling.

If it happens in OSC-1 rather than on hardware, look for a high-pass filter or a DC-blocking stage in whatever is producing the audio upstream.

The Figure Is a Diagonal LineCopy Anchor Link

The two channels are carrying the same signal, so every point satisfies x = y and the only shape available is a 45-degree line.

• Check that the source is genuinely stereo, not mono duplicated to both channels.
• Check that no mono or channel-collapse processing is enabled in the path.
• If you are using a signal generator, confirm the two axes have different settings — identical settings on X and Y draw a diagonal by definition.

The Figure Is Clipped Flat on One or More SidesCopy Anchor Link

The signal is exceeding the display's range and being cut off at the boundary. Reduce the output level from the source, or reduce gain in OSC-1.

Clipping is worth recognizing by eye: the shape looks correct in the middle and has straight, hard edges exactly where the boundary is. Curves do not naturally flatten into perfectly straight parallel segments.

The Figure Rotates or Crawls SlowlyCopy Anchor Link

The frequency ratio between the axes is very slightly off a whole number. A drift with a period of several seconds is a fractional-percent error — which is what standard equal-temperament tuning is made of.

See Harmony for why this happens and what to do about it. Small deliberate detuning is also a legitimate effect, if the drift is one you chose.

Corners Look Soft or RoundedCopy Anchor Link

This is usually not a fault. Sharp corners need frequencies above what the audio can carry, so they round off. Lower the drawing rate, then raise the sample rate, then cut geometry — in that order.

Full explanation in Fidelity.

Further ReadingCopy Anchor Link