Star Drop Patch

[ebwsmith]

So I'm currently MEing a show and we've rented a star drop with two controllers, the ShowLED lc025608dr.

I downloaded the instruction manual and set the parameters accordingly so that we could control the star drop via DMX. We know that it definitely works, but it won't be controlled by DMX for some reason (I'm assuming that I patched it wrong.) I simply set the DMX address and patched it as one would any other DMX device on an Ion. I chose Mode 9 (see below) and assumed that the type of fixture for the patch was the Classic M9. Any suggestions?

 

[Footer]

This thing rented from Rose Brand? Mrs. Footer rented one of those a few years ago for one of the dance companys she designs for. I remember it being a bit of a pain to get going because of all the random stuff in the DMX profile. I think we just ran it in mode 8 and patched all of those dmx slots into one channel. We were not after all the effects, so it worked for us. I remember those automated profiles being somewhat crappy.

 

[derekleffew]

... I simply set the DMX address and patched it as one would any other DMX device on an Ion. I chose Mode 9 (see below) and assumed that the type of fixture for the patch was the Classic M9. Any suggestions? ...

So the Ion contains a fixture personality profile for the ShowLED curtain, but isn't readily obvious which mode the profile is for? Give ETC a call at 1.800.688.4116 and ask. Failing that, can you tell how many [-]channels[/-] outputs the console uses for each "fixture"? I would have guessed the profile is written for either Mode8 or Mode10 rather than Mode9. If there's only one profile, I assume it's for either the simplest, or the most complex mode, but that may be just my experience.

It can be quite frustrating matching the mode to a personality when it's not readily apparent. I feel your pain; ETC Service should share it with you also. (24/7. After hours for show critical situations (such as "show is tonight and you can't get your expensive rental item working"), leave a message and someone will call you back within 15 minutes. 1.800.688.4116.
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[lghtingguy]

I use those things quite a bit. Mode 8 is the way to go. The macro effects in them aren't worth using.

 

[ebwsmith]

This thing rented from Rose Brand? Mrs. Footer rented one of those a few years ago for one of the dance companys she designs for. I remember it being a bit of a pain to get going because of all the random stuff in the DMX profile. I think we just ran it in mode 8 and patched all of those dmx slots into one channel. We were not after all the effects, so it worked for us. I remember those automated profiles being somewhat crappy.

Thank you all for your suggestions! We wound up running it in mode 8 and individually programming intensity levels.

 

[firewater88]

I have two panels and two controllers in house here. I usually run them in mode 8, which requires 16ch to operate each section individually. To use the built in effects (not the best, but effective for some uses) controller 1 is set in mode 10; all the others are set in mode 1. This configuration requires minimum 5 DMX channels. I believe it then becomes the first 5 channels after the start DMX of unit 1. The problem is that you have to have 3 of the the 5 parameters up with a value to get anything out of the panels. The manual gives you a value of 0 to 255, so I had to convert that to a % of 100. Once I got that figured out, I was able to get the built in effects to work. Give yourself some time to play with it, it can be a bit frustrating. I run Emphasis (yeah, I know) and there is no personality for it. Not sure if you need the personality while using the built in effects, or just straight DMX channels.
Mode 8 is probably the best option for most...