DoctorStar Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 Evening all, Running a small show at the weekend and have half a dozen scanners to deploy. Now scanner number one connected to the laptop behaved perfectly so I know my dongle/lamps are talking to each other just fine. Flushed with success, I daisy chained all the fixtures together and they went nutty! :) I don't have alot of time to get things together so I need to solve this quickly. Not made a DMX chain before so does the usual logic apply i.e. check each fixture one at a time, then build up the chain one fixture at a time and wait for it to fall over? Sorry for cluttering the board with such a poor question but I'd like to get on with some rigging and programming. Best wishes, DocStar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalljoshua Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 Thats the case, use every cable to one known good light too. That will rule out duff cables. Josh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacet Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 If you haven't used them with DMX before make sure none of them are set to master / slave or are outputting any signal down the line, that'll mess things up for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth Posted November 18, 2009 Share Posted November 18, 2009 Start at the end of the chain and work back towards the console, unplugging the units one at a time. When the nuttiness stops, you've found the problem area - it'll be eithe the unit you've just unplugged, or the cable that's linking it to the next one upstream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lightsource Posted November 18, 2009 Share Posted November 18, 2009 Make sure you have a DMX terminator on the last scanner, and that all your cables are proper DMX cables. Other than that, as others have said, if the first fixture works, then add one at a time until you hit the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron-Hill07 Posted November 18, 2009 Share Posted November 18, 2009 Maybe I'm missing something here.. But make sure you have addressed the scanners using either DMX DIP Switches or the Digital Display (dependant on the scanners). You need to make sure their addressed the same as you've done it on your PC/Console. If not, get a cable tester and check the cables for continuity or as gareth says work from the end to beginning. Although if your first one works and the others don't, I can imagine the fault is between the first scanner and the second HTH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indyld Posted November 18, 2009 Share Posted November 18, 2009 Assuming the problem is some kind of physical cable issue and not addressing or mode errors, don't be tricked into thinking that working back toward the source unplugging cables will definitely pinpoint your problem area. DMX issues like this can seem to move around, based on seemingly unfathomable logic, caused by the addition or removal of fixtures / cables that apparently are "the problem" when it's actually somewhere else entirely. There is an article on DMX Fault Finding without test gear at On Stage Lighting. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinE Posted November 18, 2009 Share Posted November 18, 2009 What type of scanner are they please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorStar Posted November 18, 2009 Author Share Posted November 18, 2009 Many thanks to all who replied. The lack of logic associated with the problem was frustrating however a combination of one scanner slipping into master/slave mode (god knows how, as I have been assiduous in avoiding the programming buttons), one dropping its DMX address so as to overlap its neighbour and one faulty cable conspired to cause the trouble. All sorted now :) , Thanks for the replies, DocStar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinE Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 one scanner slipping into master/slave mode (god knows how, as I have been assiduous in avoiding the programming buttons I had this as well with a particular make and model of moving head, what make and model scanners are they? If it's a common problem then that would be useful to know for the purposes of the forum as a reference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorStar Posted November 19, 2009 Author Share Posted November 19, 2009 MadScan 2 http://www.nu-light.co.uk/images/lighting/madscan.gifWent in today to check before re-boxing prior to moving them into the venue and light number 3 had drifted off from its DMX address to one 400 higher :blink: This time it only took a minute to fix now I know what to look for. Work beautifully once each one has been stroked and told how much they are loved and appreciated! BW DocStar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinE Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 Mm, interesting! The ones I had do that were Acme Spot Knights; they would decide to enter stand-alone randomly (despite the parameter altered to inhibit this) and thus broadcast gibberish DMX to a laser further down the line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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