iank99

FAT32 - it's an easier filing system to read/write files too than trying to create the internal structures that NTFS needs.

That's going to end up on so many gravestones you know

Scenes don't have steps but sequences/chases do... What you could try is to record the first state in the scene then convert the scene to a chase, then insert/add a step and carry on - it might be that you've not realised that you're missing recording the first state as you change mode to chase?

Tim - you will need a Demux of some description as the desk is outputting a serial data protocol which you'd still need to convert to analogue. The easiest short term way would be to buy either a Demux 24 (talk to a friendly Zero dealer about a deal ) or keep an eye on eBay for the Beta 1 DMX I/F - they do occasionally appear there. Otherwise - an S72 is more than capable of driving the Beta 1 - the only issue will be making the jumper to get from 25pin D to the 8 pin DIN on the Beta.

Kevin - yep - for it's day and for what it does - I can't disagree. It's going to end up being the Sirius 24/48 of it's era - I think, they still sell for £200 or more on fleaBay and as long as they're not physically abused will carry on for ages.

The assumption may have been made in the initial code design that a "cold boot" shouldn't copy the Flash show to the RAM on the basis that if the power to the desk glitched and had caused some corruption of the Flash, then you wouldn't then be loading a corrupt file and wondering "wtf?" as you tried to use it. There could be circumstances where the Flash could corrupt but the ram being battery powered wouldn't perhaps, it might also have been felt it could leave the desk unuseable. It might also be likely that that the time "overhead" when booting was felt to be too long by copying Flash to Ram (remember too - this code base was used across Frogs that could have shows with complex fixtures, subs and chases programmed). I have no direct knowledge of course so this is mostly supposition based on observation

I have this if it helps - Keith built it for me a wee while ago... I think it's probably for the same battens you're talking about MTC Batten.ift

I've asked Keith to leap in here and sort you with the service manual - it's more appropriate that he does it rather than me. The PTC's are actually voltage sensor IC's - as they sense temperature they output a scaled voltage which is fed to the analogue section of the rack for conversion to digital by the same A2D's that do the channel inputs from the front panel. I can't see them labelled on the diagram I have but from experience they rarely fail - it's usually their connection on to the main board.

Check the molex connectors on the processor board - the cables not sheathed in grey sleeving - sometimes the cables work out of the IDC teeth and don't make contact. The usual culprits are the small 3 way connectors toward the bottom of the card - it's rarely the sensors that fail. Also - take care that you clamp the voltage regulators back in place when replace the processor card - if not clamped, they can cause a false overheat condition. I would suspect though that if the LCD wasn't working and now is - that the mainboard has more damage from the leaking acid than you can see - usually it's the tracks that run under chips that corrode too. If you want the service manual - then either talk to your local Zero88 dealer as they will have a copy or PM Keith (KWR88) from here and he'll sort you out.

The Jester ML is 710mm wide which is about 28inches wide - how's that going to fit in a 19inch rack? That might be why there isn't a rack mount kit for either Jester ML

Unplug anything you have plugged in to the USB ports and try replacing the internal battery. The USB ports can only deliver a certain amount of electric power - it's enough to energise a memory stick but not all USB keyboards and mice are equal... If the internal battery is flat then the onboard memory corrupts and that can also cause startup issues - the battery is a CR2032 available almost anywhere nowadays and you only need a pozidrive crosshead screwdriver to open the case. Turn the desk over on something soft - undo the screws running along the top edge and bottom edge then gently lift the case up - you'll see the mainboard in the bottom of the case and the battery will look like the new one you bought. Be careful when remove the old battery - too rough and you'll break the retaining clip for the cell. All told - should take about 15 minutes.

It might be a version issue with the Zero DLL - from memory, DLL's can be very fussy about entry points and version numbers if the software they're plugging in to (the WYSIWYG exe) isn't written the right way. Usually the software should tell you explicitly if the DLL's are the wrong version - if they've been written correctly...

Check the battery voltage on the mainboard without any power applied to the desk - it should be at least 3.6v DC - anything lower and the battery needs replacing. The RAM on the desk is sustained by the battery - if the voltage on that drops, the internal tables get corrupted and the desk has issues starting at times. Try swapping the battery first (and as it will be a soldered in NimH - check that it hasn't leaked and damaged the main board).

