trying to setup LEDs on Express console

[dball33]

Hi,

I'm new to lighting and using a lighting console, but I have the task of setting up LEDs on our Express console. With the user manual, I have been able to patch a LED light as a fixture, but I can't figure out how to control the RGB on it.

Threads that I've found with relevant information, but I can't seem to understand everything:
1. Programming Moving Lights on an ETC Express(ion)
2. Control/Dimming - Express 48/96 configuration for non-techs
3. Express 48/96

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.



David

 

[Scarrgo]

are you setting up as a moving fixture ?
or do you want to patch so ch 1 = Red, ch2 = green, ch 3 = blue for example?
and are the fixtures set for 3 or 4 channels ?
and how many fixtures do you have and what kind?

It can be done, we just need a little more info to help you

Sean...

 

[BDS0111]

What fixture are you using and how many?

 

[dball33]

Sorry, I forgot to mention the fixtures part.

These will be non-moving LED fixtures. I currently have the LEDs set for 3 channel operation and just need to be able to control the RGB separately on the Express, maybe using the faders? I have 10 of the Chauvet 64 PAR cans that I'd like to use.

Let me know if there's anything else you guys need to know. Thanks.


David

 

[xander]

Do not use the Fixture Patch. That is not going to give you any advantage. If you had an Expression or Impression, yeah, because those consoles have encoders, but Express, no. What I would do is assign them to faders. Patch them however you want and just assign the Red, Green, and Blue to faders, however you want. I might make the channels independent, but since you don't have a separate intensity channel for them, maybe not. Whatever works for you. The best way to think about them is to pretend they are just three different instruments gelled with red, green, and blue. That's really all they are.

-Tim

 

[starksk]

Sorry, I forgot to mention the fixtures part.

These will be non-moving LED fixtures. I currently have the LEDs set for 3 channel operation and just need to be able to control the RGB separately on the Express, maybe using the faders? I have 10 of the Chauvet 64 PAR cans that I'd like to use.

Let me know if there's anything else you guys need to know. Thanks.


David

Based on the manual of that fixture, I see that 3 channel mode is just RGB and there is not an intensity channel. Therefore, the easiest way to control each color on a fader is to forget the fact that they are LEDs for a moment and consider each color as its own dimmer. So if you set the fixture address to say 101... Red would be dimmer 101, Green would be dimmer 102, Blue would be dimmer 103. Patch them just like you would any other conventional fixture and you will be able to control those channels to mix to whatever color you wish. The trick there is to keep a "Rosetta Stone" magic sheet so you can decipher which control channels are controlling which color of which fixture.

Edit: xander beat me to the punch.

 

[xander]

 

[dball33]

So what you guys said made sense logically, but I have no idea as to how to set this up on the console. Right now my console is setup 1:1 (dimmer 1 is channel 1). My questions are:

1. I patch 3 channels (1 LED light) to one dimmer, but how do I seperate the colors?
2. So I don't use the DMX controls at all? Just dimmers?
3. Is it possible that I connect a power strip to a dimmer outlet and plug a few lights into one dimmer?

This is a side question, but the lighting technician who set up the stage, told me that I could call ETC with questions like these, and they're willing to help? Has anyone tried this? That lighting technician is attending an ETC conferencer this whole week so he's not here to help me.


David

 

[starksk]

So what you guys said made sense logically, but I have no idea as to how to set this up on the console. Right now my console is setup 1:1 (dimmer 1 is channel 1). My questions are:

1. I patch 3 channels (1 LED light) to one dimmer, but how do I seperate the colors?
2. So I don't use the DMX controls at all? Just dimmers?
3. Is it possible that I connect a power strip to a dimmer outlet and plug a few lights into one dimmer?

This is a side question, but the lighting technician who set up the stage, told me that I could call ETC with questions like these, and they're willing to help? Has anyone tried this? That lighting technician is attending an ETC conferencer this whole week so he's not here to help me.


David

David,

Answers in reverse(ish) order:

You are always able to call ETC with these type of questions. We do prefer that you call during normal business hours (8-5 Central Time, M-F) with this type of informational question and reserve the after-hours calls for lighting emergencies. Our phone number is 800-688-4116. We get several hundred calls a week like this and you have a 1 in 9 chance of speaking to me!

3: That would depend on the rating of the power strip and the tolerance of that fixture to dimmed power. There are several threads on this topic. Search for Dimmed vs. Non-Dimmed Power. My experience with most units of that type is that they prefer non-dimmed power, so stick with either a relay module or a wall outlet.

1 and 2: In Express, DMX addresses are represented as "dimmer" xx (where xx is the address number). That means that when you patch Dimmer 101 to Channel 1, when you set channel 1 to full, DMX Address 101 will turn on to full.

So you would want to set your fixture's start address to something that is out of the way of your dimming racks. For this example I will assume you have 96 dimmers. If your last dimmer number is 96, then you can address your fixture to start at 101 (I skipped some numbers to make it more logical and math easier). That means that Address 101 will be red, 102 - green, and 103 - blue.

On the console, you would patch each one of those addresses into a seperate channel. For this example let's use 1-3. So you would patch "dimmer" 101 to channel 1 to make channel fader 1 control Red on the first fixture. "dimmer" 102 to channel 2 for green and "dimmer" 103 to channel 3 for blue.

If you want to control multiple fixtures with the same three faders (like a cyc wash for example) you could either address the fixture to the same start address, or you could patch the other addresses into the same channel. An example of the latter would be Fixture B having a start address of 104. You would patch "dimmer" 104 to channel 1 for red, "dimmer" 105 to channel 2 for green and "dimmer" 106 to channel 3 for blue. Then when you bring up the fader for channel 1, both fixture A and B red will turn on together.