32. (You may have chosen 24 as an arbitrary "comfortable" number.) Technically, 32 is not correct either*, but it's the number most commonly bandied about. An opto-splitter extends this limit, as well as likely makes the cable runs more convenient.
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*...A splitter will cut down on your cable runs. You should also take a look at the number of DMX devices you put on a single DMX run. The ANSI version of DMX says 32 unit loads. While that may not necessarily be 32 physical devices it's good practice to not put more than that on a run. You also need to make sure you have a DMX termination for the end device of each run of DMX cable. As along as all your DMX cables are up to spec. that should eliminate any random flickering of your lights. ...
OK, so would it be possible to daisy chain the opto splitter in the line and continue the run that way or do I need to split it at the head end?
From Doug Fleenor Design - DMX512 Inline Isolator :
Depends.I've recently had an issue using a Chauvet Data Stream 4 with 4 branches, and one bad unit on branch 3 actually caused havoc on all 4 branches, which I previously thought to be impossible.
This made diagnosing the problem very time consuming, as I was operating under the incorrect assumption that the only thing which could affect all 4 branches was the DMX source or the splitter itself.
Is this actually possible, or it the Data Stream not a true "isolator"?
Nope; you're right.
I'm basing this on the fact that RS-485 transceivers from integrated circuit manufacturers (Fairchild, Texas Instrument, Linear, etc.) are, for the most part, 1/8 unit load. The 1 unit load models are legacy units running at 5 volts; my guess for qualified applications where changing the spec is really expensive due to re-certification.Do you have any hard data on fractional fixtures? I've had a hard time confirmation from manufacturers.
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