Hard vs. Soft Patch

[moderately_clueless]

So this may be a stupid question, but I figure it's good to know. What is the difference between soft and hard patch? I know that on my schools light board (Express 48/96) in patch there is only channel and dimmer numbers. So what is the difference? And does it matter? Also, does it even exist on the newer systems? Cause my school has an ancient strand century 80, so I'm just curious if there is a difference in patching on new equipment.

[cutlunch]

The difference is the same as you find in computers. Soft patch equates to software ie you tell the lighting board how you want the channels on the board to equate to the actual dimmer addresses .

Hard patching equates to hardware. If you want to change the channel - dimmer assignment you have physicaly to change wires.

You are right this was more pre-DMX when analog dimmers had a wire for each channel. I don't know how often hard patching was used in the past because of the time needed to rewire. I did it once on a rack of analouge dimmers when one circuit on a main light failed. The memory desk we used didn't have soft patching so we rewired the control signal to another dimmer whose light could be done without.

Soft patching can be quite flexible depending on your board. As well as allowing more then one dimmer per channel. You can set proportional levels for example 50% so that when the channel is at 100% the dimmer will only ever get a signal up to 50%.

Edit:
After reading Soundlight's post I must make a correction to my post. When I am talking about patching I am only talking about changing the control link from the desk to the dimmers. Soundlight is right in what he does is called patching. However as he said to change channel to dimmer assignments he must use a softpatch.

[soundlight]

I run a hardpatch system at my school. It has 102 circuits (coming from the electrics, drop boxes, and floor pockets), and each of those has a wire that is coming out of a box that is about two feet by two feet on top. I have 32 dimmers. Each of the dimmers has 3 input plugs on to it. You can patch any of the 102 circuits into any of the 32 dimmers. This is a basic 3-to-1 hardpatch system. Softpatch can patch any number of dimmers to to any of the faders.

[disc2slick]

To put it simply:

Hardpatch refers to what dimmers your lights are plugged into. Thus to "change the hardpatch" means to physically unplug the light and plug it into a different dimmer.

Softpatch refers to what channels each dimmer is assigned to, and is determined through the "patch" function on the board.

Any patching you do on the board is softpatching, 'Patch by Dimmer' and 'Patch by Channel' are just two different ways of doing the same thing.

-Dan

[moderately_clueless]

Haha, the answer is a lot simpler than I expected it to be. Thanks a lot

[SteveB]

One good example of a current use of hard patch is on an ETC Sensor touring dimming system, such as a 48 or 96 dimmer rack.

Inside the rack is a "hard" patch panel that allows the output from a particular dimmer to be sent to a particular pin on a Socapex receptacle. This is very, very useful to assign the dimmer to a particular Soca connector, especially as there are generally more Soca receptacles then dimmers available if it were hard wired 1:1.

SB

[jonhirsh]

I didnt have time to read the other responses but from glancing over there lengths i think i can simplyfy it even more.

The two types of ways to arange which fixture turns on with which chanel.

Hard Patch = Hardware (fixtures, circuts, Patch Bay, dimmers) these are physical objects.

Soft Patch = Software (console, Routing software) these are software based. Usualy controlls the output of the console to the dimmers. this is not tangable its software based.

[kingfisher1]

soft patching on the express also can include assinging channels to other dmx things like scrollers, fog machies, coffe makers, what ever.

[soundlight]

Haha! The Doug Fleenor Designs DMX Coffeemaker! I think they also have the DMX shock collar as well...for those spot ops that go to sleep...

I wish that I had a picture of my hardpatch system, because then I could explain it really well. Maybe I need to get a photobucket...

[kingfisher1]

its okay, just illistrate it with your hands. oh wait, we can't see them.