Hello, I am a volunteer with a non-profit in Argentina as LD, ME, programmer and other roles. I am working with ETC Nomad and a set of low and mid-range fixtures. We have a touring children's show which runs with a playback track. In the past we have toured with small analog American DJ style consoles with which we would punt the shows. Recently we took advantage of my status as a student to purchase Nomad, and have been making a transition using the computer control with more established and consistent show files.
I am looking to purchase new hardware to run the Nomad and am looking for recommendations as far as system specs, monitors (are there and favorite touch monitors?), or other accessories that others have found useful for programming and show control. I am working with a limited budget so prior to making a decision I would like to get feedback from others that have experience with these things.
Thank you!
 
Been there - done that (touring children's show, that is) many years ago.

My advice for Nomad depends on how many separate universes of output you need. I have a system with Nomad on a micro PC, ETC programming wing, and multiple gateways that I use for corporate gigs (up to 12 universes). It fits nicely into a couple of hard cases, but is time consuming to set up. If you are using just one ETC gadget for output, I would go with an all-in-one (built in touchscreen and computer) or a laptop.

As far as specs, any newer PC or Mac will run Nomad fine, unless you are wanting to use the new features of upcoming version 3.0 (the Augment3d 3D programming environment).

One other word of advice - by the time I finished buying all of the different parts of my system, I could have spent the same amount of money on a new Ion Xe console. After a certain point, it just makes sense to go for a console, especially if you are touring and unpacking it every day.

-Todd
 
Thank you for your advice Todd. I would love to invest in a console but unfortunately we just don't have the budget. I don't have the network or fixtures to require more than the two universes I can run out of the gadget I have right now. As we do expand I would hope to upgrade to a physical board. I learned on an ION so the NOMAD was a good compromise, and as a student ETC offers it at half price, leaving me a little bit more room in the budget to set up the rest of my table. I have been looking into an AIO with a touchscreen as it seemed to be the most practical thing.
 
If you go AIO be sure to get a physical keyboard. Without a consoles dedicated buttons you will benefit from easy keyboard shortcuts. A screen keyboard just takes up more space.

I'd be inclined to small desktop or laptop and get a very big (2nd) monitor. If big enough 4K might be useful. With Nomad screen control you can show everything on one screen but you quickly run out of space and pixels. Consider going with a vertical screen (portrait mode) to make it easier to see around. Recall that touring will put you in many viewing positions. I haven't heard of anyone running only a large monitor flat, as a desk surface, but I can imagine it's workable.
 

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