Software Revision 1.
OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................................................................. 1 REAR PANEL CONNECTIONS .......................................................................................................................................... 1 TOP PANEL .........................................................................................................................................................................
PRESETS.................................................................................................................................................................... 18 FACTORY PROGRAMMED PRESETS ............................................................................................................................ 18 CREATING AND RECORDING PRESETS ...................................................................................................................... 18 RECALLING PRESETS ...........
CONFIGURING YOU COMPUTER .................................................................................................................................. 37 MEMORY BACKUP USING THE COMPUTER PORT ................................................................................................... 37 MEMORY RESTORE USING THE COMPUTER PORT ................................................................................................. 37 UPDATING THE SOFTWARE ..................................................
OVERVIEW The DMX Control 1536 is a lighting controller based on the successful and simple to use DMX Control 512 and DMX Control 1024. The DMX Control 1536 expands on the existing features of these controllers and adds many others. The approach of this controller is to simplify the programming process as much as possible while still offering a high level of control at a low cost. If you are already familiar with the DMX Control 512 and 1024 then you find the DMX Control 1536 to be a simple step forward.
The following is a brief summary of the top panel features of the DMX Control 1536: • Programming and memory switch section featuring 48 multi purpose switches for assigning and recalling memories using the function select switches just above these. • Display control section featuring 8 menu control buttons above an 80 character display used for data entry and most programming functions. • Joystick for controlling pan and tilt on moving light fixtures.
MENU AND SETUP FUNCTIONS The menu switch, which is located just above the display, is used to access the menus that allow you to configure the DMX Control 1536 for your particular lighting setup. Pressing the menu switch displays the message “Select a menu item then press enter” on the top line of the display. You will be given a choice of menu items on the bottom line of the display. You can cycle through the choices using the + and switches or the first data wheel.
PATCH FIXTURES This menu allows you to turn auto patch on and off, change the DMX output and set the DMX starting address for each moving light fixture. Auto patch must be turned off to change the start address or output number. To turn auto patch on or off, place the cursor under the words “ON” or “OFF” below “Autopatch”, then use the + or - switch or use data wheel #4 to make the change. You must press “enter” for the change to take effect.
page of the menu, use data wheel #1 to select the operation mode for this dimmer. “Memory” allows the dimmer to be included in and controlled by any memory, “Manual” will exclude the dimmer from memory functions and only allow it to be controlled using its fader or flash switch. Use data wheel #2 to select how the flash button will function, either as momentary flash or latching on/off.
display. The first profile found in memory will appear on the bottom line, use the + or – switch or data wheel 1 to select from the list of profiles. Press, “enter” to remove that profile. SELECT FLEX FADER MODE The flex fader section can operate in three different ways; to control moving light channels, to control conventional dimmers, or as additional playback masters. Select the desired operation mode and press “enter”.
CHANNELS is the total number of channels for the fixture. This can be any number from 1 to 32. When you change the number of channels be aware that other things such as fixture addresses and number of multi fixtures can be automatically changed when you do this. Fixture attributes such as black channel, pan or tilt will also be automatically disabled if you select a number that is smaller than the channel numbers that are already assigned to those attributes.
“Crossfade” will cause a channel to smoothly fade from one scene to another when changing scenes. The crossfade time will vary from scene to scene depending on how that scene was programmed. Use this setting for channels that control functions like pan and tilt or dimming to achieve a smooth transition from scene to scene. If you use this setting for gobo or color wheel channels, this will cause the wheels to step through all positions between the start and end positions of a long fade.
scenes, presets, chases and shows. The file is a binary file with the file extension .sdm and is compatible with Windows as long as you adhere to Window’s file naming rules. The file name can use up to 8 characters. You do not need to add the extension when typing in the file name. Read the section at the end of this manual on using the CF drive for more information. SAVE MEMORY FILE TO COM PORT This allows you to back up the DMX CONTROL 1536 memory on a PC using the RS-232 port.
