Connect#

The Connect screen (sidebar 🔌, Ctrl+1) is where you discover and connect signal sources. A device must be connected here before you can record or view anything.

Three cards select the source type:

Card

Source

BrainAccess

BrainAccess headsets over Bluetooth.

Network

Any Lab Streaming Layer (LSL) stream on your network.

Synthetic Data

Computer-generated test signals — no hardware needed.

Once something is connected, a Connected Devices section appears above the cards. Every list has a “Filter devices…” search box.

BrainAccess headsets#

Power the headset on and keep it near your computer. The Bluetooth scan runs continuously; discovered devices appear in the list.

  1. Find your device (type in “Filter devices…” if the list is long).

  2. Choose what to launch:

    • Signal — normal EEG/biosignal streaming.

    • Impedance — electrode-contact check (see below).

  3. Click Connect (or Start Impedance).

Notes on the device list:

  • While a device is connected, scanning pauses — click “Scan for more devices” to look for additional headsets.

  • A device that stops advertising doesn’t vanish immediately: its row dims with a “Last seen N s ago” caption. It usually means the device is powering off, out of range, or low on battery. It is removed after about 90 seconds of silence.

  • “No nearby BrainAccess devices detected yet.” — power the device on, bring it closer, then “Scan for more devices”.

Impedance mode#

Impedance streams electrode contact quality instead of signal — use it while seating the electrodes. When contact looks good, disconnect and reconnect in Signal mode to get actual EEG.

If a connection fails#

The device row shows the reason and a Retry button:

Message

What it means

Connection timed out — try again

Device out of range or the Bluetooth adapter was busy.

Could not connect — check the device is nearby and charged

The device didn’t respond.

Device is already connected

The device is in use — possibly by another application or Board instance.

Lost connection to the backend during connect — try again

A temporary internal hiccup; retry.

Network (LSL) streams#

The Network card lists LSL streams found on your network that are not yet connected, shown as “{name} ({type} – {N}Ch, {rate} Hz)”. Click Connect on a stream to add it as a source.

A BrainAccess headset shared as a remote LSL stream is recognised as such: it connects with its headset model name and shows its battery level, just like a locally connected device.

If the list is empty (“No un-connected LSL streams found…”), make sure the application producing the stream is running and on the same network.

Synthetic data#

The Synthetic Data card lists signal-generator templates, shown as “{name} ({N} ch)”. Click Connect to start one — useful for trying out Board without hardware. Synthetic signals are test data, not real biosignals. You can customise generators via templates (see Device templates).

Connected Devices#

Each connected source shows its status and two controls:

  • Disconnect — stop the source.

  • 👁 — open this device in its own viewer window (handy with multiple devices).

A source that loses its link — the device powered off, moved out of range, or its stream ended — is removed from Connected Devices automatically within a few seconds. There is no persistent “Offline” row; Disconnect removes a device immediately. Power the device back on and reconnect from its card.

The gear icon on a device card opens its template — the channel layout and per-channel settings used when connecting (see Device templates).