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Chavuet Fog Machine 1300


caniac

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purchased this for my halloween show and it has a DMX jack on the back. Can this be tied to a LOR controller so that somewhere in my sequence i can trigger a 2-3 burst of fog?

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martinmc wrote:

Have you typed fog machine into the Halloween section there are a couple of separate discussions about how to setup fog machines.


http://lightorama.mywowbb.com/forum83/23897.html


heres another

http://lightorama.mywowbb.com/forum83/21571.html



enjoy the reading.....

though entertaining neither solution is what I am looking for, wowlights and LOR have a DMX "dongle" that I assume can be used to trigger the machine. I am NOT an electrician so taking apart the wired remote is not an option i would want.
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I couldn't find a DMX interface with that unit which makes finding an interface adapter difficult. The commercial version of fog machines sometime have DMX interfaces, however, this model doesn't seem to have one. You might have to come up with a hacked up version to make it work. Bring the machine to next month's TASL meeting and we can give you a hand with it.

Al

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caniac wrote:

purchased this for my halloween show and it has a DMX jack on the back. Can this be tied to a LOR controller so that somewhere in my sequence i can trigger a 2-3 burst of fog?



That is not a DMX connector, that is a WIRELESS REMOTE CONNECTOR that you apparently are mistaking for a DMX.

The manual can be found here http://www.chauvetlighting.com/products/manuals/f-1300_UG.pdf for that fog machine and it doesn't have DMX capability. The DMX has that red circle with line through it which means it has NO DMX option.


The only way to control it with a LOR unit is by reading and doing what those two posts outline in the two urls above using relays and taking taking the remote trigger apart to connect the relay to it. Sorry, but that's the only way to do it with this particular fog machine.
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Orville wrote:

caniac wrote:
purchased this for my halloween show and it has a DMX jack on the back. Can this be tied to a LOR controller so that somewhere in my sequence i can trigger a 2-3 burst of fog?



That is not a DMX connector, that is a WIRELESS REMOTE CONNECTOR that you apparently are mistaking for a DMX.

The manual can be found here http://www.chauvetlighting.com/products/manuals/f-1300_UG.pdf for that fog machine and it doesn't have DMX capability. The DMX has that red circle with line through it which means it has NO DMX option.


The only way to control it with a LOR unit is by reading and doing what those two posts outline in the two urls above using relays and taking taking the remote trigger apart to connect the relay to it. Sorry, but that's the only way to do it with this particular fog machine.




not the answer i wanted but an answer none the less, should i have gone with the 1100?
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caniac wrote:

Orville wrote:
caniac wrote:
purchased this for my halloween show and it has a DMX jack on the back. Can this be tied to a LOR controller so that somewhere in my sequence i can trigger a 2-3 burst of fog?



That is not a DMX connector, that is a WIRELESS REMOTE CONNECTOR that you apparently are mistaking for a DMX.

The manual can be found here http://www.chauvetlighting.com/products/manuals/f-1300_UG.pdf for that fog machine and it doesn't have DMX capability. The DMX has that red circle with line through it which means it has NO DMX option.


The only way to control it with a LOR unit is by reading and doing what those two posts outline in the two urls above using relays and taking taking the remote trigger apart to connect the relay to it. Sorry, but that's the only way to do it with this particular fog machine.




not the answer i wanted but an answer none the less, should i have gone with the 1100?



If you want a fogger that has DMX options, you're gonna have to spend a LOT of ca$h for it. Only ones that usually have that option are theatre grade/commercial use fog machines and they usually don't come very cheap.



This is why I bought $15-$20 cheapo Wal-Mart foggers, they cheap enough that if I messed one up doing the mods listed above, I'm not out hundreds or thousands of dollars.



And it's really not at all that hard to do. If you really don't want to do it, don't feel comfortable in doing it, or just can't do it, find one of your local LOR folk or someone that works in the Electronics assembly field that could do this for you.

I'd really strongly suggest to try and find someone in your area that has done this, knows how, and what they are doing and pay them to make the mod for you, if possible.



