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IceBurghDJ

IceBurghDJ

DJ Extraordinaire
Apr 17, 2015
3,312
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Western Pennsylvania
iceburghdj.com
I run DMX via windows laptop, sushi-ds and donner wireless.

At times, rarely, the fixtures (one here or there) can get 'confused' and stick in a mode.

I've upped my game of late for school dances and last night...well, had a b!tch of a time getting the lights to communicate with teh computer. Had to skip the donner and wire it direct. Tested fine (5 min before gametime) and 20 min in some fixtures got 'locked' into one program and that was that, some didn't respond at all.

I've used a terminator and not used one...don't see any difference.

not sure if it's a windows update issue (it did do that earlier in the day before loading up for tht gig - I always reboot and check!)
Wire issue..using all my lighting and wires...?
an unfortunate mix of things? Order they're plugged in? I used the same setup 2 weeks ago at a dance with zero issues.

Using: 2 venue pars, z mini kintas, 1 kinta fx, 4 chinese moving heads, 2 ADJ uv lights, acrobat.
In the past at dances i didn't run the pars and had only 1 UV bar.

Any thoughts or suggestions on how to test this conglomeration? Seems a bit overwhelming to trouble shoot it all.

Did a small event thursay - zero issues all night (4 play and kinta fx, donner wireless).
Doing a small dance tuesday...may take the UV lights. Or pars. Try a 'partial' test this way?
 
When i used the obey 70 i would sometimes get a glitch here and there....normally turned it off and back on and it fixed it... i think dmx in general is prone to these minor little glitches...

what lighting software are you running?

i definitely recommend sticking with terminators (not saying thats your problem)... they may never seem to make a difference but its easy to do and eliminates the potential of that being a problem at some point in the night

cc
 
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i have a feeling it is laptop/software related. If it's glitching wired and wireless, well... then it doesn't leave much else. Once in a while I get delays or freezing on my shows, but typically a quick restart of the program gets things back to nromal fast. I personally have not updated any of my laptops running lighting (or photo booth for that matter)... my opinion is if it's working why change anything.
 
rickryan.com said:
I had a problem with my original mydmx software "sticking". Turns out, it was the hard drive going to sleep in the laptop from lack of use. The fix was using softjock's "keep them spinning" app to keep the HD alive, problem solved.
Click to expand...
I'll have to look into that...didn't consider it.

I try not to update the computers...but windows being windows it will force you to do it. Like an iphone - skip the update and sooner rather than later it stops working - at least PC's keep working, just the pop up windows get to be too damned annoying. And my desktop got fedup with my postponing and just did it (from win 10.0 to 10.1) without approval or anything.

Yes, real dmx cables. one could be bad, going bad, etc..you never know. When plugging in lights to the power I found one that would cut in/out depending on how I moved the power cord...it's on the bench till I can attend to it.
 
IceBurghDJ said:
I run DMX via windows laptop, sushi-ds and donner wireless.

At times, rarely, the fixtures (one here or there) can get 'confused' and stick in a mode.

I've upped my game of late for school dances and last night...well, had a b!tch of a time getting the lights to communicate with teh computer. Had to skip the donner and wire it direct. Tested fine (5 min before gametime) and 20 min in some fixtures got 'locked' into one program and that was that, some didn't respond at all.

I've used a terminator and not used one...don't see any difference.

not sure if it's a windows update issue (it did do that earlier in the day before loading up for tht gig - I always reboot and check!)
Wire issue..using all my lighting and wires...?
an unfortunate mix of things? Order they're plugged in? I used the same setup 2 weeks ago at a dance with zero issues.

Using: 2 venue pars, z mini kintas, 1 kinta fx, 4 chinese moving heads, 2 ADJ uv lights, acrobat.
In the past at dances i didn't run the pars and had only 1 UV bar.

Any thoughts or suggestions on how to test this conglomeration? Seems a bit overwhelming to trouble shoot it all.

Did a small event thursay - zero issues all night (4 play and kinta fx, donner wireless).
Doing a small dance tuesday...may take the UV lights. Or pars. Try a 'partial' test this way?
Click to expand...
Is the problem always with the same fixtures? Start with less fixtures, test, add more test, until something isn't working right. You could also try a different program to see if that's causing the problem. Freestyler is free. DMX-love it, hate it!
 
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IceBurghDJ said:
yes.
might explain it not connecting/communicating..doesn't explain why fixtures get 'lost' or 'confused' even when wired.
Click to expand...

The first issue is 2.4Ghz - it isn't reliable in a lot of places.

The second issue is inferior cables, or inferior products. A confused repsonse is a corrupted data stream, and a lost fixture is the seriel signal falling off the digital cliff. You're going to lose at least -1dB with every connection you make (and a cable joiner counts twice.) It's not clear how well the DMX signal is being repeated as it loops through each DJ class fixture. There could be an issue with what is happening in that turn-around if the fixtures are of a very inexpensive type.

