Mambo Frog Questions?

[Halo_djk]

The info on the zero88 website states you can store "Environments" to the SX buttons, does this mean you can store a collection of perhaps 2 or more chases to run together on the same button?

 

I also wanted to find out what the situation is with saving a two distinct groups of moving lights to these buttons as the manual says that after tagging the particular lights only the attributes for those lights will be saved to the chases you are programming. BUT it also states that the brightness information will be saved for ALL lights and this would be a problem for us, if I want to have a group of "Shiva" programmes on a row or SX playbacks, and a separate group of "Mac 250+" chases saved on another row. This would mean that if the shivas were programmed with the macs brightness off, whan I pressed a SX for the Shivas (After I already had a Mac chase going) the macs would black out as the shivas programmes would have "Black out" stored on its button too.

 

 

Can you run more than one SX playback at a time, and if so how many?

[Laubfrosch]

Hi Halo,

 

here are some answeres of your questions.

 

1.) A simple NO!!! The SX Button do have multiple functions depending on what you are doing.

 

First they are playback Button for Memories. Memories can be simple Scenes or Chases. ONE Memory / Button!!!

 

Second they can assigned with so called "Live Data". Life Data is a kind of snap shout of the current DMX output.

 

Third The SX Buttons can be assigned as Group-, Colour-, Beamshape- and Position- Palette. Which gives you up to 48 Groups or Palettes per Attribute.

 

 

 

2.) Think of HTP and LTP channels.

 

HTP= Highest Takes Precedene= Dimmer

LTP= Latest Takes Precedene= Everything else except Dimmer/Brightness

 

When your shivas are at full brightness and in this particular Mem. your Macs are not included your MACs will be at zero brightness. Regarding only the shiva Mem is active.

 

Please check if your Mambo is in "Partial Mode".

 

I prefere the SX Buttons as LTP Mems and Positions (also Moving EFX)

I bring down the SX Fade to 0.

Now only the LTP-Channels do output while activated.

 

I normally use the Submasters storing Brightness for different fixture groups.

 

I hope this is of help.

 

 

P.S.: There is also a VERY HELPFUL Manual coming with your Mambo Frog!!! :wink:

 

 

best regards

[Halo_djk]

thanks for the reply, is that "Live snapshot" a running snapshot eg, the chases that were running at the time then run again, or is it a static "Frozen" snapshot.

 

Re your answer 2, what happens if I want to run the shivas and the Macs together, as we usually do?

If my mac programme contains 0 brightnes info for the shivas, and my shiva programme contains 0 brightness for the macs, when I press my Mac SX button the macs fire up normally, but the second I press a shiva programme the shivas will fire up normally, but the LTP macs will black out due to the shiva programme contains 0 brightness on the macs.

Why does "Partial" programmes not include brightness information, eg the brightness info is global? how do you get over that hurdle?

[K-Nine]

If you record channel data direct to an SX button (or a submaster) you take a static snapshot of the DMX outputs. If chases or movement effects are running, you will just get the DMX output values at the time you record the channel data.

 

Partial Mode is recommended if you want to have different fixtures or groups of fixtures being output from different submaster or SX buttons.

 

Partial mode allows you to record fixture parameter or channel data onto submasters or SX buttons and just record the tagged fixtures. The tagging only applies to colour, beam and position parameters, as they are processed LTP, whereas the brightness parameters (sometimes called intensity) are processed HTP.

 

Fixture brightness parameters will always be recorded in SX buttons even in partial mode. If you don't want particular fixtures to be 'on' for a particular SX button, ensure that their brightness output levels are at zero when you record the data onto the SX button.

 

If you have one SX button which contains fixture A data and another with fixture B data and you output them both, any fixture brightness channels will be mixed HTP as explained above.

 

Therefore you should not see one set of fixtures brightness go 'out' when you output another SX button.

[Halo_djk]

Thanks (Again) K-Nine, I love the support from you guys already?

 

OK One last question for the moment, Is there any way of creating a enviroment to be saved on a SX button? EG I have one main mirror movement I use that includes.

 

1 A Beat operated pan chase.

2 A slow faded tilt chase.

3 A 4 beat (Or counted out to close as poss) operated colour step.

 

Is there any way of loading all thease on one button. Some of the operaters at this venue are a little in-experienced for me to expect them to load all this up on seperate buttons. They mainly want a "Look" per button, two buttons at the most, eg moving head progs on one line, moving mirror on another.

 

Thanks again.

[K-Nine]

Quite simply, no.

 

If you have three separate chases then they have to be transferred to three separate SX buttons, or submasters if you prefer.

 

An SX button or submaster can only hold on memory (scene or chase) or channel data programmed directly, sorry.

[Haytech]

Hi

I have a suggestion for Halo_djk:

Create a movement effect with on-board effect generator for your moving fixtures now while the effect is running create a colourful chaser.

Transfer to SX button.

The SX - button should now recall the colorchase and the movement.

 

Hope this makes sense to you.

[Halo_djk]

I would have expected the movement would be frozen on the step it was when the transfer to the SX button was made. I may be wrong?

[K-Nine]

I think that Haytech is suggesting you basically program a Colour chase memory but you also program the same movement effect into each step of the chase.

 

You then transfer the chase memory to the SX button in the normal way.