When you’re beginning with lighting, it’s not going to be long before you have questions about DMX. In lighting, DMX is everywhere, and it is how our lighting equipment gives and gets instruction on what to do and when. Whether you’re 100% new to lighting or have been around the block, it’s super-important to have an understanding of DMX and what to do/what not to do. DMX can be your best friend or your worst enemy. When you follow the rules, your gear will work great and be a blessing to you. On the other hand, if you don’t follow the rules, you’ll run into some serious headaches and trouble! Below, I cover the basic terms and information that you need to begin with DMX. Then, we dive deeper and show you how to do some deeper level wiring, splitting and converting. Let’s dive in! What is DMX 512? From on Flickr. DMX512 stands for digital multiple x 512. This means that 512 channels are controlled digitally through 1 data cable. A channelis 1 set of 255 steps that are assigned to control attributes in each light. This may be a color like red, green or blue, and intensity, strobe, pan/tilt or other attributes. This is pretty incredible if you remember some old analog control systems where you had 1 pair of wires for each channel of the console! I don’t miss those one bit! Using standard DMX512 protocol, CODE A12 DMX Lighting Controller can directly control any. Channel flash key, submaster flash key and master flash key. Data is sent down this line via pulses of electricity from a lighting console, into your fixtures that are usually “daisy chained” together. This means that you plug the initial DMX cable into the first fixture, the “OUT” of the first fixture into the second fixture, etc, up to 32 fixtures maximum (more on that below). DMX is not manufacturer specific. DMX-controlled lights from any manufacturer can be controlled by any DMX console – even if that console is made by someone else. What is an address? One of the first things you’ll have to do when you begin lighting is to. An address is the location in the 512-channel universe that the DMX device begins. Often, this is referred to as the “start address” since it is the first address that a given fixture uses. If you have a one-channel device, like a conventional channel on a dimmer, than you can address the fixtures one right after another. This would give you the first on address 1, the second on 2, etc. Pretty simple. However, if it is a multiple channel fixture, like an LED or moving light, you need to be sure and leave the total amount of channels the fixture takes open before patching the next fixture. Not quite as simple! So, if you have a 3-channel fixture starting at channel 28, the next open address would be address 31. Casio keyboard tone bank models. If you don’t do this, you’ll be trying to control one light, and another one may start doing something you did not expect! The good news is this – today, will work out the channel patching for you, but some basic conventional consoles do not! What is a Universe? On the back of your lighting console, you may see writing that says “Universe 1”, “Universe 2”, or “DMX A”, “DMX B”, etc, but what in the world is that? A universe of DMX is 512 channels of output from the console. When you finish out the first universe of 512, you move over to the 2nd universe and restart at address 1. Some consoles, however, will default to numbering the 2nd universe at channel 513-1024. Universes can’t be combined together, and each universe needs its own DMX cable run. Many simple lighting consoles only have 1 universe, so if you are just starting out, you probably don’t need a great understanding of DMX 512 universes. How Do I Wire DMX? In general, you begin at your console, and wire each fixture, looping through in a “daisy-chain”. However, sometimes you need to split your signal, or need to convert 3-pin to 5 pin DMX.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |