K-Nine

The delay in moving the cursor onto the next character seems to be around 2-3 seconds which does seem rather excessive. As each MFK only contains a single character (digit) this delay is unecessary and should be removed (Ref. LF-1968)

I don't seem to have any problem entering repeating digits for fixture number or channel levels using the command line method (Numeric keypad on Special Page 2 on the MFKs). Were you using the command line syntax or just entering the channel value directly in the Program Window ? However, in other circumstances (eg on the Memories screen with the cursor on the memory number, press ENTER, enter required memory number then press ENTER), it would appear that if you press a single digit MFK twice in quick succession it does not pick up the second digit. However, if you wait for the flashing cursor to move onto the next character, it appears that you can enter numbers such as 11, 22, 33 etc. The delay in moving the cursor onto the next character seems to be around 2-3 seconds which does seem rather excessive.

The OVERRIDE control on the front panel should affect all the times associated with a memory, ie Wait, Delay and Fade times for each of the attributes (intensity, colour, beamshape and position).

It does appear that you cannot copy cue zero (--) at the moment. I don't see why this should be prevented and so it will be added to the list of suggestions for future software releases (Ref. LF-1967) Note - As well as being a blackout cue it will also reset all the other fixture parameters to their default values (ie open white, no gobo, pan/tilt at 50% etc.) This is a known bug and will be fixed in a future version of the desk software (Ref. LF-1596).

If a fixture parameter uses a single DMX channel it is 8 bit (0-255). If a fixture parameter is spread over two DMX channels (eg Pan Coarse, Pan Fine) it is 16 bit (0-65535).

I believe that the smart tag operation is behaving as designed. With smart tags switched ON - The desk sees that the fixtures are 'off' and therefore determines that it does not need to record them; similarly if the fixtures were 'on' and you programmed say a position chase, it would also record the intensity, colour etc to give the look that was on the stage at the time of programming. Programming position only chases (or any other type of chases that do not include intensity) is something that the more experienced programmer might wish to do and as such it is recommended that you switch smart tags OFF. By referring to the Program Window, you can see what fixture parameters are tagged and know that only those parameters will be recorded into the chase. Suggestion: If you program a submaster with just the intensity of the required fixtures, you can raise this sub to see the fixtures and then program the position only chase onto another sub.

Links to the fixture editor tools, and user guide can all be found in This Topic.

Does this mean you are only interested in the intensity fade times ? There are also Colour, beamshape and position fade times applicable to the memory if the corresponding fixture parameters are programmed

There is a subtle difference between the fade up/down times as used by the memory when played back on the memory stack and when playing it back on a submaster ... I think this is probably what has caused the confusion. When playing back a memory on the memory stack ... the fadeup/down times always refer to what happens to the channels in the incoming memory. Channels that are fading up will do so in the fade up time; channels fading down will do so in the fade down time. For example: Memory 1: Channels 1-6 all at 50% Memory 2: Channels 1-2 @ 0; Channels 3-4 @ 50%; Channels 5-6 @ 100%; Fade up = 1 sec; Fade down = 5 sec. When going from memory 1 to memory 2 it is both the fade up and fade down times defined in memory 2 that determine how the channels fade. Therefore ... Channels 1-2 will fade to 0 in 5 secs. Channels 3-4 will remain at 50%. Channels 5-6 will fade up to 100% in 1 sec. If any of the channels change value in memory 3, then the fade up and fade down times in memory 3 will determine the fades when you go to that memory. When you transfer a memory onto a submaster, the fade up/down times are copied to the submaster fade up/down times and determine the fade times of the intensity channels when you raise and lower the submaster fader.

The fixture type you have obviously requires 17 channels of DMX for all of it's parameters (dimmer, cyan, magenta, yellow, pan, tilt etc.). When patching fixtures, the range of DMX channels that each requires cannot overlap with that of another fixture. If you patch the first fixture to Universe B DMX address 1 then the next available address will be universe B DMX address 18, the next DMX address 35 etc.

Audio Input Stereo input > 10k, 100mV to 10V.

The Sound to Light input is used when a chase has the Drive modifier set to Bass. The bass beat of the incoming sound signal is used to trigger each step of the chase.

Take the file containing the fixture profile data and copy onto a floppy disk. Then in Desk Setup - Assign Fixtures use the Assign Fixture from Floppy Disk option and select the fixture type required from the disk ... see Operating Manual Page 6-3 to 6-5 for full details.

Setup - Edit Fixtures - Topset Press the SETUP key. Select the [Edit Fixtures] option, select the fixture(s) to be edited, Select the [Topset] tab. Use the cursor keys or mouse to select the required fixture, press ENTER, enter the required topset value, press ENTER. Repeat for each required fixture. Select [OK] in Edit Fixtures window. Press SETUP to exit setup. (Leap Frog 48/96 Operating Manual - Issue 2 - Pages 43-44)

I wonder if this could be related to the problem you posted re submasters with transferred memories which lost their name and fade times on power cycling the desk ? I will do some testing here and see if I can reproduce the problem.

At the moment you cannot transfer a chase programmed directly on a submaster to a memory. Although this may be possible in the future, there are tracking issues to consider ... When you transfer a memory onto a submaster and play back the submaster, you will only see the changes or channels that are tagged/programmed in the memory, as opposed to the accumulation of all the previous memories if you played back the memory from the memory stack.

Just checked it out on the desk here and it appears to be a bug. (Ref. LF-1898) When you power cycle the desk the transferred chase memory still appears to run correctly on the submaster, but the name has reverted to the default name (rather than the memory number and memory name) and the fade up/down times are displayed as zero (the submaster default) on the Submasters window even though the outputs themselves still fade up/down in the original 3 seconds. NOTE: On the Leap Frog 48/96 desks you can program a chase directly onto a submaster if you wish, rather than transferring a chase memory onto the submaster.

This bug has been verified on a Frog 2 desk here ... reference F2-1892 ... to be fixed in the next version of software.

There is also the possibility of a 'Park' function which could also be considered for a future version of software if that function would be useful.

Turn Smart Tags Off ... program each chase step as required, remembering to take out any channels that you don't want to be output in the step. The chase should then run as you expect

Yes, it is possible ... First put the Program Window into Blind Mode ... Press the BLIND key on Special Page 1 of the MFKs. Then load the memory to be edited into the programmer ... Select the memory to be edited on the Memories Window, then press the LOAD key. Adjust the dimmer levels and/or fixture parameter values as required, then press the UPDATE key to update the memory. For further details on Blind Mode and editing memories see the Leap Frog 48/96 Operating Manual pages 91 and 103.

For your information ... HOME: Complete home of all selected fixtures; removes all effects. Hold down COLOUR and press HOME: homes colour parameters of selected fixtures; removes all colour effects. Hold down BEAMSHAPE and press HOME: Homes beamshape parameters of selected fixtures; removes all beam effects . Hold down POSITION and press HOME: Homes position parameters of selected fixtures; removes all position effects. Hold down EFFECT and press HOME: Removes all effects from the selected fixtures.

To simulate holding down the SETUP button right click on that button (a yellow light appears in the button to indicate it is being held down). Then click on the MEMORIES button. Then right click on the SETUP button again to release it. Alternatively, move the cursor to the Comments field on the Memories Screen for the selected memory and press the ENTER key.

On the Phantom Frog, you can assign and patch fixtures and then program memories, submasters and palettes as you would on the real desk. The show file can then be copied onto a floppy disk and loaded onto a desk.

Unless I am missing something here ... isn't that what the control wheels are used for ?