Control/Dimming Two DMX sources with a splitter

[DMXpro]

Hi all,

In a few days I will be running lights and sound for a Halloween-themed dance. The setup I'm working with has a mixture of conventionals and movers, scanners, LEDs, and other effects. Everything is daisy-chained together, and I just change addresses as needed. I have a regular (physical) console as well as an ENTTEC DMX usb pro MkII with a computer (no fader wing yet, working on it!). What I'd like to do is run the conventional effects on my real board, and the LEDs/Movers on the computer. With only an opto-splitter that has a 3 pin and 5 pin port for connection to a console, is this possible? I basically need 2 consoles on one universe controlling different channels.

I think if the splitter (Chauvet DataStream 4) only wires the 3/5 pin connectors in parallel, it can't be done (needs a Max485 chip to rebuffer), but i'd like to hear your input.
Thanks!

 

[tdrga]

You need a DMX merger to combine the two sources. A splitter is a one-way device: one input to multiple outputs. My suggestion would be to run a separate DMX line from each console to the devices you want to control. That's the simplest way to do what you want to do. DMX mergers are not commonly used, so finding a rental source may be difficult and the cost would certainly be more than the cost of another cable run.
-Todd

Sent from a mobile device

 

[JD]

Without a merger ($$$) the only way to do this is run two universes, one for conventionals off the one board and the other with the movers off the other board. Lots of extra DMX runs, but the only way especially considering the timeline.

A merger is actually a small computer that reads the A stream and the B stream and outputs a C stream using either HTP or LTP (Highest Take Priority or Last Takes Priority) depending on the software configuration.

 

[len]

I don't know enough about either board, but is it possible to send dmx out of one board and into the other? If you're only using 1 universe that would decrease your cable burden. Put your splitter somewhere advantageous.

DMX joiners are not as common as splitters, although you may find a place that has one for rent. Splitters, OTOH, are common.

 

[DMXpro]

I don't know enough about either board, but is it possible to send dmx out of one board and into the other? If you're only using 1 universe that would decrease your cable burden. Put your splitter somewhere advantageous.

DMX joiners are not as common as splitters, although you may find a place that has one for rent. Splitters, OTOH, are common.

I have used boards with "DMX IN" ports; a male xlr. The ENTTEC D-Pro dongle I'm using has such a port, and according to the manual, this solves my problem. After that, it comes down to addressing.

 

[Bubby4j]

The USB interface is capable of inputting DMX, so it's up to the software to merge the signals. Check your software's manual.