Ok. I have spent some serious money on lighting and our lighting guy isn’t always available. I’d like to really get to understand DMX but...
I. Just. Don’t. Get. It. I feel like I’m the only guy in the world who can’t figure this stuff out.
Can someone please explain, in layman’s terms to a dolt like myself how I can make my Chauvet Gigbars and my Chauvet spot6’s and my Chauvet color strips to work with my Chauvet FootC DMX controller? Please? Pretty please?
I'll try:
DMX is a communication protocol that is divided up into 512 channels. Each channel contains a number from 0-255. The controller (i.e. FootC) sends the value of each channel down the DMX link. Each actual fixture pulls out the values that are intended for it, ignoring those that don't.
Fixtures have a starting address, and use some number of channels to control them. Each fixture needs to be configured with a starting channel number (address). However many channels that fixture uses are contiguous from the starting address. To use your equipment as examples:
The FootC controller can transmit 36 of the 512 defined channels. It breaks these up into 6 groups of 6 channels each, which it defines as a "fixture", although this has no actual relationship to what is actually attached to the DMX chain. to the FootC, "Fixture 1" is channels 1-6, "Fixture 2" is channels 7-12, "Fixture 3" is channels 13-18, "Fixture 4" is channels 19-24, "Fixture 5" is channels 25-30, and "Fixture 6" is channels 30-36. The FootC has no way of telling what is actually out there, all it has is its predefined grouping of 6 "virtual" fixtures, with 6 channels each.
Gigbars can be configured to use 3-, 6-, or 17-channel modes ("personalities"). 17-channel mode gives you the most options, but uses most channels. It would eat up 3 of your 6 "Fixtures" on the FootC to control Gigbars in 17-channel mode ("Fixture 1" would control channels 1-6, "Fixture 2" would control channels 7-12, and "Fixture 3" would control channels 12-17, with channel 18 left over, unused.
The 6-channel mode would allow you to have a 1-to-1 mapping between FootC "Fixtures" and actual fixtures. If you want to run 2 Gigbars separately in 6-channel mode, you could configure one of them with DMX address 1, and the other with DMX address 7. "Fixture 1" on the FootC would control what one Gigbar does (as defined in the Gigbar manual) and "Fixture 2" on the FootC would control what the other Gigbar does. If it works for what you want to do, you could configure both Gigbars with the same address (1, for example) and each would do the exact same thing, as defined in the FootC for "Figure 1". You can have any number of fixtures with the same address. There won't be any conflict, just multiple fixtures doing the exact same thing (assuming that they are all the same make & model, configured the same way, so that whatever the controller sends to that address is received by both of them.
In 6-channel mode, the first 3 channels are red, green, and blue respectively, which provides your color mix. Channel 4 is the "master fader", which needs to be up at least somewhat if you're going to see whatever color is defined by the combination of channels 1-3. Channel 5 defines how fast, and in which direction, the Moonflower turns. Channel 6 controls the strobe rate. In 6-chnnel mode you can't control individual units (PARs & Moonflowers) separately, which is a disadvantage. 17-channel mode allows you to control each unit separately, but uses up 3 "Fixtures" in the FootC. It also complicates the programming, since you have to select & set channels 1-6 as "Fixture 1", de-select "Fixture 1" & select "Fixture 2" to set channels 7-12, then de-select "Fixture 2" & select "Fixture" 3 to set channels 13-17 (channel 18 isn't used).
The 6Spot uses 8 channels, with channels 1-6 setting the colors for the individual pods. Channel 7 sets the strobe rate, and channel 8 selects one of the predefined macro sequences. Here, you're stuck having to use 2 virtual 6-channel "Fixtures" in the FootC, since the 6Spot doesn't have an alternative mode. If you set a 6Spot as Channel 19 as it's "base" address, it will use channels 19-26, eating up 2 virtual 6-channel "Fixtures" in the FootC (all 6 channels of "Fixture 3", plus the first 2 channels of "Fixture 4". Again, you're stuck having to set the 1st 6 channels of a 6Spot in 1 "Fixture", and the other 2 channels in another virtual "Fixture" in the FootC. The good news it that you'll probably be mostly changing colors, not strobe rates or macros, so it isn't as big an issue as 17-channel mode on a Gigbar.
You might set both Gigbars to 17-channel mode (first 3 virtual "Fixtures" in the FootC), set to DMX address 1 and both 6Spots set to address 19, which will allow you to control everything on the Gigbars with "Fixtures" 1-3, and both 6Spots with "Fixtures" 4 & 5. Each Gigbar will do exactly same thing as the other, and likewise each 6Spot will do the same as the other. This may very well work for you.
DMX lighting control is all about creating Scenes and Chases. Programming Scenes and Chases is done in advance, and you "run" Scenes and/or Chases for the show. A Scene is static, and consists of a particular combination of fixtures doing whatever. You program Scenes by selecting fixtures, adjusting their channels to do whatever color mix and intensity you want (limited by what the actual Fixture can do), and saving the combination into a Scene definition in the controller. Multiple Scenes can be defined. At showtime, you can call up Scenes and the lights will do whatever was defined in those Scenes.
Chases are collections of individual Scenes. Once Scenes are built, you can add them to Chases. When a Chase is executed, it runs through its collection of Scenes, at a rate set by the controller.
