Virtual dimmer channel (dimmer for RGB)

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Re: Virtual dimmer channel (dimmer for RGB)

Postby SeekLighting » 04 February 2019, 23:34

joshjosh wrote:Can you use the master fader in the steps editor?


Not really. Your master fader in Live mode can override steps mode, if you have both activated in DMX (try it out, you'll see what I mean), but there's no such thing as putting the Master Fader into Steps mode directly. Why would you want to anyway just out of curiosity?
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Re: Virtual dimmer channel (dimmer for RGB)

Postby joshjosh » 05 February 2019, 18:57

When creating scenes, I usually create a "colors" bank and a "movement" bank. In the colors I only edit the RGB channels and not the dimmer channel for each fixture, for movement, I create scenes using only the dimmer channels..
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Re: Virtual dimmer channel (dimmer for RGB)

Postby daba » 01 April 2019, 08:20

I too am having troubles assigning my fixture channels...

Please bear with me as I am new to all this, so still on the nursery slopes of the learning curve.

My LED Par Can fixtures have channel 1 as a "master" dimmer for the RGBW channels that follow, thus.

Channel 1 : master dimmer
Channel 2 : Red
Channel 3 : Green
Channel 4 : Blue
Channel 5 : White
Channel 6 : Function
Channel 7 : Function Speed

I create my fixture exactly as per that list, but when I go to Steps and choose the fixture, I see seven "channels", but channel 2 operates as the dimmer, channel 3 as Red, 4 as Green etc.

So I'm thinking that the software is assigning channel 1 as a "Master" dimmer, then channel 2 becomes the first channel of my fixture. So I thought I would add the fixture dimmer as channel 2, effectively and hopingly shifting the RGBW channels to their correct places. So that seems to work, but the leftmost channel in "Steps" has no effect, my light brightness is only controlled by channel 2, which I added as a Color Dimmer. The fixture editor shows Channel 1 (Master Dimmer) as DMX channel 1, and My color dimmer as DMX channel 2, which of course is not correct for the fixtures themselves.

Can anyone please explain what I am doing wrong here, and please keep it simple so that I can understand....

TIA
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Re: Virtual dimmer channel (dimmer for RGB)

Postby SeekLighting » 02 April 2019, 04:25

daba wrote:I too am having troubles assigning my fixture channels...

Please bear with me as I am new to all this, so still on the nursery slopes of the learning curve.

My LED Par Can fixtures have channel 1 as a "master" dimmer for the RGBW channels that follow, thus.

Channel 1 : master dimmer
Channel 2 : Red
Channel 3 : Green
Channel 4 : Blue
Channel 5 : White
Channel 6 : Function
Channel 7 : Function Speed

I create my fixture exactly as per that list, but when I go to Steps and choose the fixture, I see seven "channels", but channel 2 operates as the dimmer, channel 3 as Red, 4 as Green etc.

So I'm thinking that the software is assigning channel 1 as a "Master" dimmer, then channel 2 becomes the first channel of my fixture. So I thought I would add the fixture dimmer as channel 2, effectively and hopingly shifting the RGBW channels to their correct places. So that seems to work, but the leftmost channel in "Steps" has no effect, my light brightness is only controlled by channel 2, which I added as a Color Dimmer. The fixture editor shows Channel 1 (Master Dimmer) as DMX channel 1, and My color dimmer as DMX channel 2, which of course is not correct for the fixtures themselves.

Can anyone please explain what I am doing wrong here, and please keep it simple so that I can understand....

TIA


What you've described there sounds very odd. The software should not be automatically creating a master channel as 1 or anything like that. If you have made the fixture profile exactly as you've described there it should just function exactly as is
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Re: Virtual dimmer channel (dimmer for RGB)

Postby daba » 02 April 2019, 05:07

Thank you TimH

I am beginning to believe that the problem is with my USB/DMX cable not behaving correctly, as the fixtures created as I described work perfectly in 3D View, but not on the fixture, and the physical fixture works perfectly on my hardware controller.

I'm going to try re-installing the drivers for the USB cable, but I don't hold out much hope....
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Re: Virtual dimmer channel (dimmer for RGB)

Postby daba » 02 April 2019, 07:50

daba wrote:I'm going to try re-installing the drivers for the USB cable, but I don't hold out much hope....


I did a cross-check slightly differently, I installed ShowXpress and drivers on a laptop that has not seen it before. Then I created (from afresh) my fixture, mapping it to DMX address 1.

Same problem - channel 2 is my master fader, 3 red, etc.

Now I'm thinking the USB cannot possibly have the intelligence to add 1 to my DMX addressing, and the problem must surely be in ShowXpress software.

Think I'll start a new thread on the subject ....
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Re: Virtual dimmer channel (dimmer for RGB)

Postby Bobnjul » 24 July 2019, 15:12

I have asked for this too... The Master Fader in Live mode is fine for "on the fly' adjustments, but cannot be programmed into step scenes. What I would need is a "virtual fader" that can be programmed and adjusted so that the RGB can programmed and adjusted in step or generator scenes. Essentially, it allows the separate color channels to be programmed in unison and react like an RGB par can. This IS a feature that exists in Pro-Level consoles and software like Vista and Hog. It is especially useful in controlling overall intensity of inexpensive RGB and RGBW tape light DMX controllers that don't provide a Master Dimmer channels. I like to program cues that vary Master dimmer intensity gradually to create the look of motion on stage, and currently it is VERY difficult to do with RGB tape controllers that don't have master fader channels. It should be an option included in the custom fixture profile creation panel... when added to a custom fixture profile, it would appear in the step and generator editors as a Dimmer fader that is not numbered or in a different color or something that differentiates it from a standard DMX channel, yet It can be programmed as if it were a DMX channel. If a Virtual Master fader is added to a Fixture profile, that fixture will not illuminate until that Virtual Master Fader is engaged (even if the RGB channels are active), just like any other standard RGB(W) fixture.

I can't express just how much I want this!
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Re: Virtual dimmer channel (dimmer for RGB)

Postby support » 24 July 2019, 15:37

In Steps, there is a dimmer at the right side of the color wheel, so you can adjust the global dimmer for each step.
In Generator, the color wheel is black at the center and white at the outbounds, so you can adjust the global dimmer for each point.
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Re: Virtual dimmer channel (dimmer for RGB)

Postby Bobnjul » 24 July 2019, 15:44

I started a new thread as this concept and need is very important to my needs. i think I explain it well in the new thread.
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Re: Virtual dimmer channel (dimmer for RGB)

Postby support » 24 July 2019, 16:23

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