Strand Palette RFU on other PDA?

[MPsx]

howdy y'all!

at my school we have a palette Vl and we have tried the RFUs for iphone that run off web server stuff and it worked ok but we wanted to try the offical strand PDA app RFU. I have a dell AXIM and have been wanting to try it out for the light board. Im already going to start using it for the Yamaha M7CL we have by VNC through a mac to it just because i feel like it would be easier to use a pen on the fine sliders versus trying to use my S3 or carrying my macbook around. I just thought it would be awesome to be able to control the light console as well. How do you guys think the RFU for the PDA is? and do you know where i could get a download for it?

 

[gafftaper]

I talked to a Strand guy about this very question about 5 years ago when the palette line came out. I was lucky enough to have the official Symbol RFU and it worked fantastic! You could record subs, run cues, almost every standard function could be done from the PDA. At the time I had a second PDA and wanted to install it on there. I was told that it was not something you could install yourself and downloads were not available. I had an issue with my PDA and had to send it back to the factory to have my software upgraded for me, they did not allow the software out for home upgrades. Things may have changed in the last few years but that's how it was last I heard.

There is a sort of homebrew version of palette software which runs as a web app. I believe it's created by an Australian who is not officially connected with Strand. It's definitely not as full featured as the official Symbol PDA version, but I hear it's pretty good. Check the www.strand-dev.com forums for more information (especially the open source forum). Here's a link to check out.

Don't forget the Palette Offline software. It works fantastic on a laptop.

 

[MPsx]

I dont think it has changed. I've google for a long time and couldnt even find any leaked software for download... yeah i've seen some of the stuff on strand-dev there is some cool stuff i think ill try it out. My light guy (im the sound guy but do everything) wants to get a tablet pc running xp or something and we'll probably put the OLE on it. It should work pretty sweet. and acutally our school is giving all of the students a laptop so i might see if i can convence them to let us network the light board and install some software on the laptops. then we could control the palette and our yamaha from any where in the school! would be pretty nifty to program shows during class

 

[gafftaper]

Yeah at my old gig I could run a show from the cat walks, the house, or my office with my lap top... but I would have never done it, and as cool as it sounds you shouldn't either. Why? Because it's not 100% reliable. One of the most important things for young technicians to learn is that our #2 job is to make things as reliable as possible (#1 is safety of course). What happens if the laptop crashes? What happens if there is interference of some sort and the wifi network goes crazy? Running lights and sound from a laptop or other remote wireless device is really cool. It feels really amazing to figure out all the software and to have that much power in your portable hands. But, remember it's only a tool for setting up and teching a show. No professional in his right mind would ever trust a wireless network to run a show if he/she can avoid it. So go nuts exploring the software options. Use the technology to make rehearsal, setup, and testing easier. But when it's time to run the show, go back to the desk where you belong, just like all the pros do.

 

[MPsx]

we know its not reliable. although the ipad app for the m7cl is pretty reliable havnt had problems with it yet. But we dont run shows from these devices, occasionly during concerts i will take the ipad down stairs and adjust stuff just because the sound in the mezzanine sounds way different from the audience. but with lights hes in front of the console all the time during the show. we use remote stuff for being able to focus lights and do stuff like that without needing a guy at the board. especially since a lot of the time its just me doing setups or adjustments so having mobile devices is really nice.