K-Nine

Hi Larson, Not really a debate... we just need to make sure it works properly... else you would all complain ;-) If you are playing a chase from the memory stack, when it is running, you can hit the 'edit' button and adjust the speed, direction etc. We currently don't have a function that allows adjustment of a chase running from a submaster. We are hoping to include these two items in the next features update package.

It is very rare that we take out features put into previous releases. The only time this happens is where a new feature supercedes an existing one. For example, the new improved more flexible movement effects generator in Release 7.5.

There is no simple way to update a Frog desk BIOS. You shouldn't need to, the software updates are compatible.

Living evidence that alcohol is good, if all these "wise people" can create such profound statements. "Sometimes when I reflect back on all the wine I drink I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the vineyards and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn't drink this wine, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself, "It is better that I drink this wine and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver." "I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day." Frank Sinatra "An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk in order to spend time with his friends." Ernest Hemingway "When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading." Henny Youngman "24 hours in a day, 24 beers in a case. Coincidence? I think not." Stephen Wright "When we drink, we get drunk. When we get drunk, we fall asleep. When we fall asleep, we commit no sin. When we commit no sin, we go to heaven. So, let's all get drunk and go to heaven!" Brian O'Rourke "Alcohol is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." Benjamin Franklin Remember "I" before "E", except in Budweiser. To some it's a six-pack, to me it's a Support Group. K-Nine Try Another Raspberry Dipped in Sherry

Nice idea 8) especially if the user could 'load' his own screen saver / wallpaper :wink: Would this be an animated screen saver (program) or simply a static picture (bitmap, jpeg, gif) :?: When you say the desk is 'idle', do you mean that it is not processing any front panel, keyboard or remote controls :?: The software in the desk itself is never truly 'idle' as it is continually calculating HTP and LTP nodes, generating DMX outputs, processing fades, handling real time and automatic triggers etc etc . Would the user be able to set the time at which the desk went into 'screen saver mode' :?: There is also the question of what would trigger coming out of the screen saver :?: My software colleague also tells me that another issue for the frog desks is that they are not running in a true graphics mode (cf the Illusion 120/240/500 and Sirus250/500); they are running in a Text mode.... but not being a software guru myself I don't know how significant this is :? Frog Reference No 5444 - Screen Saver/Wallpaper for monitor - to be reviewed.

We are aware that there are certain limitations when entering text from the external keyboard, since the interface for naming items (memories, submasters etc) was originally developed around the four cursor keys. Frog Reference 5400 - Allow additional characters when naming items; Backspace and Delete keys should also work in text editing via external keyboard. Implemented in version 9.8

One afternoon at Cheers, Cliff was explaining the Buffalo Theory to his buddy Norm: "Well ya see, Norm, it's like this.... A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members. In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Excessive intake of alcohol, as we know, kills brain cells. But naturally, it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of alcohol eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine. That's why you always feel smarter after a few drinks."

The Memories screen is designed as a single list of memories because it represents the memory stack which the Playback X uses for replaying the memories, theatre style with the Go button, typically in numerical order. If you wish to group your memories, there is no reason why you couldn't have one set starting at number 1, another at 101, the next at 201 etc. Using the keyboard for numeric entry makes moving between memory numbers much quicker than scrolling using the cursor keys. Naming of memories also makes it easier to remember what each memory contains. Changing the memory stack from a simple list to a number of pages (cf submasters) would not be a trivial exercise and would significantly alter the current user interface and possibly upset other users. It would appear from your post that you are not using the memories as a sequential memory stack ... is that correct ? Could I ask how you are using the programmed memories ? If you are only programming scenes, could you program submasters directly with channel data, with the different fixtures programmed on different pages ?

Hi folks, While I was touring this planet I came across this response to my previous post ... I believe from a non-Welsh person living in Wales :wink: God must have had an off day. :evil: The Lakes didn't exactly turn out blue did they? Most of Wales is marginal farmland only able to support sheep and even the valleys have heavy clay soil fit only for cattle pasture, not really what you would call Eden? I suppose the coast East of Cardiff was only a small oversight. Still the coal held up for a while and there where fish in the sea until the Spanish trawlers turned up. I'm not saying there are not naturally gifted rugby players in Wales but I don't know who any of them are playing for. I'm not that sure about the singers either, Harry Secombe was a bit Welsh wasn't he ? The Welsh people are friendly but they didn't use to be so honest. Fortunately God sent the English in to take over the place, stop the cattle rustling etc... and give them a language the rest of the world had heard of. There really isn't that much wrong with the Irish either

:idea: So theoretically, it could be an extra option to the Direction modifier (Forwards, Backwards, Bounce and Random) :?: Frog Reference No 5443 - Random Chase Function (addtional direction modifier) - to be reviewed.

