Amy Worrall

On 1/14/2024 at 1:44 PM, JohnH said:

Does anyone have the definition of the serial protocol for PULSAR Intellegent Interface.  I am interested in connecting one to a linux box.

 

Thank you

 

There's some information about the protocol in the Masterpiece manual:

On 1/10/2024 at 5:22 PM, craig T said:

Blimey that brings back memories. I am sure , somewhere , I have the program disk but haven't been able to find it quickly. I still have an interface and the little handbook that came with it. One of my long term (just for fun) projects is to design a module that accepts DMX and converts it to Serial 232 in the correct format for the interface. Not rocket science....just needs time !!!!  I'll post on here if I find anything. Craig

It would be amazing if it comes to light!

Total long shot, but asking just in case…

Does anyone have a copy of the software that Pulsar Lighting distributed for their BBC Micro based lighting package back in the day? (It worked with the Pulsar Intelligent Interface plus a small three-fader unit.)

There's a tiny bit about the software here: https://www.theatrecrafts.com/archive/cue/cue_38_22.pdf

If anyone has any 5.25" disks kicking about in a loft somewhere, maybe there's a chance!

Amy

They were on for hours. 

I wonder why I got such poor performance from my UV cannons? They were second hand and the lamps are of unknown provenance -- do the lamps get worse as they age?

Hall is 16 x 10 metres, and I'm considering getting four of these. I also considered some Showtec UV LED Bar 120cm, but the seller told me their beam angle is rather small so lighting a hall might not be successful.

Regarding the old school 400W UV cannons, I actually own two of them. One issue is they're big, and I don't have much car/van space. But the other issue is, at the times I've tried to use them, I was really not impressed with their output. It may have been to do with the light level in the hall, or the angle, or whatever, but last time I tried them they didn't seem to be contributing much. I mainly wanted some UV reactive tape on the floor to glow, and that just didn't happen.

I'm not sure those mounting holes exist on the model I'll be using (Gigbar Move Plus ILS). Certainly the manual makes no mention of it 😞

I've ordered the ali tube to try the fake tripod mount method. But next time I have my hands on the physical item I'll have another look for bolt holes.

https://clubtek.co.uk/equinox-uv-power-flood-light-p-4983.html

These are available from various places for about £80-£90. I'm looking for cheap UV to drench a village hall for a techno dance event — so I want wide beam angle, and I want cheap. But these are suspiciously cheap!

Anyone used them? Or any other recommendations?

Also, how many d'you think I need for a 16x10m hall? (Don't need to get right into the corners.)

(To be clear, I'd also be ok mounting the gigbar below or to the side of the truss, whichever is easier!)

Hi! I'm trying to attach a Chauvet Gigbar on top of horizontal truss. 

The gigbar has a slot for a 35mm speaker pole. That is its only mounting point (apart from a hook for a safety chain).

Ideally I want one of these, but with a 35mm spigot rather than a 28mm spigot. I would then attach this to the top pole of my triangular truss, mounting the gigbar above the truss. (Would need sufficient clearance of course.)

Anyone got any suggestions?

I'll need to get it out again to check the menus (have packed away that event now). I'm pretty sure it did work ok, but I only tried changing the DMX address since the issue happened.

DMX transceiver sounds likely. Do you know if it's fairly easy to access the pcb to get to it? I've opened the movers recently to change gobo and lenses, but not dug far enough into them to see a pcb!

Thanks for the troubleshooting guidance, I'll do that when I next have some time 🙂

On 8/22/2022 at 3:31 PM, pjrails said:

The only other thing could be the  DMX Cables you could have pins 2 and 3 swapped in one of them this some times happens if you are mixing 5 / 3 XLR's even in purchsed ones so meter them out if you can. Other than that it might be a case of contacting a Mac supplier. Or you could try Encore ( Hawthorn's that was ) on 01664 821111 and ask one of the service teams.

Doubt it’s that, it was working ok one day then not the next.

It’s not a termination issue. (Got a source4 with internal terminator fwiw). This isn’t occasional flickering, this is loads of bad data causing strobe channels etc to fire. 

Got a Mac 250 that has started misbehaving. Was fine yesterday but this morning, every time this Mac 250 was on the chain, the other fixtures were flickering and flashing. I’m guessing the Mac is spurting out bad DMX. 

Is this a common or known fault? Is there a fix?

I'm getting ready to go back to the theatre. Yey!

I've got an old dilapidated comms system that's been struggling for a bit. I need to test each part of it to find out what is fully working, what has issues, and what is dead.

Any suggestions on how to do this? I could just plug stuff in and find a friend who I can talk to, but I'd rather be more systematic. Test the PSU on its own, then test each belt pack, then test each headset.

If there's a way I could inject an audio signal from (e.g.) a computer into the line, I could use that to test combinations of belt pack/headset for receiving.

Any bright ideas?

Amy

I'd love to see a show file!

I don't have physical faders. One day…

I'm working on a super elaborate arduino project that'll be a control surface with encoders, keyboard etc… but it's taking ages.

Amy

Do you have flightcases for your movers? You could stand them on end and then stand a Mac on top

I do _have_ them, but taking them anywhere is an issue… I have a small car, and the flight cases won't go in! So usually the flight cases stay at home, in a counter intuitive way! I guess I could hire a van if it comes to it.

What desk are you using? We've got an original ETC Element.

ETC Nomad setup with touchscreen. I know it's not the perfect busking setup, but I'm confident I can set up a reasonable magic sheet :)

Amy

I'm lighting an event called Techno Contra, which involves folk dancing to electronic synth music (performed live). The visual 'vibe' for the event is cyberpunk/rave. We'll have UV cannons, various things in vibrant colours, a neon-effect (LED) sign…

As well as some wash lights and some other special effects (e.g. a Martin Acrobat), I'm trying to decide how to use my six Mac 250s. (The old model, not the Kryptons!) I'm choosing between one of these two plans:

1. I have four of the movers on a truss suspended on winch stands. In the past I've had this behind the band, but for this gig I was thinking of having the truss level with the front of the stage. (I'd have an additional stand for some backlight for the band if I did this, but that'd just be LED wash lights.) In the past I've always had them on the truss, and it lets me do things like sweeping them across the dance floor, or sitting there spinning with gobos and prisms.

2. Option 2 is, I have an 8x4m starcloth. It'd be awesome to use that, but I've only got the one set of truss/winch stands. So if I use the star cloth, I have nowhere to hang the movers. (I've got a couple of 2m tall poles/tank traps/booms, but they're the only other things I have that I'd feel secure hanging movers on. The rest of my stands wouldn't take the weight.) So if I go this route, my movers are essentially going to be floor level. The stage is made of free-moving staging blocks ~45cm high, but the band will require essentially all of it, so I can't really have the movers at stage level unless I balance them on something else!

My question is: I'd love to go with option 2, but only if I can think of a way to use the movers to good effect. They're not specifically beam fixtures, but I guess I could use them to that effect — playing with colour/strobe and using them almost like part of the set. (I'll have haze!) If so, where would I place them? Across the front would probably not be great, the beams would get in the way of the band. I probably have the weight budget to put two of the movers on the truss as well as the starcloth. I could maybe put two of them there, two of them on the 2m poles next to the stage on each side, and two of them at stage corner or floor level? Then there'd be like a descending staircase of movers along the sides of the stage… how do you guys think that would work? What sort of creative things could I do with them in that situation?

The reason I'm posting a lot of waffle is, I'm still not very used to lighting music (I normally do theatre) or to busking. So I'm always second guessing myself about how best to use my equipment! Creative tips would be most welcome :)

Thanks,

Amy