Bad Phone call... "The light board won't turn on."

[jmac]

I don't have a touch screen and don't see much need for it. Once I got used to using the mouse I find it VERY fast to click and drag and open whatever I want. If you organize your patch so that similar things are next to each other you can just click and drag to select the group of channels very quickly.

Also note that I believe both ETC and Strand are picky about which touch types of screens will work with their software... and of course it's only the expensive models. Don't just buy a touch screen, do some research to make sure it will work.

Run one monitor or two, and which size(s)?

 

[willbb123]

Here's the final time line on the repair:
*This is what I mean by Processor Core: If you press two buttons on the sides of the console and flip the top up, you will find that the entire console is just a collection of USB devices plugged into a small internal sealed PC box running embedded Windows XP. Rather than trying to diagnose and repair a console, it's simply a matter of unplugging USB devices and removing two thumb screws, and replacing the box with the processor in it. This seems like a huge advantage to someone in a small middle of nowhere town vs. older technologies. You could easily have the replacement core Fedexed in and replace it yourself without need of a long drive to a repair shop (I believe ETC's consoles are similar in this regard but not sure).

I still dont completely understand... How do you get dmx output if the console is dead? Possibly a pic or a link will help.

 

[icewolf08]

I still dont completely understand... How do you get dmx output if the console is dead? Possibly a pic or a link will help.

You get output via ShowNet, Strand's TCP/IP protocol. This of course requires that you have DMX nodes, but most newer installs do. So all you have to do is plug the computer into the lighting network via Ethernet.

 

[gafftaper]

Run one monitor or two, and which size(s)?

I have one 17" monitor and that's enough for me. My model doesn't have dual monitor outputs.

I still dont completely understand... How do you get dmx output if the console is dead? Possibly a pic or a link will help.

What Alex said is right but here's the expanded version...

Although I have a DMX out jack, my system does not use DMX. It's it's own ethernet network. There are network jacks all over the theater. The console on one, the dimmers on one, a computer in the booth on one, a wireless router on one, and multiple jacks in the catwalks. It's not a one way line like a DMX system. It's a giant circle of bi-directional communication. The computer in the booth is there to monitor the dimmer racks and program DMX nodes primarily(but it also acts as a backup). Out in the catwalks DMX nodes take the data on the network and convert it to DMX for any intelligent gear. You could configure a node to be an input device and plug in any DMX console to run the network. I can log on to the network with my wireless laptop and watch what the console is doing or run cues remotely. I can turn on channels and run cues and subs via a wireless PDA. The console, the computer, and my laptop all have the same software. There is a magic USB key that turns which ever device it is plugged into it into the "Heart" of the network.

The computer is just a PC plugged into the lighting network through a standard ethernet jack. When the console went down I popped the top and removed the USB key and a USB drive that I back up files to. Plugged them into the computer. Open the Palette program and open the backup file. If I wanted to get fancy I could run a USB hub inside the console and plug in the control surface... which is just a USB device.

Currently it's all speaking a strand Proprietary language called Shownet. ETC has it's own language called ETCNet. In the future these networks will all speak ACN a new universal standard that will replace DMX. There will be no need for the DMX nodes because all the intelligent devices you have will also speak ACN. Instead of DMX cable it will be a daisy chain of Ethernet cables. Best of all the communication will be bi-directional so your intelligent devices will all be plug and play. Through another new process called RDM (remote device management) the intelligent gear will identify itself to the network and you won't have complicated patching to do.

 

[derekleffew]

... In the future these networks will all speak ACN ...

Possibly that should read "quite distant future." Just as today, some 23 years after the adoption of DMX, there is still some need for 0-10V analog control, the huge amount of DMX equipment seems likely that DMX is not in danger of extinction anytime soon. It's quite likely that DMX will be used for "the last mile" for quite some time, especially for simple fixtures. On the other hand, consoles, dimmer racks, media servers, and complex fixtures like DL.3s and ShowPix are the most likely candidates for early adoption of ACN. Currently, ETC, HighEnd/Barco, and Wybron seem to be the biggest proponents of ACN.

 

[gafftaper]

Possibly that should read "quite distant future." Just as today, some 23 years after the adoption of DMX, there is still some need for 0-10V analog control, the huge amount of DMX equipment seems likely that DMX is not in danger of extinction anytime soon. It's quite likely that DMX will be used for "the last mile" for quite some time, especially for simple fixtures. On the other hand, consoles, dimmer racks, media servers, and complex fixtures like DL.3s and ShowPix are the most likely candidates for early adoption of ACN. Currently, ETC, HighEnd/Barco, and Wybron seem to be the biggest proponents of ACN.

Very True. We've been talking about ACN and RDM for a several years now and the technology is ready and waiting to be used. However, at LDI in October we finally saw the first working demonstration of RDM. At this point with 99% of all the facilities using DMX, it's not realistic for the manufactures of the DMX devices to convert to ACN/RDM yet. We will have to wait years for a lot of the DMX systems to be replaced by network systems before it makes economic sense for the whole transition to take place.

 

[gafftaper]

One last note. It turns out that the problem was a bad switch and not the power supply. The switch was labeled with the name of a decent manufacturer... can't remember the name at the moment but I'll try to check it for a complete report.

So it was just one of those one in a thousand parts goes bad sort of things.

 

[waynehoskins]

One last note. It turns out that the problem was a bad switch and not the power supply. The switch was labeled with the name of a decent manufacturer... can't remember the name at the moment but I'll try to check it for a complete report.

So it was just one of those one in a thousand parts goes bad sort of things.

Alcoswitch or Switchcraft or Alps perhaps? Those are the first ones to cross my mind.