hi all hoping for a bit of input thinking of using dmx controler i have never used one before all my lights are dmx so no problem there i am looking at getting a Transcension Commander 384 DMX Controller anyone got one and are they easy to use and any info on dmx lighting would be great
cheers dj-ian

I can't comment on the controller you're thinking of getting. I have the cheaper version, and mainly use it for controlling LED Par Cans.


DMX is fairly simple - but will need a bit of thought.

Each fixture will have a specific number of channels. Some can have different modes that use more or less channels.
As an example;
ADJ LED Par Can can run as 3, 6 or 7 channels. In its basic mode;
Ch 1=RED
CH 2=GREEN
CH 3=BLUE

Ok. We can set this fixture to start at Address #01.
The next available address would be Address #04.

If your controller wants to group fixtures into sets of 16 channels, it would make sense to set the channels of your fixtures to;
1,17,33,49 etc
This will give you some wastage, but for most small-medium set-ups will be fine.

Obviously motorised lights, such as moving heads/scanners etc will have more channels. The manual will detail the function of each channel.


With 3 LED Par Cans, a typical setup would be;

Fixture #1, Address #01
Ch 1=RED
CH 2=GREEN
CH 3=BLUE

Fixture #2, Address #17
Ch 17=RED
CH 18=GREEN
CH 19=BLUE

Fixture #3, Address #33
Ch 33=RED
CH 34=GREEN
CH 35=BLUE


Ok, with the address set for each fixture, and any modes set, you simply then need to daisy-chain their DMX connections.
Normally, out of the Controller, into Fixture 1, out of Fixture 1, into Fixture 2 etc.etc.
Note: The actual order of fixtures does not matter.. So it could be Fixture 10,Fixture 2, Fixture 1 etc.
You cannot split the signal, so every fixture should be connected in a long line.

If you have a long run, you should fit a DMX Terminator to the output of the last fixture.
This helps to keep the digital signal clean, and free from reflections caused by long cables.

At a technical level, DMX uses RS485 signals+drivers, so can cope with fairly long cable runs. It is "twisted pair", or balanced. There is no error checking/correct, so if you do have a problem with interference, your fixtures may do strange things - but as the same data is sent very frequently, it may not be noticed.

Hope this helps!
Jason

cheers this helps alot looking forward to giving it a go cheers dj-ian