@RonHebbard Wouldn't that be bovine not equine? Although equine works just as well.@Stevens R. Miller @TimMc You can probably get away with "I'm too old for this excrement!" and / or "Equine excrement" in lieu of BS. And then there're always my old standbys "Phuque!" and "Phucough!" Poor SpellCheck doesn't have a clue.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.
@Crisp image You Sir are most definitely correct. You've got your horse excrement and then you've got your bull excrement. Most days we've no shortage of either. Horses for courses and bulls for balls. Select your flavor but PLEASE do so with decorum and finesse.@RonHebbard Wouldn't that be bovine not equine? Although equine works just as well.
Panache Ron, you forgot Panache, and I don't mean in the historical "stick a plume of feathers in it" sense.
DMX data too: 0" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch">DMX data too?id=0" class="bbCodeBlock-sourceJump" rel="nofollow" data-xf-click="attribution" data-content-selector="#there was no flicker. This was true when the computer was connected and streaming DMX data too-0">...it looked like a disco did in my college days (late '70s)....We noticed that whenever a light flickered said:I could do that, but I'd probably be lying to you. It does have vents in the back and there's a fair amount of space behind the dimmers and the back of the cabinet. The whole thing is years old. If it were going to fail (or, God forbid, ignite) for lack of cooling, it would have done it a long time ago. I do wish they'd installed the whole thing in the hallway, not just off stage, though. It's obnoxious to have to listen to the fan blowing through a whole show.
They do produce the saturated colors that I have noticed are characteristic of LEDs.
[QUOTE="...it looked like a disco did in my college days (late '70s).
...We noticed that whenever a light flickered, its LEDs also flickered on its dimmer. We also noticed that, if all lights were off, there was no flicker. This was true when the computer was connected and streaming DMX data too: if even one light was up, others would flicker
...The problem stayed with the slot the dimmer goes in, not with the dimmer. We concluded, therefore, that something upstream of the dimmer and downstream of the computer input
I had the same problem with one of my ETC Sensor racks and it was the CEM module. Does your have one?? Don't know Leigh systems.Well, yet another middle school is throwing curve balls at me. This one's system is based on a Lehigh DX2 with a rack control system (picture below) and a small architectural control processor with four faders (a master and three that each control a part of the house). The ACP has a Doug Fleenor Designs PRE10-A DMX512 10-Zone Wall Controller with ten presets and and an LED that indicates that it is passing DMX data through it (at which time it gives up control).
We plug our computer into the ACP (we're running QLC+ and using an Enttec OpenDMX), and things work as expected. But last night, we noticed one of the lights flickering. I thought it was arcing, but then we saw that others were doing it. As the evening wore on, it got worse, to the point where it looked like a disco did in my college days (late '70s). We thought maybe the computer was the problem, so we disconnected it. The ACP includes an "all on" preset, and a few others, including an "apron only" preset. When we activated "apron only," we again saw lights that should have been off flashing on and off. By "on and off," I mean a very brief "on" time, followed by anywhere from half a second to several seconds of "off" time. This is with no computer connected.
We cycled the power on the rack and the problem seemed to go away, but returned after a few minutes. Three of us were working on this and all agree that it seemed to follow the same progression each time we cycled the power: the problem went away, then returned after a few minutes, gradually growing worse. I will admit, however, that this observation is more anecdote than science. What is certain is that the problem always returned.
At the rack, each dimmer is in a module paired with another. Each has two green LEDs on it, labeled "A" and "B." We noticed that whenever a light flickered, its LEDs also flickered on its dimmer. We also noticed that, if all lights were off, there was no flicker. This was true when the computer was connected and streaming DMX data too: if even one light was up, others would flicker, but nothing flickered if we set the scene to total blackout.
We tried swapping dimmers that were flickering with others that weren't. The problem stayed with the slot the dimmer goes in, not with the dimmer. We concluded, therefore, that something upstream of the dimmer and downstream of the computer input, was sending sporadic signals of some kind. This would imply that most likely the culprit is either the ACP, or the rack module. We looked inside the rack to see if there was a DMX input downstream of the ACP, but what we found was not a five- or three-pin plug (there's actually just a terminal strip in there that the ACP apparently feeds into), so we couldn't connect downstream of the ACP.
Of course the school has put in a work order for service, but our show is supposed to open on Friday, so I am not optimistic that the contractor will visit before then, much less fix the problem. But we are stumped!
Any suggestions?
View attachment 15468
My crummy Chinese lights just showed up. I'll give them a spin and report back here.
View attachment 15498
I don't know if that was rhetorical or sarcastic or other, but, from https://www.controlbooth.com/threads/cem.9026/ :What's a CEM module?
