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Goddard Design Co. 51 Nassau Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11222

1. 13 7 2 ShowPlayer Number 13 7 3 ShowPlayer and the Auto Shutdown 13 7 5 ShowPlayer and the Colortran 13 8 The Fuel aes We tas ed Ree Ree oe ae ea BO OS 14 SHOWSAVER FOR 5 DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents Go to Main Menu TS RDM CONTROLLER ici Gaede Qos acon ae 15 1 DISCOVER DEVICES DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents VI Go to Main Menu 15 1 1 Discover Newly Connected 15 1 2 Discover DEVICES 2 ven 15 13 Load eee bee TS 124 Store sate E NRS 15 139 Delete Rio bode ee Rees BEd ed ae ee 15 1 6 Add UID Manually 15 1 7 Remove UID Manually Advanced RDM 15 1 8 Discover Without Unmute Advanced RDM only 15 1 9 Mute Device Advanced RDM 15 1 10 Unm
2. 13 3 2 Main Menu Loop Short Cut 13 3 3 Key Press Convention Used Inside Menu 14 3 4 Exit and Terminate Methods 13 4 READING THE MAIN MENU ITEM 1 13 5 The Main Menu 2 13 5 1 The Display 885 866 13 5 2 PLAYBACK 13 53 ADJUST LEVELS 22202 2 05 ee 13 5 4 RECORD 13 5 5 EDIT FADE 5 13 5 6 DELETE CUE erris i riers eda dts ba wees bed OER 13 5 7 13 58 EDIT DEFAULTS aed eae in eG 13 5 9 HALT RESUME SHOW 13 5 10 FADE ALL 13 5 11 1 Keys Active during 8 13 6 EXITING SHOWPLAYER hae DOSS ee ease a 13 7 SHOWPLAYER TECHNICAL 6 13 7 1 ShowPlayer
3. 8 5 2 Hardware Modification of Open Line Detector for 3 3V Drivers for DMXter4 Units 8 7 ENABLE BUMP ALM 05364034 bed eh eee bh 8 8 SET THE INTERCEPT amp MODIFY FLAVOR 8 9 COPYRIGHT NOTICE Author Credits 8 10 8 11 FIRMWARE CHECKSUM amp MAXIMUM STACK 8 12 Co Processor Version and Check sum 4A 8 13 SERIAL NUMBER and 2 hea eases DE Mee ae eee RES de eee EES 8 14 21 Erase EEPROM oid ceed bi ob ea eee dad 814 2 Erase Flash we eae ase sei Dee oes 8 14 3 Reset User Setting and Shut 8 14 4 Test SRAM Expansion orot 24 oe 559559 Meas SAS 8 14 5 Install Co Processor Firmware 9 FLICKER FINDER 9 1 RE ENTERING FLICKER FINDER 9 2 TECHNICAL NOTES ON FLICKER 9 2 1 Low Battery Warnings During Flicker
4. 1 10 4 3 AUTOFADING ONE SLOT 10 4 4 CLEARING THE SNAPSHOT 1 4 5 TAKING NEW 5 7 2 1 4 5 1 Actions That Overwrite or Erase 12 4 6 SEND EDIT SNAPSHOT 1 12 4 6 1 Searching for the next Slot with 12 4 6 2 Re entering Send Edit 12 4 6 3 Clearing the Snapshot Within 12 4 7 CHANGE SEND 13 4 7 1 Changing the User 14 47 2 Change Break Length occ ou cia eee heed eh ee 14 4 7 3 Change Mark after Break 14 4 7 4 Setting the Number of 51016 14 4 75 Interslot Time 2 22 2222 coe sees eee be ee eve ea gee EREA eee eS 14 4 7 6 Mark Before Break formerly Interpacket 15 4 8 THE SNAPSHOT LIBRARY he 15 4 81 Load Snapshots 52220 EE IEE
5. 4 4 6 1 3 1 Default Display 7 2 THE lt TOP gt KEY TURNS THE UNIT ON 7 2 1 IF THE UNIT WILL 7 2 2 BYPASSING THE INITIALIZATION 55 7 2 3 RESETTING TO FACTORY 8 1 8 2 4 OWNER IDENTIFICATION MESSAGE OPTIONAL 0 0 0 0 0c eee eee eee 8 2 5 DISABLING THE 1 8 2 6 THE DISPLAY 25 225 2 8 2 7 PRESSING lt TOP gt WHEN THE DMXter IS 8 2 8 Sleeping Versus Electrically 8 IMAN MENU 5555 iced bee eee ees eed bee ed Hee Ore etd Hae Denes 9 4 TRANSMIT DMX ahs 9 4 0 1 Ifa Non zero START Code Is 4 0 2 Ifa Non standard Flavor Is Set 9 4 0 3 Support for External Switches 9 41 ADJUSTING ONE 61 0 2 10 4 2 REENTERING ADJUST
6. is 4 8 2 Store Snapshot Sees ee hae ROS as PEM 15 4 8 3 Delete Snapshot 15 4 9 CHANGING THE START 2 15 4 9 1 MAB Accuracy Vs START 16 4 10 SETTING THE MINIMUM LEVEL FOR 8 16 4 11 TRANSMIT SCOPE TRIGGER 16 4 12 ADVANCED TRANSMIT 16 Adjust Au 17 4 12 2 ADJUST SLOT 22 2 17 4 12 4 DMX512 TEST PACKET 55 18 4 12 5 Sending ASCII Text 18 4 12 6 Sending UTF 8 Text 18 4 12 7 Send System Information 19 4 12 7 1 Loading 19 44272 Send Men 1 2 55 a pe ee EES 19 512 73 Send Men Lee 20 4 12 7 4 Sip Menu 3 Packet Control Slots 20 5
7. 15 6 17 14 Get Set DMX512 Fail Mode 37 1 3 4 15 6 17 15 Get Set DMX512 Startup Mode 37 1 3 5 15 6 17 16 Get Set DMX512 Block Address 37 1 3 3 15 7 VIEW SENSORS e tee ERE ee See es bed bese beens eee 15 7 1 Sensors Abbreviation 0 0 0 0 ccc ene eet teen eens 15 8 DEVICE 885 15 8 1 Get Queued 15 8 1 1 QUEUED MSG ERR 15 8 1 2 QUEUED MSG WRN 15 8 1 3 GET QUEUED 5 15 8 1 4 GET QUEUED 5 8 15 8 2 Get Status 52568 2 222 24 54 vega 15 8 2 1 GET STATUS 5 15 8 2 2 GET STATUS 5 15 8 2 3 GET STATUS MSG ADV 15 8 2 4 GET STATUS 5 5 15 8 2 5 GET STATUS 5 15 8 3 Clear Status ID rie dekh bah Wak pe eee 15 8 4 Sub Device Status Report 18 15 9 SEND EDIT DEVICE 5555644 eds peas
8. eee de 15 62 Self Test SAE RAGS ESO 15 6 13 Reset Lamp ec ceri ete 15 6 14 Reset Lamp 5 15 06 15 Warm Reset 5 ered 1 6 18 137 1 oe ene ae hee a a 15 6 18 1 Get Set Curve 37 1 4 6 4 7 2 15 6 18 2 Get Set Output Response Time 37 1 4 8 4 0 15 6 18 3 Get Set Modulation Frequency 37 1 4 10 4 11 15 6 18 4 Get Set Identify Mode 37 1 3 2 15 6 18 5 Power On Self Test 37 1 3 6 15 6 18 6 Get Set Preset Merge mode 37 5 4 15 6 18 7 Get 32 1 5 0 59 Weed toes OK ee Wie 15 6 17 8 Get Set Preset Status 37 1 5 3 15 6 17 9 Get Set Lock Pin 37 1 3 9 15 6 17 10 Get Set Lock State 37 1 5 7 15 6 17 11 Get Set Burn 37 1 3 10 15 6 17 12 Get Dimmer Info 37 1 4 3 15 6 17 13 Get Set Minimum Level 37 1 4 4 15 6 17 13 Get Set Maximum Level 37 1 4 3
9. 5 RECEIVE 512 Answering lt YES Q gt to the RECEIVE DMX512 query puts you in the RECEIVE menu the first question the user needs to answer is RECEIVE DMX512 END OF LINE DMX512 systems may be wired as a daisy chain with multiple receivers connected in series by a cable going from the console to receiver 1 another cable going from receiver 1 to receiver 2 and then on from there until all the receivers are connected ina chain The last receiver in the chain is required to terminate the line For more information on termination please see Section 23 6 3 The DMXter4 may be inserted at any point in the daisy chain If it is inserted at the end of the daisy chain it must terminate the DMX line If it is inserted in the middle of the daisy chain it should be transparent passing signals from its input connector to its output connector Your answer to the END OF LINE question will control whether the DMXter terminates the line or not Answering lt YES Q gt will terminate the line 5 0 1 Ifa Non zero START Code Is Set If you previously changed the START Code to 0 value you will be informed of this fact and given the chance to change the START Code if you wish DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 21 Go to Main Menu 5 1 VIEW LEVELS Pressing the lt YES Q gt key will display 4 slot numbers on the top line and their levels below The u
10. 24 5 4 3 List Received START 24 544 of Slots per Packet ee ee ee eee 25 54 5 Interslot Time Us es pees neta estas eee nh 25 5 4 6 MARK BEFORE BREAK in 6 23 5 47 MARK AFTER START CODE 22 5 4 8 Average Routines for 5 4 5 5 4 6 5 4 7 23 DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents Il Go to Main Menu 5 4 9 Break to break 4 5 4 10 Updates per Second 22 006 dsncaoued aa eed 5 5 RETURN MAIN 8 22 5 6 CHANGING THE START 2 5 7 SETTING THE MINIMUM LEVEL FOR SEARCHES 5 8 DMX512 PARAMETERS NOT 5 9 1 Displayed Character thew cen ee Sed eee A be 5 10 RECEIVE UTF 8 TEXT 68 5 11 VIEW SIPS rcii 49 eee 5 11 1 Resetting the Error
11. 15 3 15 Product_detail id 186 15 3 16 Supported 2 15 3 17 DMXter4 4A RDM Supported 15 3 18 Comms eo LO eae we eee OR 15 4 SET DMX 585 15 5 SET DMX 5 15 6 SETUP RDM DEVICE 56 da reads bed ee 15 61 Device Label dentin da hed ban beh ab de we ee ee ee 15 6 2 Display Level Brightness n n 0 0000 teenies 15 6 3 Display Inverts sii o f gow fare 15 6 4 Pan Inverts sec ie Goh eee Reeds 1569 Tilt Invert ed eee De es ee ee eee ees 15 6 6 Pan Tilt Swaps ecs ede sed ok Renee 15 6 7 Lamp State 15 6 Lamp ON Mode iis ccc creda eeu Sowa bead sees eee 15 6 9 Power Poe Sead bee dee Se ede ee 15 6 10 Capture 5 at nk tend Ea shen Rane 15 6 11 Playback Presets ins
12. 2 9 11 2 View SIP menu Vic cence eS eed eee ee 5 11 3 View Sip 2 5 11 4 Packet Control Data Menu 3 11 5 Error Count Mens oes hea koe ota sod hee AN a Maa OV OS Swe 5 11 6 View Raw SIP Packet i ed Dee eed eek Ge ed be 5 11 7 View the SIP Checked Null GOINTERCEPT amp MODIFY shes eee ss haw ENE SEE ERE AS POSES NE 7 CABLE TESTER cae 7 1 DOUBLE ENDED CABLE TEST 7 11 Ending Cable cits hat oA EE A Oa ae PSE 8 SETUP OPTIONS eee eck ee PAE eae RE ee Bee ee ee 8 1 8 1 1 THE AUTO SHUTDOWN TIMER IS DISABLED BY AC MAINS 8 2 BACK LITE OFF OPTION 8 3 DISABLING THE BACKLITE TIMER 8 4 NUMBER FORMAT 2 8 5 OPEN LINE DETECTOR 2 8 5 1 False Errors with 3 3 Volt 485
13. 15 12 8 Discovery Time to Last Activity Advanced RDM 15 12 9 Number of Unicast and Discovery Packets Received Advanced RDM only 15 12 10 Unicast Retry Count Advanced RDM 16 DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents Go to Main Menu 17 RDM Flavors Advanced 2 84 18 RDM Spitters boa Gil 84 19 RECEIVE SCOPE TRIGGER 84 20 COLORTRAN PROTOCOL 8 84 84 21 1 CE Declaration of Conformity 0 0 0 0 cece 85 22 AND FEEDING OF THE 86 DD Chare GE 86 22 2 Low Battery Warnings Power 86 22 3 Meal Penalty ek ete ed ALE ee es 86 22 4 Turning off the 1 1 4 86 22 5 Battery Operating 2225250
14. 102 DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents Go to Main Menu 23 2 Setting up your PC s USB port for the first 24 TEXT STRING EDITOR awake E E E E E 25 WARRANT Yoa san DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents Go to Main Menu KARR SK INTRODUCTION The DMXter4 RDM recently replaced by the DMXter4A RDM are portable test sets for checking DMX512 transmission and reception and the RDM protocol These units are successors to Goddard Design Company s Lil DMXter2 If you have used Lil DMXter before you should be right at home if not keep reading The unit is built into a rugged water resistant case However the display is glass so please use reasonable common sense care The DMXter4 4A is battery operated using rechargeable batteries Batteries in the 4A be recharged by using the built in universal international voltage charger Either unit may be used while recharging DMXter4s shipped inside North America were shipped set to charge and operate from a 120VAC line Units sent outside North America were often shipped set for 230VAC operation Your DMXter4 4A is a software based machine that uses a menu structure allowing you to step thru its features to get to the test you need to perform Much of its operation is obvious The purpose of
