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Simonkbike

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Posts posted by Simonkbike

  1. Hi Edward,

    Thanks for this, I'll look at non-dim fixtures tomorrow; sounds exactly what I was looking for if I can patch to mfks.

    Couple of questions: 

    What dmx value does this output?

    What's the difference between video1ch and non-dim profiles? I recall we used video as it wasn't affected by the Master fader, but can be set in the cue stack when needed. That means I can power down the LEDs on a lighting bar & kill the fan noise if I'm only using my incandescents. 

    FYI: The relay control unit is limited to 10amp max overall load and has 10amp fuse in the mains plug (not shown in photo) that provides power.  When I have time I'll label with max load for each socket.  We're using it to switch small effects devices & on-stage table lamps so not envisaging overload issues.

    Cheers, S.

  2. Venue is community theatre group using Solution desk.

    IMG_20240113_231212102.thumb.jpg.8445eda05e9bcb11f5c5b9c416fc7149.jpg

    I've built this 4 channel DMX relay pack to switch on/off ancillary on-stage lights & effects which may be damaged by a dimmer output.  The unit activates with a DMX signal of 128-255.  What's the best way to patch this on my desk?

    Background: My installation uses a rack of Chilli dimmers for the 15a lighting bar channels plus some Chilli relays (controlling a 13a socket at the end of each bar). As novices the relays channels were patched with "dimmer" profile to faders, but later, on advice, the same faders were re-patched using "video 1ch" profile which is switched via the Beam On/Off.  The fader is therefore redundant. Inspecting the Dmx output, the Beam On outputs a DMX value 127, ie not enough to activate the new relays (although apparently sufficient to activate the Chilli relays).

    When I tried patching the new relays:

    a) The desk wouldn't let me patch to a fixture channel above 48 so the pack will fill 4 more faders which they don't really need.

    b) When I patched as "video 1ch", the Dmx output value at Beam On was 11. (Further, if I select a mix of Chilli relay channels and the new relays the output value is 11; it's only 127 when activating Chillis alone). 

    I'd really like to move all the relays off the faders and patch as fixtures so I can switch with Beam On/Off.  I'd also need to set the Dmx output value above 127 when activated.

    Thanks

    Simon.

  3. Hi,

    I have stored a fire effect in a cue, having reduced the intensity from the default 50 and changed the colour. Director says it's still to bright.

    Bring up the cue and select the fixture but as soon as I touch the intensity scroll wheel, the effect stops.  The only way to proceed is to reset the effect, reset the colour, then set my intensity.

    Seems a bit of a pain. What am I doing wrong?

     

    Supplementary: when I select the fixture so it appears below the fixture grid, I sometimes get the Effect label on the entry but often not, even when the effect is running.  Why? Is there any way to check if a fixture has an effect running (or which effect is saved to a cue)?

    S.

     

  4. Addendum:

    Jon's technique works fine and would be required if you need to adjust fade time during the show, but it blocks a Playback fader. 

    I went back to the Solution manual (Yes, I know. RTFM first!) and found we have a Time key above the display screen which does the same thing.  Set the fade time on the Specials MFK page, then hold the Time key when you press the palette (colour, effect, position) and it will fade in over the set time.

    • Like 1
  5. I'm playing a live music show for first time; I usually run a fully programmed cue stack for theatrical productions. Following Ed's advice in video training for "Limited programming time", I have recorded an intensity-only playback and intend to switch colours & position using palettes.

    At 24:15 in video (using an FLX desk), Ed puts "Programmer time" on a spare playback to adjust the fade time between palettes. I've recorded this option to a playback on my Solution but it has no effect when I select a new colour or position palette.

    Can this fade time be adjusted on Solution desk?  Even setting it to a single, longer value would help.

    NB. emailed this to support as didn't know forum was back working but think they must be busy.

    Cheers,

    Simon

  6. Hi,

    I've watched some of the training videos you're streaming and, although naturally based on the FLX board, they will be useful to us Solution users too. Most of the time it's fairly to translate to Solution but there must be some command or syntax that's less obvious or impossible.

    It would be helpful to have a translation grid of which FLX commands work on Solution desk ( & maybe other models) and which don't, and how to convert instructions from FLX to Solution. 

    Cheers 

    Simon

     

  7. Hi,

    Trying to find or create a fixture file for some generic RGBW moving head fixtures for use with Solution desk running 7.9.4 ZeroOS.  

    • I have looked at Stagg MHB-HH20 which is nearly the same, containing pan, tilt, RGBW colours and in 9CH and 14Ch modes as is my unit. 
    • Struggling with the Fixture Editor assigning my "Master Dimmer"  parameter to a fader.  In my manual, the "Brightness" channel is split into three DMX address sub-sections :
      0-7 = OFF

      8-134 = Master Dimmer
      135-239 = Strobe

      240-255 = Open
      I seem to recall there's a way to assign the sub-addresses 8-134 to separate channels but struggling to work it out tonight.  Might also be helpful to put the Strobe on a separate channel.

    Any help gratefully received to create a file with the sub-address assigned to a fader.

    Thanks all,

    Simon

    PS.  When I get it connected there may be more questions  !

