Control/Dimming DMX Splitter perhaps

[Paul Livesey]

Hello, I am a new member my main business is in PA work, but I do put a small amount of DMX lighting in to some events as required.
Anyway, the lighting is becoming more of a feature of my work so I have bought up some gear:

6 bars of 6 PAR64 1Kw with Socapex connectors.
Plenty of Socapex cables
3 x 12 Ch Licht Technik Dimming Racks
Bassic Behringer lighting Desk (For now!, I'll get an Avolites one soon))
All flight casing, connectors and filters...

Now, I'm used to setting up moving heads and other DMX fixtures on one chain of cables, but my Licht Technik D212B dimmers don't seem to have an option to set their DMX address?

Do I need a DMX Splitter?

Or do I need something else?

 

[techieman33]

I'm not familiar with that brand of dimmer, but there has to be a way to address them. Even if for some totally bizarre reason you couldn't an opto-splitter wouldn't help, all it does is take one input and give you multiple identical outputs. I can't seem to find any real info for them online, or if it's there it's not in english. Posting some detailed pictures might help us figure out how to address them. Or hopefully someone familiar with them will come along and know how. You could also contact the manufacturer and ask them.

 

[Paul Livesey]

Right, I think that I understand what a splitter does now, I guess it's in the title, but I wondered if the splitters where in any way "intelligent" and perhaps split say a 512DMX channel signal into parts e.g. 0-127 on the first DMX Out, 128-255 on the next and so on. But from what you say, they are what they say on the tin.

I can only find manuals in German, so that's a problem for me!

I'll take some hi-res photographs of the front and back panels a little later and post them - hopefully someone else can see something I can't.

They appear to be a good solid dimmer rack, are in great condition and fully tested when I bought them.

 

[Paul Livesey]

 

[Paul Livesey]

Problem solved, I think.
On the front panel, there are three small grey plastic buttons, at least I thought they were buttons!
They are in fact very small rotary switches, I had to use a magnifying glass to see, each has positions numbered 0-9.

I can't test this out in my workshop because I do't have a 3 phase supply!

Will have to set it all up in a venue to test - bugger!

 

[JWigPVB]

Problem solved, I think.
On the front panel, there are three small grey plastic buttons, at least I thought they were buttons!
They are in fact very small rotary switches, I had to use a magnifying glass to see, each has positions numbered 0-9.

I can't test this out in my workshop because I do't have a 3 phase supply!

Will have to set it all up in a venue to test - bugger!

Wybron Forerunner Scrollers use similar grey dials to set the address. I think you're on your way!

 

[derekleffew]

Yup, you've found it. Set the top dimmer pack to 001, the middle to 013, the bottom to 025. The next DMX device (first moving light) would be 037.

...6 bars of 6 PAR64 1Kw with Socapex connectors.
Plenty of Socapex cables
3 x 12 Ch Licht Technik Dimming Racks [with Harting outputs]

Or do I need something else?

Stating the obvious here, and perhaps you just forgot to list them, but you'll also need six Harting male to Socapex female adapters. http://www.controlbooth.com/threads/what-type-of-connectors-are-these.22034

 

[Amiers]

Im glad you figured it out, my question is what are the white looking connectors to the right on the back picture. I can see DMX and Analog but what cant figure out the far right.

 

[JD]

Im glad you figured it out, my question is what are the white looking connectors to the right on the back picture. I can see DMX and Analog but what cant figure out the far right.

Are you referring to the output connectors? They look like Wieland connectors. See a ton of them in the carnival industry. Pretty nice, but never really caught on it the states. Soca is easier to handle.

 

[Paul Livesey]

Thanks for the advice everyone.

I have ordered the Harting 16 pin plugs for the back of the dimmers, and I already have the Socapex sockets.

I'm going to put 6 socapex sockets on a 19" 2U panel on the back of the flight case and then run those to the Harting connectors.

Anyone know where the best place to buy 5 core mains cable for the 32A/3 tails on the dimmers, I want to make up 3 that are 10m long.

 

[Paul Livesey]

Just for info, the company that I bought these from had 76 for sale at a really good price too.

I have seen them on the web at £425 but I got them at £100 each - couldn't believe my luck! they must have plenty left if anyone is interested.

 

[de27192]

I can't test this out in my workshop because I do't have a 3 phase supply!

Will have to set it all up in a venue to test - bugger!

Not necessarily true, a lot of 3 phase dimmer packs will work on 1 phase, but only give you 1/3 of the outputs. (A 12 channel dimmer will probably have 4ch on L1, 4ch on L2, 4ch on L3).

The control stuff will be on one of the three phases, easiest way to find out which one is to boot the dimmer in each of the 3 phases whilst sending control data from your desk and some lights plugged into the outputs. When the PARs illuminate, you're clearly powering the control side.

Running dimmers in a single phase like this is almost always fine, simple analogue ones like yours will almost definitely be in the "OK" camp. It's a method used often by corporate event companies for powering profiles etc in small event rooms that do not have 3P power.

 

[Paul Livesey]

Thanks for that, that might be useful from time to time, I will make up some power cables to deal with that.

All the venues that I currently work at have 3 phase mains supplies s that will be OK, but as you suggest, for the odd small venue, some adapted power tails will be useful on one phase.

Since I posted, I have ordered a 3 phase 8.5Kw petrol generator for my workshop which will be enough to test the dimmers and cabling with one bar of PAR64s at a time.