To lock or unlock the memory from this menu, use the + and - switches or data wheel #1 to select the desired state, then press “enter”. ERASE ALL MEMORY (hidden) This is another one of the hidden menus that can only be selected while holding the “add” switch when cycling through the menu selections. This menu allows you to clear the entire memory of the DMX Control 1536. This erases the scene, preset, chase and show data as well as the system parameters such as fixture assignments.
CONTROLLING MOVING LIGHT FIXTURES The DMX Control 1536 allows you to take direct control of moving light fixture channels at any time. There is no “edit mode” as with some lighting controllers. In essence you are always in edit mode and can instantly save the current stage settings as a scene. This is one reason the DMX Control 1536 is so quick and easy to program.
To edit a fixture group that has already been recorded, first select the group then press “record” and proceed as described in the preceding paragraphs. Make any changes to the group then resave it. To erase an existing fixture group, press the “erase” switch at any time during the record process and then select the fixture group that you want to erase.
8 fixtures having 4 channels each, faders 1-4 will control the first fixture of the multi fixture group, faders 5-8 the second and so on. JOYSTICK The joystick controls pan and tilt on all selected fixtures that have a pan or tilt feature. The joystick is the “return to center” type so it operates by moving it in the desired direction. The greater the joystick angle the faster the pan or tilt movement will be. The state of the “fine” mode switch also determines the speed of the pan or tilt movement.
CONTROLLING CONVENTIONAL DIMMERS The DMX Control 1536 allows control of up to 128 conventional dimmers. These can be controlled from the flex faders or by entering percentage values with an external keyboard. Before dimmers can be addressed they must first be patched using the “Patch Conventional Dimmers” menu as explained in the previous menu section. To use the flex faders as dimmer controls, you must configure them from the “Select Flex Fader Mode” menu.
WORKING WITH MEMORIES The DMX CONTROL 1536 provides four types of memories: presets, chases, scenes and shows. Presets and chases are used as building blocks along with static channel levels to create scenes. Shows are simply scene lists. All four memory types can be assigned to playback faders or called up directly by selecting the corresponding memory number switch and page. RECORD SWITCH To the far right of the six function switches is the record switch.
To record the scene, select the page and scene number. You can use the page switches to select from pages 1 to 99 and the number switches from 1 to 48 allowing you to store up to 4752 scenes. If you select a scene number that is already lit, a message will appear asking if you want to write over the existing scene. Press “yes” or “no”. If at any time you wish to exit record mode without recording anything, press the “record” switch and you will exit record mode.
TURN OFF SCENE You can turn off a scene by pressing its lit LED to toggle it off. Any channels that are included in the scene will return to 0. ERASE SCENE To erase a scene from the memory, press “record” then “scene” then “erase”. As when recording a scene, all number LEDs that contain a scene will light. Next select the scene number to erase. That scene name will appear in the LCD along with the message “Erase this scene?”. Press “yes” or “no”. If you press “yes” the scene will be erased.
PRESETS A preset is a simple collection of channel settings for a moving light fixture or group. Presets are used as building blocks for scenes and provide fast and easy programming by giving you instant access to colors, beam settings, etc. Presets also save memory because many scenes can reference the same preset. For example, if a preset defines a pan and tilt location for several scenes, only the preset needs to be edited in order to modify the pan and tilt for all of those scenes.
To save the preset, select the page and number where you want to store it. If you select a number that is already lit, a message will appear asking if you want to write over the existing preset. Press “yes” or “no”. You can use the page switches to select from pages 1 to 24 which will allow you to store up to 1152 presets. You cannot record over or edit the factory presets on pages F1 through F4. After saving a preset, record mode stays active allowing you to continue to record more presets.
COMBINING PRESETS You can add existing presets to any preset you are currently working on. While in preset record mode press the “add” switch followed by any preset number that has something recorded on it. The channel settings will be added to the preset you are currently recording. You can add as many presets as you wish. You can use this to mix several smaller presets into a single larger one. If two presets control the same channels, the channel levels from the last one added will have precedence.
CHASES The DMX Control 1536 uses chases to create movements and special effects. DMX Control 1536 allows you to record up to 24 pages of 48 chases for a total of 1152 chases. There are seven different types of chases to choose from; shape, simple flash, complex flash, complex channel, color, gobo and color mix. Each type will be explained in detail in the following paragraphs.