  8. Hm.  Not how it seemed to be working for me but I was using a showfile from the old version of Solution 7.1?  With the Master fader up and a Master Playback cue active, fading up Playback 1 had no effect (even though light X had value 0 under Master playback and value 100 under Playback 1).  Fading down the Master Playback effectively cross-faded between the Master Cue and Playback one.

    I tried deleting the old showfile and building a new one from scratch and this time it worked as you describe, so I think this may be something about the old showfile with new software.  I've recorded this effect here in case it's of any use to other users. I'll send a copy of the showfile offline.

  9. So it's Panto time and I'm back on the Solution desk after 12 months off, freshly upgraded to 7.9.3, and trying to decipher my notes from the training day at Cwmbran.  Questions likely to be coming from every rehearsal, starting with...

    How do I play in a sub-playback while I'm running a master playback? The Master fader must be up for master playback but down for sub-playback.

    Thanks in advance & Merry Christmas to all on here.

    Simon

  10. Evening,

     

    Location is a village hall, mainly traditional lanterns on 4 lighting bars, bank of Chilli dimmers (one=12x; one=24x; 1=4x), all controlled through a Solution desk. The 4 channel box provides a switched supply (no dimmer) to a socket at each bar; i.e. with a dmx signal >0, the power is on. I don't have access to the original installation specs but it was circa 2010.

     

    Q1: I checked that the dimmer law is showing "normal" so can I assume that these are the "bypass switches" on the Chilli product range rather than dimmers? How else would I confirm this?

     

    The problem is that I need to use this to power the couple of LED fixtures we have, with the result that every fade to blackout powers the LED off/on causing a brief flash. I know it would be best to provide separate permanent power supply to the lighting bars, but with no budget it ain't going to happen, so I have to work with the feed through the Chilli boxes. My current thought is....

     

    Q2) Can I remove the DMX control from a single channel and switch the power directly on/off at the Chilli box?

     

    I read the Chilli manual (but I quickly got lost) and tried setting a channel to manual, level=100 to no effect (the Solution desk remained the only way of switching the channel), so if anyone can provide step-by-step instructions, that would be great.

     

    New to this stuff so any alt suggestions welcome (apart from re-wiring!)

     

    S.

  11. Hi All,

     

    I am hiring in 3 LED battens (Miltec EA8090 with up to 13 channels but the only spec I can find is from Viking hire here which may or may not apply). I thought I'd get ahead on PhantomZerOS and learn how to program some chases & other effects.

     

    I've read Jon's post on Pulse LED Block which helps but hit some snag for very inexperienced DMX programmer.

     

    Patching

    How do you patch the 4 RGB segments to MFKs and the intensity to a fader, if the unit expects all 13 channels to be contiguous? From the EA8090 spec, I think I need a control channel, then the 4 RGB segments - does that mean the control channel goes on an MFK as well.

     

    Effects

    When I get the patching done, I need to start getting to grips with effects. If anyone has some sample show files with these programmed I'd be grateful for a look.

     

    Simon

    Solution desk.

     

  12. Thanks for swift replies. I can see now that :

    1) is actually in the manual but I didn't read it well enough

    2) isn't; so thanks to @ziglight for that

    3) I get the gist of your suggestions but I'll need to play around with the desk to get the hang of it. I like @kgallen idea of grouping the "other" lights I'm going to dim for the "shudder" to a sub, which I can use to quickly create the chase.

     

    I'm the first lighting tech to program a show for our productions, my predecessor was doing it for 30 years and only ever used Subs and flew the board by the seat of his pants (with variable results). I'm still trying to work out these sort of shortcuts to programming a show so we can make that the new "normal" way of running the lights. If anyone has suggestions for resources/tutorials on I'd be happy to hear them.

     

     

    Many thanks,

    S.

  13. Hi All,

    I know I can go to Zero88 support, but I thought posting here might help other newbies like me. Just to be clear, I'm newbie lighting tech for a village hall theatre group running 28 fixed lights (through Chilli dimmers) and a couple of LED par 64s controlled by a Solution desk. We do hire in Fixtures when there's a need.

    I've done the day course at Cwmbran (highly recommended) but there's quite a lot it, and the manual, doesn't cover. I'm finding it difficult to understand why & when (not just how) you'd use a feature and particularly how to best program our fixed lights. So here goes ...

     

    1) Patching my LEDs, after I've done the first one, is there a quick way to copy a second fixture of the same type to another MFK or do I have to patch each fixture individually?

     

    2) How can I create a Group of dimmers (I get an "All Dimmers" group from the Auto Menu but I want to group some of my dimmers - say the Cyc Floods - to control them as a unit)

     

    3) My Panto (Jack & the Beanstalk) needs a lighting effect whenever the Giant is about to speak, all the stage lights (i.e the Cyc floods & some of the lights illuminating the stage, but not the profiles on the main characters) should "shudder" & then dim to, say 70%.

    What's the easiest way to create this shudder effect? (I'm thinking a chase, but I suspect I should be using palettes to apply a quick series of intensity changes to a group of dimmers? How do I do this, and how can I apply the same effect in another scene when my stage lights are at different intensities?

     

    Probably enough for now; I expect there will be more to come!. Not sure if this would be better split into separate posts.

     

    Simon

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