Hog 3 PC

[ishboo]

Back in the days when I didn't know too much about lighting and I was a mindless board op a designer I worked with used the theatre's ETC express for the conventional lighting and then HOG 3 PC to run our intelligents. He used a DMX USB converter but it wasn't the hog widget (which runs about $1,200). As a high school student I can't afford the widget but I would love to use the Hog 3 PC software to control some of the new fixtures at my school. The software is free but does anyone know of a cheaper way to use the HOG 3 PC so send out a DMX signal?

[soundman]

No. There is no legal (or illegal that I know of) way to get hog pc to output DMX without a widget. A lot of time and money was spent by High End and Flying Pig Systems to develop the software and the widget is how they recover some of their cost.

If you are looking for a budget solution that still is very powerful look at the chamsys software with an open USB widget I have one and have used the combination several times to tech fixtures but never to run a show.

[Footer]

I have never seen a way to do that out in the wild, or ever heard of it for what its worth. I am sure it is possible, but probably leads to a hack that I would not want to run a show off of. Go with the chamsys, its a good system.

[ishboo]

That's what I thought I just wanted to double check. Thanks guys!

[JD]

As soundman said, they recover their investment through the sale of the hardware. What this often means is that the dongle is not generic. There is something programmed or hardwired into it that the software then looks for. The Charmsys software may be the exception. Just downloaded it myself (it is free) and from what I understand it will work with a generic dongle. Haven't got that far as something is balking on my computer! (Probably Norton, as the latest version has gotten quite tyrantical! )

[indyLD]

Originally Posted by JD

The Charmsys software may be the exception. Just downloaded it myself (it is free) and from what I understand it will work with a generic dongle.

Hi Guys,

First time posting.

The Cham Sys will work with the Enttec OpenUSB, Enttec Pro (what I use) and a good number of other cheaper dongles. I know the guys from Cham Sys and have always been keen on their products - let's get that outta the way.

Cham Sys reckon that if they give some of their system away for free, they can build up a following for their desks that turn into full blown users. Not sure how their market penetration is in the US, but it's building over here in the UK.

Anyone who knows a Hog II or III can pretty much use the MagicQ straight out of the box. No learning curve, really.

PS - Introduction:

Hi, I'm Rob and I'm am freelance LD and op in the UK doing concerts and corporate events. I have a background in theatre and have been lurking at CB for a while, interested in what's happening in the US (and trying to keep up with the different terminology you guys use).

I run a blog aimed at beginners and young people trying to learn more about stage lighting. The site has been up just over a year and is turning out to be pretty popular.

I would love it if some of you guys visit - maybe leave a comment it you like.

Best Wishes

[JD]

Welcome to CB Rob! Don't forget to drop by the newcomers thread and introduce yourself.

Have to say, I think Charm Sys is on the right track. Kind of like AOL sending out all those free disks years ago. You try it for awhile and you're hooked! Seeing the interface does make me want to put my hands on the physical desk. I think I am going to have to dump Norton or move it onto a non-internet PC as something is slowing it WAY down. Task Manager tells me it's Norton related.

[DCATTechie]

I'm having the same problem. Norton keeps asking me to allow/deny this instance. Also, it says (demo mode), does that mean there is a full version out there that I'm missing?

[pmgpriebe]

Hello Everyone.. I am new here as well. I found the board today and after reading a few of the threads I decided it was time to register. A GREAT board here.

As for the HOG 3 PC. We received the disc for the HOG 3 PC when we purchased our rental IPC a few years ago. I have no idea if it has a demo mode or not, but ours runs perfectly thru the computer with no problems.

But, one of the first problems you have here is that you are using Norton.. haha.. PLEASE get the crap off your computer as fast as you can to free up a tremendous amount of resources. AVG Free for Virii protection and Zonealarm for firewall.. Both free and work amazingly well.

As for the USB-DMX.. I have ventured into building them about a year and a half ago from super cheap to getting the proper chipsets for the great products that even have RDM capabilities.. Enntec makes some decent ones in their higher range models as you were mentioning. The biggest thing about using your own (or somebody else's) dongle is that most of those cheap ones out there put most of the performance on the computer instead of on the dongle. I honestly cannot for the life of me remember the company that did it over in UK that you could buy the kit or have them build the kit. It was a cheesy website, but after looking at the schematics it was perfectly done. It put **** near most of the strain on the dongle itself. The problem with cheap ole ones is that your computer could probably handle it if you were running a bunch of conventionals, but if you started throwing alot of movers on there your average computer is not going to be able to handle it. It will cause your cues to lag and cause an overall laggy performance that's not quite up to par.

I can't remember the good chip that goes inside of the good units, its been awhile since I have researched it, but Enntec is not to shabby when it comes to their dongles, but there are better ones out there (Not to slam Enntec, they have great higher end products). Here at our company we sell some widgets here and there because its proven, its a quality High End product and quality is what people want. Alot of people don't want to test using off-brand products with their consoles that cost them a pretty penny. To your average student or person that wants to run a free PC lighting program and say, use WSIWYG to practice their lighting design, they don't always have the money for the widget.

Man.. I am going to try and figure out that other site. Their product was superior to Enntec's (strictly from viewing the schematics and the chipsets that they used) and I want to say it was only about $230..


-Shawn
www.theatreworks.com

EDIT: Had a few words without spaces between them.. corrected those.

[ishboo]

Scratch that the USB DMX Widget MSRP is $1770.00 I just e-mailed high end