There is a wireless
DMX system on the market that I remember. Just don't remember anything about it (not my field yet) if it was American DJ type crap, or some other more substantial company doing such a thing. Big question is how are you going to
power up? Believe the wireless
system was for individual remote low
voltage dimmers on a battery
power. Certainly if you planned a six pack shoe box
dimmer with
line voltage, the data to the remote would be the least of your worries.
DMX will travel down the same piviot brush/plate
system as your
power on a turn table plate even self reeling
cord mounted trouble light
system in most instances. Just did some
DMX transmitting cable reels that used to be trouble/work lights bought at Menards (a crap store). Instead of powering up a work light, once the data cable was replaced for the
power cord, the
DMX works just fine down it. Main question was rigging the thing to be safe.
Cordless
DMX might have been discussed on stagecraft, too bad it's not working anymore because the brand is on the tip of my tongue. Hope stagecraft does not go the way of world lighting links that old timers will remember as being useful. On the other
hand, if you can go
ethernet with your commands, perhaps it's possible to go wireless in that way. Theater technology does tend to follow big business thus
ethernet much less being able to control
dimmer packs and computers from around the world if you have the money for the programs to wirelessly control them. Could be something as complex as a lap top computer on the remote and another communicating it in sending the signal
thru the www, or as easy as transmitting data down a phone
line.
On my own end of high technology:
At the moment I'm working on coming up with a 400' front of
house snake using 8 universes of
DMX, two
clear com, one more for hog remote focus, one of internet, two of video for the Catalyst video playback and three 20 amp circuits for
power to that position. Plus spares for all data.
Even if I go cat-5 cable for the
DMX it would still require at least two true
DMX lines, six
ethernet for both
DMX/control and video and five 10ga
power conductors. Not to mention a multi-pin
plug and various distribution rack panels for it that will do all of that but still be economical. $280.00 per
plug would be a
bit outside of reason in doing such a thing. This is the new way of high end control over your lights before it all goes wireless.
At very least I'm looking for six pair or
ethernet and perhaps a
circuit or two for powering up the hog remote with a
wire rope core to it and thick
jacket around it all so it would survive a few hundred feet of
pull down some
conduit to the front of
house given sharp edges inside of the
conduit are abound. The
wire rope core would be very necessary given Cat-5 cable does not like to be pulled on a day to day basis during a
road show even if loomed in with a 10/5
power cable which will have more stretch to it than the data cable thus the data cable would still break especially after the
stage hands tied off to data
line for the pull instead of the thicker
gauge power cord as seems to be almost normal for local crews. Yea, let's tie off to the data
snake insted of the much larger 10/5 to pull the 300' plus run
thru the
conduit.
At the moment for my solution at least I'm looking towards TMB as a supplier.
Neutrik has already for the most part solved the problem of fragile
ethernet connectors, it's just a question of the cable for now. TMB at last notice was looking at making up a more rugged jacketed
ethernet Cat-5 type cable as opposed to just buying chaep and one time use per spool of crap cable. Next challenge for them given my recent request is a
multi pair Cat-5 cable with strong
wire rope core, than incorportaing
DMX for older technologies and
power to it. Than making it all cost effective. Given this is what they are working on and the reason I specify them as the start to my own problem is perhaps they might be a good place to contact with your own wireless
DMX problem. If nothing else someone there might know who makes such a thing.
Two years ago, you will have thought six universes of true
DMX in all five pins, two channels of
Clear Com and three circuits of 20amp
power were enough to have in a
portable Front of
house snake. We bought into a 37pin Socopex data
snake plug we last used for analog, silly us. As of now all 16pair data cable is obsolete at about $900.00 each just for the
snake and not inclding various output boxes for it.
Large questions for me remain so far, can a 400' run of
ethernet relyably conduct data over that length, is it more reasonably possible to run
Clear Com and Hog Remote Focus units
thru ethernet cable removing the need for any
DMX like cable in the
system and given
ethernet will do video, is it's various adaptors economical given the Catalyst
system is the wave of the future as opposed to someone else's problem as in the past. Than is the whole
system temporary or economical once you also have to add in powering up the front of
house. Time is ticking for me, I have about two months at best to have the
FOH cable built for the tour.