Powering down movers when ION shuts down

Good afternoon, I am trying to configure my ION, or my dimmer rack to power off some LED Downs and Stilletto Wash units when I shut down the board. I currently have them powered through my sensor rack where i have set the dimmer to Always On. Is there a better setting that will turn them off safely when I turn off the board? Any help is appreciated.

Are you sending actual DMX all the way from the Ion to the fixtures?

I *think* someone makes a relay that turns off AC after a delay when the DMX goes away, but I can't remember who. Fleenor?

Jay Ashworth said:

Are you sending actual DMX all the way from the Ion to the fixtures?

I *think* someone makes a relay that turns off AC after a delay when the DMX goes away, but I can't remember who. Fleenor?

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Paging @jfleenor
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard

If you're using relays, I find the best way to do it is a custom "full at 0" inverse curve on the channels. This makes it happen transparently when the board turns on and off, and gives you an easy way of resetting the fixture if you need to (just bring the channel to full for a minute).

You can also use a relay that powers on/off with DMX presence, I know ETC has some these days and probably others as well. Do be aware though, in a network system you might not actually have them "lose" dmx when the board is turned off, defeating this purpose.

Which Sensor dimmer modules are you using?

I use an Echo relay panel to do this, but I generally just Park those channels at full. Stays like this until/unless someone changes it. It works great for LEDs, but if you were using movers with discharge lamps, you'd still need to be sure and lamp-off the fixtures approximately 10 minutes before shutting down. Not an issue with your current fixtures.

Sounds like the settings you're using are local to the dimmer rack, so this approach may or may not work depending on the cards you're using. I would recommend ThruPower or R20 modules if a relay panel (or suitable relay pack) is unavailable. The CC20 is close, but keeps power on regardless of console status with no way to change that behavior (one of the C's in CC20 stands for constant).

Also - disclaimer about making sure your fixtures are compatible with a dimmer set to non-dim, if that's what you're doing. I believe only ETC guarantees their fixtures to be safely operated from a dimmer module. ThruPower modules, of course, can be set to either and is perfectly fine as long as it's in "relay mode".

The etc colorsource relay will do this. You wire it in line with your dmx. When the ion is off and not transmitting dmx the relay will power down the fixtures. When it sees dmx again it powers them up. You can find the wired version for under $300.

You can set the dimmers to "Switched" instead of always on(relays would of course be better than dimmers - still set to switched), and either use the "Full at 0" curve trick described above, or use a startup/shutdown macro to park/unpark your power channels/addresses when your console turns on/off.

I'll admit that I'm a little (well, a lot) old school, but if you want to turn an instrument off, why not just turn its circuit's power off? Doesn't every stage circuit in your plant have a switch & fuse or circuit breaker? Or for that matter, doesn't your stage lighting system have a master switch/fuse or circuit breaker?

It can be useful to have phased power up, because of inrush. Throwing the main breaker to turn off usually works fine, but throwing the main breaker on and powering up a whole "intelligent" rig in one can be an act of faith, as all those SMPSU inrush currents add up.

I usually write a safety "Lamp Down" macro for any movers that require it and set that as the Shutdown Macro

This is how I set up my intelligent stuff.

My venue is pretty much all ETC minus some movers and LED units.

Unless it’s an ETC fixture I use relays. I generally will patch all the power circuits to a single channel. Maybe a few depending on how I want them controlled. I patch to a single channel for the order of my displays. I don’t want to see 40 channels that are just power for fixtures around the building. I will then go into Patch and put the hot patch curve on the power channel. I will label every part so I know what fixture that circuit it’s powering.

I make a start up and shut down macro that will apply and take off the curve respectively. If I’m using movers with discharge lamps on the start up macro I will put a wait of like 5 min then include a lamp strike. For shut down of the movers on the cue after the last one they are used in, or the last cue of the show, I will put a macro to lamp them off. That way by the time I’m ready to shut down those are nice and cool.

If it’s an etc fixture I will change the mode on the dimmer to “switched” and then patch like the above method.

That’s what works well for me in my venue.

Aaron S. said:

This is how I set up my intelligent stuff.

My venue is pretty much all ETC minus some movers and LED units.

Unless it’s an ETC fixture I use relays. I generally will patch all the power circuits to a single channel. Maybe a few depending on how I want them controlled. I patch to a single channel for the order of my displays. I don’t want to see 40 channels that are just power for fixtures around the building. I will then go into Patch and put the hot patch curve on the power channel. I will label every part so I know what fixture that circuit it’s powering.

Click to expand...

What do you do if you need to reset a single mover acting up? Unpatch/repatch it?

Aaron S. said:

I make a start up and shut down macro that will apply and take off the curve respectively. If I’m using movers with discharge lamps on the start up macro I will put a wait of like 5 min then include a lamp strike. For shut down of the movers on the cue after the last one they are used in, or the last cue of the show, I will put a macro to lamp them off. That way by the time I’m ready to shut down those are nice and cool.

If it’s an etc fixture I will change the mode on the dimmer to “switched” and then patch like the above method.

Click to expand...

Why not use relays for all? ETC has been really vague about their endorsement of using intelligent fixtures on dimmers in any mode. I feel like sticking with relays for any hot power needs is just an easier rule to follow/maintain, and doesn't get into the gray area.

Aaron S. said:

That’s what works well for me in my venue.

Click to expand...

danTt said:

What do you do if you need to reset a single mover acting up? Unpatch/repatch it?


Why not use relays for all? ETC has been really vague about their endorsement of using intelligent fixtures on dimmers in any mode. I feel like sticking with relays for any hot power needs is just an easier rule to follow/maintain, and doesn't get into the gray area.

Click to expand...

in regards to resetting a fixture. I take the curve off that dimmer and re-apply it. I made a macro to speed up the process. It really doesn’t take longer than the park/full @ 0 method. Plus I try to run my movers off of 240 instead of 110.

As far as the relays, sometimes I need to put a Lustr on Cir. 1 and a regular Source 4 on Cir. 2. So using a relay doesn’t do me any good for my regular S4

I have also been told directly by ETC that if I use an ETC fixture with etc dimmers in switched mode ETC will repair or replace.

Also, I have at least 100 Lustrs in my venue. So spending $50,000 on relay cards isn’t going to happen over night. Plus finding the space to store 100 relay cards isn’t the easiest task.