Scroller & Lamp User Fixture not saving dmx info

[LeeStoddart]

Illusion 500, updated to version 1.7 this evening. Fixture library 12 and 13 downloaded today. Starting a new show which has scrollers (and Mac 500s) and conventionals.

 

I want to use the fixture type where we have a lamp and a scroller defined as a fixture (with the brightness being one DMX address and the Colour an independent dmx address) Fixture library 12 contains some <SCROLLERS> fixtures including a Lamp+1Ch Scroller - excellent! But when I load fixture definition from disk <SCROLLERS> does not come up as a manufacturer.

 

Fixture Librabry 13 has the same <SCROLLERS> (plus lots of other fixtures too) - I don't know why I didn't notice it on my first visit today :? So I try loading from disk with Fixture library 13 - again <SCROLLERS> does not show as a manufacturer (<RELAY> does so it's not the special <> characters)

 

In UFTE tool I import the definition from Library 13 and rename the manufacturer to LEESCROLL, save the .ift and try to load it into the desk - this is successfull

 

I create 14 fixtures using this definition - I note that as I define each the display expands to show two lines of information (1 for the lamp and one for the scroll) I assign DMX addresses - Fixture 1 has the Lamp on 27 and the scroll on 321 - as I enter 27 in the lamp's DMX address the same number appears against the scroll. :?: I overtype the scroll's dmx address with 321. As I select something else the display reverts to showing 27 on both lines - but when I select the scrolls dmx address field again it does show 321.

 

Quick test setting levels for brightness and colour on fixture 1 and then look at the DMX output screen - appropriate (and different) values show against DMX 27 and 321 - so that looks OK .

 

I assign dmx addresses to the other 13 fixtures and start setting up pallettes. Save the show and continue this activity. Call me suspicious but before I invest too much time in this I decide to power off and back on again. Curiously the DMX assignment is now incomplete (some but not all) of the scroll dmx addresses are not preserved - four or five are still assigned - but they are all assigned to fixture 4??? So I reload the show from disk. Now I have none of the dmx addresses for the scroll parts of these 14 fixtures - the lamp addresses are all present and correct so it's not that the save was before I assigned the DMX addresses.

 

 

So - is it possible to have a lamp and scroller type of fixture on the Illusion 500? - If so what have I done wrong?

[K-Nine]

The Zero fixture library is used by the frog series of desks, the Illusion 500 and the Frog 2.

 

The Illusion 500 has it's own special SCROLLER fixture type which is stored internally on the desk and consists of a single colour parameter.

 

The defintion of the scroller fixture type also contains the number of frames. This allows the user to program scrollers by frame number if required rather than absolute percentage or DMX values.

 

Consequently, the Illusion 500 filters out the <SCROLLER> fixtures from the fixture library, which is why you don't see them when assigning fixtures from floppy disk.

 

It should be possible to create your own lamp and scroller fixture type which contains two separate sub-fixtures, allowing you to patch the dimmer part to one DMX address and the scroller part to another. This sounds like what you have done by importing one from the library, renaming it and then saving it as a new user fixture type. What you have done sounds correct

 

However, I believe that there may be an outstanding software bug relating to using and patching these complex fixture types. :cry:

 

In the mean time I would suggest that you setup the dimmer as a dimmer channel and the scroller as a scroller fixture as provided by the Illusion 500 desk with the appropriate number of frames.

 

You can always associate the dimmer channel and scroller fixture which allows you to move quickly between the two.

 

I realise that this is not the ideal solution to your problem but hopefully it should provide a workable one until the problem with the complex fixture types is sorted.

[LeeStoddart]

OK - I understand how to use the built in <SCROLLERS> with the number of frames. I was hoping to be able to use the "complex" fixture where the channel numbers for the lamp and scroll are not adjacent. If there is a bug with the patching of the complex fixtures I'll have to use the work around. :roll:

 

And I now understand why renaming the manufacturer made the fixture definition visible.

 

Thanks for the quick response.