themadhippy Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Knew I had a copy kicking around somewhere,not sure if Amazon still stock it though?http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v177/themadhippy/dmxfordummies.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johndenim Posted June 8, 2009 Author Share Posted June 8, 2009 heres my 2p worthwhat about a little usb dongle run by a laptop, its simple to use as it has a sound to light option and you can tell lights to overide and set patterns cues sequencies etc. link all the lights together ....job doneyou can download programs like freestyler for free to act as your software. if you want to spend more money then you can buy better desks once you have learned the basics. I use freestyler with a little usb dongle from germany that I got of ebay. it didnt cost the earth (£50ish) and for my use its ideal. not sure but I think with abstract you may have to buy an inline polarity changer as they swop they data pins from most other brands.heres what I use.....for the money its a good place to start. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/USB2DMX-JMS-USB-Inte...%3A1%7C294%3A50 Hmm, very interesting.I use my laptop to run virtual DJ, so I guess freestyler could run as well in the background.Thanks, great Idea. Thanks to mad hippy too! I will try to find this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt-the-dj Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 I use an old p3 ibm laptop with 256mb of ram running xp......so if you need a second laptop for the lights it shouldnt cost much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinE Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 Freestyler in particular is quite demanding of a PC, a slow one will take forever to start the program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johndenim Posted June 11, 2009 Author Share Posted June 11, 2009 Oh thanks KevinE, I have a pretty good spec lappy, intel dual core with 2 gig of ram.But sometimes VDJ decks 'pause' whilst searching my database.I do have 1TB of material though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt-the-dj Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 Freestyler in particular is quite demanding of a PC, a slow one will take forever to start the program. I dont really agree with that.the new version of software maybe hungry I couldnt say for sure as I havent used it yet. the older versions work perfectly well with no hangs on slower m/cs. As I said earlier my old ibm laptop 956mhz p3 256mb of ram works fine within xp, but it has no programs running which will help. One tip is turn off your antivirus as this will slow your m/c. My old laptop never goes near the internet so this may help its performance. Norton antivirus inmho is one of the worst offenders for slowing m/c's. Buy a cheap secondhand m/c strip it down, do a clean install with the minimum of programs and it will run it fine. Im doing a show tonight using freestyler and it will run 30 odd lights, a small amount compared to what is controlled by most people on here but it shows it will suit your needs quite happily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johndenim Posted June 12, 2009 Author Share Posted June 12, 2009 OK, installed freestyler.and.... :huh: Anyone have any idea how to use it?!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinE Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 There's a dedicated forum for freestyler, you can google it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johndenim Posted June 12, 2009 Author Share Posted June 12, 2009 Thanks. Just one quickie if I may?My fixtures are not on the list.Can this be resolved easily? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blaize110 Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 It should come with a fixture creator program so, if you know the channel allocations, you can make your own. Or there are some places on the freestyler forum where people share their fixtures I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinE Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 Many of the user-made personality files are useless, they are often not tested and contain subtle glitches that could have you scratching your head for hours. Freestyler has 'Fixture Creator' which is a stand alone program that allows you to design new personality files. It's easy to use, a little quirky (like alot of Freestyler!) but it does the job. Just bear in mind that even so-called 'stable releases' of Freestyler have quirks to catch the beginner out...its Freeware after all and we're grateful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johndenim Posted June 13, 2009 Author Share Posted June 13, 2009 Its Freeware after all and we're grateful Indeed, but it will take a while for me to get my head around! :P :huh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt-the-dj Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 ive had mine for a year now, and I still find I have to think hard at times, frestyler came in very handy at the gig on sat, the bands pa man set up some lights which he was gonna leave on a built in chase program..... no blackout function......not good. he gave control to me on the house rig, I programmed a new dimmer fixture, set up some sequencies and that made him and the band happy as it all tied together nicely.......in short, stick with it......for free its well worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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