can mydmx work with dimmer lights???and can i convert the 3pin to 5pin???
thanx
domenick raccuglia
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Hello,
You can easily find a 3 to 5 pin dmx adapor online, the are rather inexpensive.
In fact, Amercan DJ makes one.
You can use dimmers with the MYDMX
Ed
You can easily find a 3 to 5 pin dmx adapor online, the are rather inexpensive.
In fact, Amercan DJ makes one.
You can use dimmers with the MYDMX
Ed
thanx,,theres no dimmer pack profile??? what do i put it as???
You use the par profiles in the generic folder. Just use as many of those as you have on your dimmer pack. There is a seperate thread in this section.
Sincerely,
Sincerely,
hey!!! your jingles8302,,,brian the dj guy on youtube sad somthing about you, i think on a my dmx video or somthing,,,nice to meet you,,,thanx
so i can control dimmers and moving heads @ same time??? and can i daisychan from a dimmer back to 3pin fixture???
so i can control dimmers and moving heads @ same time??? and can i daisychan from a dimmer back to 3pin fixture???
Ya that's me. I taught brian the basics of the software. And yup you can daisy chain out from the pack. You just have to use a 5 pin to 3 pin cable.
Sincerely,
Sincerely,
tnanx a so much!!!
thanx so much!!!*
No prob at all. Welcome to the forums.
Sincerely,
Sincerely,
sorry another question,,,,,do you reconmend mydmx for big theater productions ,,i mean like evan contolling the main house lighting for the building like high hats recces lighting witch i have all hooked up to dimmer packs and stuff,,or shuld i keep that seperate????
It should be fine to run things like house lights off of MyDMX. It comes down to what you are comfortable doing. If it makes your life easier to run things like house lights through MyDMX and your comfortable doing it, then go for it. Also make sure it won't put you over the 512 channel limit.
In my experience, house lights and "show lights" typically do not touch. We'd typically use a ClearCom and cue one of the house staffers to dim or kill the house lights as necessary(sometimes it's not obvious) and then have DMX control for the show lighting.
Personally, I want to keep those things separate. Just how I am. Since most venues have acts in and out all the time with most often their own lighting console, it makes sense to do it this way.
HOWEVER, if you're say a night club with a fixed lighting, there's no reason why you'd have to do it this way. I still wouldn't though, but I'd prefer show control to be in one area and "house control" via a different location. It really just depends on the situation. I for one would want to be able to have some slacker/deadbeat(aka management) to have something quick and easy to work with(besides their secretary...), and a wall mounted panel switch/dimmer would keep them the hell away from FOH.
Let's clarify, by management in the above paragraph, I am referring to those who work at the building. NOT the stage manager or road manager(who might also be in need of something/someone quick and easy, but that's another discussion!)
But also should something fail in the DMX chain, at least house is not connected and can be quickly brought up or down.
It's not so much a matter of "what's better", it's more of "what works best for your environment". But should something bad happen, and those lights don't come on, the fire marshall won't be happy, but then again your exit signs should be able to run for a while off batteries to help get the masses out.
Personally, I want to keep those things separate. Just how I am. Since most venues have acts in and out all the time with most often their own lighting console, it makes sense to do it this way.
HOWEVER, if you're say a night club with a fixed lighting, there's no reason why you'd have to do it this way. I still wouldn't though, but I'd prefer show control to be in one area and "house control" via a different location. It really just depends on the situation. I for one would want to be able to have some slacker/deadbeat(aka management) to have something quick and easy to work with(besides their secretary...), and a wall mounted panel switch/dimmer would keep them the hell away from FOH.
Let's clarify, by management in the above paragraph, I am referring to those who work at the building. NOT the stage manager or road manager(who might also be in need of something/someone quick and easy, but that's another discussion!)
But also should something fail in the DMX chain, at least house is not connected and can be quickly brought up or down.
It's not so much a matter of "what's better", it's more of "what works best for your environment". But should something bad happen, and those lights don't come on, the fire marshall won't be happy, but then again your exit signs should be able to run for a while off batteries to help get the masses out.
wow! thanx!
i have to run a 5 pin and a 3 pin xlr seperate out of mydmx,,,can i get a xlr Y plug? ,,would that work?,,,cus the dimmer paks in my church dont have a output,,,its like you cant plug and unplug stuff its all wired together permently,,please would a Y spliter work with mydmx?????????????
DMX, unfortunately, can't be y-ed with a y-cable. You will need something like this to split DMX.
