Our facility (built in 1998) was not wired for DMX distribution, other than from the console to the dimmer racks. I looked at running traditional cable, Ethernet and some of the proprietary Ethernet (Pathport, ETCNet) distribution schemes, but recently came across the Wireless Solutions http://www.wirelessdmx.com/ line of wireless DMX transmitters & receivers. It is much less expensive than most of the other equipment I've seen. It uses GSM cell phone technology instead of the WiFi technology some other companies use, and is built into rugged, metal cases. So far it rocks! I bought a package of one transmitter (transmits a full 512 channel DMX universe) and four receivers. Setup is a breeze; push one button on the transmiiter and all the receivers sync to that transmitter. It has battery backup, so even if you remove power, it retains the sync when you power it back up. I've been able to get full signal strength from one end of the building to the other! Check out the new Generation 3 series for some added features not available in he S1/T1/R512 models. Although Generation 3 is shown on the home page, they apparently have not updated the website Products or Downloads pages to incorporate the Gen3 line. Wireless Solutions claims their systems can support up to 16 DMX universes. TMB is the US distributor.
If anyone else is using wireless DMX, please share your experience.
If anyone else is using wireless DMX, please share your experience.