Colour Issue

[Paul Bennett 211]

Hello 

We are using a Zero88 and have come across a strange issue.

I will try my best to explain but i am fairly new to using this hardware.

We are running multiple lights, we have 6 LED batons and trying to control the colours this worked perfectly before, we could select all batons and then select a colour.  However when we do this now baton number 3 turns a separate colour to the rest.   We have restored the desk from an old backup that was fine incase someone had messed with the programming, this did not fix the issue.

When we select the baton individually and then select red we get green,  It seems like the touch screen is using the button below where we press to select the colour but only on this one light.  If you press above the colour on the row above then you get the colour below for some strange reason.  But only on that one light

What could be the issue, where can i start?  

Any help appreciated. Please let me know if you need anymore information.

[Davidmk]

Three possibilities to check first...

1. The address of the odd fixture doesn't match the patch in the desk. Correct one or the other.
2. The odd fixture is working in a different mode to the others. Check and, if necessary, correct the odd fixture.
3. The odd fixture was in a different mode when the show was recorded but has been corrected since. Check the patch and, if necessary, correct the patch of the odd fixture.

Don't forget you can display and examine the desks DMX output to see if it is sending the same thing to all the fixtures but make sure you know what addresses the fixtures are actually set to. Don't rely on the patch or a paper record.

 

[Paul Bennett 211]

Thank you for the quick reply.  I am a complete newbie with this kit so where would i find the address on which patch?

No one has changed anything as far as we are aware.  They would not be able to change modes etc. 

[Paul Bennett 211]

"Don't forget you can display and examine the desks DMX output to see if it is sending the same thing to all the fixtures but make sure you know what addresses the fixtures are actually set to. Don't rely on the patch or a paper record."

How do i do this?  Sorry a complete newbie here.

[Paul Bennett 211]

50 minutes ago, Davidmk said:

Three possibilities to check first...

1. The address of the odd fixture doesn't match the patch in the desk. Correct one or the other.
2. The odd fixture is working in a different mode to the others. Check and, if necessary, correct the odd fixture.
3. The odd fixture was in a different mode when the show was recorded but has been corrected since. Check the patch and, if necessary, correct the patch of the odd fixture.

Don't forget you can display and examine the desks DMX output to see if it is sending the same thing to all the fixtures but make sure you know what addresses the fixtures are actually set to. Don't rely on the patch or a paper record.

 

Is there an idiots guide on where to find the addresses and patch information?

[Davidmk]

OK. I'm just getting in for a gig so I can't do a more detailed explanation of these things right now so I'll direct you to the desk manual here.

Should have some time later to do something more specific. Be hours, not minutes though.

[Paul Bennett 211]

18 minutes ago, Davidmk said:

OK. I'm just getting in for a gig so I can't do a more detailed explanation of these things right now so I'll direct you to the desk manual here.

Should have some time later to do something more specific. Be hours, not minutes though.

Appreciate it thank you.  Just watching a few videos.  

[Edward Z88]

Hi @Paul Bennett 211

Welcome to the Zero 88 Forum

4 hours ago, Paul Bennett 211 said:

We are using a Zero88 and have come across a strange issue.

Firstly, can you confirm whether you are using a standard FLX console, and not a FLX S24 or FLX S48 console?

4 hours ago, Paul Bennett 211 said:

We are running multiple lights, we have 6 LED batons and trying to control the colours this worked perfectly before, we could select all batons and then select a colour.  However when we do this now baton number 3 turns a separate colour to the rest.   We have restored the desk from an old backup that was fine incase someone had messed with the programming, this did not fix the issue.

When we select the baton individually and then select red we get green,  It seems like the touch screen is using the button below where we press to select the colour but only on this one light.  If you press above the colour on the row above then you get the colour below for some strange reason.  But only on that one light

What could be the issue, where can i start?  

As @Davidmk has suggested, the first thing I would recommend doing is ensure that the modes and DMX addresses of the fixtures patched in your console, match those set on the lights.

To find out the mode and address set on each fixture, you will need to navigate the menu of each fixture.

To confirm DMX addresses on the console, tap SETUP, to take you to the Fixture Schedule. Along the bottom of the Fixture Schedule you will be able to tap a button to filter and show all your battens. The addresses will be displayed in the right-hand column. To confirm the mode of the fixture, tap one of the fixtures in the Fixture Schedule under the "Change All Profiles" button. You should be taken to a window with three columns. The right-hand column is the mode column, where the current mode will be highlighted. 