15. BACKLIGHT TIMER BACKLIGHT TIMER OFF BACKLIGHT TIMER ON AC ON TMR TMR RUNNING BATTERY If the DMXter4 is running on battery you will see the last display If it is plugged into the AC mains you will see the first or second display When the unit is running on battery pressing lt YES Q gt has no effect If the DMxXter is plugged into the AC mains pressing lt YES Q gt will turn off the backlite timer and toggle the display If instead of AC ON the display reads CHARGING the power supply is in a high charge state When the eteetro tumineseent back is on it will remain on if the timer is off This can be useful when using the DMxXter to do repeated measurements that do not require any keys pressed between measurements This setting will persist until cleared either by this menu or by the operation of the DMXter from battery Unplugging the DMxXter while it is on turns the backlite timer on However turning DMXter off does not turn on the backlite timer The DMXter4A uses a LED back lit display These displays have a very long mean time to failure Hence if you re running on AC power feel free to leave the display in the bright mode BUT the DMXter4 uses an electroluminescent panel to light the display It has a finite life and will get dimmer with time If you have your unit on your bench and leave it
16. N R for Not Responding the responder did not reply or ERR for a protocol error 15 3 1 Device Model DEVICE MODEL 0040h DMX 4 This display shows a 4 digit hex model number and an optional text description provided by the manufacturer They are two separate PIDS You can move between the information menus with lt DOWN gt or lt UP gt keys You can leave this sub menu at any time with the lt YES Q gt key 15 3 2 Device Labe DEVICE LABEL MY DMX RDM TESTER This parameter provides a means of setting a descriptive label for each device This may be used for identifying a dimmer rack number or specifying the device s location This is an Optional PID 15 3 3 Manufacturer Label MANUFACTURER LABEL DMXter4 RDM This parameter provides an ASCII text response with the Manufacturer name for the device of up to 32 characters The Manufacturer name must be consistent between all products manufactured DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 68 Go to Main Menu within an ESTA Manufacturer ID This is an Optional PID 15 3 4 Software Version Number amp Label SOFTWEAR 00020410h SOFT V text label The 32 bit software version number is part of the required device information response The text response is optional This parameter is used to get a descriptive ASCII text label for the device s operating software version The desc
17. The fade starts to run the moment a value is entered into the rate field Shortcut keys for rate are lt UP gt lt DOWN gt will cause the ramp to stop Pressing them again will restart the fade lt UP gt lt YES Q gt will load the current level as the fade maximum While the fade is stopped the Level field may be edited This is the way you set the exact value you wish to use for the maximum fade level The standard Level setting short cut keys work here as do the standard percent decimal and hex display short cuts DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 17 Go to Main Menu 4 12 4 DMX512 TEST PACKET HEX 55 This item sends a packet with the START Code set to hex 55 followed by 512 slots of hex 55 These packets have every other bit set It was included in the new version of DMX512 as a test pattern It may be useful for measuring bit delay and bit distortion through DMX512 repeaters and splitters While it will seldom be used day to day testing of a working lighting system when the bits hit the fan it can be very useful 4 12 5 Sending ASCII Text Packets Another new feature of DMX512 A is the TEXT PACKET Today there are many DMX512 transmitters that are not large lighting consoles Many devices designed for embedded applications require very little user interface once they are configured However configuring or troubleshooting these devices is difficult at best The present software provides two routines supporting AS
18. Sensor 1 is a voltage sensor its current value is 12 1 volts DC RDM requires that a sensor be stored as a signed number between 32768 and 32767 It then allows for a multiplier in the range of 10 74010774 In the display above the responder returned the number 121 and the multiplier 107 The multipliers for 10 thru 1072 will be handled by placing a decimal point in the correct position in the display Other multipliers will be identified by a standard abbreviation 2 VOLTAGE 12000 milli VDC This sensor reports a value of 12000 multiplier of 10 This is displayed by the SI abbreviation milli A list of the abbreviations used by the DMXter 4 are in 15 7 1 Multipliers with negative exponents use lower case abbreviations while ones with positive exponents use upper case abbreviations Range Minimum Maximum Value LOW lt DETECTED gt HIGH LOW lt DETECTED gt HIGH 11999 12001 NOT AVAILABLE These are signed 16 bit values that represents the lowest and highest values registered by the sensor Support for this data is optional Range Minimum Maximum Value MIN lt RANGE gt MAX DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 79 Go to Main Menu 0 32766 These are signed 16 bit values that represents the lowest and highest values the sensor can report A value of 32768 indicates that the minimum is not defined A value of 32767 in
19. ADJUST ONE SLOT AUTOFADE ONE SLOT and ADJUST ALL SLOTS The software supports two user provided external switches A small pendant control or a foot switch can be used to activate these functions At present Goddard Design does not sell these switches But you can build your own Any two mechanically suitable normally open momentary switches may be used They should be wired to a female 5 pin DMX connector Switchcraft ASF as shown in the above schematic A power source of 5 volts DC to 10 volts DC is required The two 10 K resistors constitute the bulk of the power drain on the power source A 9 volt radio battery should last as long as its shelf life 23 11 RELEASE NOTES amp SOFTWARE VERSION HISTORY V4 00 This is a totally new hardware platform As the first release for new hardware most of the effort has been to get old code to run on new hardware If we have been successful you won t see many differences DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 94 Go to Main Menu Its DMX support is an extension of V2 45 software for the Lil DMXter2 There are a least three major differences They are the use of a USB port for software updating external data displayed on USB terminal emulator and the Intercept and Modify code It includes basic support for querying RDM responders It can be ordered with development level RDM support We expect that RDM support will increase considerably in the near future We suggest you READ the
20. As with most two key press combinations the DMxXter4 you first press and hold lt YES Q gt key and then press and release the other key Then you release the lt YES Q gt key As you do this the number under FX will change showing which fixture you are now editing If you are editing fixture fifteen of a block of fifteen and you press lt YES Q gt lt RIGHT gt you will be returned to editing fixture one 10 8 2 What Values Are Left in a Deselected Fixture What will happen to the value presently in the fixture you just deselected depends on which setting you selected in the RESTORE menu Your options are repeated in the side bar on this page 10 8 3 What Values Will Be in the Channels of the Newly Selected Fixture If you selected MOVE DATA gt NXT FXTR YES lt then the values that were in the old fixture will be copied to the new fixture If you selected NO lt values that were in the fixture will be left there These values may be in the default fixture or they may come from the snapshot they can be left over from a previous edit or they may even be all zeros DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 45 Go to Main Menu 10 8 4 Difference in the Setting of Values to Arc Light Channels If you have configured one channel of a fixture as an ARC channel it will have its own rules It will set to an initial value just like any other fixture It may be edited the same as any other fixture But when you move from fi
21. DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 85 Go to Main Menu 22 CARE AND FEEDING OF THE BATTERY The DMXter4 4A has a completely redesigned power supply and battery charger The DMXter4 may be powered either from the AC line or from its own internal rechargeable battery When the DMxXter4 is plugged into an AC line it will both draw its operating power from the AC line and recharge its internal battery It can operate from the AC line with the internal battery switch turned off or battery fully discharged 22 1 Charging At a line voltage of 120VAC charging a new battery from the state where it is showing MEAL PENALTY to full will take about 5 to 6 hours The new charger is able to charge the battery while still protecting the battery from over charging Unlike some battery powered units you may short cycle the battery when you need to that is it part way down and recharge fully Further you may leave it plugged into AC and not damage the battery 22 2 Low Battery Warnings Power Management Surprise The DMXter4 like most battery powered equipment has a low battery warning When it needs charge but before it s truly critical it will give you the following message LOW BATTERY WARNING PLEASE FEED ME This message is displayed about every thirty seconds and lasts for about five seconds While this message is displayed the user interface is disabled Obviously you can t view r
22. LVL UPPER 0 65280 Maximum Level Lower Limit This field indicates the lowest value that MAXIMUM_LEVEL can be set to Devices not implementing MAXIMUM _ LEVEL shall set this field to ffffh The DMXter displays these values in decimal Maximum Level Upper Limit This field indicates the highest value that MAXIMUM_LEVEL can be set to Devices not implementing MAXIMUM _ LEVEL shall set this field to FFFFh CURVES RES SPLIT 04h 08h Oih Number of Supported Curves This field indicates the total number of curves the device supports Levels Resolution This field indicates the number of bits that the device uses in level values in RDM messages that use 16 bit level DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 77 Go to Main Menu fields The allowable range for this field is 0x01 0x10 IE 1 016 bit resolution Minimum Level Split levels Supported This field indicates whether the device supports split levels Increasing and Decreasing for MINIMUM_LEVEL 0x00 means the device does not support split levels 0x01 means the device does support split levels Devices not implementing MINIMUM_LEVEL shall set this field to 0x00 15 6 17 13 Get Set Minimum Level 37 1 4 4 INC MIN DEC lt 1234 1234 YES Minimum Level sets the lowest level that the output may go to in response to the control signal DMX512 Preset Playback or otherwise You may set different minimum for increas