No - all you need to do once you've replaced the battery is do a 'Clear All' in Super User which will reset the desk back to blank memories and defaults - it also resets the internal data tables in the memory, so the desk should respond sensibly again.

Jon will be along in a moment to give the official answer but I don't believe it can do what you're looking for - you're looking to use the Flash button as a Function key that holds a command string but I think they can only Flash/Solo or Fixture Select. When you think about it - you're trying to send more commands than just "Flash intensity to full" but really "Change Colour to White & Strobe the shutter channel (or flash the intensity on a clock cycle) and revert when released".

There never was a 'proper' way to expand the Sirius 24 or 48 to more channels and this was mostly a design limitation of the clever way the desk processing was done I think, There is an option to connect two Sirius together using a slave cable BUT you can't run them both with DMX unless you use a DMX merge and it was only really intended to use with analogue controlled dimmers. You also have to record memories on both desks which give the 'look' you want to achieve - the desks don't communicate across the slave link except to synchronise 'Go' and cross fades. If you really have a need to control more than 48 channels then you should be looking to upgrade to a Solution or a PC based solution.

Try the voltages on the rechargeable battery first - they should read approximately 3.6volts with no power to the desk and approximately 4 to 4.3volts (from memory) with desk power on. You may find that the battery has indeed begun to fail - the battery runs the internal memory which keeps patch tables and the showfile intact whilst the desk is off hence the behaviour when you power on. Worst case scenario is the battery has begun to leak - you will see crystalline deposits on the battery itself which has in turn begun to leak and corrode the PCB tracks on the mainboard. If the battery has leaked, it may be possible to clean the gunk off the main board and repair visible damage to tracks - the issues start if the corrosion gets under the DIL header connector located next to the battery.

Jack - you need to program the chase directly on the submaster (page 111 in the manual describes the process). Iif you copy from a memory to a sub, the software creates a referencing link. If you delete the memory - then the link points to nothing as you discovered....

You can transfer any scene memory to a Sub but with moving heads you'll need to look at tagging attributes in the manual and refresh your memory. Tagging means that you decide which parameters get saved in to a scene (or a sub if you program them directly). You would exclude everything but Pan & Tilt parameters from the sub you're working on, then when you use that sub - it decides where the fixture points but the colour, beamshape and intensity can be "sourced" from another sub or memory. It's been a while since I last delved too deep in to the Fat Frog but I think there was a rudimentary form of palette too to allow presetting of colours and gobos.

Hmmmmmmmm (TM Ynot)... No doughnuts from Greggs next time you visit

I still say giving up parchment and quills were a bad idea

It says I am - it's auto updating ... and now it's working - computer's - who'd have em eh?

This seemed the most appropriate place to raise it but the forum is behaving strangely - the link BBCode doesn't seem to work for me in IE 11 first selection bought up a pop up with URL and eMail options and entering the link in the URL field wouldn't enable the OK button - if I select URL from the options in the same window, the window shrinks to the URL entry but still no OK button. I moved to Chrome and it worked fine but perversely the emoticon button doesn't work under Chrome In the greater scheme not urgent - but enough to cause you some head scratching

Try these.... https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/91773893/LM690_LM691_LM611_Zonemaster-circuits.pdf I'll leave it there a few days then remove it. The last few pages are a bit low quality but they're all I have. Edited to show correct link

I think this also partly illustrates the software issues between different consoles of the same 'era' from Zero that isn't now an issue with ZerOS being on Solution and Orb. I use Illusion 500's as the front panel is "cleaner" in the location I use it mostly - folk don't look at lots of faders and faint but it has a Go playback stack that does almost everything I wanted from GeniusPro on the 500 series. What you're trying to do Kevin, I would probably try and do with 'part' cues and auto "follow ons" - the part facility allows a cue to have several different velocities assigned to channels so you can move at varying rates - very useful for nice fades to black if you want to 'track' an actors move offstage. However, the hardware inside the FatFrog and the Illusion is essentially the same - the mainboard is common to both (I have a FatFrog as an engineering spare plus a spare Illusion) and only the case and front panels vary - so the hardware can manage to do it but at the time when both were current, no one saw the need for the software to be able to 'crossover'. Imagine where we'd be today if the Illusion software 'ethos' was in the Frog from all that time ago - ZerOS is of course the embodiment of that now