Good Luck.
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Actually, in hind sight, I am kicking myself for not buying a Chauvet DMX-3F. It would work with the H-1250 that I have, and most likely with the new ones like the 1300. And the darned things were only about $25. But, they only gave you the same level of controll as if you had the timer remote in your hand.

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Orville wrote:

caniac wrote:
Orville wrote:
caniac wrote:
purchased this for my halloween show and it has a DMX jack on the back. Can this be tied to a LOR controller so that somewhere in my sequence i can trigger a 2-3 burst of fog?



That is not a DMX connector, that is a WIRELESS REMOTE CONNECTOR that you apparently are mistaking for a DMX.

The manual can be found here http://www.chauvetlighting.com/products/manuals/f-1300_UG.pdf for that fog machine and it doesn't have DMX capability. The DMX has that red circle with line through it which means it has NO DMX option.


The only way to control it with a LOR unit is by reading and doing what those two posts outline in the two urls above using relays and taking taking the remote trigger apart to connect the relay to it. Sorry, but that's the only way to do it with this particular fog machine.




not the answer i wanted but an answer none the less, should i have gone with the 1100?



If you want a fogger that has DMX options, you're gonna have to spend a LOT of ca$h for it. Only ones that usually have that option are theatre grade/commercial use fog machines and they usually don't come very cheap.



This is why I bought $15-$20 cheapo Wal-Mart foggers, they cheap enough that if I messed one up doing the mods listed above, I'm not out hundreds or thousands of dollars.



And it's really not at all that hard to do. If you really don't want to do it, don't feel comfortable in doing it, or just can't do it, find one of your local LOR folk or someone that works in the Electronics assembly field that could do this for you.

I'd really strongly suggest to try and find someone in your area that has done this, knows how, and what they are doing and pay them to make the mod for you, if possible.



Good Luck.


Just for the sake of others reading this post, if you're in the northern half of the country, you will need to get a 1000W fogger to work well in cooler weather. The cheap 400W ones take longer to heat up and shorter fog bursts that will just fustrate you. The 1000W ones usually run about $70 at Party City.
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well i got the 1300 mainly because of output and have a second one on order. also got the wireless remotes but if one of you guys that are handy and want to fix the wired remotes so they will work with the LOR i will gladly send them your way, pay shipping, etc. that would be my preferred method then i could fire them thru the sequence.

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  • 2 months later...

Caniac,



I have a couple of the 1300s also; I looked at the circuits and the others are correct, that connector you see is for a Chauvet remote. I have been thinking I may make a simple "fog on/off" relay (solid state) for use with my LOR controllers sometime this summer. I haven't dug into it yet, but if I do and you're interested, I'll share that information with you.



John

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jabbusch wrote:

Caniac,



I have a couple of the 1300s also; I looked at the circuits and the others are correct, that connector you see is for a Chauvet remote. I have been thinking I may make a simple "fog on/off" relay (solid state) for use with my LOR controllers sometime this summer. I haven't dug into it yet, but if I do and you're interested, I'll share that information with you.



John
thanks
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jabbusch wrote:

Caniac,

 

I have a couple of the 1300s also; I looked at the circuits and the others are correct, that connector you see is for a Chauvet remote. I have been thinking I may make a simple "fog on/off" relay (solid state) for use with my LOR controllers sometime this summer. I haven't dug into it yet, but if I do and you're interested, I'll share that information with you.

 

John

I would be interested in that too.

I'm thinking of using a DIO8RLY as my control. So If any one knows which to pins on the connector need to be shorted to mimic pressing the manual button that would be great info too.
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khawes,

I'll be happy to get you in the loop when I'm able to move forward with that little project. I did not intend to use a DIO solution however; my idea is to employ a simple SS Relay which could be triggered by a normal LOR channel 110VAC “signal presence” from my existing LOR 1602W. Basically it would just close the circuit for the "fog on" control, although I have not verified that it is electrically feasible on the Chauvet 1300. If it proves simple and effective I will probably do something very similar for a Chauvet Bubble King I have too.

If you and caniac will send me an email with your contact information, I'll keep you up to date. Email is in my profile.

