Chauvet DMX-4 wont take DMX signal?

Matt1059

Member
I am very very new to DMX lighting and only do this for a band and couple DJs in the area. I found this site and I think you guys could be a great help. Sorry in advance for my stupid questions.

I have two Chauvet DMX-4 dimmer packs (they used to both work) now only one of them works. The one pack wont take a DMX signal anymore. I can have the settings the same on both units and use the same control and cords going to it but the one unit one take any of the DMX signal. The unit will power up just fine and run with its under its own power not in the dmx mode but as soon as I hook it to the DMX control it wont take any of the signal. Is there something wrong with the pack or am I doing something wrong? I looked through some of the other threads but didnt see anything like this. If anyone has heard of something similar just post a link.

Thanks again for all the help
 
It sounds like you may in fact have a bad dimmer pack. If you take the cable running to the good pack and plug it into the bad back what I read is that it still does not work.

This can in many cases be a rather easy fix for a technician sitting at a bench. In the field you may want to confirm that there are no blown fuses that need to be changed. If that fails go ahead and give me a call at 4wall Washington dc, I am the service tech there and would be happy to talk to you about the issue. Just ask for Scooter.
 
Aflounder4u, welcome to CB! Take a moment to introduce yourself in the New Members Board!

OP, have you tried things like going directly with a known good cable to the dimmer? Checked the addressing?
 
Aflounder4u, welcome to CB! Take a moment to introduce yourself in the New Members Board!

OP, have you tried things like going directly with a known good cable to the dimmer? Checked the addressing?

I see what your saying about the cable and the addressing. I am presuming that the cable is going since it sounds like the poster has tried swapping cables and also tried matching the address witch would tend to rule out the cable and also the bad address. What is interesting is that the dimmer pack run fine on its own but when Dix is plugged into the unit the pack stops responding. If this was not a chauvet unit I would first suspect the Dmx board. In some cases the dmx chip goes south but the on board electronics control the unit just fine.

It doesn't hurt to try another cable straight to the dimmer. You can even try daisy chaining the bad unit with the bad unit between the console and the good dimmer. If the good dimmer is responding than it would lean toward an addressing issue. If the good pack does not respond than it would lean toward internal issues.

Sorry for the mass of info. Hope this all helps.
 
If it still doesn't work, call Chauvet. Their repair number is on their website. They'll give you a return authorization and an address to ship it to. Warranty or not, they may fix it for free. Even if they charge you, you'll know it was repaired properly.
 
No dip switches on that model. Address is set as a second level menu item. Start by checking that the start address is the same on both packs in the menu. Of course, check to see that the mode is the same.

As the unit woks in "stand-alone" we know the fuses are good and the control electronics are good. It could be the DMX interface chip is bad, but I would give that a low probability. Go through those menu items first.
 
No dip switches on that model. Address is set as a second level menu item. Start by checking that the start address is the same on both packs in the menu. Of course, check to see that the mode is the same.

As the unit woks in "stand-alone" we know the fuses are good and the control electronics are good. It could be the DMX interface chip is bad, but I would give that a low probability. Go through those menu items first.
I'll take your word for it, the manual I found said it did.
 
Yeah, I'm an idiot, I read the four modes and was thinking it was dip switches. I agree that it is either in the wrong mode or the addresses are overlapping.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back