23. This message includes the software version which is important if you need to contact the factory with any questions This manual is written for software Version V4 18 This message will last for about three seconds or until any one of the keys in the cross is pressed and released The second line of this display indicates which optional software is in the unit The advanced RDM software is a package aimed at the developers of RDM code and equipment DMXter4 RDM 4 18 with ShowPlayer DMXter4 RDM 4 18 with ShowSaver DMXter4 RDM 4 18 ShowPlayer AdvancRDM This message also lasts for about three seconds or until any one of the keys in the cross 15 pressed and released The serial number and UID are viewable in the display in the Setup Menu section x 2 1 IF THE UNIT WILL NOT TURN ON If the unit will not turn on but instead displays DMXter4 RDM 4 18 MEAL PENALTY Then the battery has discharged to the point that it is not capable of supporting normal operation Plug the unit into AC so you can work and recharge at the same time then leave the unit plugged in to complete the recharge If when you try to turn the unit on instead of the MEAL PENALTY message the display remains blank there are two possibilities The battery is discharged to a point that the power supply has locked the unit off This is done to protect any volatile status data that might be lost if the CPU started when the batt
24. cables that will provide unreliable operation of DMX512 We provide two modes of cable testing double ended and single ended Use double ended when you have both ends of the cable at hand what you would do with a standard cable tester Use single ended mode when you are testing an installed cable where you don t have access to both ends at one time This mode works by allowing you to take and store a sample of the signal at the console end of the cable you wish to test It allows you to move the DMXter4 to the other end of the cable and take new sample If the samples the same the cable is assumed to be good DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 31 Go to Main Menu 7 1 DOUBLE ENDED CABLE TEST Upon entering the cable test menu your first choice is whether you wish to do a double ended cable test Selecting lt YES Q gt will bring you to the next question CABLE TESTER TEST PINS 4 AND 5 Yes we know DMX512 doesn t use pins 4 and 5 except that some manufacturers have found ingenious uses for them So we give you the option of testing these pins Our tests of pins 4 and 5 are for continuity only and do not attempt to send digital data on these pins Answering lt YES Q gt will cause the test to start in a mode that tests all five wires Pressing the lt DOWN gt key will cause the test to start testing only pins 1 2 and 3 Once you begin the cable test and assuming that your cable is good the unit
25. ve got this right 15 6 7 Lamp State LAMP STATE gt STRK STBY NONE ERR The standard defines the following lamps states DMxXter E1 20 Name E1 20 Description OFF LAMP OFF No demonstrable light output TRK LAMP STRIKE Arc Lamp ignite STBY LAMP STANDBY Arc Lamp Reduced Power Mode LAMP NOT PRESENT Lamp not installed LAMP ERROR We are not sure how one sets a lamp error but it is allowed 15 6 8 Lamp ON Mode The standard supports the following modes for when an arc lamp should strike ONHOME AFTER CAL The Lamp Strikes after Calibration 15 6 9 Power State DMXter E1 20 Name E1 20 Description POWER STATE FULL OFF Completely disengages power to device Device can no longer respond POWER_STATE SHUTDOWN Reduced power mode may require device reset to return to normal operation Device still responds to messages POWER STATE STANDBY Reduced power mode Device can return to NORMAL without reset Device still responds to messages DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 72 to Main Menu POWER STATE NORMAL Normal operating mode 15 6 10 Capture Preset The number of presets that a unit may capture is totally device dependent This entry will enter the preset number and fade times 15 6 11 Playback Preset This item will allow the selection of a grand master value and the preset number to play back Whether the responder accepts a master value and how it fades is dev
26. 4 1212 lt Mek hee Meas et Cet 4 1 1 3 lt OFF gt KEY amp the lt gt 2 LIAS RED ds Oe ARROA A 2 1 1 5 lt UP gt lt DOWN gt ERE E 5 1 1 5 1 Bumping Numeric Value to Minimum or Maximum 1 1 5 2 Pressing lt UP gt lt and lt gt 3 1 Bumping a Numeric Value to 5 2 Returning to the first menu item 5 1 1 5 3 Auto incrementing a Numeric 3 1 1 6 LEFT RIGHT gt 6 ete a had de E 5 1 1 6 1 Changing a Slot Number by 3 1 1 6 2 Auto increment The Slot Number 5 1 1 6 3 Jumping the Slot Number 10 6 1 1 6 5 Auto increment the Slot Number by 10 6 1 1 6 6 Forcing the Slot Number to 6 1 1 7 lt UP gt lt RIGHT gt Cycles Through Number Formats 6 1 1 8 lt YES Q gt As a Shift Key 0 0 eee eee teens 6 1 1 9 QUITTING lt gt vs lt 8 gt 6 1 2 DISPLAY CONVENTIONS Beebe 6 1 3 NUMBER 6
27. ASC packet We don t know of any current uses for this feature yet SIP CHECKSUM ERROR PREV CHKSUM ERR 00 0008 AU 1318 00 0008 AU 1318 The above two fields are used to deliberately corrupt the checksums in the SIP packets Each press of the lt UP gt key will send one corrupted checksum These fields control the SIP generator behavior They are not slots in the packet and not part of the standard PACKETS BWIN SIPS 00 0008 AU 1318 Slots 11 and 12 hold the count of how many Null packets have been sent since the SIP before this one was sent In this software changing this number SETS the frequency with which SIPs are sent The default value is 8 If you set the control byte to 01 this value is set to 1 If you want to hold the Null packets for the checksum you need to send one SIP for each Null packet AUTOMATIC SIP CHKSUM MANUAL SIP CHECKSUM 00 0008 AU 1318 00 0008 01 1318 As shown on the left the software automatically calculates the checksum for the SIP packet If you need to set a special value it can be entered here As shown on the right PREV 0 00 0008 00 1318 The SIP send software calculates the check sum for the Null packet data This window displays this value It can not be set it is Read Only 5 12 7 5 Turning on the SIP Transmitter TRANSMITER IS OFF TRANSMITER IS ON DMXter4 V4 23 Retur
28. If you are on the TURN OFF DMX XMTR menu item pressing lt YES Q gt twice initializes the fixtures 10 15 BACK TO THE MAIN MENU MULTI CHANNEL MODE TO MAIN MENU This is the orderly way out of the Multi Channel Mode menu Exiting by this route turns off the transmitter and sets the DMX line back to its pass through unterminated state If you exit by pressing the lt TOP gt key the transmitter will be turned off but the DMX line will be left in its blocking or terminated mode 10 16 MULTI CHANNEL MODE TECHNICAL DETAILS 10 16 1 DMX512 LINE MODE AND MULTI CHANNEL MODE Multi Channel mode is a transmit mode There is no requirement that DMX512 transmitters be terminated with the characteristic line impedance the last DMX512 receiver must be terminated with characteristic line impedance The DMXter4 has two line termination modes pass through and terminated In the pass through mode the input connector is passively connected to the output connector It is the default mode of the DMXter4 In the terminated mode the input connector is terminated The input connector is disconnected from the output connector To assure that only the DMXter4 is driving the line all modes that transmit data switch into the terminated mode We do this to break the pass though not because of the line termination Entering the Multi Channel mode menu does not change the line termination Normally you will be in the pass
29. The first time one uses this or any other routine that uses the USB terminal you will have to install the serial driver on your If the driver is not found on your system you will need to get it from the FTDI website You need the VCP Virtual Com Port driver http www ftdichip com Drivers VCP htm More information be found on our website at http goddarddesign com usb2 html FTDI_USB_ Drivers This item will dump all DMX line activity to a terminal in hexadecimal Each Break starts a new line and is marked with a Framing errors show up as Everything else is printed as 2 Hex digits By default everything is printed To turn off the flood of Null Start Code packets press any button other than lt Yes Q gt lt GRAY gt while the hex dump is active When filtering is enabled only the Start Code is printed for Null Start Code packets The state of filtering is displayed on the bottom line of the LCD Once you have a USB driver on the DMXter4A RDM you don t need any other changes to use this feature This is not the case with the DMXter4 RDM To use this feature on a DMXter4 the USB driver on the PC must be set to 1 mega baud This is a non standard baud rate You may modify your FDTI driver so that one of the unused baud selections is now set to produce 1 meg Normally we suggest changing the 300 baud entry in the INI file to 1 meg There is a utility program on the FTDI website that will do the math and change the prope
30. could corrupt top line Display NSC Filter status on LCD when HEX dumping to USB Added SSRAM test to setup menu 4 15 is the first version of the DMXter4 and Mini code built from the same code base DMX Adjust 16 Bit Slot Level A routine for testing devices that use resolution greater than 8 bits Advanced Transmit amp Receive Send and Receive UTF 8 and ASCII text packets RDM The routine setting an RDM responder s DMX address now allows selection of the device to be set within the routine displaying the UID of the device The user may momentarily turn on Identify of the selected device New PID supported Lamp ON Mode Reset Lamp Hours added reset Reset Lamp Strikes added reset Advanced RDM Check for Broadcast Response A routine that checks that a responder does not reply to broadcast messages This has been found to be a common error 4 17 Bugs fixed feature clean up tweaks In DMX 98 No longer resets to first menu item when sub menu entry is aborted Ifa user flavor was set with very short inter slot timing the Mark after Start Code increased to 16ms 4 7 Now restores the Start Code after receiving a UTF8 string 5 10 Changes battery status messages in the Setup menu for clarity 8 3 Fixed un initialized variables in ShowSaver for Showplayer 14 0 In DMX Scope Trigger It now allows triggering on slot 0 19 0 In RDM Now lt UP gt lt DOWN gt jumps to first UID in Proxie
