Pan/Tilt speed

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   Hiya
So my adventures into the mysteries of DMX are progressing well - I'm getting my lights to do what I want, when I want most of the time.  I could just do with a pointer on one thing...

Channel 3 of my scanners is described as Pan/Tilt speed.  I was just wondering what this means.  I mean I know it means how fast the mirror moves, but isn't that dictated by the fade times on the DMX controller?  Or is it that fade times only work for par cans/colour changers?

For instance, if I set two scenes exactly the same but with just the position of the mirror changed, is it the fade time that I would use to dictate how quickly the mirror moves from A-B or do I need to use this channel?  If I need to use this channel, then does it need to be the same for Scene A and B?  Is it Scene A that sets the speed with which the mirror will move to position B? 

All help gratefully received!

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djgorey Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Young Croc Joined: 29 December 2007 Location: S. Wales Status: Offline Points: 1306	Post Options Post Reply Quote djgorey Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Pan/Tilt speed Posted: 03 June 2019 at 8:48pm
	Hiya So my adventures into the mysteries of DMX are progressing well - I'm getting my lights to do what I want, when I want most of the time. I could just do with a pointer on one thing... Channel 3 of my scanners is described as Pan/Tilt speed. I was just wondering what this means. I mean I know it means how fast the mirror moves, but isn't that dictated by the fade times on the DMX controller? Or is it that fade times only work for par cans/colour changers? For instance, if I set two scenes exactly the same but with just the position of the mirror changed, is it the fade time that I would use to dictate how quickly the mirror moves from A-B or do I need to use this channel? If I need to use this channel, then does it need to be the same for Scene A and B? Is it Scene A that sets the speed with which the mirror will move to position B? All help gratefully received!
	Gaffa tape is like the force in Star Wars - there's a dark side and a light side and it holds the universe together

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: 04 June 2019 at 12:30pm
	Yes, its the speed the mirror moves from one position to another. If you were using a cheap step controller you'd program 2 positions and it would snap between them. The P/T speed would give you some control over how it got there. With modern control systems the control is fairly redundant. I seem to recall a lot of them were 0 fastest - 255 slowest so it would default to snapping if you didn't specifically set it. So just leave it unused if that's how yours works.
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djgorey Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Young Croc Joined: 29 December 2007 Location: S. Wales Status: Offline Points: 1306	Post Options Post Reply Quote djgorey Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 04 June 2019 at 12:33pm
	Cool. Cheers. It certainly hasn't caused me any problems not using it, so best leave it alone. Now I just need to work out how to change to gobos...
	Gaffa tape is like the force in Star Wars - there's a dark side and a light side and it holds the universe together

kedwardsleisure Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Old Croc Joined: 20 January 2009 Location: Staffordshire Status: Offline Points: 4793	Post Options Post Reply Quote kedwardsleisure Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 04 June 2019 at 9:13pm
	The p/t speed channel (used in vector programmes) was necessary in early dmx replay units such as the Martin 2510, because the expensive and thus limited amount of memory meant it wasn't possible to save anything other than snapshots of the dmx every so often, making fades impossible. So you used 'vector' programming instead. Some cheap DMX desks have a low dmx refresh rate which means slow movements can appear jerky, in which case the p/t speed comes back into use.
	Kevin North Staffordshire