Wireless DMX retro fit of my fixtures!

[spukemonkey]

after reading this forum I brought a pcb and decided to give it a go on my trilex :-)


I made a template of the board (from this Jpeg but be warned some of the pcbs have holes that are 1mm or less out)

drilled all the holes to the correct dimensions used m3 1/4" 3 bolts per corner (2 used to level the board up so it don't hit the casing and 1 to secure it). Power was pulled off the 12v line and dropped down using a l7805 and a 10uf 63v cap. the dmx side of it was soldered direct to the pins on the back of the in plug.

Had it running for 4 hours no issues
once my new board arrives I will be tackling my moving heads (I will take pics from start to finish) but this time I am using better bolts with flatter heads and black to match the unit and inside I will be using nylon nuts.

Darren

[Imagine]

I'm pulling 5V from the CA-9 connector on the back of the Cougars and Micro Fusions

Julian

I know this is a very old one - but my Acme Jaguar MSD's take the CA-8 connector which I'm reading is also 5v
Any idea which pins you used to get the supply Julian? I'm drawing a blank on the board at the moment

[yourdj]

I know this is a very old one - but my Acme Jaguar MSD's take the CA-8 connector which I'm reading is also 5v
Any idea which pins you used to get the supply Julian? I'm drawing a blank on the board at the moment

The one on the right that has nothing connected (should be 2 spare pins). Get a multi meter just to check anyway.
I have soldered it to the back of the boards where I have had the room to do so.

I have put the arial in the actual light now so its out the way. Does not affect range much I don't think?

[DJ Jules]

I know this is a very old one - but my Acme Jaguar MSD's take the CA-8 connector which I'm reading is also 5v
Any idea which pins you used to get the supply Julian? I'm drawing a blank on the board at the moment

I honestly can't remember without taking apart the connectors - multimeter + 5mins should tell you which is which From memory though, ground is one of the end pins.

One other slightly odd thing to mention about the CA9 connector is that it doesn't come live unless the fixtures are in DMX mode (e.g. not in sound to light or master/slave) and they also don't come live until 30 seconds after the units enter DMX mode! This caught me out a few times while I was originally testing the setup, but it seems to be consistent behaviour across the Acme Kit fitted with CA9 connectors (I've seen it on my Cougars and on some Acme Micro Fusion's).

As for CA8 - I've no clue. I've had the controllers apart a few times and they look like a common line and two bi-directional signal lines that are used to light the LED's on the controllers AND detect when the line is shorted to common. Again - pull out a meter and I'm sure you'll find out what's what quickly enough. If you're fitting the PCB's internally though, it's worth digging around a little more as I'm sure there'll be a 5V line somewhere, just look for a LM series voltage regulator...

Julian

[Imagine]

One other slightly odd thing to mention about the CA9 connector is that it doesn't come live unless the fixtures are in DMX mode (e.g. not in sound to light or master/slave) and they also don't come live until 30 seconds after the units enter DMX mode!

Ahaaaa....now THAT might explain a lot! I literally turned it on, probed, couldn't find anything and put it back together again. Will try that again tomorrow. I did think it a little odd though as there should be something there to power the LED in the handset.

As for CA8 - I've no clue. I've had the controllers apart a few times and they look like a common line and two bi-directional signal lines that are used to light the LED's on the controllers AND detect when the line is shorted to common. Again - pull out a meter and I'm sure you'll find out what's what quickly enough. If you're fitting the PCB's internally though, it's worth digging around a little more as I'm sure there'll be a 5V line somewhere, just look for a LM series voltage regulator...

Julian

Not that I can find

I've got down as far as an 8v which is on a spare 2 pin Molex which would have been a nice way of doing things (the only other spare Molex is 12v), but can't find anything as low as 5v.....yet.


To be honest though if I can get a 5v connection on the controller line, it's in the ideal position on the MSD250 (think Wizard and you'll see the shape I'm dealing with).

[yourdj]

The one on the right that has nothing connected (should be 2 spare pins).

ground is one of the end pins.

Ahem

[Imagine]

The one on the right that has nothing connected (should be 2 spare pins). Get a multi meter just to check anyway.
I have soldered it to the back of the boards where I have had the room to do so.

I have put the arial in the actual light now so its out the way. Does not affect range much I don't think?

Just to attribute and acknowledge Toby's contribution

[Imagine]

after reading this forum I brought a pcb and decided to give it a go on my trilex :-)
Power was pulled off the 12v line and dropped down using a l7805 and a 10uf 63v cap. the dmx side of it was soldered direct to the pins on the back of the in plug.

Okaaaay.....'scuse my ignorance here. I have a grasp of proper electric, but once you start talking about components I get lost.

So - taking the above.....I know the l7805 is a voltage regulator and the 10uf 63v cap is a capacitor (I can be clever when I want to be).

Having had another look in the back of this beast, I think my safest option is to connect to the spare 12v molex that's in there (saves putting the soldering iron anywhere near the board and causing possible problems). So, would I be right in thinking that I go from the positive of the 12v pins, out to the l7805, then along to the capacitor (i.e. along a small lump of bread-board to keep things tidy) and finally into the wireless board, taking the ground from the board back to the other side of the molex? Is it that simple?

If so, that's the route I'll go as it's the least modification to the main board in the fixture itself. Connecting to the back of the XLR is no problem, but seeing the complexity of the main board in there I think it's one that's best left well alone

[yourdj]

Just to attribute and acknowledge Toby's contribution

Ta.

[DJ Jules]

Having had another look in the back of this beast, I think my safest option is to connect to the spare 12v molex that's in there (saves putting the soldering iron anywhere near the board and causing possible problems). So, would I be right in thinking that I go from the positive of the 12v pins, out to the l7805, then along to the capacitor (i.e. along a small lump of bread-board to keep things tidy) and finally into the wireless board, taking the ground from the board back to the other side of the molex? Is it that simple?

Essentially, yes, except the 7805 has three pins: input, output and ground, so also needs to be connected to ground. Good tutorial here (and definitely use vero/strip board, not bread board - you don't want anything drifting out in transit).

http://www.instructables.com/id/5v-Regulator/

Julian