31. lt GRAY gt KEY In version 4 23 of the DMXter4 4A code the lt OFF gt and lt GRAY gt keys perform the same function This may not be the case in future releases of the code The lt OFF gt key this should be simple it turns the unit off NEXT To speed menu navigation and to cut down on accidental shut downs we have modified the behavior of the lt OFF gt key To turn off the DMXter4 from any point in the software press and release lt gt to return to the main menu then press and release lt OFF gt The lt OFF gt key will only turn the unit off if the display is showing MAIN MENU TRANSMIT DMX512 When you are in almost any menu other than ShowPlayer or ShowSaver or the RDM controller pressing lt gt will terminate the running routine and back you up a layer in the menu tree The lt OFF gt key has a different function in ShowPlayer In the RDM Controller the lt OFF gt key functions in the same way except backing up the menu tree stops at the Select Current Device menu We feel that you don t want to exit the RDM controller by accident 1 1 4 lt RED gt The lt RED gt key is implemented in a few new routines It will do some special functions In the RDM menu the lt RED gt key brings up a short cut menu to items you may wish to use often 1 1 5 lt UP gt lt DOWN gt lt UP gt or lt DOWN2 gt are used to step thru items of the menus When setting slot levels or
32. showing you MEAL PENALTY 5 If the battery is turned off by the internal battery switch 4 6 SEND EDIT SNAPSHOT Pressing the lt YES Q gt key will start sending the entire snapshot to the dimmers and will display levels of four slots ata time You can edit this as you need use the lt RIGHT gt and lt LEFT gt keys for changing the slot numbers Use the lt UP gt and lt DOWN gt keys for changing the level of the slot displayed in the left most position on the display The levels may be displayed in decimal percent or hex Ifpercent is used LEV is changed to read LEV If hex is used the display will show two hex digits followed a lower case h Slot number and slot level may be set using the key presses summarized in the side bar on page 10 4 6 1 Searching for the next Slot with Level Press and hold lt DOWN gt key while pressing and releasing lt RIGHT gt or lt LEFT gt keys to search for next higher lt RIGHT gt or lower lt LEFT gt slot with a level The next slot with a level greater or equal to the search minimum will be displayed in the leftmost position of the display 4 6 2 Re entering Send Edit Snapshot On exiting SEND EDIT SNAPSHOT the transmitter is turned off but the current slot number is NOT reset Therefore you may simply press lt YES Q gt again and restart exactly where you left off This means that a finger stutter on the keys is not a disaster You may also pause during a focus session an
33. to change the parameter and finally lt YES Q gt to select the desired one The available functions are No Action This is the null function It also disarms any function previously assigned to this pin The only allowed parameter for this function is NONE HaltShow As the name suggests this function causes all fades to freeze The allowed parameters are Set show halts Clear The show restarts Toggle The state of halt toggles starting or stopping the show as required FadeToBIk The stage fades to black The fade time is set by the value stored in the parameter for this function Manual This function allows ShowPlayer to be set to non follow thru mode The allowed parameters are Set Clear Toggle DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 60 Go to Main Menu PlayCue Activating this item causes a jump out of sequence to a new cue number The parameter is the number of the cue which will play next You may enter a non existent cue number here It is your responsibility to then enter that ARM PIN 5 The same functions that are available for pin four are available for pin five WAIT TIME If this time is set to a non zero value and ShowPlayer is set to Auto then this cue will be auto sequenced to the next cue The time runs from the Go not from the end of the fade Therefore the time entered is how long after the Go the next cue starts If the cue has a fade time of 10 seconds and
34. 1 441SEC MARK TIME DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 88 Go to Main Menu 1 TRANSMITTED DMX512 PARAMETERS FUNCTION DEFAULT MINIMUM MAXIMUM RESOLUTION SLOTS TRANSMITTED ale l UPDATE RATE 44 1 608 4 5208 5 5 codessent o av 1 In serial communications a break for our baud rate must be at least 44us DMX requires a break ofat least 88us and often longer 2 Maximum with MAB set to 815 3 Maximum with break set to 88s 2 or 3 The total of break MAB cannot exceed 49152us 4 512 slots 49 144us break 8us mark 255us IST 1 441 second MBB 5 1 slot 92us break 12us MAB 2 RECEIVED DMX512 PARAMETERS FUNCTION MINIMUM MAXIMUM NOTES BAUD RATE 250 000 as per DMX512 BREAK LENGTH 50us MAB LENGTH lus NUMBER OF SLOTS OVFL reported for over 512 slots BREAK BREAK TIME __170ys ssec 2 ACCURACY PARAMETER ACCURACY NOTES TIMEBASE amp BAUD RATE 75 PPM 0 70 Degrees by design not tested in ACCURACY production TRANSMITTED START Code 0 NEGLIGIBLE MAB JITTER BREAK MAB less than 16 380 MSEC TRANSMITTED NEGLIGIBLE Timebase jitter is the major source of break BREAK JITTER jitter TRANSMITTED Whe NON ZERO START Code or BREAK MAB JITTER MAB time greater than 16 380 5 SLOT FRAME JITTER 25 SCOPE TRIGGER TO BREAK NEGLIGIBLE Timebase jitter is the major source of j
35. 10 MULTI CHANNEL MODE MOVING LIGHT TEST SOFTWARE 10 1 TERMINOLOGY IN THIS 10 2 SUMMARY OF THE FIXTURE PROFILING FEATURES 10 3 USING THE FIXTURE CONFIGURATION 8 10 3 1 The lt UP gt lt DOWN gt Key Use in Configure Fixture DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents Go to Main Menu 10 3 2 Setting the Number of Fixtures the 40 10 3 3 SiZe Setting the Number of Channels per 40 10 3 4 BGN Setting the Starting Slot 40 10335 Range Checking ain to 40 10 3 6 Out of Range Behavior 40 10 3 7 CRT Setting the Current 40 10 3 8 Selecting the Dimmer Mode 41 10 3 8 1 Setting the Arc 41 10 3 8 2 Setting or Viewing 41 10 3 8 3 Entering an Autopatch 42 10 3 8 4 Rules for 42 10 3 8 5 Manual Patching of
36. 23 1 255555 92 23 8 PERCENT TABLES 93 23 9 STANDARDS DMX512 RDM 485 94 23 10 BUILDING AN EXTERNAL SWITCH 94 23 11 RELEASE NOTES amp SOFTWARE VERSION HISTORY 94 00 ee EE ee bee Dea a aE A pee 94 4 05 am a EE A EE re rm ee E 95 VAOS ean 97 97 gee er 98 98 VAIS ee bed 100 420 E 100 VA AA aie 101 T E ONS Se te Ss ead ee eee 101 2 indo ent cre Mace alge a pete Gree wf Segre cee hated hee ee Hees 101 23 12 VERIFYING SYSTEM TIMEBASE 101 23 FCC PART 15 STATEMENT o i de eee eee 101 22 USB OPERATIONS INCLUDING CODE 102 23 1 Terminal Emulator Requirements Recommendations
37. 40 The first on the left shows the display just after the menu is entered The console has yet to be plugged into the DMxXter the DMXter is sending zero values to the slots The equals no DMX being received DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 30 Go to Main Menu The middle display shows that DMX is being received and re sent to the DMX devices Slot 3 from the console is at 40 No channels are being captured and modified RX equals valid DMX is being received The display on the right shows slot 2 being modified by the DMXter to a level of 20 Note that label on the top line has changed from SLT to 1 This tells you that only one slot is being captured or modified at this time Any number of slots may be captured the levels of these slot may be raised or lowered to any valid value The valid key functions for I amp M are lt UP gt or lt DOWN gt The first press of one these keys captures control of the slot but does not change its level Further presses will increment or decrement the values as it would in Send Edit lt YES Q gt lt UP gt Captures the slot and bumps to full lt YES Q gt lt DOWN gt Captures the slot and bumps to zero lt UP gt lt DOWN gt Captures and bumps to 50 lt YES Q gt lt UP gt HELD Holding these keys for 3 seconds will display a Summary Screen telling how many slots are captured and how many slots have a level The display also lists the first and last slot captured and the first
38. 7 46 10 11 TAKING A NEW 5 46 10 11 1 DMX Line Mode During a 46 10 11 2 Initialization after Taking a Snapshot 46 10 12 TAKING A NEW 1 4 22 47 10 13 CLEARING THE 47 10 14 TURNING OFF THE DMX512 TRANSMITTER 47 10 15 BACK TO THE MAIN 47 10 16 MULTI CHANNEL MODE TECHNICAL 47 10 16 1 DMX512 LINE MODE AND MULTI CHANNEL 47 10 16 2 Multi Channel Mode amp Number 47 10 16 3 Transmit Flavor for Multi Channel 47 10 16 4 Which START Code Is Used by Multi Channel 48 11 Show Saver amp ShowP layer ROE SERRE RE 48 11 1 Determining Whether ShowPlayer or ShowSaver is Installed In Your DMXter 49 11 2 SHOWSAVER IN UNITS WITH 49 gts isa ie es ee E 49 12 0 1 ShowSaver Conventions and Structure 49 1
39. CHG Do you want it to wait for you before starting Selecting this setting allows you to retest the DMX before giving up on the main controller Press lt YES Q gt to change the current setting 14 3 ShowPlayer STARTS IN ShowPlayer starts in gt BLACK lt STAGE FADE You can select what is sent to the stage when the transmitter is first turned on Your choices are e A blackout The last look sent by the main controller e Start in black fading into the selected first cue Move the arrows using the lt LEFT gt and lt RIGHT gt keys 14 4 Does ShowPlayer Start in Auto Mode DMX failure ShowP OR DMX failure ShowP Starts in AUTO Starts in MAN CHG Select which you want 14 5 DMX MONITOR MODE When you enter this routine the DMXter will start checking the DMX input If there is no input it will go directly to ShowPlayer and put a blackout up on stage So plug in the main controller first If you do have good DMxX you will get a display that looks like this F STAGE CUE MODE F STAGE CUE MODE STAGE CUE MODE GO LAST 01 0 AUTO WAIT BLCK 01 0 MAN WAIT F CUE 01 0 MAN This display summarizes all the settings you have just entered above If they are not what you want use the lt UP gt key to go back to the item you wish to change If you wish to force ShowPlayer to run press lt YES Q gt You will notice that the underline cursor is s
40. CUE at the beginning of the fade into that cue 0 01 1 MM SS 4B 5P 02 0 MM SS A H On the second line the next cue is displayed in positions five through eight The F shown in position nine is only displayed if the next cue has a wait time recorded On the second line in position 18 there will either be an A The A is displayed if the unit is in auto mode In auto mode cues with a recorded wait time auto follow to the next cue after the wait time has expired In the Manual mode follows are not automatically taken The wait time will still be displayed but when the time expires the unit remains in the current cue This mode is useful for editing and entry On the top line positions 16 through 20 provide a summary of the status of the two external contact inputs Any cue may change the status of one of these contacts Once a status is set for a contact it stays in that state until it is reset to another state The complete details for external contact input settings can only be viewed by using the EDIT FADE TIME menu However a reasonable summary can be read for this display Fade to black Play cue Switch to manual mode Halt on closure No function assigned to this contact B P M H The H shown the display in position 20 is only displayed if the fades are halted lt OFF gt lt YES Q gt toggles the state of halt 13 5 The Main Menu Loop ShowPlayer
