Wash Lights

Bite the bullet and start using DMX.

Since you're not wanting to go "pro", that really saves you money. If you don't need to do a whole lot, you can use a DMX Operator, giving you hardware control and 240 scenes and chases. This can give you a LOT for a little.

But if you wanta TON for a little and software is acceptable(as well as a little more expensive), you can go to MyDMX and take ages to grow into it.

You may also want to buy some dedicated wash fixtures. For the money, the Mega Bar 50's are good, but so are the Profile Panels, so maybe a pair or quad of those might be something to budget for as well.

Not having DMX doesn't really let you take anywhere near full advantage of what you've got. You can always make scenes that don't take advantage of everything but does what you want to get the job done.

quote:

Originally posted by Chris Pickett:
Bite the bullet and start using DMX.

Since you're not wanting to go "pro", that really saves you money. If you don't need to do a whole lot, you can use a DMX Operator, giving you hardware control and 240 scenes and chases. This can give you a LOT for a little.

But if you wanta TON for a little and software is acceptable(as well as a little more expensive), you can go to MyDMX and take ages to grow into it.

You may also want to buy some dedicated wash fixtures. For the money, the Mega Bar 50's are good, but so are the Profile Panels, so maybe a pair or quad of those might be something to budget for as well.

Not having DMX doesn't really let you take anywhere near full advantage of what you've got. You can always make scenes that don't take advantage of everything but does what you want to get the job done.

Thanks Chris. Forgive my DMX ignorance. With DMX, can I revert the lights back to sound active? Is that an option? I'd prefer not to have to sit there "making the show go"....

-Richard

This has been an area discussed MANY MANY times on the forum. But here's a summary:

Not all lights that support a sound active stand-alone(or even master/slave) support sound active when in DMX mode, so PLEASE PLEASE do read your manual in regards to any and all fixtures you own that have DMX functionality.

In my case, I know for sure my ADJ 64 LED Pros, Mega Panels and Mega Bar 50's all have a sound active capability when in DMX mode.

Now, getting back to DMX control, and let's say you're using MyDMX:

You can make a scene that is "wash scene", where you turn ON what you want, then the announcements are over and it's time to get the show rolling again, you can click another button to get to your "sound active" scene, should you program it correctly.

Similarly, you can do the same thing with a DMX Operator, you just have to pay closer attention to what bank you're on and what bank and what scene within the bank does what so you might want to have these documented.

In a real world example:
In a show I do, to save programming headaches, during one section, I just chuck my 64 LED Pros and Mega Panels into sound active mode(along with a few other lights), while the Mega Bar 50's stay pink to wash the stage with some steady light. After a certain point, the scene changes do a solid color and all the LED's go to that color(while another set of lights goes off). It's really as simple as that.

So, in summary, read your manual and DMX traits to see if sound active is supported in DMX mode. If sound active is a "drop dead" feature for you, and it sounds like it is, double check any fixture before you buy it to make sure it has a sound active mode in DMX, then you should be fine.

There's also a primer on DMX here on the Elation site.
DMX 101 Handbook

I would read this and get familiar with DMX in general terms. This won't answer ALL your questions, but it gets you started. For product specific questions, you have to read those manuals.

For controllers and software, it's best to probably ask questions for now, while reading the manual. The manual for MyDMX may be an overload, while the manual for the DMX Operator might not be super helpful, and the section in regards to programming is a little unclear if you're not in front of the unit while reading it.

Thanks so much... off to do some homework! :-)

I've got 2 fx2 bars that I programmed some scenes for after using 1 fxbar2 with a uc3 controller for a solid year. And the impact from the fx2 bars have improved 100%.

DMX is good to use for some on/off fixtures. But not for all. Like the galaxian 3d. I just turn it on and off. The only draw back to that is the time it takes for it to boot up.

quote:

Originally posted by CMBDJ:
I've got 2 fx2 bars that I programmed some scenes for after using 1 fxbar2 with a uc3 controller for a solid year. And the impact from the fx2 bars have improved 100%.

DMX is goos to use for some on/off fixtures. But not for all. Like the galaxian 3d. I just turn it on and off. The only draw back to that is the time it takes for it to boot up.

Weighing all my options...

I have read, and re-read the manual for the FX2. Am I correct you can switch between: Random show, Show 1, Show 2 and sound active for each show?

CMBDJ, did you replace one of the 'factory' shows? How? I assume then, you set your 2nd FX2 to slave and linked via a DMX cable?

Not exactly.

