Instruction Manual

line with additional SER-DMXs, Digital Audio Repeaters, Smart Brick
Brains and other serially controlled devices. The only requirement is
that each unit be addressed to a different number.
B) DMX-512 Data Input: This is available on the screw terminals and
outside two pins of the RS-422 serial port connection. It only needs to
be connected to one of these points. If you have more than one
SER-DMX plugged together side-by-side, then only one of the cards
needs to have the DMX-512 attached to it.
The DMX-512 standard was developed by the United States
Institute for Theatrical Technology (USITT) for a high speed (250
KBaud) asynchronous serial data link. Although it was originally de-
signed for controlling light dimmers, it is now supported by hundreds
of suppliers throughout the world for controlling all kinds of theatrical
equipment.
Even though the DMX-512 standard calls for 512 channels of
data, the DMX-512 transmission from PC•MACs is limited to 256 eight
bit wide channels. You can address your DMX-512 compatible out-
put devices to respond to any address between 00 and 255.
Addresses above the 256th are used in PC•MACs for transmitting a
checksum. The SER-DMX can use this to verify that the data received
from PC•MACs has no transmission errors in it. If you address a light
dimmer or other DMX-512 device to addresses 256 or 257, you will
see this verification data displayed as a flickering pattern. Note that
at frame rates higher than sixty FPS, not all 256 channels (or the
checksum) can be transmitted through the DMX-512 output.
The DMX-512 standard calls out a five pin XLR connector for all
cabling. The pinout is as follows:
XLR pin # SIGNAL
1
1 Signal Common (shield)
2 Dimmer Drive compliment (Rx Data -)
3 Dimmer Drive True (Rx Data +)
4 Data In True (Tx Data -)
5 Data In compliment (Tx Data +)
C) Board Power: This screw terminal is used to attach the nine to
twenty-four VDC power supply that will be running the SER-DMX. If
you have more than one SER-DMX plugged together side-by-side,
then only one of the cards needs to have the Board Power attached
to it.
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Don't blame us for these names. These are directly from the USITT stan-
dards.