Chamsys MQ40 for theatre?

[vinntec]

Why not a PC + wing? The simple reason is this is an amateur owned and run theatre. I am in charge of lighting but five of use regularly light shows. I am not at the theatre all the time as it is a 1.5 hour round trip. So if someone needs a PC - hey there's one on the perch we can borrow... OK I could use a rack-mount or otherwise discourage people from using it, but then I have to find somewhere to put a monitor as well as the wing and space is very tight (see early spec).

 

At the present time there are only two desks in the running: a Chamsys MQ40 and a Zero 88 Solution (which is quite a bit cheaper). But if there are other stand-alone desks which can realistically be purchased within my budget that will fit the max dimensions we have, let me know.

 

I have been having a little dabble with chamsys recently on the OLE and have to say the quality of any training materials is pretty dire... if you look at the effort ETC have gone to with their Tea-break tutorials for all of their desks and the 40 or so training videos just for the Ion I have to say I've been quite dissapointed.

And if I had the funds for an ION that might well have been my first choice! But we are talking about a desk which is about double the price of what I have, and is much easier to use with a wing for even more. It would fit my space nicely.

 

I agree the videos publicly available for the Chamsys console are awful and too many use the PC. I can't even find a detailed view of the MQ40 desk layout or a leaflet just about the MQ40, as the documentation is generic. But they offer a free two-day course not too far from me which I have high expectations for as well as free software (and a cheap dongle to play for real).

 

One thing that is bugging me - Chamsys often appear on this forum but have not butted in to this thread or PM'ed me?

[alistermorton]

I light at an amateur theatre. We have a laptop in the lighting box and two mini tower PCs too, and they never go walkies or get used for anything they shouldn't. One PC is running SCS, the other is running the powerpoint presentation advertising the upcoming shows. Granted the box is locked when not in use, but everyone who does anything to do with sound or lighting knows where the key is kept if they don't already have one.

 

Maybe you're worrying too much?

[Shez]

The MQ40 doesn't have a network port so it is severely limited as to expandability (Inc Vis).

Yikes - I hadn't twigged that it was that crippled. I know they need to differentiate the features on their different level products but when you get umpteen universes of Artnet & assorted other network protocols with their free software, it seems an odd decision.

[paulears]

I'm not sure how helpful this is, but maybe one of my show files could be handy - mainly because I never bother to clear anything out, so you can probably find how I've modified the thing, page by page. I'd not pretend my way is neat and tidy because it isn't, and there are millions of ways of doing it better - but maybe seeing how we did it could be handy - if not just to see how the palettes and groups are filled up!

showfile here

[jameschamsys]

The MQ40 has been designed as a stand alone 4 universe console with 4 Direct DMX outputs, while the MQ60 supports 12 universes directly and has the network capability along with a few other extra features.

Its a bit of a 'Horses for courses'. Depending on the users needs/wants for the console.

 

Of course you can still use MagicQ on PC to build your show using Vis, then transfer to the MQ40 to run the show.

 

See here for a link to the current brochure for the Compact console range.

 

Training video wise, its something in the not too distant pipeline. :)

 

Peter - I've DM'd you now.

[top-cat]

Why not a PC + wing? The simple reason is this is an amateur owned and run theatre. I am in charge of lighting but five of use regularly light shows. I am not at the theatre all the time as it is a 1.5 hour round trip. So if someone needs a PC - hey there's one on the perch we can borrow... OK I could use a rack-mount or otherwise discourage people from using it, but then I have to find somewhere to put a monitor as well as the wing and space is very tight (see early spec).

 

 

As has been said before...

 

1- A PC is as accessible or inaccessible as you make it! There are often computers behind all the bar tills in clubs and theatres but you don't see those getting borrowed to make paper airplanes in publisher

 

2- A maxi wing and a screen may well take up less space than a desk.

 

But it's your choice, if you want to buy something which is less fit for purpose because it's all bolted together in the same box, that's perfectly reasonable.

[ceecrb1]

Also kensington locks are cheap and will make sure that any laptop (and wing) stay in the control area... unless there is a really determined theif....

[Illuminatio]

I love our recently acquired MQ60 and find the ability to attach an external monitor and the networking very useful. Being able to use a phone as a rigger's remote is very useful, and I can wander around the auditorium with an iPad without having to move the desk. I put the theatre stack and intensities on the external monitor. In answer to an earlier post, the built in screen is very useable, but I would recommend propping up the desk on a wedge so the rear is about 3" higher.

 

I love our recently acquired MQ60 and find the ability to attach an external monitor and the networking very useful. Being able to use a phone as a rigger's remote is very useful, and I can wander around the auditorium with an iPad without having to move the desk. I put the theatre stack and intensities on the external monitor. In answer to an earlier post, the built in screen is very useable, but I would recommend propping up the desk on a wedge so the rear is about 3" higher.

 

P.S. If you work at the Chesil the guys at the Royal may be able to advise. I used to work there 20 years ago.

[vinntec]

I love our recently acquired MQ60 and find the ability to attach an external monitor and the networking very useful. Being able to use a phone as a rigger's remote is very useful, and I can wander around the auditorium with an iPad without having to move the desk. I put the theatre stack and intensities on the external monitor. In answer to an earlier post, the built in screen is very useable, but I would recommend propping up the desk on a wedge so the rear is about 3" higher.

P.S. If you work at the Chesil the guys at the Royal may be able to advise. I used to work there 20 years ago.

Hi Nick - yes we are good friends with Spatz and the techs at the TRW, except they are an ION house now (after the 520i died mid show 2 years ago just before we had our get-in so we got our hands on it brand new).

 

James brought an MQ60 (but ran it like an MQ40 with no monitor) to our theatre yesterday and ran our mixed dimmer + Philips Selecon LED rig very successfully switching in and out of the different modes showing just how good a theatre console it is. Our one concern is the touch screen which, being amateurs, means we are not exactly spring chickens so quite heavy going for tired eyes (and like everything else we normally plot after a long day rigging). It is also easier to use with a stylus which as already mentioned on this forum can be solved for a few £. Our ideal position is having it completely standing up due to space constraints and that seemed to work OK except a few of the LEDs on the playbacks were not so obvious at that angle. Because the desk is small we are also looking at having it sloping a bit as an alternative, but do not see getting it to work at our theatre a problem.

 

Despite a very generous deal from ChamSys we can't get enough funds for an MQ60, so need to make the most of the MQ40 [if that's the way we go, there are other irons in the fire]. However, we realise we can do 99% or more of the programming on a PC/Mac/Linux if we want to and simply transfer the showfile to the desk for the performances. On top of that the £10 dongle also gives us an emergency console which can run the whole show. Bearing in mind we are talking about 36 dimmers increasing to 48, and 50 or so fixtures in the distant future, the MQ40 dances very easily for every possible requirement we might have with lots of bells and whistles we can call on when the need arises.

 

So we are on the verge of becoming ChamSys converts, although better shut up now as James is probably listening...

[Illuminatio]

Good lord, is Spatz still there?!

 

The MQ60 is certainly much easier with a stylus if, like me, you have fat fingers! Not sure about using it upright; the last desk I did that with was a Masterpiece. Your rig sounds much like ours, and it dances around that. Looking forward to lighting Little Shop with it in 2 weeks...

[vinntec]

James says running it upright is no problem. We had it standing up and James banged it on the table a few times to show it is rock solid. It is one PCB with everything (except power and UPS in case of MQ60) on it and disk is solid state so only moving parts are the controls on the desk.

 

Good lord, is Spatz still there?!

Alive and well - see link.

[norty303]

If you're worried about the PC being borrowed, just install Linux and the Linux version of MagicQ and you're almost quaranteed that nobody will want to borrow it, especially if covered in labels explaining its Linux only ;)

[david.elsbury]

Unless they think that "Linux windows" is Microsofts latest version :P

[ceecrb1]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/I.html?_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313&_nkw=kensington+lock&_sacat=0

[vinntec]

We had a discussion amongst ourselves today about putting together a PC + wing system rather than a stand alone console. With a bit of work our conclusion is we could get something working based on a Maxi Wing for less than the equivalent MQ60 which we could make look and feel like a console. So we haven't closed our minds to it as one of the reasons for looking at an MQ60 rather than MQ40 is to give us oldies a larger monitor to look at, which could be touch screen if we can find a suitable one. We could also have the same monitor at the heart of a PC+wing system. We can't afford both so it is either a PC+wing or an MQ60 - both with a relatively simple PC as emergency backup using Magic DMX we already have.

 

There are pros and cons - the MQ60 is all there in one piece - the internal monitor can still be used especially as it is improved we hope. The PC is cheaper but needs us to do the work Chamsys have already done on the real console. Some of the controls are a little more complex, as they won't line up with what they are doing, and it has to have a monitor connected to be any use even with the Maxi Wing that we favour (which costs same as an MQ40). I still favour a desk and I think the other two do also but we want to look at all the options to decided which would fit us best.