Control/Dimming Questions About ETC AAS, DAS

P

polandfun

Member
So my high school has a old AAS system from etc which was put on a possibly older dimmer rack (Analog Address System - Electronic Theatre Controls). the cards are breaking left and right, but that is a different issue.

Recently we were using the dmx input and the bypass function on it to control it through an entec usb pro. this works flawlessly, but one day i hook it up and the system just decides to not listen to dmx anymore, but the anolog control station still works. we are getting an oscilliscope on Thursday and i wanted to know is it safe to hook up to the dmx output on the dongle (i dont want to short anything), in order to see if the dongle broke or did the board break. did anyone ever even hear of dmx breaking on the board, or is it most likely the dongle. (i tested the dmx cord with a ohm-meter and a paper clip, and there is continuity in all the leads, although was surprised to find the input and output crossed.

with the osciliscope should i ground it on the ground in cable or the ground on board in the ASS, or the DATA - pin?

my other question is; is it possible to buy an anolog 8 channel board for this system, or does it just not exist anymore. we could really use the board to set up scenes and just 'take control' and have it fade to that scene
 
Before you go trying to scope the DMX from the dongle, do you have any other DMX controlled devices that you could just plug in directly to test? Or take you computer and dongle down to your local shop or borrow/rent/buy a DMX tester to check the output. This will give you much more useful information compared to a scope.

I happen to be working on a show with one of ETC's architectural reps as the LD so I mentioned your problem to him. He says that there are very few people left at the factory who know about the AAS system, so if yours is dead and dying, you should just upgrade to Paradigm or Unison.


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thank you for your reply, and i figured its a dying breed, because the last inspection sticker i found inside the box dates back to '97, its been serving on cruise faithfully ever since. with the dmx working it was pretty useful since you could plug in a digital board and address the dimmer cards separately from the analog side. i guess if we can't get it to work, we will soldier down with using 8 sliders until it is going to be a necessity.

over the weekend we had a separate entity to come and do lights with dmx fixtures, but luck not being on my side they were using a 3-pin dmx system, whilst i was stuck with a 5 pin box. i might stop by a lighting store and see if they will lend me 5 minutes like you said...

once again thank you for your input
 
icewolf08 said:
... He says that there are very few people left at the factory who know about the AAS system...
Click to expand...

Hey now, we're not all dead yet. ;)

As you have deduced from your post, by using the bypass mode, the AAS is not in control of your lights so troubleshooting your USB dongle device is the best place to start. I agree that seeing if you can find a DMX test tool that you can borrow for a few minutes is going to be much easier that breaking down the waveform of DMX. If you are having troubles with the output of DMX from the AAS system, please feel free to give us a call at 800-688-4116 to help troubleshoot your system.

AAS stations are not generally available for sale (though your local dealer might just have one or two on a shelf somewhere) but can still be repaired. If you have a station that you believe is not working properly, I would recommend using the monitor feature described in the User Manual that is linked on the wiki page you included in your original post.

While I certainly wouldn't stop you from purchasing a Paradigm system to replace your Analog Address System, it is often more cost effective to troubleshoot the existing system. We still support all of the products we have ever made to the best of our abilities and will continue to do so long into the future.
 
Questions about this black lighting box onstage

I'm a student technician at a junior high, and we have this black box on our stage that we can't seem to identify. (See attached picture) There isn't any identification or model number on it, aside from the ETC logo. Our school has an ETC 24/48 Express board, if that's helpful in identifying it. We want to repatch it and reconfigure the presets on it, but we don't have a manual or anything for it. There wasn't anything in the Express manual about it, and with no identification on it we have no idea what to search for online. If anyone knows what it is or could help answer these questions about it, that'd be fantastic!


- What is it actually called?
- Where could we find a manual/instructions for it?
- Whenever it's turned on, it overrides the board in our technical booth, which causes us to freak out in the booth when someone onstage bumps it. Is there some way to have the main board take priority over this box on the stage?


Thanks again!

P03-19-12_14-57.jpg
 
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