DMXter4
RDMtm
The
New
STANDARD DMX Tester
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON DMXter4(A) RDM
SOFTWARE RELEASE
NOTES -V4.32 and all earlier releases too.
TRANSMIT -
- The DMXter4 can ADJUST ONE SLOT at a time.
- It can AUTOFADE thru a dimmer system, bringing each
successive dimmer up to full and down again.
- It can ADJUST A RANGE of dimmers to the same level; the
range may be set to any width. Optionally it can cycle thru
ranges.
- It can ADJUST ALL SLOTS to the same level.
- SEND/EDIT SNAPSHOT can resend data recorded from a console,
or let you build or edit that data as it is sent
- The DMXter4 supports the alternate start code messages that
are a feature of E1.11 including:
- Send and receive text packets
- Send the DMX512A hex 55 test packet.
- Send and receive System Information Packets (SIP)
- SIP software allows monitoring the number of packets
received, while keeping track of three different types of errors. This
code may be used to monitor working systems in the field or help with
the development of new systems supporting SIPs. The extent of this code
can be judged by the fact that it adds a dozen new menu items. Many of
these items are cursor menus with four or five different parameters per
menu item.
Intercept and Modify
This feature allows you to
receive a universe of DMX while resending the same universe. You
can inspect any of the slots and take control of those slots, modifying
their levels.This means you can share the lighting system, taking
control of just the slots you need to do your work. This routine
also cleans up DMX512 with unusual
timing, allowing the use of receivers that require a conservative
DMX flavor.
This routine allows 32 slots to be viewed at once for a quick overview.
Each slot is displayed as a 10-state bar graph. One state shows
which slots are at zero, one state shows which slots are at full. The
remaining 8 states show intermediate levels. Optionally the exact level
of the first displayed slot can be read in all three number formats.
Viewing Received Levels on a PC
If you have a PC with a terminal emulator installed you can now view
the DMX levels on your PC. The display on the PC will look
like
the one shown below. This display shows slots
1 through 128. Three other pages are available to show all 512
slots.
The display below is a percent display; decimal and hex displays are
also supported.
DMXter 4 RDM View Levels Page 1 (1-128)
PROTCOL:DMX% Receiving Data
1
2
3 4
5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20
100 100 57 86 12
21 22 23 24
25 26 27
28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35
36 37 38 39 40
100
75 50 77 76 50
56
41 42 43 44
45 46 47
48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55
56 57 58 59 60
90 2 100
61 62 63 64
65 66 67
68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75
76 77 78 79 80
100
81 82 83 84
85 86 87
88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95
96 97 98 99 100
22
31
39
101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110
111 112 113 114 115 116
117 118 119 120
100
44
45 71
100
121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128
79
100
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Flavor Control - Variable DMX512 Timing
The DMX512 standard is widely used in theatrical lighting and effects.
Different equipment uses different aspects of the standard for a wide
variety of purposes. The DMX512 standard allows wide variation of
certain parameters. We allow you to vary five important parameters of
the transmitted signal to help the DMXter4 mimic as many products as
possible. We group these parameters into presets which we call
‘flavors’. The DMXter4 provides you with eight flavors, three of them
user-defined. Those parameters you can vary are:
- Break Length in μs
- Mark After Break Length in μs
- Numbers of slots sent
- Interslot time in μs
- Mark Before Break in m/μs (Interpacket Time)
- Receive can measure all the above, and it can measure the
interslot time between the START Code and the first data slot.
MULTI
CHANNEL MODE
DMX512 was conceived as a dimmer control protocol. Today many different
theatrical devices are controlled by DMX512. Many of these devices,
particularly moving lights, use more than one DMX slot. Our Multi
Channel Mode moving light software will let you:
- Define a fixture type using 2 to 99 slots.
- Define the number of similar fixtures in a contiguous
block. A block
may contain from 1 to 99 fixtures.
- Many multi channel fixtures have an internal dimmer, but
some do not.
For fixture types that use an external dimmer, the software allows
patching of the intensity control channel to any slot.
- If the external dimmers are in contiguous blocks, a simple
auto patch
routine will set up the patch with the absolute minimum of key strokes.
- Some multi channel fixtures use discharge or arc style
lamps. Many of these lamps may not be turned on and off at will. To
make it easier to
deal with these fixtures, the software can define one slot as the arc
lamp control slot. This slot’s level will never be changed except by an
explicit instruction.
- Enter test values for any specific fixture. Consider you
are testing a lighting system with 15 moving lights; the first light
starts at slot
93, each light takes 11 slots, and the iris is on slot 7. What slot is
the iris on lamp 13? Just select fixture 13, slot 7, there is no need
to calculate the absolute dimmer channel address. If you wish to view
the absolute address, a simple key press will display it. Once you are
finished testing one fixture, you may move to the next one
with a single key stroke. As an option the values you set for the first
fixture may be copied to the next fixture. The old fixture is returned
to one of three definable conditions.
BACK
DMXter4
ShowSaver
How would you like to have a backup DMX512 controller? ShowSaver allows
your DMXter4 to work as a backup device.
- Store up to eight 512-slot ‘looks’. Record the looks from
the output of
your console or create them using the DMXter4's keys.
- Assign a 1-16 character name and a 0-30 second fade time to
each look.
View and edit stored looks - live or blind.
- During playback, cross-fade between any two looks or fade
to black.
During playback, adjust individual slot levels on-stage without
altering the levels in the stored look.
- During playback, adjust a proportional Grand Master.
The DMXter4's ShowSaver is useful for testing dimmers and color
scrollers too!
Our more sophisticated show controller is called ShowPlayer.
BACK
DMXter4
All DMXters provide a synchronization output that may be used to
trigger an oscilloscope to view the unit's output. Synching a scope to
an unknown source of DMX512 is notoriously difficult. For occasions
when this is necessary, the RECEIVE SCOPE TRIGGER hardware allows you
to synch to a received DMX512 signal from any source. This option
provides the hardware; the software is included in all units. The
hardware is an external scope trigger generator card. The RECEIVE SCOPE
TRIGGER hardware option is not for general DMX512 users. This is an
analytical test function valuable in the R&D lab and for serious
component level troubleshooters. The RECEIVE SCOPE TRIGGER option will
allow you to:
- Trigger on beginning of BREAK
- Trigger on end of BREAK
- Trigger on beginning of START CODE
- Trigger after any slot - this may be set to be conditional
on START
CODE and/or slot level. One shot or continuous modes available.
BACK DMXter4
Goddard
Design Company
51
Nassau Ave.
Brooklyn
NY 11222 USA
718
599-0170
718 599-0172 fax
http://www.goddarddesign.com
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© copyright Goddard Design Co. 2008
last updated Aug. 21, 2016
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