There are a number of parameters that you can adjust for a shape chase. The first field in the display is the shape type, use data wheel #1 to select from the list. The second field in the display is the step time, use data wheel #2 to adjust the speed of the chase. The wheel will increment the value in .1 second steps. Press “fine” to increment in .01 second steps or place the cursor under any of the digits and use the + or – switch to select the step time. Use data wheel #3 to adjust the X size.
Depending on how the chase is programmed either the dimmer or the shutter will be used to flash a fixture. For chases that use a slow fade time the dimmer will be used and the shutter will be opened to full. For quick flashes, the shutter will be used to flash the fixture with the dimmer set to full. When controlling the chase using HTP playbacks, the fader will control the brightness of the dimmer.
Pressing “enter” when at the last recorded step of the chase will always add an additional step to the end. If you press “enter” while the step number is at a lower step you will advance to the next step number, the same as when you increment data wheel #1. If you make a mistake while recording a chase step, press “erase” and you will be prompted whether or not to erase the contents of the chase step. Press “yes” to clear the step of all its contents.
Use wheel #4 to adjust an offset if desired. “Offset” works similar to the shape chase offset in that each fixture will be offset from the next by the number of steps you select. The order of offset across the fixtures will be determined by the order that you select the fixtures for the chase. Page two of the color chase edit menu contains the chase name field. Use the data wheels or an external keyboard to name the chase.
RECALLING CHASES To run a chase, press the “chase” switch, and then press the desired page and number switch. The chase will begin to run at the speed that was selected when it was recorded. Pressing the same switch again will turn the chase off. You can run more than one chase (up to 16) as long as they are chasing different channels. If a new chase is selected that completely overrides one that is running, the overridden chase will be automatically turned off.
SHOWS A show is a sequence or list of up to 255 scenes that can be played back at preprogrammed times or played back manually using the “go”, “stop” and “back” switches. This is sometimes referred to as a stack by some controllers. DMX Control 1536 lets you record up to 24 pages of 48 shows for a total of 1152 shows. Shows are good for running the controller without an operator or for productions that never require changes on the fly.
switch. “Link” lets you to select another show that will automatically follow this show after it has played through. At any time while recording the show you can adjust the loop or manual settings, select a link or enter a name for the show. To set manual mode or program the link, use the right cursor switch to move the cursor on the display to the right, continuing past the “loop” field. The screen will switch to page two of the menu, showing these additional items.
running. You can however run more than one show at a time when using the playback faders. The shows that are running on the playbacks will not be shown in the display but you can run up to 16 shows at one time using all the playback faders. Read the playback section later in this manual for details on how to run shows this way. A show that is called from the number switches is the “main show” and is displayed on the LCD as it runs. There can only be one main show running at a time.
PERFORMANCE CONTROLS To the left of the four wheels are eight control buttons that are generally used for live performance. The following is a description of the functions of each of these switches. PREVIEW The “preview” switch is used along with the “go” switch to preview memories before calling them. With the “preview” LED lit, you can select scenes, presets, chases or shows using the 48 memory select buttons and the display will show the page and number as well as the name of the selected memory.
BEAT SWITCH The beat switch allows you to override the step time or beat of a chase by tapping on the switch in time to any music that is playing. The LED will flash in time to the beat that is tapped in. Any chases that are running will sync to this beat unless the speed has been locked for that chase. Read the previous section on recording chases regarding how to lock the chase speed. Pressing the “beat” switch will automatically turn off “audio”.
PLAYBACK MASTERS Scenes, presets, chases and shows can all be assigned to playback faders. There are 32 pages times 8 faders giving you a total of 256 playback fader memories to work with. In addition you can configure the flex faders as additional playbacks giving you 256 more. Playbacks can be configured individually to operate in LTP or HTP mode as explained later in this section. Each playback has a switch above it that is used for programming as well as performance functions.
captured at the start of the playback allowing the fader to pull back any channels to their starting positions. This will allow you to bring the values back to where they were in case you have started a playback in error. Any chases will begin when the playback starts and then stop when the playback fader is pulled back to 0. Pressing a flash button is the same as moving a fader to its highest level.