Not only will a splitter split DMX 4 ways (8 in the case of the Elation units since all outputs have their own DMX drive), but it also boosts DMX signal so you can make longer runs. It also protects DMX devices by stopping shorts and power surges from jumping across where the DMX splits. This is nice to have simply because it will stop shorts/surges from frying DMX controllers on other lines out of the split as well as your controller, but prevent shorts from making DMX act weird on other lines, helping trouble shooting process.
Not only will a splitter split DMX 4 ways (8 in the case of the Elation units since all outputs have their own DMX drive), but it also boosts DMX signal so you can make longer runs. It also protects DMX devices by stopping shorts and power surges from jumping across where the DMX splits. This is nice to have simply because it will stop shorts/surges from frying DMX controllers on other lines out of the split as well as your controller, but prevent shorts from making DMX act weird on other lines, helping trouble shooting process.
wow so much money!can you reconmend somthing cheap?,i need a 2way
The Elation unit is the cheapest I know of. The standard is Doug Fleenor and those cost a lot of money. They come in 3, 5, or 11 way splits.
In getting back to your problem, is there a way you can just run a bunch of DMX to make the dimmers last in line? It will most likely be a lot of cable, but DMX is good up to about 500-1000' before it needs a splitter to amplify the signal. Of course, depending on the amount of cable needed, it might just be cheaper to grab a splitter.
As you get into more and more advanced lighting, it is something you will have to grab sooner or later. One of those necessary expenses. Most shows I do now I have at least 2 if not more on site.
In getting back to your problem, is there a way you can just run a bunch of DMX to make the dimmers last in line? It will most likely be a lot of cable, but DMX is good up to about 500-1000' before it needs a splitter to amplify the signal. Of course, depending on the amount of cable needed, it might just be cheaper to grab a splitter.
As you get into more and more advanced lighting, it is something you will have to grab sooner or later. One of those necessary expenses. Most shows I do now I have at least 2 if not more on site.
i need a splitter cus the system thats set up already, has no output its not like i can plug and unplug stuff,,,its all sodered together for some reason ,,,and also i need a five pin and 3 pin output,,,,,,what i was going to do was to get a y 3 pin xlr/dmx splitter and on one side add a 3 pin to 5 pin addapter,,,,,,so y splitter wont work @ all??????
the wireing is all under the floor and stuff,,so i have to work with whats there ,,,,,with the 3pin i have to run around the room and up to the catwalk,,,,,,,,,,wow this just came to mind ,do they sell a wireles transmiter???and can i from the splitter use the 3pin wireles and 5 pin wiredat same time?????
Y will not work at all, it will cause a lot of issues.
For wireless DMX transmitters, look here.
For the transmitters, you can only use the 5 pin or 3 pin, not both at the same time. This is the same with fixtures that have both 5 pin and 3 pin, its one or the other. For the splitter, you can use both 5 and 3 pin outputs at the same time on the Elation units. Each bank is like a separate universe. You can not, however, use the 5 pin and 3 pin input at the same time and the 5 pin and 3 pin pass thru at the same time. You can, however, use it as a turn around, going from 5 pin in to 3 pin thru and visa versa, same with fixtures as well as the wireless transmitter.
You can also turn 5 pin into 3 pin and back again as many times as needed. 5 pin DMX only uses 3 wires, the others are there for expansion which never really happened.
For wireless DMX transmitters, look here.
For the transmitters, you can only use the 5 pin or 3 pin, not both at the same time. This is the same with fixtures that have both 5 pin and 3 pin, its one or the other. For the splitter, you can use both 5 and 3 pin outputs at the same time on the Elation units. Each bank is like a separate universe. You can not, however, use the 5 pin and 3 pin input at the same time and the 5 pin and 3 pin pass thru at the same time. You can, however, use it as a turn around, going from 5 pin in to 3 pin thru and visa versa, same with fixtures as well as the wireless transmitter.
You can also turn 5 pin into 3 pin and back again as many times as needed. 5 pin DMX only uses 3 wires, the others are there for expansion which never really happened.
just say i have the distributer ,,on one output i have ,say 1-10 channels is taken,,and the other outpuut ,do i just continue 11-too whatever,,,,or is it a total another universe???
A splitter simply takes one universe and splits it. It doesn't add another. So every unit on the splitter will go to the same universe no matter which output its on.
thanx,,,sorry for all that
No problem, glad to be of help.
