Lighting Control

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   So I have a lighting desk in my possesions at the moment with the idea in mind that the mini festie were doing next weekend will have some controlled lighting at it and having a few issues with it.

This is the first time I've really done any dmx stuff before btw so bear with me.

I am using XLRs for the moment and don't have a termination end but will have this and DMX cables before the festival.

The desk is a Lanta Quantom 192

Lights are
Stairville led par 56
Martin roboscan 812
American DJ Revo 4
Stairville 1500W Strobe
Brandless laser

On some of the lights the first channel on the board seems to do something useless.

i assumed the par cans would be a 3 channel light but channel on on the desk seems to do a dim orange then a brighter one then a red then the next 3 channels do RGB as expected but the first channel over rides that.

The same with the roboscan but it just shuts the light off and the motor turns the light around a load.

the roboscan also appears to be the opposite polarity of the par can and strobe I found this by switching the polarity on the desk and happened to have a cable wired like that and used it and it seems fine now. but is there anyway to have this so I don't need the reverse polarity cables as got a few of these lights but only one reverse cable so would I need to get 2 reverse cables for each light or is there an easier way?

Also with the strobe it doesn't seem to start immediately as you push the fader up takes a second before the first flash. Is this normal or can you make it so its immediate as it would make sense to me for it to flash as soon as the faders up.

Thanks in advance!

Edited by Adam_Iron_Horse - 13 September 2014 at 12:54am

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Adam_Iron_Horse Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Old Croc Joined: 02 January 2010 Location: Scotland Status: Offline Points: 2043	Post Options Post Reply Quote Adam_Iron_Horse Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Lighting Control Posted: 12 September 2014 at 11:56pm
	So I have a lighting desk in my possesions at the moment with the idea in mind that the mini festie were doing next weekend will have some controlled lighting at it and having a few issues with it. This is the first time I've really done any dmx stuff before btw so bear with me. I am using XLRs for the moment and don't have a termination end but will have this and DMX cables before the festival. The desk is a Lanta Quantom 192 Lights are Stairville led par 56 Martin roboscan 812 American DJ Revo 4 Stairville 1500W Strobe Brandless laser On some of the lights the first channel on the board seems to do something useless. i assumed the par cans would be a 3 channel light but channel on on the desk seems to do a dim orange then a brighter one then a red then the next 3 channels do RGB as expected but the first channel over rides that. The same with the roboscan but it just shuts the light off and the motor turns the light around a load. the roboscan also appears to be the opposite polarity of the par can and strobe I found this by switching the polarity on the desk and happened to have a cable wired like that and used it and it seems fine now. but is there anyway to have this so I don't need the reverse polarity cables as got a few of these lights but only one reverse cable so would I need to get 2 reverse cables for each light or is there an easier way? Also with the strobe it doesn't seem to start immediately as you push the fader up takes a second before the first flash. Is this normal or can you make it so its immediate as it would make sense to me for it to flash as soon as the faders up. Thanks in advance! Edited by Adam_Iron_Horse - 13 September 2014 at 12:54am
	Kryptonik Sound Kollective www.facebook.com/kryptoniksoundkollective

James Tengo Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Old Croc Joined: 09 May 2008 Location: Brighton Status: Offline Points: 2155	Post Options Post Reply Quote James Tengo Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 13 September 2014 at 8:32am
	First get the channel maps for the fixtures you are using. Here is the manual for the 812's, page 7 explains the need for reverse polarity, page 16 gives the channel map. You will see why pushing your first fader past 80% will make the unit reset. In terms of reversed polarity units, if you wire up all your normal polarity units first, then use your reversing cable, you can then link all the lights you need to be reversed polarity with straight cable links. Assuming the par cans are 3 channel - there are so many led pars out there with so many different channel maps, it's one of the most annoying thing about touring through shit clubs, every day working out what personality to use, even if the lights look the same as the ones from yesterday the channel map will be different. Try page 23 Here for a standard stairville par personality, it will show why the first channel gives you odd colour effects. As for the strobes, they often have a 2,3 or 4 ch mode that gives you separate speed, duration and intensity attributes, so you can fix a rate and fade in and out intensity, which reacts quicker than using a single rate control

Adam_Iron_Horse Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Old Croc Joined: 02 January 2010 Location: Scotland Status: Offline Points: 2043	Post Options Post Reply Quote Adam_Iron_Horse Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 13 September 2014 at 1:05pm
	Okay cool, just had a proper read through the manuals and it makes more sense now, although on the par 56 the first channel doesn't seem to do what its supposed to but doesn't matter hugely. Whats the best way of doing this? Programming scenes and chases im guessing? For the roboscan how would I do wide kinda crowd scans? One scene with the pan to one side then the next with the pan the opposite side and going between them?
	Kryptonik Sound Kollective www.facebook.com/kryptoniksoundkollective

Adam_Iron_Horse Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Old Croc Joined: 02 January 2010 Location: Scotland Status: Offline Points: 2043	Post Options Post Reply Quote Adam_Iron_Horse Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 13 September 2014 at 1:15pm
	I now have a martin destroyer and it doesnt appear to react to the desk at all Thought it may have been the polarity switch but doesnt seem to make a difference when using the flipped polarity cable. Any ideas?
	Kryptonik Sound Kollective www.facebook.com/kryptoniksoundkollective

Adam_Iron_Horse Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Old Croc Joined: 02 January 2010 Location: Scotland Status: Offline Points: 2043	Post Options Post Reply Quote Adam_Iron_Horse Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 13 September 2014 at 1:15pm
	Just seems to sit in sound to light mode even though its dmx addressed for channel 17
	Kryptonik Sound Kollective www.facebook.com/kryptoniksoundkollective

James Tengo Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Old Croc Joined: 09 May 2008 Location: Brighton Status: Offline Points: 2155	Post Options Post Reply Quote James Tengo Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 13 September 2014 at 10:28pm
	There may be dip switch 10 to set it in and out of sound active mode, have a read of the manual, it will all be in there somewhere.... If a Luddite like me can make a good living out of it it's usually fairly simple... Chases built from scenes is the way to go with this type of controller. Upgrade to a chamsys style control for shape generators is the next step, it's a big learning curve but worth it in the end, for a tenner or so for a dongle it's a worthwhile investment

norty303 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Old Croc Joined: 18 August 2004 Location: Eastbourne Status: Offline Points: 8806	Post Options Post Reply Quote norty303 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 15 September 2014 at 1:04pm
	As James says, dip 10 may be your issue, although the master/slave settings were usually printed on the rear panel anyway. Also, you may need to power cycle after changing dips for the new address to take effect.
	My laser stuff: Frikkin Lasers