disney-fan-reborn Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 I've read some of the posts that mention intelligent lighting (moving heads to be specific), and I'm still kind of confused about how I go about controlling them with LOR and an iDMX controller. What I want to know is, once I have the iDMX set up (ID set, each channel set for each function, etc.) can I use the sequence editor to control each function of the yoke light the same way I would with a string of 100 ct. lights? Can I use the fade up control to pan or tilt? Or do I have to use the DMX Intensity button for everything? Just how easy is it to control a moving head (yoke) light with the Sequence Editor? PLEASE someone explain this in terms that a 5th grader can understand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heystew Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Simple answer is yes you can. You can use dmx intensity settings.. Or you can use the standard intensity (0 to 100%). You can use fades to control a pan or tilt. I did it for the first time this year and it worked great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heystew Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 John,a few quick thoughts to help a bit more maybe:1. use the hardware utility to get a feel for how the different intensity values move the light. find your limits and write them down (i.e. make pan/tilt to avoid shining in your neighbors windows, etc.)2. do the math to convert DMX values (0-255) to intensities (0-100). (i.e. 0=0, 255=100, 123=50, etc) so that can use the fade and intensity tools to put the light where you want it3. use the fade tool presets/options to set custom limits on your fades. Go to Tools>Fade Tool Options and you can set different preset fade start/stops. Go to Tools>Fade Tool (or toolbar button) to use the presets you created. I found this useful to limit the panning of my lights to stay out of the neighbors windows. For example i have a custom fade that goes from 20% to 45% for the tilt to keep the light from shining at the people in the street, and to keep it from going past vertical.hope that was more helpful than confusing... below is a quick screen shot of a sequence and the fade tool. This was used in a search light pattern at the beginning of the show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al in Raleigh Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Using S2 you would declare the light as a controller in the iDMX's range i.e. E0. Then you use channels to send values to the individual functions of the light. The functions are given to you by the light manufacturer. An example of the data sent to a function might be channel 1 of controller E0 is the pan function, and you would send it 45 which makes the light move 20 degrees clockwise or whatever. Yes you can use regular ramp and fade functions, but the value that is sent to the light is based on a percentage of 0-255. In other words a 50% ramp is 128 hex. That will take some getting used to but it actually becomes easier than trying to remember the hex value.Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disney-fan-reborn Posted January 13, 2011 Author Share Posted January 13, 2011 heystew wrote: John,a few quick thoughts to help a bit more maybe:1. use the hardware utility to get a feel for how the different intensity values move the light. find your limits and write them down (i.e. make pan/tilt to avoid shining in your neighbors windows, etc.)2. do the math to convert DMX values (0-255) to intensities (0-100). (i.e. 0=0, 255=100, 123=50, etc) so that can use the fade and intensity tools to put the light where you want it3. use the fade tool presets/options to set custom limits on your fades. Go to Tools>Fade Tool Options and you can set different preset fade start/stops. Go to Tools>Fade Tool (or toolbar button) to use the presets you created. I found this useful to limit the panning of my lights to stay out of the neighbors windows. For example i have a custom fade that goes from 20% to 45% for the tilt to keep the light from shining at the people in the street, and to keep it from going past vertical.hope that was more helpful than confusing... below is a quick screen shot of a sequence and the fade tool. This was used in a search light pattern at the beginning of the show.That TOTALLY makes sense to me. I just needed someone to clear up the fact that the basic LOR controls could be used to control a DMX device (using iDMX of course). THANKS a TON!!Now, all I need to know is what kind of yoke light is suitable, and what manufacturer folks usually go with. I also want to know how they hold up in below freezing temps in an enclosure. That would be nice as well.Oh, and do you guys bring in your yoke light every night so vandals don't run off with them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disney-fan-reborn Posted January 13, 2011 Author Share Posted January 13, 2011 heystew wrote: double post. sorry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zman Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 John,I have used Chauvet Intimidators 2.0 (2) in the past. Sold them to a PC member last year to upgrade to Martin Mac 250 Entours (2). Got them used from Gear Source.They hold up fine in the cold weather. I kept mine in the housings for the entire season. I have not had to worry about theft or vandals (yet) in the many years I have been decorating. The Entours generate plenty of heat once the bulb strikes.We have had pleny of temps in the teen and 20's using them without a problem. You will want to house your yokes somehow. I removed the standard gobos and went with Christmas types. There is a good selection after market from Apollo or Roscoe.One plan I have for them that did not make it into 2010s show. TSO an Angel Came Down. I have a beautiful Angel gobo that I want to project onto "screen" and have her slowly decend during parts of the sequence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heystew Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 John,I'm glad that helped clear it up. I am using American DJ Accuspot 250's. I haven't pulled the lights out yet to see how they survived, but they did well the entire show season (1 1/2 months in Northern Virginia). Temps were fairly cold for us this year with many days never getting above 30 degrees F. They never seemed sluggish and the domes never fogged up as I was afraid they might.see http://lightorama.mywowbb.com/forum75/25672.html for some more discussion on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts