--- title: "Configure Active Wand" canonical: "https://help.vicon.com/space/ActiveWandDoc/339348612/Configure%20Active%20Wand" format: markdown --- You monitor and configure Active Wand by interacting with the following: > Macro (toc) > ℹ️ **Color**** of Active Wand controls** > ℹ️ Due to updates to our manufacturing process, the colors of some controls in the images in this guide may differ slightly from those of your Active Wand. The functionality of the controls remains as described. > Macro (scroll-pagebreak) > Macro (anchor) ## Active Wand controls ![image](media://7e4cb149-2ffc-4aa8-aee2-27f0064672b5) > Macro (inline-media-image)   Battery charge indicator LEDs x 5 (see [Understand the battery charge indicator LEDs](https://vicon-help.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/ActiveWandDoc/pages/339348551/Care+of+Active+Wand#BatteryChargeIndicator)) > Macro (inline-media-image)   Status indicator LED (see [Status indicator LED](https://vicon-help.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/ActiveWandDoc/pages/339348612/Configure+Active+Wand#StatusIndicator)) > Macro (inline-media-image)   On/Off button > Macro (inline-media-image)  Brightness control (two buttons) (see [Brightness control](https://vicon-help.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/ActiveWandDoc/pages/339348612/Configure+Active+Wand#BrightnessControl)) > Macro (inline-media-image)  Wand pattern control: 1/Standard/2 (see [Wand pattern control](https://vicon-help.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/ActiveWandDoc/pages/339348612/Configure+Active+Wand#WandPatternControl)) > Macro (inline-media-image)  LED mode control: Strobe/Continuous (see [LED mode control](https://vicon-help.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/ActiveWandDoc/pages/339348612/Configure+Active+Wand#LEDMode)) > Macro (inline-media-image) USB-C connection for charging the batteries (see [Charge Active Wand](https://vicon-help.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/ActiveWandDoc/pages/339348551/Care+of+Active+Wand#ChargeBattery)) > Macro (inline-media-image) Handle/battery holder (see [Extend the wand](https://vicon-help.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/ActiveWandDoc/pages/339348612/Configure+Active+Wand#ExtendWand) and [Replace Active Wand batteries](https://vicon-help.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/ActiveWandDoc/pages/339348551/Care+of+Active+Wand#ReplaceBatteries)) > Macro (inline-media-image)  Extension thread (see [Extend the wand](https://vicon-help.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/ActiveWandDoc/pages/339348612/Configure+Active+Wand#ExtendWand)) > Macro (inline-media-image)  Bubble levels (see [Set the volume origin](https://vicon-help.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/ActiveWandDoc/pages/339345815/Use+Active+Wand#SetVolumeOrigin)) > Macro (inline-media-image)  Camera strobe sensors x 2: one on each face (see  [Synchronize the Active Wand to the cameras](https://vicon-help.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/ActiveWandDoc/pages/339345815/Use+Active+Wand#SyncToCameras)) > Macro (inline-media-image)  Etched lines, for aligning to origin (see [Align the wand with the origin](https://vicon-help.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/ActiveWandDoc/pages/339348612/Configure+Active+Wand#AlignWandWithOrigin)) Also supplied but not shown, force plate alignment guides x 2, which can be fitted as appropriate for your requirements (see [Set the volume origin](https://vicon-help.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/ActiveWandDoc/pages/339345815/Use+Active+Wand#SetVolumeOrigin)). > Macro (anchor) ### Battery charge indicator LEDs Monitor the battery charge indicator LEDs each time you use the wand, to ensure it is sufficiently charged. For more information, see [Understand the battery charge indicator](https://vicon-help.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/ActiveWandDoc/pages/339348551/Care+of+Active+Wand#BatteryChargeIndicator). > Macro (anchor) ### Status indicator LED The status indicator LED displays these colors: > Macro (scroll-tablelayout) | Color | Status | Meaning | | --- | --- | --- | | 🟢 Green | Booting | Wand is booting up after being turned on. | | 🟠 Orange | Locking | Wand is looking for strobe light to sync to. | | 🔵 Blue | Ready | Wand is ready:
**Strobe** mode: locked to camera strobes and outputting strobed light
**Continuous** mode: continuously outputting light (not pulsed) | ### On/Off button The On/Off button is a round, black button located at the lower left of the wand controls. Press once to turn the wand on or off. > Macro (anchor) ### Brightness control Two buttons (**+** and **–**) control the brightness of the LEDs on the Active Wand. Press the buttons to increase or decrease the brightness of the LEDs. > ✅ **Recommended brightness level** > ✅ Do not set the brightness any higher than necessary. We recommend that, unless your volume is very large, you leave the brightness at its default setting of **2** or set it lower (minimum brightness may be the best setting for smaller volumes), even in sunny or very well lit volumes. > ✅ > ✅ To avoid unwanted reflections, particularly in smaller volumes, place the wand as far from the cameras as possible and set the brightness to the minimum level where the LEDs are clearly visible. > ✅ > ✅ In Strobe mode, which is brighter than Continuous mode, you may need to turn down the brightness if the grayscale appears over-saturated, the centroids are inaccurately positioned, and/or the calibration seems slow and produces poor results. When the wand is turned on, the LEDs on the underside are on by default as this is convenient for normal use. However, to prevent reflections from the LEDs on the underside of the wand from interfering with the Set Origin procedure (see [Set the volume origin](https://vicon-help.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/ActiveWandDoc/pages/339345815/Use+Active+Wand#SetVolumeOrigin)), you can turn these LEDs off (and on again) as follows. **To toggle ****on/off**** all the LEDs on the underside of the wand:** - Press both brightness buttons at the same time. > ℹ️ **No****te** > ℹ️ When you turn the wand off and on again, all LEDs are displayed, even if you previously turned off the LEDs on the underside of the wand. > Macro (anchor) ### Wand pattern control Leave the wand pattern control in its central (standard) position to ensure sync verification. Positions ** ****1**** ** and ** ****2**** ** on this control are reserved for future use. > Macro (anchor) ### LED mode control For optimal results, ensure the LED mode switch , which is set to Strobe by default, is set to the required mode. For information on when Continuous mode may be needed, see [Use Active Wand](https://vicon-help.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/ActiveWandDoc/pages/339345815). > Macro (anchor) ## Active Wand physical attachments You can extend the functionality of your Active Wand in these ways: ### Align force plates To better align the Active Wand coordinate system with a force plate, you can attach the supplied plates to the top and right side edge of the wand. For more information on aligning force plates, see [Set the volume origin](https://vicon-help.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/ActiveWandDoc/pages/339345815/Use+Active+Wand#SetVolumeOrigin). > Macro (anchor) ### Extend the wand If the height of the capture volume makes it difficult to dynamically calibrate the entire camera sensor, you can extend the length of the wand. To do this, screw an extension rod into the base of the handle . The thread is ¼" - 20 UNC. This has been tested with a [Manfrotto carbon fiber extension pole](https://www.manfrotto.com/global/extension-in-carbon-fibre-for-manfrotto-gimbals-mvgext/).  > Macro (anchor) ### Level the wand on uneven floors If the floor is uneven, adjust the level wheels (see > Macro (inline-media-image) in [Introducing Active Wand](https://vicon-help.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/ActiveWandDoc/pages/339345725)) and check the bubble level to ensure the wand is level. When the wand is turned on, the LEDs on the underside are on by default. To prevent reflections interfering with leveling the wand, you can toggle on/off all the LEDs on the underside of the wand. To do this, press both brightness buttons at the same time. For more information on adjusting the wand for uneven surfaces, see [Set the volume origin](https://vicon-help.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/ActiveWandDoc/pages/339345815/Use+Active+Wand#SetVolumeOrigin). > Macro (anchor) ### Align the wand with the origin Use the lines etched on the wand to align the wand with the required origin. For details, see [Set the volume origin](https://vicon-help.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/ActiveWandDoc/pages/339345815/Use+Active+Wand#SetVolumeOrigin).