Encoders?

[venuetech]

I am new to dealing with moving lights and i keep running across the term "encoders" can some one explain the basic concept of this?

i looked in the wiki but did not see any thing.

Thanks

[hsaunier]

Actually encoders can be found in both audio and lighting. They are virtual knobs. Some times in lighting they can be called scroll knobs as well. I'm more an audio guy and on a mixing console an encoder is used to adjust many different parameters with one knob. You must first select a parameter to adjust, usually with a push button or menu selection, and then turn the encoder to change the value of the selected parameter. In lighting, tell the encoder that you want to change the pan by selecting that option and turn the encoder wheel to the desired setting. Hope this helps.

[venuetech]

bong: now it dawns on me. encoders are the large knobs common to various ML control boards?

[icewolf08]

An encoder is a device that takes linear or rotary movement and translates it into computer data. In lighting most people refer to the wheels used for controlling ML attributes as encoders as they encode the physical movement as digital signals. See the wheels on the top center of the console in the following photo of ETC's Ion, those are encoders:


Also, many moving lights have encoders in them for generating position feedback information. These are usually in the form of optical encoders or rotary encoders usually attached directly to the motors for various functions. Below is a photo of the optical encoder from the scroller of an ETC Source Four Revolution. The belt you can see connects the encoder to the scroller's motor.

[What Rigger?]

Encoders also can be found in a multitude of automation rigs as well.