MIDI DMX Control 1536 allows you to call scenes and blackouts using the MIDI input. The scene page and number can be encoded in a MIDI message that can then be sent to the MIDI input by a computer or MIDI sequencer. You will have to use the tools provided with the MIDI program or device you are working with to create and send the correct MIDI message. The DMX CONTROL 1536 ’s receiving MIDI channel is selected using the setup menu as explained at the start of this manual.
USING THE COMPACT FLASH DRIVE The Compact flash drive uses CF cards that are formatted using the FAT16 file system. Cards formatted using FAT32 will not work. You will get the error message “format error” if you try to use the wrong type. When reformatting a card using your PC select “FAT” rather than “FAT32” for the file system. This will format the card using FAT16. The used Compact Flash cards must work at 5V or 3.3V power. Not all manufacturers’ CF cards have been tested on the DMX Control 1536.
software”, and press, “enter”. If the file is found on the disk, the DMX Control 1536 will go into update mode and start reading the file. The message “receiving new program” will appear in the display. After the software is successfully updated the DMX Control 1536 will reboot with the new version installed. If there are any errors an error message will appear and you will have to start over. Software updates can be downloaded from the ROBE website at www.robe.cz.
USING THE COMPUTER PORT (RS-232) The RS-232 port can be used to connect the DMX CONTROL 1536 to a personal computer in order to do memory backups, software updates and to load fixture profiles. You will need to get a null modem cable available at any computer store. Connect the 9 pin RS-232 port on the DMX Control 1536 to one of the serial “COM” ports on your PC. Some COM ports use a 25 pin connector and some use a 9 pin. Most null modem cables come with both types of connectors.
LOAD FIXTURE PROFILE Go to the to DMX Control 1536 menu item “Load fixture profile from CF”. The message “Ready to receive fixture profile, press enter to cancel” will appear on the display. Use the “Send File” function on the SD Backup program to send a fixture profile to the controller. The to DMX Control 1536 will wait until you send the file or until you press the “enter” switch to cancel.
2x USB LITE connectors (for gooseneck lamp). Weight: 17 kg (37 lbs) Dimensions (mm): 711x584x178 mm (28"x23"x7") Included accessories: 1x Compact Flash Card CF karet Kodak 64 MB 2x Gooseneck lamp 1x EURO-115V AC power cord 1x EURO-UK AC power cord 1x User manual Optional accessories: Touring Case DMX Control 1536 (No.10120057) Specifications are subject to change without notice.
FIXTURE LIBRARY The following is a list of lighting fixtures in the internal fixture library.. 32 DMX Channels Elation Active Scan/Wave Elation Alkalite 6 Channels Elation CMY Zoom 250 Elation CMY Zoom 575 Elation LED 12 Brick, LED 60 Strip Elation Design LED 36 Elation Design LED 36MH Elation Design LED 36UV, 36WA Elation Design LED Brick 36 – 6 chan. mode Elation Design LED Panel 72IP – 6 chan.
Martin CX10 Martin Entour Mode 2 Martin Krypton Mode 2 Martin Mac 250 Mode 4 Martin Mac 300 Mode 4 Martin Mac 500 Mode 4 Martin Mac 550 Mode 2 Martin Mac 600 Mode 4 Martin Mac 600 NT Mode 4 Martin Mac 700 Profile Martin Mac 700 Wash Martin Mac 1200 Mode 4 Martin Mac 2000 Performance Martin Mac 2000 Profile Martin Mac 2000 Wash Martin Mac TW1 Martin Mania SCX600 Martin Mania SCX700 Martin MX-1, MX-4 Martin MX10 Robe Color Spot 700E AT Mode 2 Robe Color Spot 1200AT Mode 2 Robe Color Spot 2500E AT Mode 2 Robe
Robe Color Spot 575E AT Mode 3 Robe Color Wash 575E AT Mode 3 Robe LedWash 136 LT 42
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