Start as previously suggested by looking for a defective fixture, both indepoendently, and in a fully linked chain. Change the link order and see if the issues move with position. Try another controller (hardware instead of software) and check that your software output has the right bit rate, etc.
 
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last night..4play, kinta and kinta fx.
Wireless - no go. Have to look at that and see what's up.
Wired - no issue.

Used MDIS - only gave me 30 minutes..tehn i have to renew it? PITA. Anyway, no issues all night, but then it was only a 2 hour dance and only 3 fixtures.
The kinta that had a bad 110v socket was fine last night...argh!
 
Your Donner wireless transmitter has to compete with all the cellphones in the room to find open 2.4GHz channels to communicate on. For $38 on Amazon, you might try this Donner-compatible high-power wireless transmitter. The "PA" button allows you to select power levels 0-3. I set it to level-0 in a sparse room with nearby receivers, to avoid overpowering them. With a crowded room, I often need level-3:

Amazon.com: Lixada 2.4G Wireless DMX 512 Controller Transmitter Receiver LCD Display Power Adjustable Repeater Lighting Controller: Musical Instruments

Buy Lixada 2.4G Wireless DMX 512 Controller Transmitter Receiver LCD Display Power Adjustable Repeater Lighting Controller: Handheld Wireless Microphones - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases
www.amazon.com
 
Yeah, i've instances where I think the donner transmiter is weak..so this lixada is compatible wiht the donner receivers then?

I'm working up a 'big' order with amazon and suppose I can toss it on the pile...gonna be like christmas when everything arrives. Gonna sign up for prime as well...

Lish Lash said:
Your Donner wireless transmitter has to compete with all the cellphones in the room to find open 2.4GHz channels to communicate on. For $38 on Amazon, you might try this Donner-compatible high-power wireless transmitter. The "PA" button allows you to select power levels 0-3. I set it to level-0 in a sparse room with nearby receivers, to avoid overpowering them. With a crowded room, I often need level-3:

Amazon.com: Lixada 2.4G Wireless DMX 512 Controller Transmitter Receiver LCD Display Power Adjustable Repeater Lighting Controller: Musical Instruments

Buy Lixada 2.4G Wireless DMX 512 Controller Transmitter Receiver LCD Display Power Adjustable Repeater Lighting Controller: Handheld Wireless Microphones - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases
www.amazon.com
Click to expand...
 
IceBurghDJ said:
Yeah, i've instances where I think the donner transmiter is weak..so this lixada is compatible wiht the donner receivers then?

I'm working up a 'big' order with amazon and suppose I can toss it on the pile...gonna be like christmas when everything arrives. Gonna sign up for prime as well...
Click to expand...

This looks like the same transmitter that I bought. I too, noticed that the Donner transmitters were a bit weak, mostly on uplights that were far across the room. That transmitter worked like a charm for me and it is compatible with the donner receivers. Just a general observation, it seems the chinese wireless DMX transmitters/receivers are all compatible with each other these days. I still have a batch of Chauvet radio units and they're not even compatible between release versions. The Donners are a big step up in my book.
 
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Lish Lash said:
Your Donner wireless transmitter has to compete with all the cellphones in the room to find open 2.4GHz channels to communicate on. For $38 on Amazon, you might try this Donner-compatible high-power wireless transmitter. The "PA" button allows you to select power levels 0-3. I set it to level-0 in a sparse room with nearby receivers, to avoid overpowering them. With a crowded room, I often need level-3:

Amazon.com: Lixada 2.4G Wireless DMX 512 Controller Transmitter Receiver LCD Display Power Adjustable Repeater Lighting Controller: Musical Instruments

Buy Lixada 2.4G Wireless DMX 512 Controller Transmitter Receiver LCD Display Power Adjustable Repeater Lighting Controller: Handheld Wireless Microphones - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases
www.amazon.com
Click to expand...

i dont quite know how this works... can anyone explain?

cc
 
djcrazychris said:
i dont quite know how this works... can anyone explain?

cc
Click to expand...
The Lixada transmitter (and there are other similar ones with different names) is a more "robust" version of the Donner (et al) transmitter. It has selectable power levels, so you can optimize it for the environment. You need receivers ... either the Donners, or Lixada XLR style or one of these combo units attached to the remote fixture.
 
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steve149 said:
The Lixada transmitter (and there are other similar ones with different names) is a more "robust" version of the Donner (et al) transmitter. It has selectable power levels, so you can optimize it for the environment. You need receivers ... either the Donners, or Lixada XLR style or one of these combo units attached to the remote fixture.
Click to expand...

so standard donner receivers work with it? ive got 7... but how does it change frequencies and still work with the donner protocol?

cc
 
djcrazychris said:
so standard donner receivers work with it? ive got 7... but how does it change frequencies and still work with the donner protocol?

cc
Click to expand...
They should .. most of the generic Chinese Wireless DMX use 7 bands, so you just need to match the colors or band numbers. Maybe not compatible with the similar looking Blizzard Wicicles though.

This Q/A section from an Amazon says it does ...

36591
 
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