Definately backing what SerraAve said. DO NOT "Y" the DMX signal. Why? You DO NOT split an asynchronous signal.
Yeah, I have a modem tester that sort of takes an inline split. Go byte me!(OK, bad pun!)
Should you need to split, SerraAva enlightened me to the Elation OptoBranch/4 while Jingles then jumped in and pretty much sold me on it. This unit takes 3 OR 5 pin INPUT. It then OUTPUTS 4 "splits" of 3 and 5 pin DMX, which essentially can give you 8 splits if you want to also use converters. Technically, there is a pass-thru set of ports as well which can also be used to drive lights.
In this case, the unit isn't splitting, it is REPEATING the signal and then replicating it across multiple interfaces. Not something you ca do with a modem, but can work just fine in unidirectional communications. If you wanted it to go "both ways", you'd need a multiplexer and that's just not necessary.
If you've got long DMX runs, this repeater is a good idea anyways as it will push a stronger signal down that line.
And yes, there's a wireless solution. I don't feel comfortable to trust it yet, but I do see it making some elements of my shows less complicated. I just have a lot of trouble trusting the frequency range it uses.
Yeah, I have a modem tester that sort of takes an inline split. Go byte me!(OK, bad pun!)
Should you need to split, SerraAva enlightened me to the Elation OptoBranch/4 while Jingles then jumped in and pretty much sold me on it. This unit takes 3 OR 5 pin INPUT. It then OUTPUTS 4 "splits" of 3 and 5 pin DMX, which essentially can give you 8 splits if you want to also use converters. Technically, there is a pass-thru set of ports as well which can also be used to drive lights.
In this case, the unit isn't splitting, it is REPEATING the signal and then replicating it across multiple interfaces. Not something you ca do with a modem, but can work just fine in unidirectional communications. If you wanted it to go "both ways", you'd need a multiplexer and that's just not necessary.
If you've got long DMX runs, this repeater is a good idea anyways as it will push a stronger signal down that line.
And yes, there's a wireless solution. I don't feel comfortable to trust it yet, but I do see it making some elements of my shows less complicated. I just have a lot of trouble trusting the frequency range it uses.
i have a question,,,,,all i have to do is click par64 and drag it in to 1 and have a dimmer pack on channel 1 to control that fixture?????
Apparently you didn't read something earlier. It's been said at least 20 times in this area.
Yes, you can click Par64 and drag it to 1(well, it works a bit differently). Since a Par64 REQUIRES a dimmer pack, it's ASSUMED you're using a dimmer pack.
You don't need to add dimmer packs in MyDMX. It is much more critical to know what is on the channel MAKING light, rather that "what are you using to take care of that". It's your responsibility as a lighting designer to make your lighting design work. If that means you have to add dimmer packs into the mix, then so be it. It is also your responsibility to ensure that your DMX channel assignments also work out properly.
Make sense? You SEE the light, not the dimmer pack. That's why you don't see dimmer packs in MyDMX.
Yes, you can click Par64 and drag it to 1(well, it works a bit differently). Since a Par64 REQUIRES a dimmer pack, it's ASSUMED you're using a dimmer pack.
You don't need to add dimmer packs in MyDMX. It is much more critical to know what is on the channel MAKING light, rather that "what are you using to take care of that". It's your responsibility as a lighting designer to make your lighting design work. If that means you have to add dimmer packs into the mix, then so be it. It is also your responsibility to ensure that your DMX channel assignments also work out properly.
Make sense? You SEE the light, not the dimmer pack. That's why you don't see dimmer packs in MyDMX.
thanx lol
sorry
can mydmx work on mac (macbook)???????????
only if your mac book is running vm fusion or boot camp etc. does not work on s straight Mac OS.
Sincerely,
Sincerely,
if not ,will this work,,http://www.parallels.com/products/desktop/pd40_tutorial-en_US/
Yes, MyDMX will work on a MacBook, as long as you're running Boot Camp, preferably you've got Mac OS 10.5.6 and you're running Boot Camp 2.1 and you have a 32-bit version of either XP Home, XP Pro or 32-bit version of Vista.
I am running Bootcamp just fine on my 17" MacBook Pro with XP Home and Boot Camp 2.1 with absolutely no problems, outside if the occasional things you see others complaining about. Overall, it's been a real solid platform.
Note: I do not trust Parallels. In fact, I don't trust any emulation product for any platform. Just too many potential issues and as a result, too many gauranteed problems. Boot Camp is free(it comes with the OS but is an optional install), you just need to provide a license for XP or Vista. You can save money by going with OEM licenses.
