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dosxuk

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    Working in various venues around Sheffield doing lighting, sound and video. I'm also a qualified Software Engineer and Website Developer.
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    James Goodwin

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  1. Those Pulsar dimmers can be wired as single or three phase, changed by moving some metal bars around internally where the supply wiring comes in. Without tracing the cabling it would be impossible to work out which they are currently wired for, as when set up for single phase usage, it just splits the single phase to the three separate phases internally (the dimmers are basically designed around three 2 channel single phase dimmer modules). When fed with a single phase supply, all three phase supply neons on the front panel will light.
  2. The BLU-3 is a simple analogue controller with no digital design elements - it is connected to the logic ports on the back of the processor - and is fully compatible with both the London Architect and Audio Architect versions of the software. Connections are shown in the BLU-3 installation manual - https://bssaudio.com/en/product_documents/blu3_igpdf - showing it as having two logic outputs, one for level and one for source, and a ground reference. Audio Architect gives details on how to configure the "control port" connections in the help file (accessed from the question mark in the far top right of the window) in the Workflow > Soundweb London Mode > Control Inputs and following sections. There is an equivalent set of pages in the London Architect help files, starting at External Control Options > Soundweb London Control Options. Basically the BLU-3 will give you control over a slider and a source selector, I can't remember the exact details of how to link them in either version as the logic ports are just a bit weird in their configuration, but it is possible to do this on both versions. Finally, if you can see, but not connect to a BLU device, it normally means it's on a different network IP range. The NetSetter application which comes with Audio Architect is pretty good at finding devices on the physical network, even when the actual software (London / Audio) can't connect to the device. If NetSetter can find it, then you can get it's current IP and then set your computer to the same range, which should then allow the design software to talk to the box.
  3. Probably just a combination of a desk deciding to only send out data for the channels that it is controlling, and very simple receive code in the fixtures, which only start to process a packet when it has received a full complement of channel data. In other words, not a fundamental issue with DMX, desks or fixtures, but something that can crop up if you're unlucky.
  4. I believe the three holes for the stock ceiling mount are M3 and the tripod mount is a standard camera thread - 1/4 20 UNC. Both sizes are readily available in the UK.
  5. I would be very wary of using 10mm (or thinner) threaded rod for suspension in this way - not because of any concerns over strength or it failing, but because the amount of flex when you move your camera, or anything else attached to the truss, will result in wobble. Will probably be fine for a locked off wide angle camera though. Sadly I've had to use a set up involving multiple cameras suspended like this and it was a nightmare to film with - we ended up using a load of steel wire with gripples to tension the whole drop and keep it steady, something that was far from pretty but was quick and easy to add on. Doing it from scratch again, we'd either have used proper drop bars from the likes of unicol or doughty, or gone with much thicker rod - probably M16+.
  6. Unless you've got multiple networks into your building, supplied by different suppliers, running on geographically separate routes, there's a simple answer - you're not. Unless you're a vulnerable customer, or pay through the nose, even with copper lines Openreach won't prioritise a repair to your line if it gets cut, blown down, miswired or any other number of reasons for the line to go dead, and the other network providers aren't much better. We deal with sites who've had no broadband for weeks while Openreach deal with a tree that's taken their line down, even in central London. We've got another site who recently lost all access for nearly a week after their main fibre and backup vdsl lines were both cut by a digger near their building. Another site relies on 4G connectivity, but all-but-lost that when their local mast was taken out of service for a few days. And, as you've discovered Paul, even if you've got all that physical separation and redundancy, a failure or collapse at your ISP can still leave you disconnected with significant times to get reconnected. Loss of internet connectivity really should be a high priority item in business continuity / disaster recovery plans for most businesses these days, unfortunately it seems that the arrival of cheap, easy broadband access has removed the concern about what if it fails from many places, even though the reliance on a working connection has gone through the roof.
  7. I'd be surprised if it isn't HDCP related. The big clue is a picture being visible for a few frames and then going black. Converters like the Decimators / Blackmagic don't support HDCP - it's not supposed to be available on anything that will give you a decrypted version of the source signal otherwise it would just give people a cheap and easy option to remove the copyright protection. Mac's are notorious for turning on HDCP for no reason, even when just displaying their desktop.
  8. Mixing UV and haze / smoke is something that is done up and down the country every night of the week in nightclubs and bars - and they don't all look like walls of fluorescent blue clouds inside! As with most smoke effects, if you over-do it, then you'll have problems, but I suspect you'll be having bigger problems with the rest of your lighting if you get to the point where it will be causing issues with the UV.
  9. The security arrangements will also be very very different for permanent BBC facilities versus their use of a corporate box for a studio on an outside broadcast of a football match.
  10. OBS (with a plugin) and Caspar CG (natively) can both be used to keystone a captured video feed in real time (although both have a few frames of delay).
  11. Does the venue know and have confirmed that you are part of a visiting production? I've heard of similar stories in the past where such documentation is only available to those directly associated with a production with a booking for that venue - especially when people have used a personal email addresses with no visible connection to a booking. Normally solved by a known contact for the production sending a "xxx - abc@xyz.tld - is our production manager, can you provide him with access to your documentation" type message to the venue.
  12. We've been told a few times recently by suppliers that an item has been discontinued, but upon checking with the manufacturer, what they actually mean is "there are none available and nobody can tell us when (or if) they will become available". The items aren't actually discontinued, but with the chip shortage going on, the manufacturers aren't able to source the correct parts or get realistic timescales on when they might get some*, so aren't currently building the products. * one product we were using the manufacturer have been quoted a lead time of around six weeks per chip. Not per batch of a thousand - per individual chip. That product line is on hold until it can either be redesigned or the availability of the components changes.
  13. I've attached thousands of D-type connectors using a nut driver and I'm yet to find a connector type where there isn't space. Using a nut driver and electric screwdriver takes me literally seconds to put them together. Probably spend more time picking the bits than the assembly.
  14. If it's not the whole image with the weird colouring, then that generally rules out the lamp. In my experience those symptoms would immediately suggest the LCD panel is on its way out.
  15. When you get to work with a good, knowledgeable and correct-subject consultant, I've rarely had any actual issues (and the ones who have been problems are probably better described as cowboys rather than consultants - the sort of people who's entire work ethic is cheapest price and lowest cost). But it's when you get forced to use the IT consultant because you want to buy something with a network port; the facilities consultant because it has a power plug; or worse, the architect who's decided that they know more than all those money wasters and can sort it all out themselves (for a price, naturally) it can all go very wrong very quickly.
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