How to Patch Mac 250s.

[Big Jay]

Sorry for the first reply

 

I have recently been hired to op and plot a musical at my local theatre for an ameature dramatics group. When I was hired I was not informed that wheni was op. the show I was going to be op. movers - Mac 250 Spot. I have not been formally tought how to patch these into the console which is a Strand 520, I have used these movers though. Can anyone please help and guide me on how to patch these movers into the desk

 

 

MANY THANKS

[Bryson]

Step one: Use a good thread title. (I guess I'll change that for you...)

 

Step two: Tell us which desk you're using.

 

Step three: Hell, read all of this.

 

Step four: Try again.

[Sarah Q]

In addition to Bryson's very pertinent points - why would the amateur company hire in lights that you do not actually know how to use?

 

If you are doing the lighting, surely you should have had some input in what lanterns you wanted to use? Are these the most suitable lights for your purpose?

[Big Jay]

Yes I totally agree, I am doing this show as a favour to a friend as there op had to drop out due to ilness. Unfortunatly they have already hired these and becuase I am not in-charge as it were I really dont want to say right cant do it send them back.

[paulears]

If you can patch the desk ok, then just patch the 250s. They are in the list. The thing to watch is mode - there are two different versions in the fixture library - both will work, but you need to set the matching one on the fixture. Th actual DMX address can be whatever you like as long as they don't overlap. I often start movers at 100, leaving a bit of space, just in case.

 

Once they are patched, just selecting the channel number on the desk brings up the available features on the screen, and you can tweak away.

 

There are all sorts of things to learn, but to start with, just record the cues as you go in the usual way.

 

How many have you got then?

[Sarah Q]

The most important factor here is - what desk are you using? With that information, there will be people on this forum that will be able to help you. I patch Mac fixtures regularly on Strand desks.

 

However, it's not as simple as purely patching them into the desk - it's knowing how they move, and changing the attributes to do what you want them to do. Anyone can operate by pressing the "go" button - programming is a lot more complicated (forgive me for telling you what you already know!)

 

What is the show that you are lighting?

[Big Jay]

Thanks for the reply paulers, the group has hired 2, so am I correct in saying - if I want gobo 1 to be DMX Add 255 I would batch that as 100.1@255Thanks Sarah Q, the show is a small musical reveiw show, I am aware that patching automated fixtures is not an easy task, can I ask, for a student am I setting my self to high, should I just say im sorry but I cant do what your asking. sorry to sound so sloppy but I dont want to turn up a day before and say right cant do it you have wasted your money.

[Bryson]

EDIT: For the record, editing your old post just makes things tricky.

 

The OP is apparently using a 520.

[Big Jay]

sorry but I already said what desk I was using the strand 520, I'm sorry but I feel that this show is just going to be to much, I am setting the barier to high and just say sorry I cant do it.

[Oovis]

Back on 10 June you were lighting 'Austin Powers, The Musical', according to this thread using MAC250 washes and spots and a Strand 520. Did you not learn how to patch and program using them during that process? You never came back to ask for help then, so presumably you did?

[Big Jay]

no I did not hose were already patched into the desk, and I already said I had experience oping them. I'm sorry but I think that this is just going to be a waste of time, I feel like im being bitten at

[Oovis]

If I was to bite, I'd ask you to use the shift key ;) However, have you tried this link to the 500 series manual on Strand's website? It should give you a good point in the right direction of the technicalities of patching and programming. The design ideas are up to you though, I'm afraid!

[Big Jay]

thank you, sorry if I seemes I'm arragunt, I just want the best for the shows that iw work on.

[paulears]

well, no - not really. Once you have any fixture patched, you get access to the feature set it has. Each attribute can be addressed in the way you state, but the or rotary encoders are much easier - this assumes it isn't a very old one that doesn't have tacker installed.

 

So you should find that when patched, the actual attributes under control appear on the screen and can be altered using the trackball buttons. Some desks have a mouse - but althogh some people like them, the real knobs and switches to me are easier.

 

 

The manual is quite clear about the basics.

 

You can show even a dancer (forgive me any dancers out there) how to select a moving head, move it, gobo it up, focus and spin things, and then how to record it pretty quickly - advanced programming takes a while to master, but basics can be done fairly quickly.

 

Common problems for beginners are recording a cue with the movers in one position then they are needed somewhere else in the next - but if you do this, they can often move in a very visually yukky way. So 'mark cues' are often used to fade them out in one position, then fade them in in the next, making these point cues auto triggered by a small time delay. There is also a nice feature called auto move when dark, which when the mover fades out, automatically moves it to the correct position for fade up in the next cue. These things take time to master. When they ordered them, are they for any particular scene. I'm thinking about perhaps in a show like 'Under Milk Wood' where a bunch of movers making the fire effect at the end are a common solution.

 

As everyone is saying - we need as much info as you can give us, so we don't have to generalise.

 

EDIT

I just read the posts being done when I was typing this and I'm pretty miffed just wasted all this time on something we've already covered. Personally I think that if you didn't learn anything from the previous show, then maybe lighting isn't for you. The download manual link is something I would have done last time!!!

 

I suspect you have just added to the 'negative thoughts about students' list

[Bryson]

The thing is, Jonathan, that you're failing to help yourself.

 

The post I linked to tells you how to get help, but you seem to have decided that you prefer poor spelling and barely understandable posts to actually being helped. The two are linked.

 

Anyway, to patch a Mac 250 on a Strand 520.

 

First of all, you need to decide on a start address. Assuming that your conventional dimmers begin at 1, this can be anywhere after the dimmers finish. ie: If you have 72 ways of dimming, you could start the 250s at 73. Some people prefer to use 100, or 101 for easier counting. That's up to you. Set the start address on the first fixture.

 

Then you have to decide which mode to put the 250s in. Mode 4 allows for greatest control, but also adds a little complexity. Mode 2 is a bit simpler - probably better for this application. Set this on the units.

 

That will then tell you how many DMX channels each will use. Check that you have enough DMX channels left. (Unlikely to be a problem, as I doubt you have 450+ dimmers.) Set the DMX address of the second fixture so it doesn't overlap with teh first.

Then, on the desk, enter the PATCH screen.

 

Decide which channel numbers you want the Macs to come up on. (These can be the same, but don't have to be, as the DMX addresses.)

 

Type:

DMX address of first fixture @ Desired channel number @FIXTURE (thats a softkey) number of fixture personality

 

Don't know which number fixture personality? I never do either. It gives you a helpful little bit of text at the bottom of the screen that tells you what that personality is, so I just start at 1 and just keep deleting it and going up one until I get the one I want. It'll say: Mac 250 Mode 2 or something similar.

 

Once you've got it, press *

 

Repeat for second fixture.

 

Enjoy.