I am running Bootcamp just fine on my 17" MacBook Pro with XP Home and Boot Camp 2.1 with absolutely no problems, outside if the occasional things you see others complaining about. Overall, it's been a real solid platform.
Note: I do not trust Parallels. In fact, I don't trust any emulation product for any platform. Just too many potential issues and as a result, too many gauranteed problems. Boot Camp is free(it comes with the OS but is an optional install), you just need to provide a license for XP or Vista. You can save money by going with OEM licenses.
im going to buy a "windows" vista laptop,,,, a friend who i cant come in contact with said "be carful ,,dont get a laptop with (a certain type of processor such as a type of intel)otherwise my dmx wont work,,,would you know of this??? sorry for all the questions, i just want to make sure this works out for me with no problems,,,thanx
As long as you stay within the minimum or best system requirements found on the product page for my dmx you'll be okay. I have a HP business notebook with a single core 1.60GHz and it runs my dmx fine. Even only has 512MB of ram.
P.S. Make sure it is not a 64 Bit OS of windows. the drivers for the dongle to run the software are not out yet for a 64 bit OS.
sincerely,
P.S. Make sure it is not a 64 Bit OS of windows. the drivers for the dongle to run the software are not out yet for a 64 bit OS.
sincerely,
I as a rule stay away from AMD. Seen far too many failures from AMD processors. Won't touch them. Period.
However, even so, MyDMX will run on XP and Vista using 32-bit builds. I even have it running on Windows 2000 Pro, but that machine lacks the specs to run th 3D Visualizer and it hangs frequently. Don't know who the rocket scientist was who decided "hey, let's support Windows ME..." Hope that one got down-sized!
However, even so, MyDMX will run on XP and Vista using 32-bit builds. I even have it running on Windows 2000 Pro, but that machine lacks the specs to run th 3D Visualizer and it hangs frequently. Don't know who the rocket scientist was who decided "hey, let's support Windows ME..." Hope that one got down-sized!
oh he said "Centrino" is not good.. is that true??? and gues what,,, it ends up i orderd a toshiba satellite laptop with Centrino from bestbuy,,would mydmx work with intel Centrino? or should i try to cancel my order ?
You'll be fine. I have a 1.4Ghz Dell netbook. It has a Centrino. Works fine for MyDMX, no issues whatsoever. Works fine with the 3D Visualizer. It was the second machine I installed MyDMX onto. The first was my main workstation, which is a Intel Core Duo 2.66Gz. My main machine for MyDMX is on my MacBook Pro.
Give your friend a shoe-horn and tell him to use it to pop his head out of his butt. That and a small jar of Vaseline.
Just meet or beat the minimum specs and you'll do just fine. EVEN with a Centrino and EVEN with AMD's. I recommend exceeding the specs, but that's a general rule I use anyways. The biggest issue is to ensure you're meeting that video RAM requirement so you can use the 3D Visualizer.
I'm experimenting with MyDMX on a machine not exactly up to all specs. It exceeds minimum CPU, but not video RAM, so it tanks on the 3D Visualizer. It's also not running a supported OS for MyDMX. I know I'm asking for problems. But that's not a production machine for pro audio/entertainment stuff. That machine is an old Dell Latitude C800 laptop using a PIII at 850Mhz and 512MB RAM. This is NOT what I would recommend for others to use.
So there.
Give your friend a shoe-horn and tell him to use it to pop his head out of his butt. That and a small jar of Vaseline.
Just meet or beat the minimum specs and you'll do just fine. EVEN with a Centrino and EVEN with AMD's. I recommend exceeding the specs, but that's a general rule I use anyways. The biggest issue is to ensure you're meeting that video RAM requirement so you can use the 3D Visualizer.
I'm experimenting with MyDMX on a machine not exactly up to all specs. It exceeds minimum CPU, but not video RAM, so it tanks on the 3D Visualizer. It's also not running a supported OS for MyDMX. I know I'm asking for problems. But that's not a production machine for pro audio/entertainment stuff. That machine is an old Dell Latitude C800 laptop using a PIII at 850Mhz and 512MB RAM. This is NOT what I would recommend for others to use.
So there.
thanx ,,,,you guys have been such a great help!!!!!!!!!!
i have another question,lol what if im using fresnel's,Source four's etc,,,,,do i just put them under one of the par profiles?????