41. DMXter is neither receiving nor transmitting The lt TOP gt key serves its normal functions the lt OFF gt does nothing 12 2 3 If Auto Start Is Enabled If you selected auto start on failure the DMXter turns on its transmitter and sends the last look seen stage to the dimmers We cannot guarantee that this look is not corrupt It all depends on how the console failed The display will be the same seen above when you started the DMXter transmitting by pressing lt YES Q gt STAGE GM 100 NEXT 1 TIME 3 12 2 3 Now That You Are in Play Back Mode The scene in the NEXT field will be the lowest recorded scene unless you preset a scene while the DMXter was in monitor mode You are now in PLAYBACK and the rules apply See below Once you fade to another scene the emergency scene is gone 12 3 ABOUT PLAYBACK The following are several things that you should keep in mind when using PLAYBACK SCENE This is a self contained routine Once you enter it the only exit is back to the OK OK I M AWAKE message that one sees at turn on When you press lt YES Q gt entering PLAYBACK if the DMXter does not detect valid DMX within 1 4 second the transmitter is turned on and the BLACKOUT scene is transmitted Therefore if any dimmers were on they will be taken to black To get lights up you must select a previously stored scene and press lt YES Q gt This will start a cross fade into that scene Entering PLAYBACK
42. External 42 10 4 SELECTING THE INITIAL FIXTURE 5 42 10 5 SETTING WHAT VALUES A FIXTURE WILL BE RETURNED TO 43 10 6 MOVE DATA TO NEXT 2 43 10 7 SENT EDIT THE DEFAULT FIXTURE 43 10 8 5 Actions That Turn on and off the DMX512 Transmitter 43 10 7 1 EDIFING AIDS Dee eae bo es 44 10 8 S1 Initialization Rules When will the Fixtures 2 2 44 10 8 5 2 45 10 8 1 Changing Fixture Number in Send edit Using lt YES Q gt lt LEFT gt lt YES Q gt RR gt oe Saha esha ai ep os bop bates ae gh E ne aha aly 45 10 8 2 What Values Are Left in Deselected 45 10 8 3 What Values Will Be in the Channels of the Newly Selected Fixture 45 10 8 4 Difference in the Setting of Values to Arc Light Channels 46 10 8 5 Displaying Absolute DMX Slot 46 10 9 CLEARING THE 5 1 46 10 10 CLEARING THE 1 1
43. Get Queued Messages Added support for DEVICE RESET PID When querying a responder that does not use a slot the DMX address is displayed as NONE RDM User Option menu has been expanded and now includes Identify ON OFF Retry to get a lost or bad packet OFF 1x 2 4x Ignore warnings during discovery YES NO Get Queued Messages OFF GETs Interleave Null Start code packets with RDM packets YES NO In Advanced RDM an option is added that ends the RDM response period by counting reply bytes instead of a reply timeout Because it stops listening after receiving the proper number of bytes it won t detect a packet with trailing garbage However it is useful for testing Advanced RDM Custom Packet editing has been improved When editing raw data of a custom packet the cursor jumps to first PDATA slot While editing raw data holding lt YES Q gt lt DOWN gt clears the PDATA field Custom packets may be stored in RDM Packet Library Those packets may be recalled anytime in the future You now view PARAMETER DESCRIPTIONS for Manufacturer Specific PIDs The description is viewed by pressing lt YES Q gt while viewing a Manufacturer Specific PID in View Supported PIDs menu Added a raw DMX dump to the Receive menu To use this feature you must have a FTDI driver set to 1 megabaud which is a non standard baud rate V4 10 New Features in V4 10 DMX Drive Line Static in th
44. LEFT gt and lt RIGHT gt keys NOTE When incrementing or decrementing cleared scenes are skipped 12 10 CHANGING THE DEFAULT FADE TIME DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 56 Go to Main Menu FADE TIME IS x CHANGE DEFAULT TIME The default fade time is used as the fade time for the permanent blackout scene and for all scenes that do not have individual fade times recorded The default fade time is shipped set to three seconds It may be set from 0 to 30 seconds using the lt UP gt and lt DOWN gt keys Once set it will retain its new value until reset Press lt YES Q gt when you have the default fade time you want Exiting the fade time editor puts you back to the lt RECORD SCENE gt menu 12 11 LOAD SHOW SHOW 1 8 stored show name Use lt UP gt or lt DOWN gt keys to select the show you wish to load then Press lt YES Q gt 12 12 STORE SHOW After selecting the show to store you will be asked to enter the show name Use the text editor See Section 24 12 13 DELETE STORED SHOW Follow the model above select the show and confirm that you want to delete it 12 14 ERASE CURRENT SHOW ERASE CURRENT SHOW ARE YOU SURE This erases the show currently active in ShowSaver 12 15 RETURNING TO THE MAIN MENU 12 16 PLAYBACK SCENE This is where you will be given another chance to playback scenes if you did not choose to do so upon entry If you scroll th
45. Other none of the above For numeric values see Table A 3 Merge Mode Defines 15 6 18 7 Get Preset Info 37 1 5 2 This parameter is used to retrieve a variety of preset related information that describes the preset capabilities of the device It returns 5 on off values plus 13 16 bit parameters This data will be displayed in the next 9 displays D1 PRST LEVEL SEQ SPLITI l 00h 00h OOh Level Level Field Supported This field indicates if the Level field in the PRESET PLAYBACK message is supported If the device supports the use of the level field it shall respond with 01h otherwise it shall respond with 00h SEQ Preset Sequence Supported This field indicates if the device is capable of playing back presets in a sequence as defined in the DMxXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 74 Go to Main Menu PRESET PLAYBACK message If the device supports the ability to play sequences it shall respond with 01h otherwise it shall respond with 00h SPLIT Split Times Supported This field indicates if the device supports split up down times for playback of presets If the device supports split times it shall respond with 01h otherwise it shall respond with 00h Devices that do not support split times shall use the Up Time for both fields D2 Inf DELAY HOLD START 00h 00h OOh DMXS512 Fail Infinite Delay Time Supported This field indicates if the device supports an infinite delay time for the loss of sig
46. Q gt key If you are connected to a transmitting source of DMX512 you will enter MONITOR mode If the DMXter does not see valid DMX512 within 1 4 second it enters PLAYBACK MONITOR is a useful mode of operation but probably you should learn about PLAYBACK first We ll tell you about MONITOR now but you might consider skipping over it for now To enter PLAYBACK in any form you must have scenes recorded Otherwise when you press lt YES Q gt you will be told SHOW SAVER NO SCENES RECORDED This message is displayed briefly If you see it you will have to skip to section 12 5 to learn how to enter scenes 12 2 DMX MONITOR MODE The purpose of MONITOR mode is to attempt to preserve the last valid DMX transmission in case of disaster The concept is that this will help you to make a smooth transition to the scenes stored in the DMXter Remember that unless you have stored some scenes in the DMXter this is useless to you The DMXter must be daisy chained between the console and the first dimmer rack The console must be turned on and transmitting valid DMX512 to the dimmers Select the ShowSaver menu and select PLAYBACK SCENES If the DMXter detects valid data you will see the following display STAGE 59 GM 100 AUTO START ON FAIL In the field following STAGE you will see a small ok chasing rapidly This indicates valid DMX reception At this point the DMXter is not affecting what you see onstage If
47. RDM hub it is desirable to disable the termination and bias This item allows you to do this Once selected this setting will persist until reset or until the unit is cold booted 15 12 VIEW RESPONDER TIMING 15 12 1 Response Delay RESPONSE DELAY IN us 350 360 376 This display measures the time from the last byte slot of the RDM request sent by the controller to the beginning of the break sent by responder From left to right the numbers are the shortest the most recent and the longest seen since the RDM controller menu was last entered The standard says that these time should fall in the range between 176s 2 1ms Because of system delays inline devices a delay of up to 2 8 ms is possible while still meeting the requirements of the standard However this should only be seen when inline devices are used 15 12 2 Responder Break Length BREAK LENGTH IN us 178 193 213 This item measure the break produced by the responder for its RDM responses It behaves in a similar manner to the break measurement routine in View Parameters However from left to right the numbers are shortest time seen the last break time seen and the longest time seen 15 12 3 Responder MAB MAB LENGTH IN us 29 29 46 What more can we say DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 83 Go to Main Menu 15 12 4 Responder Inter Slot Time INTERSLOT TIME IN us 1 2 This item only shows the mini
48. Scene Select Display a he eee ee 4662 ee 12 5 2 Taking the 5 1275 3 Naming 125 4 Setting the Kade 12 6 CLEARING OLD RECORDED SCENES 12 7 EDITING RECORDED 8 8 128 5 ah detonated eases 12 9 GETTING A SUMMARY OF THE 8 12 10 CHANGING THE DEFAULT 1211 LOAD SHOW bbe ese eS 12 12 STORE SHOW sepe Wey Gee 12 13 DELETE STORED SHOW 20 55 00 6c ete es ete bbb eb bec ebb ee nee ee bee been tee 13 SHOW PLAYER 250640 fete piece he eA cep eee 13 1 Starting ShowPlayer Managing Shows 0 cece cece eee tence eens 13 2 ShowPlayer 13 2 1 ShowPlayer READ THE MANUAL 13 3 Key 13 3 1 Main Loop Key
49. a delay by sending a QUEUED_ MESSAGE command The item allows you to get Queued messages for all ACK_TIMER s or only for ones that were caused by the controller sending a GET GET Q MSG ON TMR OFF GETs ONLY ON 15 11 5 Interleave Null Start Code Here you have a yes no choice The number of null packets to be interleaved is fixed at 2 for normal RDM and 15 setable in the advanced RDM s flavor menu 15 11 6 End Response Reception Advanced RDM only We offer two different ways to end reception of a response packet Once the ended we can turn the line around and send the next DMX or request packet We also can evaluate the packet The two methods are time and byte count With a fully working system either method should produce the same results A packet having too few bytes should be rejected in any case However a packet having a correctly formatted message with some extra bytes on the end might pass error checking reception if reception was only controlled by byte count This switch should help find responders which sent junk on end of some packets 15 11 7 Enable Disable RDM Termination and Bias Advanced RDM only Normally RDM requires that a controller DMXter4 RDM terminate its output port and provide a marking voltage bias By default the RDM controller menu automatically provides this However when doing product development and when forcing a signal into an output of a fully bidirectional
50. and last slot with level lt YES Q gt lt DWN gt HELD Holding these keys for 3 seconds will offer you the chance to capture all 512 slots or to release all 512 slots lt LEFT gt or lt RIGHT Moves thru the slots in way that these keys are used in Send Edit Auto repeat and shifted jump modes are supported lt RED gt Releases capture on the current slot The level will bump back to whatever level is being sent by the console lt UP gt lt LEFT gt also may be used as a release key lt UP gt lt RIGHT gt Cycles thru percent decimal and hexadecimal number formats The DMXter receive routine fully checks the received packets and damaged packets are rejected However momentary errors are not displayed If you aren t sure you getting clean DMX check in Send Edit first By default the auto shutdown timer is enabled It will time out and shut down the DMXter in 10 minutes So if you are relying on this routine to keep your show up either disable the timer or better yet plug the unit into AC Intercept and Modify Transmit Flavor UPDATE BREAK MAB INTERSLOT MBB BREAK RATE TIME BREAK _ 1294s sous 28 19 49632us 2094 KKK K 7 CABLE TESTER The DMXter4 includes cable test feature While DMX512 cables may be tested by a conventional cable tester for continuity testing them for ability to pass high speed digital data is a little more complicated DC cable testers may pass as good
51. at www goddarddesign com usb2 html It is best to connect the USB connection and launch the emulator before entering this menu If you don t you will be told to do so The display on the PC should look like the one shown below except it will have seven pairs of lines with slot levels data The entry display will show 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 50 100 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 To see the other 3 pages of slot values use the lt LEFT gt or lt RIGHT gt keys The following key presses are also available and work the same way the do in VIEW LEVELS DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 23 Go to Main Menu lt UP gt lt RIGHT gt Selects the number format lt UP gt Clears the receive buffer and restarts reception lt YES Q gt lt UP gt Shows the error summary display lt DOWN gt Restarts reception lt YES Q gt lt DOWN gt Shows the slot range summary 5 4 VIEW PARAMETERS Whenever the DMXter4 is receiving DMX512 it checks for the following problems PARITY ERROR E FRAMING ERROR BREAK TOO SHORT less than 88s MARK AFTER BREAK TOO SHORT less than 815 DMXS5 12 1986 called for a 4us mark DMX512 1990 requires a mark of 8us or longer We fl
52. buildings the building frame is normally grounded In today s environment the only sure ground is a properly installed three pin electrical outlet 0 1 THE DMXter4 USES A RECHARGEABLE BATTERY The DMXter4 uses a rechargeable battery This battery has a finite life and will need to be replaced at some time It must be replaced with another rechargeable battery of the correct type Failure to do this will cause mis operation and could cause a fire hazard See section 22 6 for detail on battery type and replacement 0 2 PRECAUTIONS THAT WILL ASSURE THE BEST OPERATION OF YOUR DMxXter4 The DMXter4 is a sensitive piece of test equipment designed to receive and decode low power digital signals even when those signals are in an electrically noisy environment It is also a piece of theatrical field service equipment We know that field conditions in a theater or studio are often as close to a war zone as most of us wish to get The DMxXter4 is designed to work in this hostile environment One environmental threat that is always present particularly for a portable piece of equipment is static electricity or ESD Ona dry winter day a person walking across a wool carpet may easily become charged to 8 to 10 thousand volts Touch a piece of conductive material and a large pulse of current will flow The DMXter4 has been designed to deal with this fact It s unlikely that normal ESD will damage the unit and if sensible precautions are taken ESD should
53. character sets used on PCs the results are very display dependent Some displays including the one we use have provision to load what are considered non printing characters with special displays So if you see odd characters consult APPENDIX A 5 10 RECEIVE UTF 8 TEXT PACKETS DMX512 A also allows for text to be sent with the UTF 8 encoding UTF 8 supports many characters required for non English language texts Our display does not support many of the non English language characters however for the standard English characters the encoding is the same The packets have the same format They use a different Start Code UTF 8 use Start Code 90 hex 5 11 VIEW SIPS For more information about System Information Packets see www goddarddesign com pdf doc sip info pdf The View SIPs routines mirror the send routines as much as possible These sections are sometime redundant but each has something of its own to offer Further there is nothing like reading the original standard 5 11 1 Resetting the Error Counters One of the main objects of SIPs is to error check a DMX link So the DMXter4 maintains count of SIP checksum and format errors If you wish to start a fresh error check this is where you reset the error counters VIEW SIPS RESET SIP COUNTERS 5 11 2 View SIP menu 1 U PL SV NLP ID1 0 00 01 512 4745 This menu shows the same field as Send SIPs menu 1 4 13 6 2 The fields are universe number proces
54. disables the auto power timer so that you do not have to worry about the DMxXter turning itself off on you But you must consider the fact that it could run out of battery charge In PLAYBACK the transmitter is always on hence the drain on the battery is high A DMXter that is to be used as a back up must be kept well charged The cues are stored in non volatile memory Keep your DMXter well charged and if you are going to use it to drive dimmers for an extended period plug it into AC The DMXter will seamlessly switch back and forth between battery and line operation so you may plug it in while running For more information on battery charging and battery operating times see section 22 If you are not in MONITOR mode the lt OFF gt and the lt TOP gt keys have special uses in PLAYBACK The lt OFF gt does not turn off the DMXter and the lt gt does not cause you to exit ShowSaver Their special uses are explained below DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 51 Go to Main Menu 12 3 1 The Playback Display Below is the playback display as it may look when you enter PLAYBACK SCENE for the first time When you enter PLAYBACK the stage will be in blackout and the NEXT scene will set to the lowest numbered scene that has been recorded usually scene one STAGE BLK GM 100 NEXT 1 TIME 10 There are four fields in the display They are STAGE Shows which scene is being transmitted to the receivers Scene
55. eed beeen el eta aoe pane 15 10 EDIT NULL START CODE DATA 15 11 RDM USER 8 2 20 15 112 ddentify on Selects 18 11 2 Retry Lost Bad P ckets 22054 oe 15 11 3 Ignore Disc 15 11 4 Get Queued Messages ACK 15 11 5 Interleave Null Start 15 11 6 End Response Reception Advanced RDM 15 11 7 Enable Disable RDM Termination and Bias Advanced RDM only 15 12 VIEW RESPONDER 15 121 Response Delay 4c3 ce cae Meas yds MeN ee Mea Soha 15 12 2 Responder Break 15 12 3 Responder 15 12 4 Responder Inter Slot 15 12 5 Response Packet Total 15 12 6 Reset Responder Timing 15 12 7 Discovery Time to First Activity Advanced RDM only
56. had unidirectional drivers for input and output connectors 23 6 1 DMX in The male 5 pin connector is the DMX512 input connector It is used for all DMX512 receive functions When receiving Pins 2 and 3 of the DMX IN connector are switched to one of two differential line transceivers These line transceivers consist of a standard EIA485 transceiver chip protected by a transient and over voltage protection network Pin 1 is the signal common and shield It must be connected through to the signal common of the device under test for accurate results 23 6 2 DMX out The female 5 pin connector is the DMX 512 output connector It is used for all DMX512 transmit functions Pins 2 and 3 of the DMX OUT connector are always wired to a DMX512 line driver The line driver consists of an EIA485 transceiver and a protection network When required this connector is connected to an RDM termination and bias network 23 6 3 Topology for DMX Terminate amp DMX Pass Through Modes If the DMXter is in a terminated mode Pins 2 and 3 of the DMX IN connector are loaded by a 120 ohm half watt termination resistor and there is no connection between Pins 2 and 3 of the INPUT connector and Pins 2 and 3 of the OUTPUT connector If the DMXter is in unterminated mode the termination resistor is removed and Pins 2 and 3 of the INPUT connector are connected to Pins 2 and 3 of the OUTPUT connector In the unterminated mode the DMxXter can passively transfer a DMX signal from
57. key you will be back in the main RDM controller loop however the self test will still be running Now pressing lt YES Q gt will tell you that the test is still running and ask again if you want to stop it Pressing ANY key other than lt YES Q gt will take you to SELECT SELFTEST x current self test name of selftest This allows you to select another test The new test will start when you press lt YES Q gt Note that what level of control a responder will allow while in self test is very device dependent For some devices some self tests may only be terminated by a hard power reset 15 6 13 Reset Lamp Hours 15 6 14 Reset Lamp Strikes 15 6 15 Warm Reset This parameter is used to instruct the responder to reset itself to some known state The exact behavior of the PIDs depends on the fixture you are working with 15 6 16 Cold Reset A cold reset is the equivalent of removing and reapplying power to the device It also clears the Discovery Mute flag 15 6 17 Restore Factory Defaults DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 73 Go to Main Menu 15 6 18 1 37 1 Features These are additional PIDs supporting dimmers and similar devices In this section of the manual if you see 37 1 x x it means that this feature is covered in section x x of the E1 37 1 standard 15 6 18 1 Get Set Curve 37 1 4 6 4 7 This item allows setting the curve of a configurable dimmer I
58. loss of signal delay time If the device receives a Loss of Signal Delay time that is outside the minimum or maximum time allowed by the device then it shall set the field to the minimum or maximum accordingly The minimum and maximum times may be exposed using the PRESET _INFO parameter message Hold Time This field is the amount of time that the device shall playback the specified preset scene before going to black entering shutdown or any other device specific loss of DMX512 condition A value of OxFFFF shall be used to specify an infinite hold time If the device receives a Hold Time that is outside the minimum or maximum time allowed by the device then it shall set the field to the minimum or maximum accordingly The minimum and maximum times may be exposed using the PRESET INFO parameter message Level This field sets the proportional intensity for the scene If it is at full OxFF then the scene shall be played as recorded Otherwise it scales the level proportionally of the scene DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 78 Go to Main Menu 15 6 17 15 Get Set DMX512 Startup Mode 37 1 3 5 This parameter defines the behavior of the device when it starts up and the DMX512 control signal is absent The DMXS5 12 signal is considered absent when null start code packets not received for period of greater than 1 25 seconds See ANSI E1 11 Section 9 2 The DMXters use three display for this parameter They function
59. lt LEFT gt and lt RIGHT gt keys Technical note Text Messages are sent with a special START Code 17h and generally will not be viewable by Null START Code receiving devices More technical details are in Appendix A MS DMX512 A allows for a device to send up to 256 different text messages They are numbered from 0 to 255 This routine generates up to 8 canned text messages The above screen is the first canned message in the DMXter4 L Text message packets may have from 24 to 512 data slots plus the START Code See Appendix A This field shows the length of the packet that is currently being transmitted C This is the position within the packet of the character that is in the first display position on the second line of the display As you use the lt LEFT gt and lt RIGHT gt keys to move about the display this number lets you know were you are 4 12 6 Sending UTF 8 Text Packets DMXS512 A also allows for text to be sent with UTF 8 encoding UTF 8 supports many characters required for non English language texts Our display does not support many of the non English language characters however for the standard English characters the encoding is the same The packets have the same format They use a different Start Code UTF 8 use Start Code 90 hex The user interface for UTF 8 is identical to the ASCII interface DMxXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 18 Go to Main Menu 4 12 7 Send System Information Packets For m
60. manual If you want to see the old software version release notes they are on our web site at www goddarddesign com oldrelease pdf 4 05 May 14 2009 DMX The lt RED gt Key works in Intercept amp Modify In Intercept amp Modify the RED key functions as a second release key Text String Editor The text editor edits ASCII text for use by the DMXter It is called by a number of different routines It allows entry by two different methods Text may be entered from the DMXter front panel or the text may be typed on your PC and entered via the USB port Both methods are available at the same time SETUP OPTIONS We added the ability to store 8 ShowSaver or 8 ShowPlayer shows in Flash We added a sub menu that lets you choose to erase the EEPROM or the flash memory or shuts down the unit and reloads RAM with default values RDM CONTROLLER The DMXter can now store up to 8 named Table Of Devices This item lets you load the TOD of your choice Discover Devices Pressing any key press will interrupt and terminate discovery A bug in Discovery that could cause an improperly functioning responder to crash the DMXter was found and fixed Device Information The following additional PIDs are supported by the Device Information Submenu Device Power State Lamp State Lamp Mode Supported PIDs Comms Status Advanced RDM adds or improves the following Discovery items e ADD UID MANUALLY REMOVE UID MANUALLY
61. menu loop has 11 items The conventions within ShowPlayer are different from the rest of the DMxXter4 You will notice that all menu items have the same top line display as item 1 That way you can still monitor a running cue while moving about the main menu loop You may also start a cue when displaying any main menu loop entry point As a refresher the GO key is lt RIGHT gt Once you have entered a menu item you cannot start a cue However you can monitor its progress 13 5 1 Main Display This is the main operational display It shows the status of a running show It is not a menu Most functions needed to control a show are accessed directly from this display To control a show you should be familiar with DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 59 Go to Main Menu the key presses listed in section 13 3 1 13 5 2 PLAYBACK CUES If you wish to start or jump to a particular cue number this is where you set that cue number After pressing lt YES Q gt you will be able to scroll through all existing cues 13 5 3 ADJUST LEVELS You can use this display to set or modify the levels for any cue When you execute this menu the values displayed will be whatever is on stage If a cue was fading the fade is completed as a bump and the full levels for that cue will be what is seen on stage The functions and key presses the same as in the standard DMXter SEND EDIT SNAPSHOT function 13 5 4 RECORD CUE If you can t figure
62. most up to date recommendation please check our website http www goddarddesign com usb2 html In general most terminal emulators which can be configured for serial communication via USB will work in a pinch We do not recommend Hyperterm We do recommend TeraTerm http en sourceforge jp projects ttssh2 Below are the basic requirements Baud rate 57 000 Word size 8 bits Stop bits 1 Parity none Flow control none Emulation VT100 COM port depends on what USB com ports your machine has already assigned The com port supported will vary depending on what physical com ports are fitted and what USB com ports have been used by your computer before you first connected your DMXter4 to it It will always be at least com 3 and will often be a higher com port For a method of removing unused com port assignments see the web page listed above 23 2 Setting up your PC s USB port for the first time The following needs only to be done once for every PC that is used with your DMXter4 4A The process is quite straightforward with one exception Our friends at Microsoft by default consider an entire class of USB serial convertors to be pointing devices Unless the default setting is changed your DMXter may take over your screen Here are step by step installation instructions With your DMXter turned off connect it to your PC s USB port On your computer s desktop right click on My Computer Computer in Win7 Right click Properties S
63. name If you have overwritten an old scene the old scene name will be in the display If you have recorded to a cleared scene this line will normally be blank until you enter the name The exception is if the scene recorded had no slots with levels equal to or greater than 1 4 hex the scene will automatically be named BLACKOUT A scene may be entered using the DMXter s text string editor Details found in section 24 of this manual This will allow entry either from the DMXter front panel or via the USB port from a PC 12 5 4 Setting the Fade Time The next screen message is FADE TIME IS 3 D CHANGE IT This display tells you the fade time in seconds If D appears the time shown is the default fade time The default fade time is shipped set to three seconds The default may be changed see Section 12 8 below If you wish to set a different fade time press lt YES Q gt and the display will change to FADE TIME IS 3 CHANGING FADE TIME Fade time may be set from 0 to 30 seconds using the lt UP gt and lt DOWN gt keys It is important to note that setting a fade time of 3 is different from having a default time of 3 A scene for which you have set a fade time of 3 will always have a fade time of 3 until you edit that time in that scene while a scene with a default time of 3 will change when the value for the default time is changed Pressing lt YES Q gt removes the default and substitutes a
64. negative is the black lead Getting the battery polarized correctly is very important When reinstalling the pressure plate make sure that it is tight enough to hold the battery securely but is not tightened to the point that it could crack the battery case The machine screws do not bottom out and the pressure plate does not touch the threaded spacers into which the screws are threaded At the time this manual was written the following batteries were know to be useable replacements GDC type PS LCR6V1 3P http www goddarddesign com battery_page html DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 87 Go to Main Menu Sentry Battery type PM612 22 7 RECYCLE THE OLD BATTERY These batteries must be recycled Any DMXter battery replaced by or returned to Goddard Design Company will be recycled There is no charge for this However since you must ship the batteries to us you may wish to find a local recycling option Many stores that sell battery powered electronics now accept batteries for recycling 23 DMXter4 TECHNICAL DISCUSSION The following are discussions of a few items of interest that we couldn t find a better place to put 23 1 DMXter4 MAINTENANCE Other than cleaning the DMXter4 requires no on going maintenance However the rechargeable battery has only a finite life and will need replacing The time between replacements depends on the use of the unit Improper use can greatly shorten battery life Please read section 22 for detai
