DMX Controller recommendations

[sheridan]

I am an A/V technician, working mostly on soundboards. However, some of my customers have started bring me lights and I'm thinking I should an inexpensive controller for testing. I have no idea what to get, I see several models labeled for LED lights, but these I have in my shop are NOT LEDs. And some of them have internal color and gobo discs.

So if someone can point me in the right direction, I would appreciate it. Remember that I am not a DJ or any other kind of operator. I just repair them, so I'm not looking to spend a lot and I don't need a lot of channels.

Thanks for looking.

 

[mstaylor]

It depends on what type of lights they are bringing you. If it is covnetionals you don't need a board at all, just and adapter to connect it to 120v. If they are movers or LEDs then you need something that can output DMX, plus adapters to get 120/208v accordingly. If it the latter, look at something inexpensive like Lightronics.

 

[sheridan]

Thanks. Two of the lights in my shop right now are Chauvet Spot 250 units. While I can just power it up and let it run, as you say, I thought I should be able to test the control inputs. Or is that not necessary?

It depends on what type of lights they are bringing you. If it is covnetionals you don't need a board at all, just and adapter to connect it to 120v. If they are movers or LEDs then you need something that can output DMX, plus adapters to get 120/208v accordingly. If it the latter, look at something inexpensive like Lightronics.

 

[mstaylor]

It should have stand alone test modes but it is always good to test it with a controler. Sometimes that is the complaint itself, it works fine in stand alone but doesn't respond to the board. Sometimes that is a board setting, bad cable and no termination. Sometimes it is a matter of not having the mover set correctly, very common with lights with dip switches. The thing to remember is everyone sets up a little different so you need to manual to set them correctly.
Long story short, yes a small DMX board would be good. On the header ads here on CB there is a pocket board. I haven't used it so I am not sure it would do what you want, I will leave that to somebody that has used it.
Look at the Lightronics website or call Light Action in Wilmington and see if they have suggestions. There some PC based options but I haven't used them either, others here have.

 

[sheridan]

Good info, thanks for your input.

It should have stand alone test modes but it is always good to test it with a controler. Sometimes that is the complaint itself, it works fine in stand alone but doesn't respond to the board. Sometimes that is a board setting, bad cable and no termination. Sometimes it is a matter of not having the mover set correctly, very common with lights with dip switches. The thing to remember is everyone sets up a little different so you need to manual to set them correctly.
Long story short, yes a small DMX board would be good. On the header ads here on CB there is a pocket board. I haven't used it so I am not sure it would do what you want, I will leave that to somebody that has used it.
Look at the Lightronics website or call Light Action in Wilmington and see if they have suggestions. There some PC based options but I haven't used them either, others here have.

 

[avery]

Good info, thanks for your input.

There are some smaller controllers that are very very cheap. But if you get any of the higher end fixtures you likely won't be able to test all attributes as the cheap controller won't have enough channels.

If you're getting a lot of DMX lights into your shop, then your best bet in my opinion would be to go with a PC based DMX controller. They are basically just USB adapters that plug into your PC and have a DMX output on the other end. From freely available software you can test any DMX attribute that an intelligent light will have. Lighting controllers (specially the higher end models) are really just computers with fancy controls that make them easier to use in the field. You don't need to worry about that really.

You can get decent DMX adapters that work well with free/open source software and will allow you to do everything you need for under $200.

You're likely to get a lot of people discouraging the use of software on forums like this, but that's because a lot of these people are LDs or Lighting programmers, unless your primary job is to operate the console, lighting boards aren't the best choice. In your situation I think you'd be best off with software.

If interested just pm me and I can point you to the adapters and software.

 

[Lotos]

This seems like the PERFECT use for Chamsys MagicDMX Basic...
For £10 inc. P&P from the UK (About $16 US) you can have a fully functional testbed.
(You will need a laptop or a PC in the shop.)

It is limited to 5 hours continuous use...
From the website:
MagicDMX Basic is time limited to 5 hours continuous usage. After this time it is necessary to replug the device and to restart the MagicQ software

But seriously... If this is just being used to patch and test a moving light... You're not going to want to run it long... At the very most 2 or so hours for a "fails after x hours" test.

ChamSys :: MagicDMX

 

[dramatech]

I have several small lighting boards, that I have purchased off of ebay, that would do the job very nicely. I have also several of the software programs using dongles. The reason I have several boards, is that I work as a Master electrician, and sometime Lighting designer at a community theatre. We have three larger theatre control boards, but our managing director loves to make points by loaning out equipment to the community and to other community theatres in the area. For that reason, I watch for deals on ebay, that no one is bidding on. I loan out the smaller boards in order to keep the better ones from being damaged by borrowers. I also build and repair a number of DMX controlled items. I therefore keep one small board at both my home and the theatre for testing these items.
I personally don't like the software/dongle systems for testing. They can be a little confusing. I also would suggest that you want a board with at least 24 channels and can patch any of the 512 DMX channels into any of the 24 control channels. The patch is very important so that you can easily test DMX items, without having to reset their addresses. I use a Lightronics TL5024 w/DMX and a Lightronics TL3256 at the theatre depending on which one is not out on loan. (both of these boards have been damaged in the past by borrowers, but they are made of heavy steel and Lightronics have always been super at getting me the parts.) At home I use a Behringer LC2412. This board is a nightmare to program for a show or for busking, but it has a great patch and is pretty well built. I bought mine thinking that we would use it for shows, but everybody who used it, hated it. I use it strictly for testing, and it is great for that. The main reason I mention it, is that it is always on ebay, and sometimes it is available for not much money. If you go that route, don't pay more than $120.
These are just some thoughts that have worked for me. I am sure there are many others on CB who have had other experiences in different evironments.

Tom Johnson
Florida's Most Honored Community Theatre

 

[BillESC]

Chauvet's Obey 40 should be all you require. 16 DMX channels and MAPs at $ 119.99