I'd recommend watching the in-depth video below, to find out more about the patching process...

 

I hope this helps. Please let us know how you get on.

 

@Davidmk - thanks very much for your support.

 

Edward

[Paul Bennett 211]

Thank you both for the information to get me started.  I will have a look through the fixtures and settings and get back to you.

Noticed that our batons have been setup using Generic LED 3 Channel RGB.  It's always been like this and worked fine so not sure about that.

What I find confusing is there are 12 "bulbs" on the baton so each one is its own separate 3Ch fixture..  Very confusing. 

I will look and post some more information,  I assume tho it could just be an issue with the light showing Red?

[Paul Bennett 211]

Also a quick one.  We are taking a USB backup of the desk but does this backup the fixtures?  Does not look like it.  Seems to only backup the programming.

I also noticed yesterday that this was all setup without using RDM.  I am wondering what would happen if i deleted the baton then run the rigsync?  Would this screw up everything?  If i could take a back of the fixtures i would do it now but we are not sure the USB save is backing up the lights and everything.

[Paul Bennett 211]

Had a look through the baton setup this all looks ok to me.  each "bulb" has a fixture (CH#) and the DMX Address is +3 each time

 

Still scratching my head...  

 

 

[Edward Z88]

Hi Paul,

51 minutes ago, Paul Bennett 211 said:

Noticed that our batons have been setup using Generic LED 3 Channel RGB.  It's always been like this and worked fine so not sure about that.

What I find confusing is there are 12 "bulbs" on the baton so each one is its own separate 3Ch fixture..  Very confusing. 

This is the method that used to be used to control LED battens, where each "cell" was patched as a separate fixture. This is no longer required in the latest software for FLX consoles, as each batten can be patched as a single fixture.

If you would like to look at updating your console's software, and re-patching the individual cells as battens, please send us an email to support@zero88.com, and we can advise.

49 minutes ago, Paul Bennett 211 said:

We are taking a USB backup of the desk but does this backup the fixtures?  Does not look like it.  Seems to only backup the programming.

When you save your show file to a USB drive, absolutely all settings, patching and programming will be saved. See the link below for more information...

https://zero88.com/manuals/zeros/setup/save

50 minutes ago, Paul Bennett 211 said:

I also noticed yesterday that this was all setup without using RDM.  I am wondering what would happen if i deleted the baton then run the rigsync?  Would this screw up everything?

In one very unhelpful word: "potentially". If your battens have RDM, and RDM that is implemented well, then it'll work absolutely fine. If they don't, it won't, so I'd suggest sticking with manual patching for now. Please see the link below for more information on RigSync...

https://zero88.com/manuals/zeros/setup/universes/remote-device-management

5 minutes ago, Paul Bennett 211 said:

Had a look through the baton setup this all looks ok to me.  each "bulb" has a fixture (CH#) and the DMX Address is +3 each time

 

Thank you for sharing a spreadsheet.

This confirms that your battens should be in 36-channel mode, to work correctly with your console. They will need to have the following start addresses:

• Batten 1 - 144
• Batten 2 - 180
• Batten 3 - 216
• Batten 4 - 252
• Batten 5 - 288
• Batten 6 - 324
• Batten 7 - 360

 

Please check the battens are configured correctly, to match the patch on the console.

 

Hope this helps,

Edward

[Paul Bennett 211]

28 minutes ago, Edward Z88 said:

Hi Paul,

This is the method that used to be used to control LED battens, where each "cell" was patched as a separate fixture. This is no longer required in the latest software for FLX consoles, as each batten can be patched as a single fixture.

If you would like to look at updating your console's software, and re-patching the individual cells as battens, please send us an email to support@zero88.com, and we can advise.

When you save your show file to a USB drive, absolutely all settings, patching and programming will be saved. See the link below for more information...

https://zero88.com/manuals/zeros/setup/save

In one very unhelpful word: "potentially". If your battens have RDM, and RDM that is implemented well, then it'll work absolutely fine. If they don't, it won't, so I'd suggest sticking with manual patching for now. Please see the link below for more information on RigSync...

https://zero88.com/manuals/zeros/setup/universes/remote-device-management

Thank you for sharing a spreadsheet.

This confirms that your battens should be in 36-channel mode, to work correctly with your console. They will need to have the following start addresses:

• Batten 1 - 144
• Batten 2 - 180
• Batten 3 - 216
• Batten 4 - 252
• Batten 5 - 288
• Batten 6 - 324
• Batten 7 - 360

 

Please check the battens are configured correctly, to match the patch on the console.

