DMX Help Please!

[cooper]

DMX newbie here who desperately needs help. I have the following Chauvet products:

-Obey 10 controller
-Colorstrip Mini x 2
-Radius
-Hemisphere 5

I am having issues controlling each fixture independently while daisy-chained, which makes me think I have them addressed incorrectly. I can control the Radius and the Hemisphere individually, but once they're daisy-chained, they go all wonky. The Colorstrip has been a jerk from the get-go, and I can't get it to do anything properly. I want the Colorstrips to be identical, so they should be master/slave. I've read through all four manuals, but Chauvet could really use some improvement in that area. I've had no issues with these lights running standalone sound active, but I knew once I introduced a DMX controller I'd be in over my head. But I think of myself as a pretty smart guy, so this is royally pissing me off! Please help!

Side note: at this point, I'm not seeking help with programming, simply getting the correct starting address and having manual control. Thx!

[sss18734]

Are you giving each fixture enough channels when you're programming it? Each one of those fixtures will take up at least 8 DMX channels...

If you just want one fixture to copy the other, you don't really even need to set it up as master/slave... Just set them to the same DMX address.

[cooper]

Why do you say each will take up at least 8 channels? The Colorstrip & Hemisphere are each listed as having 4 channels, and the Radius is 5. The Obey 10 can control up to 16 channels per fixture, so the manual says to set them at 001, 017, 033, etc. Is that the correct way of addressing them?

One of the problems I am having, for example: Colorstrips are set to fixture #1 (001) and the Radius is fixture #3 (033). When only #3 is selected, the Colorstrip still responds to channel faders...that shouldn't be happening, correct? I'm slowly figuring this out, but it's not nearly as intuitive as one would expect. I fear I may have to settle for sound active mode on the Radius & Colorstrip and keep the Hemisphere on the controller in order to switch between slow, static white rotate (mirrorball effect) on slow songs and sound active for the upbeat songs.

Any further help is certainly appreciated :love:

[Synaxis]

so the manual says to set them at 001, 017, 033, etc. Is that the correct way of addressing them?

Yes, Each fixture [Button] controls up to 16 channels, so as you mentioned, each fixture should have a starting address of 16 channels apart.

Colorstrip 1 should be on Channel 1,
Colorstrip 2 should b on channel 17,
Radius should be on Channel 33,
and the Hemisphere should be on channel 49.

Are you sure that the other fixtures are "deselected?" Are you sure your not in any special type of mode?

Try to put Colorstrip 1 on Channel 1, Colorstrip 2 on Channel 5, and see if you can control them under one fixture button and if that changes anything.

The Colorstrips SHOULD NOT be responding if they are blacked out, i.e. the fixture button is de-pressed.

I'm thinking it may be an Issue with your Obey 10, and for some reason is is sending out channel values when it shouldn't be.

By the way, I've had some issues with the Radius as well. It never worked in my DMX chain, and I eventually sold it because it wasn't worth the hassle. Never found out the problem, but everything in my chain went crazy when it was plugged in. I had the line terminated as well, used genuine DMX cables, and it didn't matter where it was located in the chain, it would effect all my other fixtures.

Try removing it from the chain, and see if that helps.

[cooper]

Thanks Synaxis, that helps me confirm I'm on the right track. If I want both Colorstrips to be doing the same thing, it's okay to master/slave them, correct? Meaning I don't have to give them separate channel addresses?

It's strange - when controlling each fixture individually, they seem to work fine. But once I have more than one fixture selected, things go awry.


Are you sure that the other fixtures are "deselected?" Are you sure your not in any special type of mode?

The Colorstrips SHOULD NOT be responding if they are blacked out, i.e. the fixture button is de-pressed.

I'll check again when I get home tonight, but yes - they were responding even when not selected.

I'm using DMX cables, but haven't terminated the signal (not that Chauvet would explain what that entails...just a non-user-friendly description)

Thanks again for your help.