I believe your Lehigh DX2 dimmer rack calls it the System Control Module. (Gotta love those TLA s, right?)Control Electronics Module. A term for the ETC Sensor (and applied generically to other manufacturers') dimmer's "brain." The module on a dimmer pack or rack where various parameters are set. This will always include the pack's/rack's starting DMX512 address, and may include features such as voltage regulation, dimmer curves, implementation of secondary DMX or analog signals, etc. Prior to the Sensor's introduction in 1992, this item was often referred to as the "control card" or "control module."
DMX data too: 0" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch">DMX data too?id=0" class="bbCodeBlock-sourceJump" rel="nofollow" data-xf-click="attribution" data-content-selector="#there was no flicker. This was true when the computer was connected and streaming DMX data too-0">...it looked like a disco did in my college days (late '70s)....We noticed that whenever a light flickered said:Well, yet another middle school is throwing curve balls at me. This one's system is based on a Lehigh DX2 with a rack control system (picture below) and a small architectural control processor with four faders (a master and three that each control a part of the house). The ACP has a Doug Fleenor Designs PRE10-A DMX512 10-Zone Wall Controller with ten presets and and an LED that indicates that it is passing DMX data through it (at which time it gives up control).
We plug our computer into the ACP (we're running QLC+ and using an Enttec OpenDMX), and things work as expected. But last night, we noticed one of the lights flickering. I thought it was arcing, but then we saw that others were doing it. As the evening wore on, it got worse, to the point where it looked like a disco did in my college days (late '70s). We thought maybe the computer was the problem, so we disconnected it. The ACP includes an "all on" preset, and a few others, including an "apron only" preset. When we activated "apron only," we again saw lights that should have been off flashing on and off. By "on and off," I mean a very brief "on" time, followed by anywhere from half a second to several seconds of "off" time. This is with no computer connected.
We cycled the power on the rack and the problem seemed to go away, but returned after a few minutes. Three of us were working on this and all agree that it seemed to follow the same progression each time we cycled the power: the problem went away, then returned after a few minutes, gradually growing worse. I will admit, however, that this observation is more anecdote than science. What is certain is that the problem always returned.
At the rack, each dimmer is in a module paired with another. Each has two green LEDs on it, labeled "A" and "B." We noticed that whenever a light flickered, its LEDs also flickered on its dimmer. We also noticed that, if all lights were off, there was no flicker. This was true when the computer was connected and streaming DMX data too: if even one light was up, others would flicker, but nothing flickered if we set the scene to total blackout.
We tried swapping dimmers that were flickering with others that weren't. The problem stayed with the slot the dimmer goes in, not with the dimmer. We concluded, therefore, that something upstream of the dimmer and downstream of the computer input, was sending sporadic signals of some kind. This would imply that most likely the culprit is either the ACP, or the rack module. We looked inside the rack to see if there was a DMX input downstream of the ACP, but what we found was not a five- or three-pin plug (there's actually just a terminal strip in there that the ACP apparently feeds into), so we couldn't connect downstream of the ACP.
Of course the school has put in a work order for service, but our show is supposed to open on Friday, so I am not optimistic that the contractor will visit before then, much less fix the problem. But we are stumped!
Any suggestions?
View attachment 15468
i might suggest that this is a DMX issue. couple of approaches i would take to troubleshooting this would be :
1 see if you can trace the flickering consistantly to certain circuits. write down those circuit numbers
2 at the rack, you will either have a three phase power feed or a single phase - cant remember how Lehigh devides the rack by phase, but if you contact lehigh, you can find out. the system can fail in predictable patterns at the control electronics, that is why knowing the specific circuit numbers ( patched one to one ) can tell you where they are physically in the rack, and if that is phase related, and therefor if the failure at the conctrol module is phase related.
3 - it sounds like you have several different brands of DMX devices in the system. there can be timing and parity differences betweek the devices that will cause random flickers. I would review a few basic DMX rules and see if you are violating any of them. termination is a good place to start, non specified data cable is another. start simple. divide and conquer as my friend Milton davis says. establish DMX port output 1 directly to the wall outlet - uplug every other DMX device, get it out of line. cook the system at various levels for an hour or so - or even worse write a looping chase cue nice and slow at about 65 % for the on and a fade time of 5 seconds. let that cook for a few minutes - this will irritate the system, and you should see the flickering.
4 if it works with no flicker doing step 3 then begin adding the devices back one ata time. you should find a device like a splitter or a specific cable that when added makes it flicker.
5 - call legigh. they will help a lot. describe your system layout clearly, have model numbers and mfg. names available. draw a system riser if possible, that helps them a lot.
i would ask if there are [autolink]LED[/autolink] or movers inthe rig. and ask if the [autolink]system[/autolink] had flickered before ? what did you ( or that elusive Mr. nobody ) change or add to the [autolink]system[/autolink] ?
thoughts ?
I don't know if that was rhetorical or sarcastic or other...Stevens R. Miller said:What's a CEM module?
Before I comment on what I think might be happening...
(quite a detailed list of good ideas elided)
thoughts ?
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