disc2slick said:
While, I guess you could
address both fixtures to use the same channels that wouldn't really work out, since they will have to have different pans and tilts, since they will be in different positions.
-dan
The trick is to
address each light differently (i.e.,
unit 1,
unit 2) but then soft patch the colour/
gobo/
shutter for each light on to one
channel for each, rather than individual ones. E.g.,
Ch1 –
Gobo 1 & 2
Ch2 – Colour 1 & 2
Ch3 –
Shutter 1 & 2
Ch4 – Pan 1
Ch5 – Pan 2
Ch6 – Tilt 1
Ch7 – Tilt 2
You might even choose to place tilt on the same
channel and only control the pan individually. E.g.,
Ch1 –
Gobo 1 & 2
Ch2 – Colour 1 & 2
Ch3 –
Shutter 1 & 2
Ch4 – Tilt 1 & 2
Ch5 – Pan 1
Ch6 – Pan 2
Whilst it limits your use of colour /
pattern variations between each
unit or chasing between them (probably less important with only two units). It does free up some channels. Ok – you only save 3 or 4 in this instance but if you had several of these, this might be the only way to control them on a small
desk.
If doing this in addition to using dimmers, my preference is to place your dimmers first as they will generally be patched 1:1 and in reality, you can patch at the
dimmer anyhow. Then patch your intelligent lights in.
The reason I do this is it is a pain in the but to add your dimmers in afterwards as they expect to see Ch 1-12 or 13-24
etc and hitting them with Ch8 as the first
channel on the
dimmer means more soft patching in the board. In my opinion, the less soft patching you have to do the easier it is. Soft patching is often the main cause of boards and dimmers not reacting properly because it is easy to forget what you did between shows.