[Synaxis]

Thanks Synaxis, that helps me confirm I'm on the right track. If I want both Colorstrips to be doing the same thing, it's okay to master/slave them, correct? Meaning I don't have to give them separate channel addresses?

It's strange - when controlling each fixture individually, they seem to work fine. But once I have more than one fixture selected, things go awry.



I'll check again when I get home tonight, but yes - they were responding even when not selected.

I'm using DMX cables, but haven't terminated the signal (not that Chauvet would explain what that entails...just a non-user-friendly description)

Thanks again for your help.

Master/Slave and DMX are two completely different things. Master/Salve is when you are NOT using DMX, and you want multiple "slave" fixtures to follow the "master."

DMX wise, if you want multiple fixtures to preform the exact same actions, then yes, you would assign them all to the same starting channel.
Note that if you place any fixture into "Sound Active Mode" THROUGH DMX, the fixtures may go out of sync, depending on how close or far away they are from the source of sound, as well as the sensitivity.

Normally, you can't run both Master/Salve and together. Either one of the other, however, I do believe that the Colorstrips have an additional DMX output for additional fixtures.

[cooper]

Hmmm...I read somewhere (from BillESC, IIRC) that master/slave still works in DMX mode. I'll try assigning them matching starting address and see if that makes a difference.

[cooper]

Update:

Master/slave indeed works in DMX mode.

The problem seems to be when I introduce the Radius to the chain. That's when "crosstalk" happens. With only the Radius fixture selected, both other fixtures blink randomly and respond to the faders sporadically. Really annoying. I've tried assinging it a starting address of 049 to make it fixture #4 and the same thing happens. And to be honest, I can't replicate the Radius' sound active mode using DMX, so I think I'm just going to leave it out of the chain and power it up once the upbeat songs start, and leave it in sound active mode.

[DigitalArtDJs]

Have you tried using a DMX terminator at the end of your DMX chain?

[CQE DJs]

And u are using dmx and not xlr cables right. Can potentially cause problems.

[cooper]

Have you tried using a DMX terminator at the end of your DMX chain?

No, because I have no idea what that is. If a company was actually interested in marketing DMX, you'd think they'd be able to describe what that is, or where to obtain it. (Sorry, my frustration is not directed at you, but rather at this concept known as DMX. It's as if the rapper himself created it and thought it was a good idea.)

Yes, I'm using DMX cables, as previously mentioned.

[DJ M&M]

ran into the same problem with my own rig, i had four chauvet scanners and one mircoh virus laser and using showxpres. The virus was set to channel 1 and the rest where set to there respective channels for dmx. However when i tried controlling one of the scanners the laser would react as well. To fix this I booted all the fixtures up in sequence as dmx'd addressed. Try that and see what happens.

[Synaxis]

Update:

Master/slave indeed works in DMX mode.

The problem seems to be when I introduce the Radius to the chain. That's when "crosstalk" happens. With only the Radius fixture selected, both other fixtures blink randomly and respond to the faders sporadically. Really annoying. I've tried assinging it a starting address of 049 to make it fixture #4 and the same thing happens. And to be honest, I can't replicate the Radius' sound active mode using DMX, so I think I'm just going to leave it out of the chain and power it up once the upbeat songs start, and leave it in sound active mode.

Your issue seems VERY eerily similar to what I was experiencing in my chain. I think it may be a problem with the Radius itself, either hardware or software wise.

That's the reason why I ended up selling it.

EDIT: Do you think you can post up a video?

[DJzrule]

Sounds like the Radius isn't actually set to DMX.

[cooper]

Sounds like the Radius isn't actually set to DMX.

I'm following the manual, the LED display indicates it's set to DMX, so unless there's something wrong with the unit, it's in DMX.

At last night's wedding it actually worked out perfectly having the Radius set to sound active and its own power outlet. Having control over blackout is awesome, and very effective!

[CHAUVET DJ]

If you're stilling having issues with your fixtures, please contact us directly at customercare"at"chauvetlighting"dot"com so we can speak to you directly. Thanks.