Using LEDs with Master Fader

[kbadr]

I just installed 6 Elation Opti Tri Pars. Using 2 for a color wash, and have them in 4-channel (R, G, B, Intensity) mode, and 4 of them for a general wash, and we have them in 2 channel mode (Color Macro, Intensity). I put a gel in front of the general wash lights to make them a little warmer. I opted for the 2-channel/gel method for the wash lights because I only have 12 channels on my board.

For the general wash, we put the faders all the way up, and it seems to work fine. But, if you use the master fader to fade the lights down, the general wash LEDs cycle through the color macros as they fade out.

How is this problem usually solved? Is it a matter of having a fancier board that lets you program a fader as a new master, that controls just the intensity faders?

Even if we had more channels on our board (and we could go into 24 channel mode), using the master fader would still pull down the R G B channels for the lights, changing the light color as the light fades down. What am I missing?

 

[ccm1495]

It looks like you need a different board with sub masters, or you need to figure how to program one on your board.

 

[kbadr]

Yeah, that sounds like what I thought.

We've got a Strand 100 Series, so we can't program submasters.
Maybe it's time to upgrade to a 200 Series.

 

[JD]

RGB is your best option. Unless the fixture incorporates a gamma correction, proportionate fade on RGB should not shift color much. Curious about the gel. LEDs are monochromic (as long as it's RGB as compared to RGBW) so they really don't have a "color temperature." Instead they put out three specific frequencies of light, which the eye misinterprets as colors. You should be able to achieve the warm effect with straight mixing.

 

[xander]

For the general wash, we put the faders all the way up, and it seems to work fine. But, if you use the master fader to fade the lights down, the general wash LEDs cycle through the color macros as they fade out.

This is because the master fader controls all of the channels and this simple 2-scene preset has no idea that there is a difference between color parameters and intensity channels. So, the master fader is fading down your macro channels as well and this means it is going to go through all of colors between your current level and zero. There are two ways around this on your board. Either don't use the master fader and instead fade the 6 individual intensity channels, or change the mode of your fixtures to RGB and the fading shouldn't look too bad. While you don't have enough channels to control each fixture individually in this mode (unless you go to single scene mode), you could address your instruments in groups of two and control them that way.

An upgrade to a 200-series would increse your flexibility and capabilities if you have the money to do that.

-Tim

 

[kbadr]

Yeah, it sounds like putting all the LEDs on the same channel, and using RGB mode is my best bet, until I can upgrade the board. I lose the ability to isolate stage left from stage right wash, but I think that's a fair trade-off.

I tested using the master fader with an LED in RGB mode and it faded down just fine.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[xander]

Yeah, it sounds like putting all the LEDs on the same channel, and using RGB mode is my best bet, until I can upgrade the board. I lose the ability to isolate stage left from stage right wash, but I think that's a fair trade-off.

I tested using the master fader with an LED in RGB mode and it faded down just fine.

Thanks for the advice.

Well you don't have to control them all at the same time, you can group them a little bit. If you switch to 4-ch mode than you can still have 3 groups of lights (3 groups x 4 channel each = 12 channels) which will allow you to separate SL and SR and then even Front if you have your units set up for something like that. Also, maybe the fixture has a 3-ch mode--just RGB--which will allow you to have 4 groups. If you are using the master fader, something tells me you don't need the individual intensity channels anyway. Another, simple option is to just use the board in single scene mode, and then you have 24 channels and can control each fixture individually even in 4-ch mode.

-Tim