 

Hope this helps,

Edward

Hi Edward 

Thank you for this.  I can confirm that the Battens do start with the correct addresses.  Was hoping that one would be wrong solving my issue!

If we upgrade the firmware then will all the fixtures and addresses be lost?  Do we have to patch them all again.

With the saving of the file i am slightly confused, after reading the link do we need to use the csv file to be able to save all fixtures and DMX settings?   Saving the show file just saves the programming for the lights?

 

[Paul Bennett 211]

Here is the settings for the group we setup which controls row one of all Battens.  As you can see the addresses are correct

However when selecting this and picking colour red @10 percent we get this error on batten 5.

It's almost like for some reason its picking the colour below from the palette.  Select red its green.  Select yellow its blue etc.  Strangely though white is fine!

Any suggestions on what i can do to fix this.  I am wondering now if the light is faulty...

 

Thanks again for all your help.

 

[Edward Z88]

Hi @Paul Bennett 211

The first thing I would do, is readdress the "faulty" LED batten, to match the start address of a batten that is working. It should then behave identically to the batten that is working correctly.

Please try this, and let us know how you get on.

Edward

[Paul Bennett 211]

21 minutes ago, Edward Z88 said:

Hi @Paul Bennett 211

The first thing I would do, is readdress the "faulty" LED batten, to match the start address of a batten that is working. It should then behave identically to the batten that is working correctly.

Please try this, and let us know how you get on.

Edward

Is it ok to have two with the same address?  Or do i need to remove the other one first.

[Paul Bennett 211]

Right i just give batten 5 the DMX addresses of batten 7.   This removed the addresses from batton 7 but batton 5 does not work.  Strangly when selecting all battens and blue.  I now get 1 red on batten 5!!!!!

 

Or have i done this wrong?

 

 

[Davidmk]

47 minutes ago, Edward Z88 said:

readdress the "faulty" LED batten, to match the start address of a batten that is working

Absolutely it is OK to have two identical fixtures with the same address - as long as you want both fixtures to do the same thing at all times.

[Paul Bennett 211]

14 minutes ago, Davidmk said:

Absolutely it is OK to have two identical fixtures with the same address - as long as you want both fixtures to do the same thing at all times.

The system told me I was giving it the address of a fixture but I selected patch anyway and now the addresses on batten 7 have gone so it only allows me to have one? 

[Davidmk]

4 minutes ago, Paul Bennett 211 said:

have i done this wrong?

I think you have. It looks to me as if you've made the address changes on the desk - what @Edward Z88 meant was to change the address on the fixture and leave the desk alone. In this case the desk only "sees" one fixture but both fixtures should behave the same.

[Davidmk]

Can you post a link to the fixtures manual or, failing that, photos of the pages detailing the fixture's modes and channels.

[Paul Bennett 211]

10 minutes ago, Davidmk said:

I think you have. It looks to me as if you've made the address changes on the desk - what @Edward Z88 meant was to change the address on the fixture and leave the desk alone. In this case the desk only "sees" one fixture but both fixtures should behave the same.

Doh! Let me change the physical fixture to the same as another batten. 

[Paul Bennett 211]

4 minutes ago, Davidmk said:

Can you post a link to the fixtures manual or, failing that, photos of the pages detailing the fixture's modes and channels.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.chauvetdj.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/COLORband_PiX_USB_UM_Rev1_WO.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjY7qTJ8Kn2AhUPesAKHVvPCdMQFnoECAQQAQ&usg=AOvVaw1XcGGScLTAuOGtHJJ5IDXL

[Paul Bennett 211]

@Davidmk Thank you.  

Made some progress lol. 

I gave batten 5 the same number as batten 6.  Now 5 goes to the correct colour the issue has moved to batten 6 ha ha

 

What is strange is they are not behaving the same...  The issue is now batten 6 even though it has the same starting address as batten 5 (d324)

[Davidmk]

If, as you claim, 5 & 6 have the same starting address, are both in 36ch mode and neither is faulty then this should not happen.

Bit of a long shot this but take the DMX line from your desk direct to fixture 5 and unplug 7 from 6. If you have a DMX terminator plug it into the DMX out of fixture 6.

We are looking for a bad DMX connection here. If there's no change take the feed from the desk to 6 and connect 5 to the DMX output on 6. Move the terminator to 5

(If you don't have a DMX terminator then get a couple, they are fairly cheap on ebay/amazon. Put them in your toolbox and always try them first if things don't behave as expected.)