Rgb channel numbers

[marsh28]

I'm just learning about DMX and want to add DMX floods to my show next year. My understanding is that each rgb flood would require 3 dedicated channels on my lor controller. So if I wanted to add three DMX protocol rgb floods, this means I would need to have 9 dedicated channels on my controller, right? If this is correct, it sounds like I'll need to buy some additional controllers...

[mmais68569]

You are correct but also keep in mind that these are 12V DC. So you will need a DC board & a 12V power supply & you will need to buy or make CAT5 cables to control them.

Mike

[WilliamS]

This also depends on load. The LOR DC board has a huge amount of overhead for current. If your doing a full house wall wash setup to where the 3 sets of floods will be the same color, you can probably get away with one powering all 3! Centralize the board and power but you can do it that way. Now if you want all 3 units to be running different colors at your whim, then yes 9 RGB channels (27 DC channels)

[Guest guest]

marsh28 wrote:

I'm just learning about DMX and want to add DMX floods to my show next year. My understanding is that each rgb flood would require 3 dedicated channels on my lor controller. So if I wanted to add three DMX protocol rgb floods, this means I would need to have 9 dedicated channels on my controller, right? If this is correct, it sounds like I'll need to buy some additional controllers...

You can't control DMX floods from a LOR DC card ...3 non-DMX floods would be 9 channels on a DC card.

If you're doing DMX capable floods, then eliminate the LOR DC card, and set them up as DMX devices.

[marsh28]

I thought a DC board wasn't necessary if you used the Entec Pro Adapter? Also, I'm still a bit unclear on how many channels are needed to run a DMX RGB spotlight. For example, if I have three DMX RGB spots, doesn't this mean I'll need to dedicate 9 channels on a 16 channel controller to DMX control? Thanks...

[WhitePlainsNY]

It's very likely that the DMX flood will need 3 channels but it may need more. Check the specs of the fixture and you'll see the minimum channels it'll need. Some require more channels for that fixture's additional features like strobe, movement, etc.

[Guest guest]

Your statement is correct--thats my point. If you are going DMX, forget the DC controller. Keep your DMX world (universe) separate from your LOR network.

Some good reading material here:

http://seasonalentertainmentllc.com/downloads.htm

[marsh28]

Okay, so one of the floods I want to use is a Chauvet LED Rain 56 that has 7 channels.

It has 7 channel capability and channels are set out like this:

1: red

2: Green

3: Blue

4: Color Macros

5: Strobe/Speed

6: Programs

7: Dimmer

So, If I just wanted to do RGB color mixing, I'd only need to use 3 channels, right?

Here's a link for that particular light: http://http://www.chauvetlighting.com/led-rain-56.html

[Dennis Cherry]

marsh28 wrote:

Okay, so one of the floods I want to use is a Chauvet LED Rain 56 that has 7 channels.

It has 7 channel capability and channels are set out like this:

1: red

2: Green

3: Blue

4: Color Macros

5: Strobe/Speed

6: Programs

7: Dimmer

So, If I just wanted to do RGB color mixing, I'd only need to use 3 channels, right?

Here's a link for that particular light: http://http://www.chauvetlighting.com/led-rain-56.html]http://www.chauvetlighting.com/led-rain-56.html]http://http://www.chauvetlighting.com/led-rain-56.html

No, your need to assign or dedicate 7 channels to above. Even if you are not going to use the other 4 channels. Why? because if you assign another fixture to the 4 channels you do not use and add commands for the other fixture, the above fixture will still the commands and will do some strange thinks, it is like having one controller assigned to channels 1-16 and another controller assigned to channels 4-20, what will happen is both controllers output will see commands on 4-16 and do something with the commands.

[marsh28]

Dennis Cherry wrote:

marsh28 wrote:

Okay, so one of the floods I want to use is a Chauvet LED Rain 56 that has 7 channels.

It has 7 channel capability and channels are set out like this:

1: red

2: Green

3: Blue

4: Color Macros

5: Strobe/Speed

6: Programs

7: Dimmer

So, If I just wanted to do RGB color mixing, I'd only need to use 3 channels, right?

Here's a link for that particular light: http://http://www.chauvetlighting.com/led-rain-56.html]http://www.chauvetlighting.com/led-rain-56.html]http://http://www.chauvetlighting.com/led-rain-56.html

No, your need to assign or dedicate 7 channels to above. Even if you are not going to use the other 4 channels. Why? because if you assign another fixture to the 4 channels you do not use and add commands for the other fixture, the above fixture will still the commands and will do some strange thinks, it is like having one controller assigned to channels 1-16 and another controller assigned to channels 4-20, what will happen is both controllers output will see commands on 4-16 and do something with the commands.

Well that stinks. Are there 3 channel DMX LED floods out there?

