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Using light sensor trigger


chinablue

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I am trying to figure out how to use a light sensor as a trigger. I want the musical show off during the day with the ability to trigger it on for the period of time while the hand is over the sensor and to run continuously at night with the ability to trigger it of for the period of time that a flashlight is over the sensor. I have the advanced software and am running it off of the mini-director. My motion sensor does not change it no matter what edits I do on the software side. Can this be done? Does anyone have experience working with light sensors? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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I think the problem you're having is you're using a "motion sensor" and NOT a light sensor. These are two different types of things and work differently. Try buying a dusk to dark daylight light sensor and using that. A motion sensor doesn't care what time of day or night it is, it will work in direct daylight if motion is detected, you can set a motion detector for night use only, however, it is STILL DEPENDANT on motion, NOT darkness or light to trigger it.

And therein lies your issue with it not working as you're wanting it too.

Find a decent dusk to dark sensor that operates from dark and turns off with light and that should work.

However, make sure that NONE of your display lighting can filter into this sensor, otherwise, you're going to have another issue to deal with, as soon as your display starts, the lights from it will hit the sensor and shut the display down immediately.

So place the sensor in some type of tube or make sure that it is facing away from any of the displays lighted elements, you want to keep that sensor dark.

Now your problem is you're using a mini director, if you had the DC-MP3 Showtime Director with the real time clock, this would have been a very easy thing to do. I use the DC-MP3 Showtime Director to run my shows in the evening, then at a specific time, show shuts down and overnight lighting sequence comes on, then during the day, I have it running single channel musical sequences to play music and announcements throughout the day.

But I'm not exactly sure how you might wire in a light sensor to do what you're trying to do, as it sounds like you want it to do 2 different things in different settings, and I don't think that's possible, but a real time clock option with set times is how I do it.

The only other option I can think of you doing is having a second SD card that has a sequence on it that turns on the entire display for troubleshooting purposes during the day and then replace it with the reguar show SD Card when done, you'd have to do the same thing at night. I have a single sequence on a seperate SD card for troubleshooting the display with an annoucement stating, sorry for the interruption, we're working on some minor repairs and the display will be back up and operating as soon as possible. That's if I ever have to shut down the display for any type of servicing.

Hopefully, if this is at all possible and someone interprets this differently than I do can give you better advice, but from my work with motion and light/dark sensors, this is the best I can tell you at the moment.

Good Luck.

Edited by Orville
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Thanks for the response. But, the mini-director is advertised and designed to function with a trigger. I have tried various kinds and it will trigger on but then will run continuously no matter what changes I make on the software side. I am not excited about buying another piece of hardware since the DC-MP3 Showtime Director is pricy. At this point I would like to figure out how to get it just to work then if I can use a light sensor that would be best for the scenario that I am designing. Does anyone have experience with this scenario?

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DC-MP3 Director works the same way.

I now realize what your issue is, you're triggering the display with a sensor, once running, you're wanting to stop it and maybe restart to check things. Unfortunately that is NOT how the trigger inputs work on the MP3 Director units, once triggered, they will have to run the course of the sequence programmed to that triggered effect, pressing the trigger or sensor activation again, will just tell the unit to run the sequence AGAIN after the first triggered response has completed.

So, no, I don't think what you're trying to do is even possible with the MP3 Director units or even the controllers, I believe the controllers are the same way, another press won't stop the sequence, just tells the controller to reload it once the first one has completed and then repeat it. I believe that is the way LOR has incorporated the trigger mechanism on the hardware side of things.

If I'm mistaken, hopefully someone here will correct me, but I'm pretty certain this is the way the trigger inputs work.

And is why I bought the DC-MP3 Showtime Director instead of the mini Director, the more expensive unit gave me more options and better control than an external timer would have. Not saying you need to buy one, just that with either the mini or the more expensive Showtime Directors, this just isnt going to work from my understanding of the trigger set up.

Edited by Orville
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Orville:

Thanks for your response. After spending the weekend struggling with it and trying to work through the problem unsuccessfully with the help desk, I realized that most likely that that is the way they designed it. It is unfortunate because the language that they use "interrupt" implies just that, that the sequence can be interrupted.

Re: DC-MP3 Showtime Director, I will look into it to see if it will give me what I need if I do it again in the future.

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