ADJ RGBW4C Controller Issues

[sgldisco]

I am looking for anyone to shed some light on DMX please ( Complete Novice )

I currently have an American DJ RGBW4C DMX Controller and it works perfectly with my 4 channel LED fixtures.

I have recently bought some new led units and they are 5 channel or 8 channel fixtures ( Opposed to 4 or 9 Channel ).

Can I use them with the RGBW4C or would I need to get another controller ?

Also, Can the 4 channel fixtures be ran in the same circuit as the 5 channel ones ?

I thought I was getting there with a slight understanding of DMX until realising these new units are 5 or 8 channel.

Any help or kicks in the right direction would be most grateful.

I am also unsure if a manual controller or PC based is the way to go.

Thanks in advance, Steve :-)

[SamV]

You can use the first 4channels of the new lights with the current controller, have a look in the menu and see what they trigger, its normally RGBA/RGBW or RGB+shutter. If it's no good you'll need a new controller.

As for using them in the same circuit, technically you can but two controllers will create havoc unless one of them has passthrough DMX.

[sgldisco]

Thanks for the response. I have tried working the new lights off my current 4 channel controller to no success.

Now unsure if to buy a manual programmable 192 channel controller or look at something pc based.

[SamV]

I'd go for a PC based solution. Chamsys MagicQ is excellent but there is many choices out there like QLC, Chameleon etc.