[amcdonald307]

Just to be clear, you are talking about adding DMX fixtures to your setup and sounds like you are talking like you want to plug them into your LOR PC controller - that is not going to happen. You need a DMX controller and there are a myriad of options, none quite as plug-and-play as the LOR network is. Those DMX controllers can be built into the devices, can be stand-alone with as few as 3 channels or as many as 128 channels, might be connected with ethernet or LXR (point being lots of options ).
One option would be the LOR iDMX controller to keep it in your LOR network (then you wouldn't need the Entec).
Here was an interesting thread about Chauvet lighting and how ponddude set it up to work a few years back http://forums.lightorama.com/view_topic.php?id=18704&forum_id=75&highlight=Chauvet

All the more interesting because Greg Renna (ponddude) involvement with seasonalentertainment.com that sells the Rainbow Flood and Spotlight kits now. Look at the Rainbow Brain of theirs, and think of it as a DMX controller with 5 - 3channel outputs (or a 15 channel DMX controller "brain").
My feeling is Greg looked at this Chauvet device (because it IS cool), and in the end, he felt he could build something better himself (more lights cheaper).

Disclaimer: I don't use DMX yet myself, I haven't ordered anything from seasonalentertainment, and I have never spoken to Greg myself. But I am interested in adding floods to my house this year and am quite interested in what they offer. And be sure to read his http://seasonalentertainmentllc.com/pdf/UnderstandingDMX.pdf

[heystew]

the seasonal entertainment rainbow flood extreme (linked above) takes 5 dmx channels (RGB+ 2 for strobes)

alternatively you could connect one of the $7 dmx encoders and connect it to a flood that just took separate RGB DC lines (pretty sure I've seen those around)

[Guest guest]

marsh28 wrote:

Well that stinks. Are there 3 channel DMX LED floods out there?

The original rainbow floods, while not the horsepower of the Extreme, are an option.

[marsh28]

amcdonald307 wrote:

Just to be clear, you are talking about adding DMX fixtures to your setup and sounds like you are talking like you want to plug them into your LOR PC controller - that is not going to happen. You need a DMX controller and there are a myriad of options, none quite as plug-and-play as the LOR network is. Those DMX controllers can be built into the devices, can be stand-alone with as few as 3 channels or as many as 128 channels, might be connected with ethernet or LXR (point being lots of options ).
One option would be the LOR iDMX controller to keep it in your LOR network (then you wouldn't need the Entec).
Here was an interesting thread about Chauvet lighting and how ponddude set it up to work a few years back http://forums.lightorama.com/view_topic.php?id=18704&forum_id=75&highlight=Chauvet

All the more interesting because Greg Renna (ponddude) involvement with seasonalentertainment.com that sells the Rainbow Flood and Spotlight kits now. Look at the Rainbow Brain of theirs, and think of it as a DMX controller with 5 - 3channel outputs (or a 15 channel DMX controller "brain").
My feeling is Greg looked at this Chauvet device (because it IS cool), and in the end, he felt he could build something better himself (more lights cheaper).

Disclaimer: I don't use DMX yet myself, I haven't ordered anything from seasonalentertainment, and I have never spoken to Greg myself. But I am interested in adding floods to my house this year and am quite interested in what they offer. And be sure to read his http://seasonalentertainmentllc.com/pdf/UnderstandingDMX.pdf

So, to be clear, if I add a 3 channel RGB Spotlight, I won't need to dedicate 3 channels on a traditional LOR controller to the Spot. Instead, I buy a DMX controller (like the $6 RGB controller from Coro) and connect that with a LOR DMX compatible Dongle like the Entec Pro? Or am i WAAAAY off....

[amcdonald307]

marsh28 wrote:

So, to be clear, if I add a 3 channel RGB Spotlight, I won't need to dedicate 3 channels on a traditional LOR controller to the Spot.  Instead, I buy a DMX controller (like the $6 RGB controller from Coro) and connect that with a LOR DMX compatible Dongle like the Entec Pro? Or am i WAAAAY off....

Spot On! (pun intended)
And by "LOR DMX compatible Dongle", we mean compatible with the LOR S3 software - nothing to do with the LOR hardware you have.
The Part 2 of the equation is getting power to the DMX devise.

So, your setup will have your PC->LOR USB dongle with ethernet cable running out to your LOR controllers (just like you always have had).
Next, you will have your PC->Entec dongle with ethernet running out to power supply, then ethernet from power supply to Coro encoder, then encoder to spotlight. The trick here is to figure out how to inject power into the ethernet cable. See David's (holidaycoro) Megaball documentation to learn about splicing an ethernet cable to carry power.
OR, PC->Entec with ethernet to SE brain with power supply on brain, then ethernet to 5 SE spotlights or regular rainbow floods. Want another 5 spotlights, add another brain/power supply.

The Rainbow EXTREME has the DMX controller built into it, so it would be PC->Entec->power->ethernet->Extreme (no brain needed). But I think you are interested in good ol' spotlights for your application.

