ETC express 48/96 board issue...lights come on when no sliders are up.

[pamssmith]

Hi,

I'm programming on an ETC express 48/96 board this week (not something I use all the time) and I'm having one consistent problem. Three lights come on when I turn the board on, despite no sliders being up (except the master). When I capture the three lights and set them to zero, I lose control of them in the submasters and channel sliders. Until I hit release, that is, at which point they pop right back to whatever the master is set to (normally 100%). I've tried everything I can think of, but being out-of-practice with this board is not helping. Any assistance will be gratefully accepted.

Thanks,
Pam

 

[Gretsch]

I would try to go to your setup page and clear the show and the cues and patch...unless you have programmed a significant amount of your show already...

T

 

[gafftaper]

Yeah I would go in and clear everything and reset the patch, it could be a lot of things. So a full reset would be easiest.

If you already have a lot programmed try looking around the patch page to see if those dimmers are patched in a weird way.

 

[Clifford]

If you don't want to clear a whole show, it's troubleshooting time! Although I will say that I wouldn't program on a board that had a problem until I fixed it. Do the channels appear at a level in Stage? If not, have you looked at parked channels and dimmers? I've never left channels parked and turned off the board, so I don't know if they clear when the memory clears, but it's what I would check first. In Stage, go to Park [Softkey6]. If there's something there, select the channels or dimmers and hit [Rel] (Release). If there aren't any dimmers or channels that are parked, it's something else.

 

[soundlight]

I can't remember if the Express has Park or not, but that could be an issue as well.

 

[Amiers]

I would start from the circuit that its plugged into trace that to the dimmer (if you have it plugged into a dimmer that is a test dimmer and is always on it could be that) from the dimmer into your board.

Like previously said check your park page for the dimmers and channels that are parked. If all else fails I wouldnt recommend clearing your whole show thats just silly I would just unplug the 3 fixtures and relocate to a dimmer/circuit that isnt giving you this problem.

 

[pamssmith]

Update: They are not parked. I went back and checked that. - PS

 

[michaelburgoyne]

I would clear both faders to make sure that your problem channels aren't stuck on in a cue. Then I would check to make sure they're not profiled as "always on" in patch. Finally you could look for an inhibitive submaster problem. If the grand master controls these fixtures they're not parked and it's probably not an issue with the dimmers.

 

[gafftaper]

Is there another source of DMX that could be turning them on? A small board at the stage manager's panel for example or some wall sliders/switches that can also turn on stage lights. In my old school theater there was a set of sliders in the house and backstage that could turn on four specific circuits at anytime and even override the board.

 

[pamssmith]

I've cleared all the cues and that's not it either. I'm looking into the "always on" patch. I've looked at the dimmer patch and it all looked consistent, but I'm going to double check just to be sure. - PS

 

[pamssmith]

There are not special profiles assigned to the dimmers of the problem channels. - PS

 

[pamssmith]

Also I've checked all the remote light controls in the room and set them all to off. Still no change. - PS

 

[gafftaper]

Are they off when the board is turned off. Then you turn on the board and they fire up?

Try going to the patch and removing those dimmers from where they should be in the patch and see what happens. Is there a copy of them somewhere else in the patch you don't know about? Did you reset 1 to 1?

 

[pamssmith]

It was a sub issue. Thank God, I thought I might go nuts. Thank you all for your help it was very much appreciated.

Blessings,
Pam

 

[Lightingguy32]

Any chance that you have a channel parked at a level or you have a panic system on? The park function is S6 on the stage view page and then select a channel number and hit release.

 

[MSLD]

Are you running DMX or Ethernet? It could be a bad DMX line.

 

[Clifford]

Lightingguy32 and MSLD, this issue has been resolved by the original poster. Thank you for your input, keep posting!

-Clifford

 

[Grog12]

I can't remember if the Express has Park or not, but that could be an issue as well.

Park isn't affected by the GM....or else it wouldn't be parked. And yes the Express has a park

 

[nick2401]

I've never left channels parked and turned off the board, so I don't know if they clear when the memory clears,

The parked cue do not rest if you turn off the board. At my college we share our dimmers with the TV studio so our board is constantly parked so we don't turn on their lights. Sounds like either a park or dimmer issue.