Greetings to everyone involved with and members of Control Booth. I have come into ownership of 8 Colorblast 12s and the PDS-150e power supplies for the same. I would like to integrate these into my lighting inventory for shows knowing they are best for washes and the likes. The PDS-150e's have Cat 5(6?) sockets labeled for DMX in/out/loop-through. I would have imagined that I could use a 3-pin to Cat 5 adaptor and connect my 3-pin system to the Cat5 inputs for control. So far no luck getting the instruments to show life except for a low glow that simply plugging them into the power supply creates. No response to a manual control board I am using for testing before connecting to anything else. I have to believe there is a place to use dipswitches to modify the addresses but now sure where to find that. Open to advice suggestions or whatever that will achieve control of these instruments. Thanks -- RobinWD
Color Kinetics and DMX512 control
- Thread starterRobinWD
- Start date
Malabaristo
Well-Known Member
CK uses a nonstandard pinout for their RJ45 connectors. This support article from ETC describes both the ESTA standard pinout and the variation that CK uses. If you're using pre-made adapters, they're more likely to follow the ESTA standard, so that's a good first place to check. I don't recall how addressing works on these devices. You may need their software and an ethernet connection to configure the PDS.
Harrison Hohnholt
Well-Known Member
Amiers
Renting to Corporate One Fixture at a Time.
If you have the money you should buy yourself a 750. https://www.citytheatrical.com/docs/pdfs/pds-750-tr-manual-r011.pdf . It has a built DMX and can support up to 12 blasts. It’s what we use in our rental house all the time. They are nice little fixtures.
ndp
Fun Director
We changed over one of our 12 sets of ColorBlast 12TRs to two City Theatrical PDS-375 TRX supplies (https://www.citytheatrical.com/products/375-trx-pds). Splitting up from one 12-unit to two 6-unit gives us more flexibility for placement. They are awesome and so much easier to use then the PDS-375/750 TR units. Would highly recommend, especially if you have ShowBaby - the integration is super slick. We use the units to set static uplighting all the time without having to pull out a console, DMX tester, or decipher switches like the older models.
- Nick
- Nick
As noted above, CK uses a different pinout on the RJ45 connectors. Pins 1&2 are still data but polarity is oposite of ESTA standard. Also, they use pin 3 as common. Before everyone complains about that, remember CK started using DMX over RJ45 long before the ESTA standard.
To set addresses on the PDSs, you will need their (free) Quick Play Pro software and a USB - DMX interface (Enttec USB Pro). CK sells their "Smart Jack Pro" which is just the Enttec device painted blue. Output is standard 5 pin so you will need to make or buy an adapter to the CK RJ45 pinout.
Large GotCha: you need to cycle power to the PDS before address changes take effect!
To set addresses on the PDSs, you will need their (free) Quick Play Pro software and a USB - DMX interface (Enttec USB Pro). CK sells their "Smart Jack Pro" which is just the Enttec device painted blue. Output is standard 5 pin so you will need to make or buy an adapter to the CK RJ45 pinout.
Large GotCha: you need to cycle power to the PDS before address changes take effect!
Thank you DBL. I have already made up adaptors (3 pin to Cat 5 with proper pin assignment ) and I have downloaded QuickPlay Pro . I plugged an Ethernet cable connected to my network into the PDS-150e and QuickPlay seemed to acknowledge the connection but I could go no further. I assume I was just the Enttec DMX step you mentioned away from success with the 5 to 3 pin adaptor of course. Does that arrangement let me readdress the channel codes for the any of my ColorBlast instruments plugging into the PDS-150e I re-address or do the addresses apply to the instruments themselves and have to be done to each individually? And does the Enttec unit need to play any role in using my ColorBlasts once the readdressing is complete? Forgive my lack of savvy on all this but I work evenings with a very tight budgeted and noble-mined theater group and it will go a long way to get these instruments to work for our typical low budget Elation board driven lighting set up. Thanks for any further insights you can provide on this. I will need to purchase the Enttec DMX unit to do this so want to keep unnecessary costs down as usual. --- RobinWD
My understanding is that you can only configure the PDS for KiNet (CK's Ethernet protocol) control through the Ethernet port. (not assign DMX addresses).
