Slow scanning with the X-Scan Led using DMX

Which Elation DMX controller do you have?
also channel 8 is only for the speed of the pre made movements on channel 7. So if your not using any dmx values from channel 7 then channel 8 has no effect on the pan and tilt speed.
Sincerely,

Hi, thanks for replying.

I have the DMX operator 1. I am using ch7(113) for the pre-programmed movements and ch8(255) for the speed. During setup it works fine but when I save the scene and return to it the speed of the scanners is off the scale (not what I want for slow dances )

Do you have a hold time set and fade time set on the board?

No, is that necessary?

umm yes, otherwise all your scenes are just going to fire rapidly and it won't look right. Have you read the manual that came with your controller? Or downloaded it from the website? We make those for a reason you know.
Let me know if you have any more questions.
Sincerely,

I thought I'd read the manual
I am only programming scenes though not chases. I thought that the hold and fade times related to groups of scenes in a chase.

Are you just hitting the scene button and seeing how the scene looks? Or are you hitting play and playing back a bank of scenes? You have the DMX operator 192 yes? With the joy stick?
Sincerely,

I am just hitting the scene button to verify the look, yes.

Yes I have the joy stick but I have not assigned it, I am using ch1 & ch2 faders to control pan and tilt.

hmmm ok. I'm just not sure what could cause it to go crazy. Let me ask around and get back to ya tomorrow.
Sincerely,

Thanks for trying to help.

It's no problem. Also I meant no offense about my remark about reading the manual. 9 out of 10 people never read the manual. haha.
We should be able to take care of you tomorrow or later tonight for you over in France.
Good night for now.
Sincerely,

I have just found this topic in the forum, this is exactly my problem. The final post says that according to tech support it's an X Scan internal software issue requiring new chips.
http://forums.americandj.com/e...21078525/m/575108931

Ya my tech is telling me the same thing. Seems like a service issue. You need to send your unit in for repair, However it is different doing that in France than it is over here in the USA. So contact the store you bought the units from and they should arrange the details for you I think.
Sincerely,

I bought it from the UK so I can't send it for repair, I need the new circuit boards sent to me so I can change them.

you will still have to contact the UK office in order to get parts from them. The USA side does not sell parts to overseas customers. Shipping for that would be a HUGE bill.
Sincerely,

ADJ have known about this issue since 2009, why was it not publicised earlier so that people could sort the problem out? I have been planning my first DMX lightshow at next Thursday's wedding for over a month and now I won't be able to use the X scans
You also mention that ADJ won't "sell" parts overseas, are you suggesting that I will have to pay for them in order to make your product fit for purpose?

If we offered a free fix previously for a known issue than I am sure it is still free but I will have to double check on that. Also the UK may have that part in stock that you need. but you should still contact the UK office yourself as they will need specific information from you.
Sincerely,

I do appreciate your help and I know it's not your fault but I do feel a bit aggrieved that there was no effort on ADJ's part to publicise this issue earlier.

Do you by any chance have the contact details of the UK office?

Believe me I understand your frustration. I really do. I have emailed the UK service team. but here is their email also.
Service@americandj.eu
Also we have sold a lot of X scans since then and this is the first I have heard of this issue since then. It's more likely that you got a old batch with the old board. If it came down to it and you were really in a crunch, does the scan work fine if you don't use the built in movements? you could make your own programs. i've done it and it is not hard unless you really just want to generate random positions. Let me know. i can give you good programming tips if need be.
Sincerely,

Thanks James, I will e-mail the UK service people and see what they say.

The only reason I am using the built in movements is for ease of programming (this is my first DMX show). If you could explain how to make my own programs I will give it a go.

Many Thanks

Steve

Sure, what kind of programming are you doing? is it for a club? for a live band/Act? or a mobile DJ doing a wedding?
Using the banks you can program your own sequences by using the fade and hold time faders. For example way back in the day I had a dmx op just like yours and i made my own circle movement with a scanner. it's all about the positions of the scanner and then recording them not too far in between the last position in order for smooth fades as they are playing back.
when making your own sequences you have to remember that if you program two points the further away the two points are from each other the faster the mirrors are going to go into the positions on short fade times. longer fade times will make it smooth. a good fade time on the dmx op 192 is around .90 through 1.50 seconds.
Let me know if this helps.
Sincerely,

I want to do very slow (ch8 255) scans for the slow dances at a wedding, this is coupled with my ADJ Starball DMX and 2 ADJ Sparkles (activated with a DMX switch).
Are you saying that I need to make several scenes and play them back as a chase with the hold time set to max?

ok but if you are not able to use the buil in movements than channel 8's speed has no bearing on the fixtures.
Here is what you can do you can program a bunch of scanner positions using two banks of scenes that is 16 scenes. you then program them as a chase but you also need to include the other lights your using. no the hold time at max and the scenes will never play. i think the max hold time is like 10 minutes, that is too long. Try a hold of time of 1-2 seconds and a fade time of .90sec to 1.50 secs.
Make sense?
Sincerely,

The solution is to update your units by exchanging the driver ic.
Th driver ic is is located on the driver pcb in the head.
Which version do these x scans have?

quote:

http://forums.americandj.com/e...21078525/m/575108931

Im having this problem Also and I have 8 of these things. Just got 4 back from repair because the LED burned out and they upgraded the Firmware to ver 10. It still does what is described in both topics. program to scan slow and save it. when you replay it, It scenes fast unless to go to another scene programed with the scanners and go back to the original scene.

Hello,

I will need your personal information. Please send me an email, joelchen@americandj.com. Thanks! I will look up your history and provide a solution. Thanks.

Seems to be a pretty pervasive problem affecting many users...