Homemade DMX Tester

[McCready00]

Make a DMX tester.


I made it and it seems to work well..

Anyone made it and have any comments on it?

[Wolf]

Look cool, and I cant wait to make one.

Although I would like an example of how to make one with a 4-pin connector. Does anyone instructions for the 4-pin? Would it still be pins 2 & 3

[derekleffew]

Congratulations, McCready00. I'd like to think you found the link to those instructions in our Collaborative Article: http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/s...verters%2C+etc.

Originally Posted by Wolf

...Although I would like an example of how to make one with a 4-pin connector. Does anyone instructions for the 4-pin? Would it still be pins 2 & 3

Probably (but depends on your scroller or other gadget) it would be pins 2&3, see http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/l...html#post90957. As long as you're building one, consider another LED of a different color or style, to verify voltage between pins 1&4. Do not use on Morpheus ColorFaders.

Send me one when you're done.

[McCready00]

here's the one I've done last week.

[TheDonkey]

That looks brilliant!

I haven't read this specific article, but I remember in some othe guide, someone said to put 2 LED's in pararell, but reversed, and of a different color, that way you can see if the "data" is actually changing.

Did the LED fit in the hole that well naturally, or did it take some knifing/force?

[McCready00]

I used the actual hole that was pre-made. It worked perfectly.

And I've used a bi-colour led ( red/green ).

Paid something like a 1$ for the resistors and the led.

[TheDonkey]

Originally Posted by McCready00

I used the actual hole that was pre-made. It worked perfectly.

And I've used a bi-colour led ( red/green ).

Paid something like a 1$ for the resistors and the led.

Oh ok, that LED only looks like it has 2 leads so I assumed it was a one way...

[FMEng]

A bi color LED is essentially two LEDs in one package. The two LEDs in the package are different colors and polarities, with a common pair of leads.

Keep in mind what this tester can and cannot tell you. It can tell you there is a signal pressent, and possibly that the signal varies. It cannot tell you if the voltage swing is correct, corrupted in some way, or has noise on it. But, this little tool could come in handy.

[derekleffew]

It will tell you quite a bit, actually. See http://www.dfd.com/pdf/tstrdata.pdf. I'm assuming the DIY model conveys all the same information, but I may be wrong about that.

[TheSwami]

Just out of curiousity McCready, did you purchase your 5-pin XLR connector locally, or order it from the internet? I've been collecting the requisite materials for this same project, but I have yet to find a local store that carries the connectors...

73