arny Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 I am Looking for a small lighting desk for controlling Par Cans, Stage Blinders and profile spots. The desk must be programmable and I must be able to assign more than one DMX channel to a channel on the desk. I have a budget of £180. Does anybody have any suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tokm Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 Use the search function!!! Desks of this size/nature have been covered plenty of times before.. try looking for Behringer! Your driving dimmable lanterns, so it doesn't need to be some special desk, its only running dimmer channels. HTH Tom p.s. :o to BR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom R Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 Well for starters, how many channels do you want on the desk? Search around, for £180 most desks will be of similar quality. Maybe try ebay? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMC Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 For something cheap and cheerful, the behringer eurolight isn't too bad.... Should do all you require. http://www.behringer.com/LC2412/index.cfm?lang=ENG £172 List. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Chivers Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 Just a word of warning about using the Behringer Desk with Dimmers - the most recent (to my knowledge) version of the system software on this desk has a flaw where the channels never go all the way off. If you google on the Blue Room, you'll find this covered in more detail on another thread.There are also suggestions on other desks of similar price which are similar in function.All the best in your hunt. :o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lightsource Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 There are a couple of other problems with the LC2412. I've had one for about 18 months now and 2 of the flash buttons don't work very well ( the switches don't engage properly), and I know I'm not the only one to have this problem. Another problem, is the unit sometimes 'dies' and when this occurs, it sometimes puts all lamps at full flash, other times it's just dead and nothing glows ( even the LCD screen is blank :o ) It may be worth looking at some of the desks under the Showtec brand. They should be within your budget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 THE LIGHTING FAQ - See the end of the first post for a long, long list of links to topics that cover this subject quite thoroughly. Mods, is there really any need for yet another "what desk should I buy?" topic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dravenzouk Posted November 28, 2006 Share Posted November 28, 2006 Concerning the above mentioned problems with the Behringer console: Yes the latest software version has the VERY annoying flaw in which the "channels never go fully off". Behringer understands that this is a "known issue" and considers it normal. However, there is more to it than that. The problem only occurs when using individual scenes as memories. The console works fine (without this problem) if you are using presets, pre-programmed chases (even when chases are made of individual memories), or as an old-school board just fading in/out of channels without any programming. I have one of these boards, with this software version, and at first I was extremely pissed. I ended up working around the problem and found that I can do everything I need to anyway. I use this about 95% of the time with chases that I've programmed, and in this mode the problem is non-existant. There are many users that do not report this problem with their particular boards. The problem is also dependent on which fixture or dimmer packs you are using. It's kind of hit-or-miss but with some there isn't a problem. My own experience: AmDJ PPDMX20 and Optima OPDM20 work fine, but the problem occurs with the Chauvet DMX-4 and Colorsplash LED's. It is also possible to get an Eprom chip with the older version of the software for about $10, where you don't get this problem. If you are not using any scanners or moving lights, this older software version works fine. Other problems are the board "dying", freezing up, and programs getting scrambled. This board uses an internal battery. Apparantly many of the ones that come OEM from Behringer are weak. It's easy and cheap to replace (it's a CR2032 - less than $5) and those problems vanish with a fresh battery. So......it's a bit of a tough call with the LC2412. On the one hand, there are very real (and very annoying) bugs and problems that shouldn't be there. Behringer stuff also doesn't exactly have a reputation for being bombproof or extremely road-worthy. On the other hand, this console has an amazing amount of features, channels, and possibilities that you would have to pay at least twice as much for from any other company, and some of the bugs may not be an issue with your particular usage. My own take is this: I grit my teeth and accepted the bugs, figuring that I can't afford the really good stuff and will have to compromise somewhere with whatever gear I end up with. I installed a new battery and with my style of use(*), I can work around the main problem. If you look around, you can buy one of these new for less than $150, and there is nothing else on the market that has as much flexibility at that price. By the way, you can assign up to three DMX channels to each console channel. If your style of use is running programmed chases, and/or mixing individual channels "live", this board can work fine. If you tend to mix memories "live", this board absolutely won't cut it. Your choice????: If you can afford more (a substantial bit more), do so and buy something better. If you are on a very tight budget, and need some of the features that the LC2412 has, it can work acceptably. It would be nice if there really was a board available that has all the features and flexibility of the LC2412, that actually worked without problems or bugs, and that was so inexpensive, but out here in the real world there are always compromises. The choice is really which compromises you can accept and live with. (*)as a point of reference, my own use is as such: I do mostly music concerts and club gigs with rock bands. My luminaries are Par cans, color changers, pin spots, strobes, and LED pars (no scanners or movers) - all DMX controlled. I run about 50 fixtures in all with about 30 DMX channels. With my own band, I control everything via midi foot controller. I've been able to do all my gigs problem free and what I think is a fine quality light show. At every gig I do, I get lots of compliments from club owners/audience members/performers and I've never had any complaints. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tokm Posted November 28, 2006 Share Posted November 28, 2006 If you are not using any scanners or moving lights, this older software version works fineWhats the software got to do with MLs? The newer version doesn't offer ML support :s Tom Apologies for dragging this off-topic, curious as to what the poster meant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dravenzouk Posted November 28, 2006 Share Posted November 28, 2006 If you are not using any scanners or moving lights, this older software version works fineWhats the software got to do with MLs? The newer version doesn't offer ML support :s Tom Apologies for dragging this off-topic, curious as to what the poster meant. The earlier software in the LC2412 apparently had bugs when folks used scanners and movers - jerky movement and such. Even though Behringer designed the board to be used with conventionals (par-cans and such) they figured that enough people were going to use it with movers so they decided to fix the problem. Guess what? The "fix" worked but now it created the new problem mentioned earlier (that being in some situations the dimmers wouldn't go off completely and stayed on at about 10-20%. So.... those of us that use conventionals HAD a board that was designed for us, worked well, and was dirt cheap; and now that folks want to use this board for stuff other than it was intended, we lose out. But hey that's progress, right?!?! A more in depth discussion of the issue, including a response/explanation from Behringer can be found here: http://www.blue-room.org.uk/index.php?showtopic=11536. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidLee Posted November 28, 2006 Share Posted November 28, 2006 The earlier software in the LC2412 apparently had bugs when folks used scanners and movers - jerky movement and such. Even though Behringer designed the board to be used with conventionals (par-cans and such) they figured that enough people were going to use it with movers so they decided to fix the problem. Guess what? The "fix" worked but now it created the new problem mentioned earlier (that being in some situations the dimmers wouldn't go off completely and stayed on at about 10-20%. So.... those of us that use conventionals HAD a board that was designed for us, worked well, and was dirt cheap; and now that folks want to use this board for stuff other than it was intended, we lose out. But hey that's progress, right?!?! A more in depth discussion of the issue, including a response/explanation from Behringer can be found here: http://www.blue-room.org.uk/index.php?showtopic=11536.I've been in correspondence with Andy Cullen at Behringer and at last they appear to be taking this problem seriously. They have so far failed to find a firmware solution - although I can't understand why - but Andy has promised to get back to me when they have made any progress. If and when he does I'll report back on the original thread. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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