One of the big things that is a strength for me and not needing much help from technical support is me being involved in pro sound for, well, longer than many of the users of this forum have been alive. I don't need manuals to figure out most stuff.
Case and point: Went from a Soundcraft 6000 console, then to my first little mixer, my Mackie 1604VLZ. Didn't really need a manual, it packed less features and it was laid out well. Aquired a ProMix01, which did require manual reading because digital boards are not all obvious. Moved up from a puny 16-channel to my much adored Allen & Heath ML 5000 48B, a 76 channel analog board. All I needed help with was assigning VCA's.
With lights, I can't say much. Gee, what do I need to know about a Sunray III? It's either ON or OFF, don't go in between! My other fixtures in the same category? Same issue. Not terribly difficult once you wrap your head around some basics.
Most lighting manuals are written for the beginners. I commend ADJ for doing this. It must cut some time and costs off of technical support. While some folks may be offended by the "dumbed down" manuals, I find it easier to scim the newie-type stuff and go right to the technical specs.
Now, 2 things I learned about my Color Fusions came from here, NOT the manual. First, DO NOT change DIP switch assigned DMX channels while the fixture is ON and expect it to work. Power off, change and power on. Or, if you do it live, then power cycle after change. Oh, and just a recap, even using DMX cables and terminator(total cable length less than 20 feet from controller to terminator), the units do NOT strobe in sync, they are like out of phase with each other. BUT: perfectly out of phase(1 on, 1 off). TO me: The strobe was never a marketable feature to me but now with this "error", I got a cool effect. Happy mistake! ADJ made a tiny error, I've found it wiht this paid and instead of slamming ADJ for it, I can exploit this and have a unique side to side pulsing action. Yeah, beat that!
With so many other channels for support, such as other pro A/V forums, usenet and mailing lists, it seems only the more "die hard" come to this one. That's