Assuming you have programmed your chase as normal with different brightness levels - which properties of the chase could be randomised :?: The order of outputting steps ? The Direction of chase ? The Attack between chase steps ? The Drive ? The Chase Speed ?

As people become familiar with using PCs and laptops, it doesn't surprise me that they are also more comfortable using an external keyboard and mouse, together with the monitor screen for programming and operating lighting desks. One of the challenges in designing the user interface is to ensure that wherever possible it is possible to carry out desk operations using the front panel controls, external keyboard and mouse or combinations of the various interfaces. There may be occasions where there is insufficient room for a keyboard and mouse, or they are faulty or unavailable, so it should be possible to carry out all (or nearly all) functions from the front panel. There are a only few 'mouse only' functions on the desk and we are looking into ways that these can also be performed via the front panel or external keyboard.

In the Beginning, the Lord God Almighty turned to his best friend, The Archangel Gabriel and said, "Gabby, today I'm going to create a beautiful part of the Earth and I will call it WALES. I will make a country of breathtaking blue lakes, rich green forests and dark beautiful mountains which from time to time will be covered in snow. I will give it clear swift rivers that flow with salmon and trout. The land will be lush and fertile, on which the people can raise cattle and grow their food. Underneath the land I shall lay rich coal seams for the inhabitants to mine. Around the coast I will make some of the most beautiful areas in the world, with white sandy beaches and cliffs that will attract all manner or wildlife and with many islands that will be like paradise to all who visit them. The waters around Wales will be abundant with fish. I will also give them some of the most naturally gifted rugby players in the world, and many fine singers. The people of Wales will be the most friendly people on Earth and will be called the WELSH." "Excuse me, sire," interrupted the Archangel Gabriel, "Don't you think you are being a bit too generous to these WELSH?" "Don't talk rubbish", replied the lord Almighty, "Wait till you see the neighbours I'm giving them."

The essence of being Welsh.... Two guys from Wales die and wake up in duck. The next day the devil stops in to check on them and sees them dressed in coats, mittens and balaclavas warming themselves around the fire. The devil asks them, "What are you doing? Isn't it hot enough for you?" The two guys reply, "Well, you know, we're from Wales, the land of wind and ice and cold. We're just happy for a chance to warm up a little bit, eh." The devil decides that these two aren't miserable enough and turns up the heat. The next morning he stops in again and there they are, still dressed in coats, mittens and balaclavas. The devil asks them again, "It's awfully hot down here, can't you guys feel it?" Again the two guys reply,"Well, like we told you yesterday, we're from Wales, the land of wind and ice and cold. We're just happy for a chance to warm up a little bit, eh." This gets the devil a little steamed up and he decides to fix these two guys. He cranks the heat up as high as it will go. People are wailing and screaming everywhere. He stops by the room with the two guys from Wales and finds them in t-shirts, shorts and sandals, drinking a beer and cooking a "barbie". The devil is astonished: "Everyone down here is in abject misery, and you two seem to be enjoying yourselves." The two Welshmen reply, "Well, you know, we don't get too much warm weather in Wales so we've just got to have a cook-up when the weather's THIS nice." The devil is absolutely furious, he can hardly see straight. Finally he comes up with the answer. The two guys love the heat because they have been cold all their lives. The devil decides to turn all the heat off in duck. The next morning, the temperature is below zero, icicles are hanging everywhere; people are shivering so bad that they are unable to do anything but wail, moan and gnash their teeth. The devil smiles and heads for the room with the two Welshmen. He gets there and finds them back in their coats, mittens and balaclavas. Now they are jumping up and down, cheering, yelling and screaming like mad men!!! The devil is dumbfounded, "I don't understand, when I turn up the heat you're happy. Now it's freezing cold and you're still happy. What is wrong with you two???" The Welshmen look at the devil in surprise, "Well, don't you know boyo? If duck freezes over, it must mean that Wales have won a match in the 6 nations"!!!