John

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Jeff Millard wrote:

There are several ways to get LOR to control one of these things. I've used DIO and DC relays controlled by a DC board. DIO has at least three possibilities, Measurement Computing PCI-DIO boards, The LOR-DIO32 controller and the Servodog.

You can make it as simple as connecting a relay, with a C-9 bulb in parallel to deal with the coil in the relay, on a single LOR channel. As long as you ensure the relay gets 100% on and 0% off from the sequence.

It's easy to find D/C or A/C relays online that have contacts rated for a couple hundred volts A/C that are substantial enough to handle inductive loads like the pump motor in a fog machine.

So, you pick your poison. I'll choose a D/C controller, D/C relay and a wall wart power supply to pick up the relay.

Step 1) How does the wired remote work? On this model it seems that it's strictly an on/off switch for the pump motor. In series with this switch will be a sensor to ensure the fluid in the vaporizer is hot enough. If you turn the switch on the remote on, as soon as the sensor finds that it's hot enough, the pump will run.

Step 1.A) What would be the best way to connect the Normally Open contacts of the Relay? I think placing those contacts in parallel with the switch is the best way to go. So, I would open the switch case and solder a cable equal in gauge to the controller's wire to the same two contacts of the switch. Make a notch in the case so the new cable can escape and close it up. To test it, tape up the ends of the new cable and test to see the machine operates normally. Unplug it, place a wire nut on the two wires of the new cable to short them. When you plug the machine in it will now act as if the switch is always turned on.

Step 2) Connect the coil of the relay to the output of a DC controller channel. Use a power supply that has the capacity to pick the coil of the relay up, and power the controller ( not necessary, just simpler)

Step 3) Connect the cable you added to the wired controller, to a set of Normally Open contacts on the relay.

Finis.

Jeff
this model isn't a straight on/off switch. it has buttons for duration and frequency of fog plus a couple others. Hence the wrinkle. the smaller ones was a simple on/off switch.
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There is also a red "FOG" button on the back of my unit. Starting to think that hooking up some sort of "plug" on the back that the relay etc can be plugged into, and wiring that plug in parallel with the button. Thus leaving the remote in tact.

My volt meter bit the dust, if any of you measure the volts/amps flowing through that button let me know -- thanks.

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  • 3 weeks later...

caniac wrote:

well i got the 1300 mainly because of output and have a second one on order. also got the wireless remotes but if one of you guys that are handy and want to fix the wired remotes so they will work with the LOR i will gladly send them your way, pay shipping, etc. that would be my preferred method then i could fire them thru the sequence.


Caniac and khawes,

1. In an effort to understand how we can produce an adaptor to operate the Chauvet Hurricane 1300 using a normal LOR controller, I've completed much of the schematic diagram and analysis for the FC-T wired remote supplied with the Chauvet Hurricane 1300; I'm writing up a brief theory of operation narrative and a block diagram if you're still interested.

2. I can say that I now understand why so many have written in these forums that they either do not understand the operation of the FC-T or believe it does not function properly: The manufacturer would have done everyone a service had they used more descriptive labels for the pushbuttons and the LED indicators. Incidentally, the FC-T that I disassembled to analyze does work properly; I just needed to understand the circuitry so I could appreciate that fact.

3. I should have something preliminary ready this week.

John
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sent two of those to a "board member" months ago and have yet to hear back. don't know if they are just that complicated to rewire or if I just gave someone free remotes.

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caniac wrote:

sent two of those to a "board member" months ago and have yet to hear back. don't know if they are just that complicated to rewire or if I just gave someone free remotes.

Well, I was unaware there was a board of directors involved; do you mean the LOR forum has a board or are you speaking of some other organization?
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jabbusch wrote:

caniac wrote:
sent two of those to a "board member" months ago and have yet to hear back. don't know if they are just that complicated to rewire or if I just gave someone free remotes.

Well, I was unaware there was a board of directors involved; do you mean the LOR forum has a board or are you speaking of some other organization?
another member of this message board. Said he could rewire them and it would only take a weekend. that was months ago.
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