DMX Modes

well the different options are how many total channels your fixture will respond to via your dmx controller. so if your light has 2 4 6 7 11 29 channel options and you can only out 16 channels on a fixture button on your controller then u can use any of the modes up until 29. Make sense? i highly doubt the obey will allow you to use all 29 channels of the light so you may have to settle for 11 channel mode.
Sincerely,

That's what most people do. They find the mode that gives them the type of control they need over their fixture, then pretty much "set and forget". Of course, you can always change the mode at any time as you see fit.

One problem with using so many DMX channels for a SINGLE fixture is that most control surfaces in the low end range don't tend to have that many faders to move. That's not to say you can't do it, but just may make programming a bit harder.

Consider MyDMX or maybe a better ADJ controller.

thanks-I really just want to accomplish the basics so I don't think I'll need ridiculous amounts of control over any 1 fixture. Just to be able to turn a particular light on & off and have blackout from one surface will seem like a luxury at first. I went with the Chauvet Obey 10 because I'll never use more than 8 fixtures at once (of course a year from now, I'll be saying "remember when I said I would never use more than 8 fixtures...well...lol) but my favorite feature of the Obey 10 is that it's only 2 rack spaces & that works perfectly in my situation.
I considered the Elation 192 but passed because of my space issues. Thanks for the feedback Chris & Jingles & Happy New Year!

thanks you too happy new year.
Sincerely, me and tv whole ADJ team.

I like the fact that some fixtures have loads of control features. For me, I'm not to the point where it makes sense for me to buy fixtures that have that much control. Not saying all this control isn't great. The better designers can really utilize that type of control as they see fit.

One thing I'd strongly advise is that if you are planning to buy a controller, don't think "now" unless you know for a fact that "this is all you're gonna get". If you don't plan ahead, then you may find out that you've spent afair amount of money on what may be good hardware, but isn't going to grow with you. This makes it more of a "bad investment", requiring it to be replaced sooner rather than later. What that pain threshhold is varies from user to user.

In my case, after over 7 years now of ownership, I still haven't outgrown my DMX Operator, which is a fairly simple and easy to use controller. It can control a total of 192 DMX channels. It's been a great reliable workhorse bit of gear for me and has served me well, and with a little care, it should continue to serve me well. Even so, it has limitations when it comes to scene programming, taking into consideration what type of lights and the variety of lights I have. So, I've moved towards MyDMX and have been pleased.

I don't think the DMX Operator would be ideal for your 29 channels of DMX control. Maybe for 11 channels or maybe 13, but not 29!

Just make sure you plan a few steps ahead. Throw out of the picture "it ain't fitting in a rack" or lack of rack space. I almost always have surfaces available, generally on top of racks, to put "oversized gear". In my case, my MacBook Pro running Bootcamp for MyDMX(and sometimes ProTools) goes on top of racks at events. Since you're gonna have to plug in a DMX cable into the rack anyways, what difference does it make where the controller is, right?

If anything, hold off and do more controller eval, make some calls, see if you can get some loaner units. Regardless what you do end up going with, just try to see yourself getting 5+ years out of it. Hopefuly. Maybe things explode and you end up going big fast. Who knows. That would be a good thing.

The Chauvet Obey 10 controller was only $89.00 so even if I got 1 year use out of it, it would be worth it just to enter the world of DMX. If ADJ came out with a 2 space version, I would certainly have gone that route. I don't have any xtra space at all anywhere even if I did not rack mount a 3 space DMX controller. If it's already in my rack & pre-wired , it will be ready to go so I can always have a fast setup. I appreciate all your advice & the time you put in writing your replies.

Even if it is rack mounted, how are you going to "pre-wire?" You still gotta hook up that DMX cable, so some sort of inter-connection, even if you've got a shorty cable plugged in to get out from the rack, is still necessary.

In the case of a rack mounted DMX Operator, the connector lends itself to a 90-degree connector. I'm sure with the Obey 10, it's more of an "on the back" rather than the DMX Operator's "on the top" sort of placement. But, consider that the DMX Operator was designed to be used racked or unracked, so the design makes perfect sense.

Sounds like you should get yourself some double-sided racks. That's how I'm going and it's saving my LOADS of time and space. Sure, they weigh more all loaded up, but I got truck power for that, and thanks to consolidating, now I have truck SPACE too!

Just keep in mind that in lighting, as with many other things in life, you do get what you pay for. Yes, that price is cheap to get a controller, especially with the feature set the Obey 10 claims to have.

Just do keep in mind that if you are into buying more complicated intels, it will make sense to start to buy more higher end lighting controllers or maybe even controller software. It just makes sense to go that route. But as you say, you can always upgrade later and $89 is cheap to get into the world of DMX control.

I was wondering if I can go from using my ADJ fixtures in DMX mode, then swithch them to sound active mode-all from the DMX controller or would I have to manually change the setting on my lights to accomplish this.
I've only ordered my controller & don't have it yet so I was just curious-thanks.

hmmm sort of and it also depends on your fixtures. If your fixtures have a function within there dmx values for a sound active mode then that may work. Depends on the level of sound activeness on the fixture. could make just that one channel sound active or the whole fixture.
Sincerely,

I'll be using a quad gem dmx, mystic led & a mega bar pro.
I'm still waiting for the mega bar to be delivered)

All those should have some pretty decent sound active programs.
Sincerely,

It's exactly like what Jingles said.

Some DMX fixtures have a sound active mode accessible via DMX. Some can only be put into sound active mode via a menu or DIP switch settings. More makers are making sure they put a sound active option into their fixtures DMX specs. Just read the manuals, they will typically tell you everything you should know.