Sure, you can go into any of those show modes whenever you want to, but you gotta get out of DJ position, go up to the fixture and dink with the menu to change it each time you want to change it, as those are BUILT IN programs.

(I'm not trying to be harsh or rude, just trying to emphasise a point).

Honestly, there's no restriction as to when, where or how you use those built in programs, but the only way to access those is to physically go to the unit and change them. But lots of other fixtures are just like that, so it's nothing new or specific.

In DMX mode, you have a 16-channel mode(that's it, that's what you've got to work with). On channel 13 for moonflower 1, the values between 191 and 200 are for sound active. Similarly, on Channel 15, you also have sound active for mooonflower 2.

In regards to CMBDJ:
You can go into any mode(except DMX) you want, then set any fixture to a master or slave. So, if he set his first light to SHow 1, and master, all he needs to do is set light 2 to show 1 and slave, hook up a DMX cable and he's ready to rock and roll.

That is assuming ht's doing that.

I have no idea how he may have made his own shows, but there may be some way of doing that. Then again, he may be using some software or hardware and is controlling them using custom scenes via an external DMX controller of some sort.

Here is my interpretation of what he said:
He was using 1 FXBar2 with a UC3 controller for year, then he changed to having 2 FX2 Bars that he controlls via DMX, and things have been 100% better doing it his way rather than using the built in programs and the UC3 controller.

quote:

Originally posted by PartTimeFun:

quote:

Originally posted by CMBDJ:
I've got 2 fx2 bars that I programmed some scenes for after using 1 fxbar2 with a uc3 controller for a solid year. And the impact from the fx2 bars have improved 100%.

DMX is goos to use for some on/off fixtures. But not for all. Like the galaxian 3d. I just turn it on and off. The only draw back to that is the time it takes for it to boot up.

Weighing all my options...

I have read, and re-read the manual for the FX2. Am I correct you can switch between: Random show, Show 1, Show 2 and sound active for each show?

CMBDJ, did you replace one of the 'factory' shows? How? I assume then, you set your 2nd FX2 to slave and linked via a DMX cable?

I'm not sure what you mean by show 1...ect. I connected my fx2 bars via dmx. Not sure if I addressed them for the same address or if I addressed them seperatley. I'll have to check on that.

Then I designed some shows using my DMX software (not adj mydmx) and uploaded those show's to that dmx interface. The scenes can then be triggered from the hardware interface, without the need of a pc. It's basically scrolling up and down between the 12 scenes that were loaded on the interface. Doing it this way allows for a cleaner table, and less to setup/tear down. Which is you're using the fx2 bar inthe first place...that's got to be a big factor.

Thanks....I guess the best thing for me to do is to read
up on DMX some more and find a affordable & super easy controller to get my feet wet.
I'm def. a hands on learner so thtas probably the way to go.
If nothing else, DMX looks fun. The controllers are
little intimidating & there aren't any lighting supply stores to demo
in my area.

Thanks again for the guidance!

quote:

Originally posted by PartTimeFun:
Thanks....I guess the best thing for me to do is to read
up on DMX some more and find a affordable & super easy controller to get my feet wet.
I'm def. a hands on learner so thtas probably the way to go.
If nothing else, DMX looks fun. The controllers are
little intimidating & there aren't any lighting supply stores to demo
in my area.

Thanks again for the guidance!

My first controller was the Martin Freekie. I found it super easy to use and didn't short change you on DMX channels. But it is a more expensive controller.

I would say that if you're wanting to get out super cheap...count up the number of DMX channels needed for the fixtures you listed above. Then find what controllers are available offering that number of channels and look at how they operate. As a DJ, your playback mode is a big factor. As you want to be able to punch one button to change the show programming during a song. On the Freakie, I had 12 hot buttons to access different shows for 1 bank. Which was a decent variety. If the cost of the controller you like get's up to the cost of the Mydmx program, I'd probably spring for the software. Simply because you have alot more features. The only way this might not work is if you only have 1 pc to use, and your DJ software and Mydmx on the same machine may over power your pc. If that's the case, a hardware controller would be the best option to go with.

There are a ton of videos on youtube with hardware demos. So go online and check them out once you narrow down your search to a few models that offer what you want. That's the best way to see how something works when you don't have a showroom to go to.

I have to agree with CMBDJ that if you don't have a second PC for software for lighting(because you're doing DJ/Audio/playback on the 1 PC), then honestly, your best options are:

Buy a hardware controller, in which case, opinions will vary, so lots of questions are in order for you.

Get a netbook or something small and compact.

Fortunately for me, as I deal with bands or other people doing the playback, that this issue isn't really a problem for me.