Chauvet MiNSpot

[Corbettlight]

I just ordered one of these babies, and I couldn't find anywhere whether it has 3-pin or 5-pin XLR plugs. Does anyone know?

[Les]

I'm about 99% sure they will be 3-pin.

[Corbettlight]

Ok, thanks.

Is the DMX out on an Element male or female? I don't actually have my desk yet. From what I've seen, I'm guessing female. So if I get a 5-pin(m) to 3-pin(f) adapter, it should work? I know the DMX in on the MiNSpot is male.

[Soxred93]

The DMX out on the Element is a female XLR5 plug, and according to the manual, the MiNSpot is a male XLR3.

[Corbettlight]

So, this may be a noob question, but why are some DMX fixtures 3-pin and others 5-pin?

[gafftaper]

REAL DMX has 5 pins, if it isn't 5 pins it technically does not meet DMX standard. Two of the pins were reserved for future use to create two way communication, which has never really happened. So you really only need three pins for the DMX signal. Generally speaking the top of the line professional quality gear will have five pins while DJ quality and more middle of the road stuff sometimes cuts corners and uses 3 pins. Some even make this a sales feature because you can substitute mic cable for DMX cable. Unfortunately it isn't a true substitute and will cause all kinds of trouble if you are running it more than a very short distance with more than just a couple of fixtures. So in any sort of critical situation you should always use proper DMX cable. DJ's can cheat.

Finally there is the 4 pin fixture. Things like gobo rotators and scrollers. These use 3 pins of dmx plus one pin of low voltage power, to run the device.

What are you going to use the MinSpot for? I have two MinSpots and can't think of many applications where one would be using a MinSpot and an Element.

[Corbettlight]

I just ordered one so that I can learn the basics of ML control. I haven't had any experience with them before, and I figured this would be a cheap way to teach myself some things. And if I stick it close to the cyc i might be able to create some abstract effects with gobos and color

[gafftaper]

Good call. I purchased two to teach basic moving lights, color mixing, dmx addressing, all that good stuff. They are not very bright and short of being in a dark club or used to shine at the audience, I don't see a lot of use for them. But I agree it's a great cheap way to learn.

[Corbettlight]

I've been messing around with the Element Offline, and it seems very intuitive. I can't wait to get my console and MiNSpot to start playing!

[len]

Originally Posted by Corbettlight

So, this may be a noob question, but why are some DMX fixtures 3-pin and others 5-pin?

Money and demand. 3 pin are more common, and probably cheaper. And products in that range are more likely to appeal to djs and lower budget groups who will be more likely to buy something if they know its cabling is compatible with what they already have.

As for which way the cable runs, 99% of all lighting fixtures, the male end points towards the board/desk/console. I can't ever recall seeing the opposite, but there is likely a fixture out there somewhere that is.