The FROG function only works with LTP parameters (Colour, Beamshape and Position). I think when we were originally developing the function we did have brightness as well but it didn't seem to work so well with HTP channels, due to the different mechanisms employed in mixing the outputs.

We already have ... it's called the FROG function

What do you mean by 'active palette' ? At any time there could be several outputs resulting from palette references, eg playback X, submasters, SX buttons (Mambo) and also from outputting a palette directly. The wheel LCD will only show a palette reference if you manually output a palette, by selecting fixtures, pressing and holding an attribute button and pressing a palette selection button. I cannot see what you are trying to achieve here or how only having the two options of 'flash' and 'solo' would give you any additional functionality :? This may be a result of the fade times set for the memory (fade up, fade down and LTP fade) Are you referring to a brightness chanse or an LTP chase ?

The way that the movement effects work is that they are effectively an extra 6 LTP parameters for each fixture. Therefore, if you program a submaster directly with channel data or a transferred scene memory there will be a single value for each of the movement effect parameters which will be triggered when the submaster reaches it's LTP trigger level. So unfortunately, the answer to your question is no :cry: There may be other ways to get a movement effect speed to go from 0 to a particular speed over a period of time, but I can't think of a way that this could be determined by a submaster fader. The submaster fader only controls the levels of brightness data (generic channels and fixture brightness parameters) and the point at which LTP parameters are triggered. Now if we had one shot chases, perhaps :evil:

You can only unassign all the fixtures at once by using the Clear to Default operation in Super User (see manual page 6-12) This will also vlear out the rest of your show (memories, submasters, palettes etc...) To unassign individual fixtures you need to go into Desk Setup/Assign Fixtures, select the fixture and press CLEAR (see manual page 6-6) Again, for what reason do you want to unassign the fixtures ? Do you want to keep the rest of the show without the moving lights for example ?

No problems, Any other questions on the operation, just post a message here or send me an email or private message via this website. I think the post times are in GMT but that still makes them about 20 minutes out :?

The submasters will output the channel data that was recorded into them, regardless of the state of the wide button. If channels 25-48 were all at zero when you recorded the sub, then when you move the submaster up to full, output channels 25-48 will not be affected. Whatever levels you have recorded for channels 1-24 on the submaster will be HTP mixed with the Preset A and B faders. For example: you record channels 1-5 @ full onto submaster 1. On the preset A faders you set channels 1-10 @ 50%. If you raise submaster 1 to full: Channels 1-5 will go to full (100%) Channels 6-10 will remain at 50%.

I believe that when you load channel data directly onto a submaster it will grab the current output levels of all 48 generic channels regardless of whether you are in wide mode or not. Similarly, when playing back channel data on the subs, all 48 channels are output and HTP mixed with the preset faders. The Wide button is only used to determine the configuration and operation of the Preset A/B faders, ie either two sets of channels 1-24 or one set of channels 1-48.

Please can you explain what you mean by 'delete the fixture buttons' ? Do you mean unassign the fixtures ? For what reason are you 'deleting the fixture buttons' as this may determine the best course of action to take

Yes , you can still use the submasters You will need to record your lighting states/scenes onto each submaster. This can be done in one of two ways: You can load channel data directly onto a submaster or if you wish to have more complex effects on a sub master (eg chases, sound to light), then you can record a chase or sound to light memory and transfer it onto whichever sub you wish. See Frog Series Operating Manual Chapters 4 and 5 for details.

I never said it was either good or bad :evil: I just happen to agree with Richards comment above re hitting things (in this case fixture selection buttons, attribute buttons and contyrol wheels as in the current interface). I am not covinced that navigating around a screen containing up to 288 (Fat Frog), 512 (Leap Frog) or 1024 (Bull Frog, Mambo Frog) parameters is the best way of tagging/untagging fixture parameters. The fixture parameters are normally accessed via fixture number, attribute and wheel group. Having a monitor screen containing all possible fixture parameters may cause conflicts with the existing methods of indicating current fixture selection, tagging etc. What happens if the desk does not have a monitor ? PS The Function key F4 is used on the Fat Frog as the Group button.