MyHeadHurts Posted October 3, 2005 Report Share Posted October 3, 2005 Hi everyone! Boy am I glad I found this place! Please help, I have NEVER used lighting stuff before but have been asked to use a setup that involves a Fat Frog controlling a number of ceiling-mounted par cans via a DMX system for a basic lighting accompanyment to a show. What we need to be able to do is to very simply have each of the lights available on a fader and be able to bring it up/fade it down or punch it off or on by button. How easy is this and how do I go about it? I've tried to read the manual, but it's making my head spin as I simply don't get the terminology! Please keep it simple, but if someone could help me with this, I'd be sooo pleased! Thanks again for all your help, Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_chris_ Posted October 3, 2005 Report Share Posted October 3, 2005 This is easy, just connect your frog to the dimmer, make sure that the dimmer starts at channel 1, and turn the desk on. Unless someone has patched the desk, it should now work the way you wanted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyHeadHurts Posted October 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2005 Sorry...really showing what a plank I am here... Dimmer? The desk connects via the DMX connector which then heads down the stage where the power banks for all the lights are. Is the dimmer built into those? Again, sorry to sound like such a tart Cheers, Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirkup_xp Posted October 3, 2005 Report Share Posted October 3, 2005 The desk connects via the DMX connector which then heads down the stage where the power banks for all the lights are. What you are referrring to as power banks is infact what most people would call the dimmers. On the front of the dimmers will be a control panel or set of wheels which will allow you to set the Start Address (sometimes just called the address) of the dimmers. This is the first channel in the DMX signal which the dimmers will respond to. Set this, using the wheels or menu, to 1. Now, assuming no-ones been playing silly b*ggers with your Fat Frog, you should be able to control the lights connected to the dimmer by using the faders at the top left of the Fat Frog. Check that the Grand Master is set to 10 (full) and that the A-master is also at full. If that works, let us know. Everything from then on is explained rather nicely in the Fat Frog user manual, which can be found here. Quote Peter Kirkup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-Nine Posted October 4, 2005 Report Share Posted October 4, 2005 How many channels of dimming and parcans have you got ? If the answer is 24 or less then you can operate the desk in normal two preset mode; if between 24 and 48 you will need to go into wide mode to have individual control of all the dimmer channels/parcans. If you are completely new to using the fat frog desk to control lights and find the terminology used in the manual a bit confusing then you could always have a look at the frog training program that Sam Henderson has produced .... CLICK HERE. Quote K-Nine : Technically Advanced Roving Dog In Space Bran Media | Myspace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyHeadHurts Posted October 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2005 Thanks a million guys....so far everything that has said has been of great help! The power bank things that I've got (again, complete novice here) are actually huuuuge great metal cabinets but I presume the 'start address' thing still applies. Perhaps before starting, it would be wise for me to do a complete reset of the desk, as it's been properly messed about with by all and sundry, trying to get it to work... Thanks again, Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-Nine Posted October 4, 2005 Report Share Posted October 4, 2005 Resetting the desk is probably a good idea - it will clear out any current show data on the desk and ensure that the preset faders are patched 1:1 with the DMX outputs which makes it much easier to use To reset the desk you will need to enter Super User (page 6-1) and then select the Clear to Default option from the Clear/Reset functions (page 6-13). Quote K-Nine : Technically Advanced Roving Dog In Space Bran Media | Myspace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyHeadHurts Posted October 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2005 Cracking - If anyone else has any helpful hints, tips or general links to getting my head round all the terminology and whatnot that'd be grand... Thanks again everyone. Cheers, Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.