[Guest guest]

amcdonald307 wrote:

marsh28 wrote:

So, to be clear, if I add a 3 channel RGB Spotlight, I won't need to dedicate 3 channels on a traditional LOR controller to the Spot. Instead, I buy a DMX controller (like the $6 RGB controller from Coro) and connect that with a LOR DMX compatible Dongle like the Entec Pro? Or am i WAAAAY off....

Spot On! (pun intended)
And by "LOR DMX compatible Dongle", we mean compatible with the LOR S3 software - nothing to do with the LOR hardware you have.
The Part 2 of the equation is getting power to the DMX devise.

So, your setup will have your PC->LOR USB dongle with ethernet cable running out to your LOR controllers (just like you always have had).
Next, you will have your PC->Entec dongle with ethernet running out to power supply, then ethernet from power supply to Coro encoder, then encoder to spotlight. The trick here is to figure out how to inject power into the ethernet cable. See David's (holidaycoro) Megaball documentation to learn about splicing an ethernet cable to carry power.
OR, PC->Entec with ethernet to SE brain with power supply on brain, then ethernet to 5 SE spotlights or regular rainbow floods. Want another 5 spotlights, add another brain/power supply.

The Rainbow EXTREME has the DMX controller built into it, so it would be PC->Entec->power->ethernet->Extreme (no brain needed). But I think you are interested in good ol' spotlights for your application.

Greg's (SE) docs seem to make it even easier with the option of using the rainbow blender with an entec (or any other approved) dongle....eliminates some of the power injection issues you mention.

[marsh28]

Thanks for all the help on here. I think I'm finally getting it. So ONE last question, I PROMISE. For the 7 channel Chauvet DMX RGB flood above, presuming I use the Enntec Pro Converter, what would be my options for powering and controlling the Flood?

[Steven]

marsh28 wrote:

For the 7 channel Chauvet DMX RGB flood above, presuming I use the Enntec Pro Converter, what would be my options for powering and controlling the Flood?

The Chauvet flood to which you linked (LEDrain™ 56) has its own power supply. You just plug it into a 120v (or 240v!) "always on" outlet. The Enttec Pro (which just arrived here in the mail today, by the way ) is powered from the computer via USB. You simply connect the USB cable to the Enttec Pro, then a DMX cable, with a 5-pin male XLR connector on the Enttec end and a 3-pin female XLR connector on the Chauvet end.

[marsh28]

Steven wrote:

marsh28 wrote:

For the 7 channel Chauvet DMX RGB flood above, presuming I use the Enntec Pro Converter, what would be my options for powering and controlling the Flood?

The Chauvet flood to which you linked (LEDrain™ 56) has its own power supply. You just plug it into a 120v (or 240v!) "always on" outlet. The Enttec Pro (which just arrived here in the mail today, by the way ) is powered from the computer via USB. You simply connect the USB cable to the Enttec Pro, then a DMX cable, with a 5-pin male XLR connector on the Enttec end and a 3-pin female XLR connector on the Chauvet end.

Beautiful! I'm really excited about the possibilities of RGB and using Spots to "flood" my house in different colors for Halloween. Here's a link of what I did last year.

http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zajYMfa3r4

With the RGBs, the sequencing possibilities are literally endless...

[Ponddude]

I am going to jump in here for a minute. There is a ton of great information that people are giving but I want to clarify a few things on the SE products.

First off, our basic Rainbow lights, which include the Rainbow Floodlight, the Rainbow Spotlight and the Rainbow Wall Runner, are "dumb" lights. We say this because they need some sort of external controller to make them do their thing. There are a bunch of options out there for control, including the Rainbow Brain, the LOR DC controller and even the cheap HolidayCoro things. We also will have a device we call the MultiController out in the summer that is a 3 channel controller and can be used for just about anything. These lights only take up 3 channels, 1 for red, 1 for green and 1 for blue. By varying the intensities of the channels you are able to produce the 16 million different colors.

Now, the Rainbow Flood Extreme is a different story. That light is far from "dumb" as it has its own built in controller. The controller is a constant current controller and gets the full brightness out of all the LEDs. That is one of the reasons why the light is so bright. As someone else stated, the light takes up 5 channels total. 3 channels for the colors and 2 channels to control the strobe settings.

There has also been a lot of confusion on the use the Blender and now the MultiPort Blender. The Blender has one job...to take your DMX data source and your 12 volt power source from some location and combine them into one cable. It is not a controller by any means. Currently the Blender is only used on the Extreme, but we will have 2 additional products out this year that it can also be used on. In the PreSale we have going on now we also introduced the MultiPort Blender. It's job is to expand a DMX universe. Because a DMX universe only can have 32 devices you sometimes reach that limit before you reach the 512 channel limit. Instead of wasting all the extra channels you can amplify the network to attach more devices. The MultiPort Blender gives you the abiltiy to connect 32 devices on every output of the device. It expands the DMX universe and does away with the wasted DMX channels.

At typical Rainbow Flood Extreme setup would look like this:

DMX Dongle > Blender > RFX > cable > RFX > cable...and so on.

Also, a 12 volt transformer connects into the Blender for power.

Greg