Looking for decent 8 way DMX Node

[DonkiDonki]

I am looking to pick a decent 8way artnet to DMX node (possibly second hand but certainly looking to keep cost to a minimum), can anyone reccomend good options or warn of any issues encountered?

I'm guessing that some units may struggle to drive 8 fully populated universes happily along with other possible caveats. It would also be a bonus if it supported other protocols such as sacn.

Currently I have a 4way Chamsys B4 which is a great unit for a Chamsys user but pricy. I also have a DMXKING 4way edmx4 which is another great unit, this was much lower priced and my current choice for an 8way is just to get two more of these.

Another unit that looks interesting is the Chauvet NetX 8way, does anyone have any experience with this?

 

 

All this makes me wish that there was someone out there reviewing lighting control kit such as this, along with all the other bits and pieces.Ideally for control kit the reviews would need to be quite thorough and give a good idea of the true capabilities and suitability. (The likes of our own Big Clive spring to mind)

The best attempt at this which I have managed to find so far is the CX Network YouTube channel, sadly they rarely go into any serious detail and their output is quite low.

Perhaps have a dedicated thread here for written reviews and links to video reviews?

Any thoughts?

 

I just found a hardware review of the DMXKing edmx4 on YouTube so here's that for anyone who's interested;

 

Moderation: Title changed to be more helpful.

[Guest]

Hello,

 

Take a look at the Zero88 EtherN.8 RDM:

http://zero88.com/pr...rn8/index.shtml

 

It's a rack mount Art-Net to 8 DMX universe unit with the standard browser configuration user interface. It can be configured to sACN too I believe.

 

This may be out of your price bracket, as they are around £1,500 new, however they do occasionally pop up second hand for under £1000.

 

I agree I am often looking for lighting kit reviews on YouTube.

Big Clive does do the odd industry specific review, however his wide audience is probably more interested in general electronics tear downs (which are well worth watching!) as opposed to lighting specific videos!

 

DMXKing eDMX4 looks good. I've used some DMXKing kit before which has never gone wrong, so for a smaller budget that may well be your best bet.

 

 

Edward

[david.elsbury]

Are you a zero88 employee? Serious question. You seem very... invested... in them?

[OddSocks]

Hi,

 

I use a Transcension N8 and not had any problems with it.

 

They go for £400 ish

[peza2010]

Chauvet net-x at about 700 quid list

[DonkiDonki]

Hi,

 

I use a Transcension N8 and not had any problems with it.

 

They go for £400 ish

 

That looks like an interesting option, and the price is a steal.

Have you ever tried to saturate al the universes to see how it holds up?

 

http://www.blue-room.org.uk/public/style_emoticons/default/blink.gif

 

In fact, for testing purposes; can anyone reccomend any methods for testing the artnet and DMX performance of these devices?

[jonhole]

Are you a zero88 employee? Serious question. You seem very... invested... in them?

We have very strong ethic policies on this, so I'm going to quickly jump in here - no Eaton employee should be posting for commercial gain without being fully open about who they are representing - and it would also be against Blue Room T&C. Ed is not an employee of Eaton, however does partake in our console software testing program. Ed has shown interest in taking a gap year in his studies to join us, but we're yet to make an announcement on this. Hope this clears things up!

 

http://www.eaton.com/EN/Eaton/OurCompany/GlobalEthics/index.htm

[richard_cooper]

I am looking to pick a decent 8way artnet to DMX node (possibly second hand but certainly looking to keep cost to a minimum), can anyone reccomend good options or warn of any issues encountered?

I'm guessing that some units may struggle to drive 8 fully populated universes happily along with other possible caveats. It would also be a bonus if it supported other protocols such as sacn.

 

I've used these which will do 6 universes for £80 odd. I've use it loaded with 150 RGB pixels on each universe and it seems to manage fine with no noticeable hiccups or stutters. Would be more DIY project than off the shelf, but 2 of them mounted in a rack enclosure with a PSU could do 12 universes for, say, £250?

 

They also do sACN and you can configure each port to any universe, so could do 12 ports of one universe or 1 port of 12 universes or any other combination.

[OddSocks]

Hi,

 

I use a Transcension N8 and not had any problems with it.

 

They go for £400 ish

 

That looks like an interesting option, and the price is a steal.

Have you ever tried to saturate al the universes to see how it holds up?

 

http://www.blue-room.org.uk/public/style_emoticons/default/blink.gif

 

In fact, for testing purposes; can anyone reccomend any methods for testing the artnet and DMX performance of these devices?

 

I can give it go.

 

I will just tell the software I use to out put full universe data to all universes, and plug a few fixtures in to each universe and check for any glitches with my DMX tester.

 

Will get back to you.

[vjetter]

Nice tips!

[Glyn Edwards]

Chauvet net-x at about 700 quid list

WL have the Net-X listed at £450 + VAT

[peza2010]

Chauvet net-x at about 700 quid list

WL have the Net-X listed at £450 + VAT

 

That was what I should have typed, but for some reason did not!

[xllx]

I've used these which will do 6 universes for £80 odd. I

 

I've been looking at those and considering putting a couple in boxes as you suggest. What's your experience like with them, anything to look out for?

[DonkiDonki]

I've used these which will do 6 universes for £80 odd. I

 

I've been looking at those and considering putting a couple in boxes as you suggest. What's your experience like with them, anything to look out for?

 

 

 

I'd spotted those too but had discounted them as they seemed suspiciously cheap, it would be interesting to know more about them.

[richard_cooper]

I've used these which will do 6 universes for £80 odd. I

 

I've been looking at those and considering putting a couple in boxes as you suggest. What's your experience like with them, anything to look out for?

 

 

 

I'd spotted those too but had discounted them as they seemed suspiciously cheap, it would be interesting to know more about them.

 

My experience with them is that they just seem to work. You can configure them for either ArtNET or sACN via a web interface as well configure the ports for either input or output and which universe each port is. I've not experienced any hiccups with it and have driven them from an Ion, a Cobalt and MagicQ. You need to provide your own PSU, but the microSD card with the software on is included. Not much else to say about them really. I've also got the version for controlling WS2811 style pixels and that also works well. Delivery from Israel had not always been the quickest but not horrific.