"Thick" DMX question.

[OllieJames]

Hi all,

I've just got into the world of DMX, as my ShowXpress order arrived today.

So far i'm getting on with it really well, but i've got a question!

My "large" show ( which will sound ridiculous to most of you, but I like using a lot of lights ) consists of:

- 4 Dynamos
- 2 Dynarocks
- 2 Magic Gobos
- Nebula Laser
- Zodiac Laser (teen parties and proms)

For smaller gigs, gigs with older guests or venues that do not allow smoke I use:

- 2 Dynarocks
- 2 Magic Gobos
- Nebula Laser

Now... to keep it easy, I've ordered my effects so that the dipswitch settings are in chronological order. For example:

Dynamo 1 - Channel 1
Dynarock 1 - Channel 5
Dynamo 2 - Channel 9
Magic Gobo 1 - Channel 13
Nebula - Channel 16
Zodiac - Channel 20
Magic Gobo 2 - Channel 32
Dynamo 3 - Channel 35
Dynarock 2 - Channel 39
Dynamo 4 - Channel 43

By doing this, I found out that I can keep all my dipswitch settings the same no matter what combination of lighting I use. However my question is... did I have to order it in chronological order? e.g. I went in & out of the lights in that order, but could I have had the dynamos on Channels 1, 5, 9 and 13 rather than ordering them in relation to where they would be hung on my truss?

Hope that makes sense!

Thanks a lot,
Ollie

[Vectis]

You can assign any address to any fixture as the DMX commands are broadcast along the length of the cable.

You can even have multiple devices on the same address if you wish - and they'll all act identically (assuming they're the same profile).

So no need to have each dynamo individually addressable if you want them to work in pairs - saves on the programming!


Once you get to more than a few effects, you'll be wanting a terminating resistor on the last effect to reduce the possibility of echos and stray signals. They're a couple of quid from CPC if you haven't got any.

Incidentally, I have far more lights than I use on any one rig, and I deliberately addressed them on the 16 boundaries (1, 17, 33 etc.) so that I could use a DMX master desk in the event of a catastrophic computer / dongle failure.

[Daryll]

As far as I know , it makes no difference where the fittings are put m they will only respond to the start address that you have set.
so.

dynamo A channel 1
dyanmo B channel 5
dynamo C channel 9
dynamo D channel 13

you could hang them C,A,D,B they will still only respond to their respective addresses.

Daryll

[OllieJames]

You can assign any address to any fixture as the DMX commands are broadcast along the length of the cable.

You can even have multiple devices on the same address if you wish - and they'll all act identically (assuming they're the same profile).

So no need to have each dynamo individually addressable if you want them to work in pairs - saves on the programming!


Once you get to more than a few effects, you'll be wanting a terminating resistor on the last effect to reduce the possibility of echos and stray signals. They're a couple of quid from CPC if you haven't got any.

Incidentally, I have far more lights than I use on any one rig, and I deliberately addressed them on the 16 boundaries (1, 17, 33 etc.) so that I could use a DMX master desk in the event of a catastrophic computer / dongle failure.

As far as I know , it makes no difference where the fittings are put m they will only respond to the start address that you have set.
so.

dynamo A channel 1
dyanmo B channel 5
dynamo C channel 9
dynamo D channel 13

you could hang them C,A,D,B they will still only respond to their respective addresses.

Daryll

Fantastic!

Thanks ever so much guys, just the info I was after!

Martin, I delibrately simulated that situation where the computer fails to see what would happen and some how, the dynarocks just went into sound to light. So should that happen at a gig, "I've got time" to either sort the laptop out, or switch the dipswitches to sound to light and bypass a couple of DMX cables.

Thanks once again,
Ollie