I believe that the PDS150e will only power three Color Blasts (50 watts each). (one on each of the three output groups). If someone has tried to power more than that you may have some blown fuses.
I don't know anything about your "Elation" board but before you buy a USB Pro, try setting all 512 channels to 50%. That should light any connected fixture no matter what the current address is. You can then step through all 512 channels until you see the fixture light (probably red, green then blue). You may find that you can use the current addresses if they don't conflict with existing dimmers.
To change DMX addresses using the Quick Play pro software, you will select "Fixture Configuration" and assign DMX addresses to each fixture. (You need the serial number of each fixture)
You do not need the Enttec USB Pro once you have addressed the fixtures.
I believe that the PDS150e will only power three Color Blasts (50 watts each). (one on each of the three output groups). If someone has tried to power more than that you may have some blown fuses.
I don't know anything about your "Elation" board but before you buy a USB Pro, try setting all 512 channels to 50%. That should light any connected fixture no matter what the current address is. You can then step through all 512 channels until you see the fixture light (probably red, green then blue). You may find that you can use the current addresses if they don't conflict with existing dimmers.
To change DMX addresses using the Quick Play pro software, you will select "Fixture Configuration" and assign DMX addresses to each fixture. (You need the serial number of each fixture)
You do not need the Enttec USB Pro once you have addressed the fixtures.
This info about discontinued CK products might help.
https://www.colorkinetics.com/global/products/rgb/colorblast12
https://www.colorkinetics.com/global/products/rgb/colorblast12
Gobokat
Active Member
As others have suggested, getting the City Theatrical power supplies for these units will make your experience so much more enjoyable - in addition to what others have mentioned, the City Thea. gear also have stand alone functions available (static and dynamic color fx) when you just need a little quick color.
That aside, and to confirm what others have said, the CK PDS units only support 3 CB "heads" - you cannot host more than 3 CB12s per 150w power supply. The power supplies are essentially "dumb" circuit boards - all fixture addressing resides independently in each CB12 (for comparison, the City Thea. power supplies just set each CB12 unit to DMX1 and internally control them by power supply port.)
If you have the CK power supply connected via actual ethernet, all the basic addressing rules apply for the power supply - it must be on the same network/netmask as your computer running the QuickPlay software and then you can "discover" the serial numbers (i.e. MAC addresses) of the connected CB's. Then drag/drop the fixture address block (moves in groups of 3) to an open DMX512 address range and send the program information to the heads. Power cycle and verify function by controlling the fixtures (all from within QuickPlay.)
As you said, they are great for quick color washes - just remember that they were originally made for architectural installations so we just need to deal with the extra steps in getting these units addressed. Oh - and once addressed, be sure to add a tape label to each unit with the DMX range as there is no way to determine addresses "in the field" without hooking the unit back to the QuickPlay host.
That aside, and to confirm what others have said, the CK PDS units only support 3 CB "heads" - you cannot host more than 3 CB12s per 150w power supply. The power supplies are essentially "dumb" circuit boards - all fixture addressing resides independently in each CB12 (for comparison, the City Thea. power supplies just set each CB12 unit to DMX1 and internally control them by power supply port.)
If you have the CK power supply connected via actual ethernet, all the basic addressing rules apply for the power supply - it must be on the same network/netmask as your computer running the QuickPlay software and then you can "discover" the serial numbers (i.e. MAC addresses) of the connected CB's. Then drag/drop the fixture address block (moves in groups of 3) to an open DMX512 address range and send the program information to the heads. Power cycle and verify function by controlling the fixtures (all from within QuickPlay.)
As you said, they are great for quick color washes - just remember that they were originally made for architectural installations so we just need to deal with the extra steps in getting these units addressed. Oh - and once addressed, be sure to add a tape label to each unit with the DMX range as there is no way to determine addresses "in the field" without hooking the unit back to the QuickPlay host.
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