Newbie in need of help!

Hey everybody,

I am new to this forum, and quite frankly, new to dmx lighting in general. I am taking up the spot at my high school and taking care of their lights. I have a good amount of experience with stage equipment, and own a fair amount as well. I never really ventured into led cans much, but it appears that it will be the best option for me, and the crew. I know what I want to purchase for myself when it comes to the lights, but am stuck when it comes to controlling them. Yesterday, I borrowed some lights from a friends that's in the buisness, and toyed around with the console. I don't want anything that bulky again. I would love to have everything that was on that console, but on my laptop, so nothing more than dimmers. I downloaded freestyler, showxpress, and some others, and was in over my head. What can I download to be able to operate around 5-10 channels (10-15 lights- some will be synced) and have different patters such as multi color strobe, slow smooth strobe, individual colors, etc. ALL on different dimmers?

Sorry for my lack of technical terms. I am sticking with the basics, just in case. ;)

Thanks for the time,
Tim
 
"all on different dimmers" what do you mean? Submasters? Physical sliders?

I've heard the name Chamsys MagicQ mentioned lots in these situations (about to look into it myself) and it might be more flexible.
 
So just so I understand this, you are in charge of your HSs lighting situation and are buying stuff for yourself? If you have LED cans, you will want to get a console or virtual console that you can program effects, macros, etc onto. Running LEDs with physical submasters is doable, but running them on dimmers is a poor idea. If you are matching lights up to music, you will need a console capable of running timecode or something like it.
 
So just so I understand this, you are in charge of your HSs lighting situation and are buying stuff for yourself? If you have LED cans, you will want to get a console or virtual console that you can program effects, macros, etc onto. Running LEDs with physical submasters is doable, but running them on dimmers is a poor idea. If you are matching lights up to music, you will need a console capable of running timecode or something like it.
I have semi- decided on something similair to a chauvet obey 10. I realized that pc controlling is overkill for a couple cans. My new question is what are all the dimmers for? I realize 3 will be rgb, but are the rest some preset effects? Sorry for the sudden change in plans, Tim
 
That looks fine assuming you luck out and get one that's easy enough to use. If it doesn't work or you can't figure it out, good luck finding the manufacturer for support, or even being able to understand the manual.

Also, you'll need to make sure you can use your intelligent LED fixtures with what you get. While they'll always "work" with each other, a little research can help tremendously with ease of use. For instance, make sure your LED fixtures have a DMX mode where they only have R, G and B channels (and maybe "master"), so you don't have to worry about accidentally turning on the "Strobe" channel, and it can save addresses to make room for more fixtures, etc.
 
As always, rent before you buy. Find something you like a lot and then and only then buy anything.

Recommendation: Chamsys MagicQ DMX Dongle of the lower level is only 30 dollars, and can run lighting from a PC just as well if not better than anything else. Remember, it's 3-pin so the dimmers will have to be as well. If you aren't planning on using dimmers outside of the ones inside the LEDs, this will work well.

If you need to work 5 pin dimmers, they have a more expensive option that is this.

As for it being above your head, you're out of luck. The best way to learn these things is playing around on a full size console until you have a basic understanding of everything, and from their moving onto PC editors. If this isn't an option, you will probably need to spend a large amount of time with a manual, a PC offline editor, and a 2 liter of mountain dew. Good luck.
 
...Remember, it's 3-pin so the dimmers will have to be as well. ...
Nothing that a $5 to $30 adapter, 3-5 can't solve. ;)

...Yesterday, I borrowed some lights from a friends that's in the business, and toyed around with the console. ...
What make and model console did you borrow?

You'll find a world of difference between "DJ-consoles" and "show consoles", in both price and programmability.
 
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My friend is the lighting and sound director at this big stage in Chicago. He gave me a very nice console (I don't know the make or model). I was doing a small show, and had four led par cans, and 2 Martin atomic300dmx strobes running. It worked out well, but I had no idea how he was programming it. That's beside the point though. I mentioned this because I thought all consoles were this bulky and heavy, and thought I would need to go with a software. After finding consoles like the Chauvet, I realize that there is no need for me to have any PC controlled lighting for my own use.

Apparently, my school uses a software called Sunlite Stand-alone. I haven't had the time to check it out as of yet, but will be doing so shortly.

Thanks for the replies,
Tim

Also, just out of curiosity, will the Enttec Open usb dmx interface for $60 work with a simple porgram like sunlite?
 
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...Also, just out of curiosity, will the Enttec Open usb dmx interface for $60 work with a simple program like sunlite?
Sunlite does not appear to be on the list of 3rd-party products that support the Enttec DMX USB PRO here, but some listed are just as easy to use and similar to Sunlite. Most agree that it's worth it to spend the extra money to get the DMX USB PRO rather than the Open DMX USB.
 
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crazyskier537,

So, you have a couple led par cans and some strobes to control yes?
Could you please list the names of your fixtures and the amount of each you want to control?

I use an Obey 80 for some led pars and other DJ lighting sometimes.

Also what are you planning on doing with these lights?
 

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