User Guide

Avolites Pearl 2000 Operators Manual - page 26
P2000MAN.DOC 19/10/99 17:59
3. Getting started with Intelligent Fixtures
3.1 Getting ready
Congratulations. Presumably you have managed to power up correctly and
avoided blowing up the desk. If you have not yet powered up, go back to
Section 1.3.1 The important stuff and follow the instructions then come back
and join us.
If you are programming a new show from the beginning, you should to clear
all the old junk out of the desk that the previous user left behind. To clear the
desk, do a WIPEALL. See 1.7.1 To do a WIPEALL.
3.2 Using Intelligent Fixtures
Pearl 2000 is designed to control Intelligent Fixtures and has many powerful
features to allow fast programming combined with hands on control. This
starts with the Patch system, which uses Personality Files to define how
Intelligent Fixtures will be controlled by the console. These are stored on the
3.5 inch Personality Disks supplied with your desk.
Each different type of Fixture has a different Personality File built for it.
Updates can be supplied from Avolites Ltd. or picked up from the Website
(www.avolites.com), or they can easily be customised if you have access to
a PC. See the Personality Disk Programmer’s Manual for more details.
3.3 Patching Intelligent Fixtures
In order to control an Intelligent Fixture, you first need to patch it. We have
used the ‘Hotel Room’ theory of numbering our Preset Faders
ie. On Page 0 you find Preset Faders 1 – 60, on Page 1 you find Preset
Faders 100 – 160 and so on.
When patching Intelligent Fixtures using a Pearl, you can either enter the
DMX addresses for Fixtures that have already been addressed, or let the
desk generate an address for each Instrument, write it down and then go
around and address your rig.
Either way, it is useful to write the addresses down.
The desk will normally create addresses from DMX Channel 1 upwards.
Each of the red Preset Faders and the associated SWOP and ADD buttons
can used to control an Intelligent Fixture. It is called its Handle. There are 30
handles on each of the four Pages of Fixtures, so you can control a
maximum of 120 Intelligent Fixtures on a Pearl 2000. It is also possible to
control up to 120 Dimmer Presets as well on the blue Preset Faders,
provided you have sufficient DMX channels. See section 5.20 How many
Fixtures or Dimmer Channels can I control?
• Turn the key to Program. Puts you in LIVE PROGRAM MODE menu.
• Put the Personality Disk in the disk drive.