DMx Commands and system integration problem

[kirit1]

My set up includes ShowXpress D512 connected to a PC (most recent V.26 software, under Windows 7), 6 Am DJ ProfilePanels, 2 Chauvet Colorado Batten 70, 4 Colorstrip mini, 2 Colorstrips. A Scene was created in the lab,downloaded and ran a OK in the lab. At the site, after installation, the scene works fine in standalone mode until we try to edit it. In editor, 2 out of 4 ProfilePanels are respondng to the software faders a OK. The other two, however, respond only to Green and Blue faders, but not Red! Likewise, of the two Batten 70's, one responds perfectly; the other does not respond to any Fader! Since the pre-loaded scene seems to work a OK, and since most installed devices are working a OK, I am puzzled. I have just ordered an optoisolator, however, do not have much time should it not resolve the issue. Any suggestions? Thank You!

[support]

Works fine in standalone mode, and problem with computer !
This sounds like some electrical ground loop between computer and lights.

We suggest you to try each light individually, with only one small dmx line, and all other lights off.

[kirit1]

OK, I performed this controlled experiment:
1. Connected my laptop, ShowXpress 512 Controller and one Am DJ Propanel (RGB Mode, Address 2001) using short cables. Same results as with when many other items were connected in the DMX loop: No response to RED fader; Green and/or Blue faders worked a OK.

2. Same as above, except changed the DMX Adress from 001 to 004 (set back of the Panel 2004). The same panel now responds to each R, G, and B fader correctly at DMX Address 4.

3. Replaced the original Panel with another Panel in the experiment above. Assign this panel DMX Start Address = 1, and again no response to the RED fader. The Green and Blue faders still worked correctly. It is not very probable that two new panels could have identical hardware failures.

4. Change the DMX address of this second panel to 4 (= physical address on the panel set to 2004). Now each R, G , and B faders work a OK.

It seems like the problem above occurs in the "manual" edit mode. I was able to upload the entire scene in the DMX 512 and, then, in the standalone mode, the scene was getting executed correctly. Since two panels do respond correctly at DMX Address 004 and above, and neither responds correctly at address 001, could it be a Controller hardware or ShoxXpress software? Please help!

Thank You!

Kirit

[support]

Generally, when the interface has a dmx out problem, all dmx channels are bad, and not only a few.
You can open ControlBoard -> bargraph, and tell us if:
- the red levels work with Editor
- the red levels work with Live
If answer is "yes" with Editor and "no" with Live, there is a chance that there is a dmx input patch which must be disabled.

[kirit1]

I tested the DMx Ch. 1,2,3 issue under both Editor and Live. In either case, the Red bar graph and the actual LEDs always stayed low whereas the Green and Blue bars (and the green and red LEDs) went up and down as expected. When running the show "live" under computer control (launched from the Editor), neither the bar for DMx Ch.1 nor the actual RED LEDs transitioned at all. The DMx Ch. 2 and 3, and their respective LEDs did transition properly as expected. Finally, when running the "downloaded" show, I see the RED LEDs transition as expected and, of course, there is no corresponding bar graph in the standalone mode.

Since Red is DMx Ch. 1, the Bar Graph screen shows this bar "yellow" all the time. This in itself is not an issue, but the fact that the bar does not go up and down is of concern.

Also, the physical device I am using is American DJ Profile Panel (an RGB Wash light), with its Dmx address configured to start at 2001 (the 2 signifies that it requires 3 DMX channels - R, G, and B). Since this particular fixture is not in the list of devices supported in the ShowXpress Software setup, I have identified the fixture as Chauvet Colordash Accent(ARC1). Of the six such ProPanels configured as ARC1, only Ch.1 at DMX Addr. 001 is having problem; all others (002 thru 018) work a OK.....HELP!