ETC Network Help needed!

[thelightguy87]

I'm the lighting designer for a high school. They just built a new theater with an all ETC control system. They have an express 24/48 face panel with emphasis. So the console is connected via ETC Net 2.

However, my problem is, I want to use Light Factory to control their 6 studio spots and 2 cyberlights. They only have one DMX input in the booth other than the network ports. We don't know which universe it is, although I am guessing it is universe 1 because I tried to output universe 2 dimmers and I still couldn't control anything with lightfactory.

Then the auditorium manager tried outputing into the input on the console, but that didn't work either.

So my question is: Could that DMX IN port on the wall be a general input? The auditorium manager thinks that is the case, but it doesn't make sense to me that a single dmx cable would output more than one universe at a time. Please correct me about that if i am wrong. I really don't like how emphasis programs moving lights so I'm trying to find a way to control universe 2 with light factory. They don't have any available nodes to use as an input.

I loadin electrics next week and today was my first day in the theater since the show last year, so i will be trying anything else i can think of tomorrow, but any help on this matter would be helpful.

One other thing I was thinking is, Could there be a difference on the network between me patching to universe 2 and the EDMX dimmers?

-Mike

 

[millamber]

The DMX input is most likely a hardline back to the dimmers in case the network fails. I've seen that at a couple of installations before. It will only control a single universe of DMX.

If the movers are plugged into Output nodes, then the only way to control them is to either do it from Emphasis, in which case I'm sorry, or to get an input node to get your second console onto the network.

If you have an output node, you could turn it into an input node using the configuration software and a male to male DMX cable. This would allow you to get your Lightfactory console onto the network so you can control the movers.

Regarding your last question, EDMX and DMX are 2 separate things. DMX allows for 512 control channels per line, not including splitters. EDMX is a network protocol that gives you control of 65000+ control channels. What one would think of as a "universe" of DMX goes away; there is only channels.

In practice, one has to convert the EDMX signal back into DMX through the use of nodes or gateways, so that devices such as movers or consoles that only speak DMX can communicate. It works sort of like a bus; There is one giant busroute and several bus stops. You can get onto or off of the bus at any point in the route and start walking.

In that admittedly stretched metaphor, the busroute is the EDMX stream, all 65000+ channels. The bus stops are DMX nodes and the walking path is DMX. The bus might stop at EDMX Channel 4550, but once through the node the DMX start is 1.

I hope this helps.

 

[SteveB]

I'm the lighting designer for a high school. They just built a new theater with an all ETC control system. They have an express 24/48 face panel with emphasis. So the console is connected via ETC Net 2.

However, my problem is, I want to use Light Factory to control their 6 studio spots and 2 cyberlights. They only have one DMX input in the booth other than the network ports. We don't know which universe it is, although I am guessing it is universe 1 because I tried to output universe 2 dimmers and I still couldn't control anything with lightfactory.

Then the auditorium manager tried outputing into the input on the console, but that didn't work either.

So my question is: Could that DMX IN port on the wall be a general input? The auditorium manager thinks that is the case, but it doesn't make sense to me that a single dmx cable would output more than one universe at a time. Please correct me about that if i am wrong. I really don't like how emphasis programs moving lights so I'm trying to find a way to control universe 2 with light factory. They don't have any available nodes to use as an input.

I loadin electrics next week and today was my first day in the theater since the show last year, so i will be trying anything else i can think of tomorrow, but any help on this matter would be helpful.

One other thing I was thinking is, Could there be a difference on the network between me patching to universe 2 and the EDMX dimmers?


-Mike

Couple of thoughts:

1) Emphasis takes over Express, which becomes a Facepanel with all processing in the Emphasis. The DMX ports on the Express are outputs for Universes 1 & 2 only, they don't allow DMX in.

2) You state that Emphasis is connected via Net2, so let's then assume the booth DMX port is an input for a visiting console to send data to Universe 1 and the in-house dimmers. I would guess that the booth DMX port is connected to the dimmer(s) via the direct DMX Port B connections in the dimmer rack(s) - how many dimmers BTW ?. Under this scenario, there is no Universe 2 DMX system installed.

3) You should be able to have Light Factory send a piled-on DMX signal to the house dims via the booth DMX port and you should see a response. If not, then something in the connection of the booth DMX is not what we assume. What happens if you power down Express/Emphasis so they're not sending null data ? (with resulting Priority of EDMX over direct DMX issues in the rack CEM+)

4) You don't tell us how you are getting DMX to the SS's and Cybers. Is there a DMX output port on stage somewhere ?. If so, where does the DMX get generated from ? - I.E. is it a female output port and what's at the "other end" ?.

In theory, and if you have a DMX output somewhere on stage to get data to the ML's (moving lights), you should be able to have Light Factory in pile on mode sending DMX on the single universe. Then assign all the ML's to addresses above the house addresses. The units you are using I believe use about 24 addresses each, for about 192 total, which allows for 320 house addresses. Note that I have seen Emphasis stomp all over the entire EDMX stream however, so maybe go in to Express setup and make the highest dimmer whatever the last actual dimmer is in the system.

 

[g15]

Is the DMX In in the booth part of a Net2 to DMX node?

 

[Malabaristo]

It sounds like Chris's thought is likely what's going on: the DMX input in the booth just connects to the dimmer racks and doesn't do anything on the network at all.

If I'm understanding the system correctly, you've got an Emphasis system connected to the network, along with a bunch of Net2 DMX nodes scattered around to output data to your DMX devices. The Dimmer racks (assuming they're SENSOR+) will also be receiving DMX control from the Emphasis system over the network.

In order to add another console for moving light control, you'll need to either get an input node, or configure one of your existing nodes to be an input as Chris described.

Your best bet is to call ETC's phone support at 800-688-4116. They'll have drawings of your system on file, so if you tell them you're working at Lemont High School they should be able to look them up and see how everything was installed. They'll also be able to walk you through the configuration changes you'll need to make to the nodes.