Help with programming myDMX and DJ Spot 250, and the Behringer FCB1010

First off welcome to the forums.

Secondly myDMX does not offer the functionality of having multiple scene playback(playing two scenes at the same time). Nor will myDMX offer it in the future. If you would like to have a program that does that I would suggest looking at the Elation Compu line. From what I read from Jingles it is a really excellent product, which I will be investing in soon. But I still love myDMX for what it does. It makes programming easy.

What you are going to have to do for your scenes is create them both with the colors fading and the spots moving at the same time. I will give you a great hint if you use the FX generator you can do both and it maps out all the steps in the scene.

As for the midi part the thing to do is make sure you left click the scene you want to set to whatever the command to be, then right click, learn midi. Also make sure the midi notes or commands are different for each button you want to set.

If any other questions please feel free to ask, as I am sure other people will be able to chime in as well.

Ksound thanks for posting. That was good info.
GM could you please link me to the FCB product page? I need to see how it handles midi in order to help you further with this.
Sincerely,

Thanks guys. ksound, I've been using the FX generator to generate my scenes, but couldn't figure out how to do all the lights at one time. I'll spend some time with that tonight and see how I do with it.

Jingles, here's the link to the UnO upgrade for the FCB1010: http://www.ossandust.be/

And here's the site for the FCB controller: http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/FCB1010.aspx

I'm just having a difficult time wrapping my head around why it's not working properly. Some backstory: I originally purchased an ENTTEC open DMX USB module to do what myDMX does, but decided I didn't care for the features of the open source software that runs on the ENTTEC. I purchased the FCB1010 with the UnO mod because it's supposed to work best with that setup. And I may have improperly assumed it will work with the myDMX controller? But that shouldn't be an issue...it should just communicate with the PC without any problems.

Greg

Hey guys, I may have the fix for the FCB1010, I'm working on it now, and will post my results when it's all functional.

Ksound, I figured out how to do one scene using all the lights. I'm working through an issue with that, and if I can't resolve it, I'll holler. So far, so good. And if the FCB communicates properly, all will be well in DMX land.

Greg

So far so good, the FCB1010 is now working as it should. I can assign any scene to the various pedals/buttons, and can scroll through the banks, and it works fine. A friend sent me a sysex file to program the FCB with UnO mod, and it works great. Essentially it's a blank page with all buttons assigned numerical values for ease of use. Just plug and play at this point. Should anyone need that file, hit me up and I'll send it to you. Feeling much better about this now!

I might be buying a FCB1010 just for testing purposes. If I do, I'll throw out a request!

Holler at me if you do Chris. When I was building this system, it was suggested to me to buy the Enntec dongle and the FCB1010, but to get the FCB1010 with the "UnO" mod chip. I totally lucked up into finding one on Ebay that had the mod chip already installed. I can't explain the UnO mod chip any better than the designer himself, here's the "why did I build this?" pdf document: http://www.ossandust.be/files/...0Behringer%20Uno.pdf

He basically made the FCB a better tool. If you can't find one with the chip installed, performing the install of his chip is very simple.

Greg

It seems based on the description, that it would seem odd that Behringer wouldn't address these issues and release a firmware update that addresses the problems the Un0 mode addresses. Or, short of that, buy out the license/rights for the Un0 chip. Then again, what do I know, right?

I was planning to buy an FCB1010 for testing with MyDMX, but I wanted to keep it stock. As I don't play guitar or bass, it's otherwise not a useful bit of hardware for me. Even so, I'm fairly sure that the FCB1010 is using a socketted chip, so swap shouldn't be a big deal, sort of like the BOIS on some mother board designs. I had a BIOS fry on me, so I ordered a new one, problem resolved! I tend to order a spare these days JUST IN CASE, if the MOBO supports it. Some do, some don't.

Then Enntec dongle isn't compatible with MyDMX though. Only the appropriate hardware is.

Its a simple socketed swap, not a big deal. I don't use the Enntec...the original plan was to use that and some free software, but I abandoned it to use the mydmx system.

The Behringer site is advertising a EPROMM swap and is also talking similar wording as the Un0 chip upgrade, as far as the one-off EPROMM burning hardware or buying the chip direct. HOWEVER, at the same point, I don't think they are addressing the Un0's "fixes" or enhancements. But the wording both sites use definately do state that this is a socketted upgrade option.

One of the problems with MIDI is that many vendors DO NOT fully take into consideration that they can use the SysEx function to also transfer firmware if they supported that in the original firmware release. Many don't because technically speaking, that can be quite dangerous(hackers tweaking their gear then whining when the stuff stops working).

My only advise to people is to take your time swapping chips. It only takes a little bit extra time to do it right. Patience is rewarded and we're only talking less than an extra minute! I never rush EPROMM swaps, because of those long pins are so easy to bend(but are also easy to bend back, but do it too much and they break off!)

I'm all for the home-grown and indy stuff, but when it comes down to it for me, I rely on something commercially produced. Mainly, it guarantees a certain level of expectation. These expectations include some level of support, and some sort of level of maintenance, often in the form of the development or ongoing support team releasing bug fixes or other PROBLEM fixes.

I find I simply don't have the time to deal with the free stuff, especially when it comes to mission critical stuff, which is basically what every show is.

On a side note, with a customer of mine who shall remain nameless, they bought some security software from me(something I resell and support, not something I make) because rules mandate they must use something that can be properly supported and have a maintenance/support contract. They've since stopped buying maintenance on it due to internal fighting cause by multiple angles caused by the merging of several locations into one centralized location. The older Unix and Linux geeks rolled their own solution, but that solution has been failing for several years, and now they want to roll the existing mission critical into the home-grown platform. Oddly enough, now that all the folks who worked on the home-grown solution are gone(fired, quit or retired, mostly quit and retired), this legacy fighting continues! I could have exported their home grown database to a flat file and imported it into the commercial solution and have resolved all of this years ago. The folks in the main group I work with are waiting for logicl to prevail so things can move forward with the mandated system requirements again. In the meantime, they go without maintenance and support on that mission critical platform, but at least they are using a commercial product that is rock solid.