65. recorded value To return to the default value press lt YES Q gt and lt DOWN gt Exiting the fade time editor puts you back to the RECORD SCENE 1 23 4 5 67 8 display To reach the next menu item press lt DOWN gt 12 6 CLEARING OLD RECORDED SCENES SHOW SAVER CLEAR SCENE Pressing lt YES Q gt will get you to this display CLEAR SCENE 142345678 The conventions for manipulating this display are the same as for recording scenes You will see DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 55 Go to Main Menu CLEAR SCENE followed on the second line by the scene name If you mean it press lt YES Q gt one more time 12 7 EDITING RECORDED SCENES SHOW SAVER EDIT SCENE Pressing lt YES Q gt will get you to this display EDIT SCENE 142345678 The conventions for manipulating this display are the same as for recording scenes You will see LIVE MODE or BLIND MODE EDIT SCENE BLIND EDIT SCENE LIVE If the DMXter is at the end of the line this question is irrelevant If you are connected to dimmers then you have the choice of seeing the scene as you are editing it or leaving the DMXter in the pass thru mode and editing blind If the present mode is correct press lt DOWN gt If you wish to change the edit mode press lt YES Q gt Each time you press lt YES Q gt the edit mode and display wi
66. still would caution that this feature should be used with care 8 8 SET THE INTERCEPT amp MODIFY FLAVOR Intercept and modify may be run using three different flavors All three flavors are designed to be as easily received as possible for selected update rate INTERCEPT amp MOD SPEED 15Hz 20Hz lt 30HZ 8 9 COPYRIGHT NOTICE Author Credits What more can we say 8 10 FIRMWARE BUILD DATE The date that software was built is listed here Note this date is stored in an area of the EPROM that is not included in the checksum 8 11 FIRMWARE CHECKSUM amp MAXIMUM STACK DEPTH The top line of this display reports in hex the firmware checksum The second line of this display is a diagnostic menu we hope that an end user will never need to refer to However if your unit is behaving oddly reporting the values on this display to us could be very helpful For this display to be of value to us you must get to this menu WITHOUT ever pressing the lt TOP gt key Pressing the lt TOP gt resets the values of this display 8 12 Co Processor Version and Check sum 4A only The DMXter4A has a second processor This processor allows for certain features that are under development Currently place holding software has been installed this display tells you its version number DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 35 Go to Main Menu 8 13 SERIAL NUMBER and UID Serial Number abcd RDM UID 47440040abcd Nee
67. suggest that in repairing the cable you check all the pins for problems After repairing the cable test it again Some dmx512 users do not wire pin 1 on both ends of the cable This cable tester will not test cables that do not have pin 1 connected on both ends P2 means Pin 2 open or that Pin 2 is shorted to Pin 1 P3 means Pin 3 is open or that Pin 3 is shorted to Pin 1 PINS 2 amp 3 REVERSED Obvious huh P2 P3 means that either Pins 2 and 3 are both open or they are shorted to each other If either Pin 2 or Pin 3 is open or shorted to ground or the other pin the test will stop before testing Pins 4 and 5 P4 means Pin 4 is open or that Pin 4 is shorted to Pin 1 P5 means Pin 5 is open or that Pin 5 is shorted to Pin 1 PINS 4 amp 5 REVERSED Obvious huh Px Px means that either both Pins are open the pins are shorted together P2 P3 P4 5 means that either the pairs Pin 2 Pin 3 and Pin 4 Pin 5 are reversed or Pin 2 is shorted to either Pin 4 or Pin 5 and that Pin 3 is shorted to Pin 4 or Pin 5 Pin 2 is not shorted to Pin 3 or the test would have stopped already DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 32 Go to Main Menu If the data test part of the test fails the display will read CABLE TEST FAILED WON T PASS DATA This means that you have a fatal problem with your cable It may pass DC but massive errors were encountered when high speed digital data was
68. the DMXter is X times faster allowing for real time RDM and DMX data to be sent between the PC and DMXter4A DMXter4A has a universal switch mode power supply The Open Line Detector now perfoms more accurately when testing devices that use 3 3V 485 drivers Hardware for the future includes Two 10 bit analog to digital convertors with biasing current sources 1 Li DMXter DMXter DMXter4 RDM and DMXter4A RDM are trademarks of GoppARD DESIGN Co DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 1 Go to Main Menu micro SD card holder Upgrades for both the DMXter4 and the DMXter4A may be ordered Please specify which unit you have along with the serial number we need both pieces of information to create your upgraded code You should not see any difference in performance with one exception please refer to Section X X of this manual for details Users upgrading to Version 4 23 from any earlier version will need a bootloader file as well as the version upgrade 0 0 SAFETY WARNING Due to failure of either the dimmers or the console or due to a short between DMX512 line and power cables it is possible that a 512 control cable may be connected to the AC mains If connected to the AC mains a DMX512 cable would be carrying hazardous voltages If any conductor of a DMX512 cable is connected to the AC mains it is possible that the metal case of the connector is also connected to the AC line Care should always be take
69. the wait is set to 12 seconds there will be a 2 second pause between cues If the wait time is set to eight seconds the cue will only run to 80 completion before the next cue is launched NEXT CUE If this number is set to zero the next cue will be the next higher existing cue number If it is set to a non zero number then that is the cue that will be linked to This feature allows the creation of loops and multiple self contained shows You may enter a non existent cue number here It is your responsibility to then enter that cue CHANGES We said you would get a chance to fix any errors you made Review If you want to go around the loop again checking or correcting entries press lt YES Q gt when this parameter is visible SaveToCue lt YES Q gt saves your entry to the cue and exits Abandon Exits 13 5 6 DELETE CUE Again think this should not strain your brain to figure out the purpose of this item On entry you will see a bottom line with the current on stage cue number displayed DELETE 03 0 You can scroll through existing cues Pressing lt Yes Q gt changes the display to read CONFIM DELETE NO Pressing lt UP gt changes the display to CONFIM DELETE YES Now pressing lt Yes Q gt will delete the cue 13 5 7 MANUAL AUTO MODE When you enter this item you will see a display that will ask you if you wish to switch modes If the unit is in auto the display will read CONFIRM MAN
70. this manual is to help you run it quickly and to find the section you want easily This manual is written for software version 4 23 If you ve used a DMXter in the past you ll find much remains the same but there are enough changes that you ll save yourself some aggravation by reading at least some of the manual USITT DMX512 A AND THIS SOFTWARE The DMXter4 4A supports the recommendations requirements and terminology of ANSI 1 11 aka DMX512 A Hardware Features of both the RDM and DMXter4A RDM A microcontroller running at 48 MHz Eight and half megabytes of non volatile RAM for storage Enhanced physical layer line drivers that support both DMX512 A and RDM E1 20 These drivers also support simultaneous transmission and reception An isolated USB interface to allow use of a PC as a data terminal for the DMXter The USB port provides the means for software updates to be entered into flash memory in the field using a file emailed to the user The USB port also allows a personal computer to serve as an I O device for routines run by the DMXter4 4A Hardware Features of the DMXter4A The DMXter4A has a brighter high contrast display with 2 levels of LED illumination The keyboard outline is backlit so you can find it even in a black out DMxXter4A uses a serial coprocessor allowing injection of RDM commands into a live DMX stream from an external source Software under development The USB port on
71. this one This item takes whatever levels are currently being sent to the stage and records or re records them to the entered cue number If a cue number exists the display will read RE REC XX X Ifit is new it will read RECORD 13 5 5 EDIT FADE TIMES A lot more happens here than the name implies Not only can you change the fade time of the current cue you can change any of its other recorded parameters This menu item has a sub loop of eight items When an item is displayed it is active Hence its behavior is different from a standard DMXter menu lt UP gt and lt DOWN gt changes the value of the displayed parameter lt YES Q gt steps to the next parameter The parameter is not permanently stored until confirmed at the end of this menu loop FADE TIME I hope you can figure this one out Fade times may be entered in tenth second steps up to one hour in length Note that during a fade the display is only updated once a second while the fade is calculated 18 times a second ARM NONE This is the default display for the next item Pressing lt UP gt or lt DOWN gt will reveal two other choices They are ARM PIN 4 ARM PIN 5 ARM PIN 4 This item selects what function will be activated by injecting a voltage into pin 4 of the DMX in connector To change the function assigned to pin 4 use the lt RIGHT gt key to scroll over to the text for the function Then use lt UP gt and lt DOWN gt
72. through mode Turning on the transmitter by either SEND EDIT routine will terminate the line and break the pass through mode Leaving these routines does not turn the transmitter off and so does not un terminate the line The following actions will switch the DMXter4 back to pass through mode 1 Turning OFF DMX XMTR 2 Exiting by the TO MAIN MENU item 10 16 2 Multi Channel Mode amp Number Format Channel levels are displayed in the current number format as set in USER OPTIONS other numbers are displayed in decimal 10 16 3 Transmit Flavor for Multi Channel Mode Multi Channel Mode uses the current transmit flavor setting with one modification Entering either SEND EDIT DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 47 Go to Main Menu DEFAULT or SEND EDIT FIXTURE sets the slot count to 512 You may select the other flavor setting in the normal manner but MULTI CHANNEL MODE always sends 512 slots 10 16 4 Which START Code Is Used by Multi Channel Mode Whatever START Code the DMXter4 is set on entry to MULTI CHANNEL MODE is the one that will be used for all transmit and receive functions We doubt that you will ever wish to use this mode with a non zero START Code but if you did you could If you have set your DMXter4 to a non zero START Code and try to use this function it is not likely to work as you expect 11 Show Saver amp ShowPlayer And now for something completely different The DMxXter4 is a piece of test equi
73. up to 8 complete shows The show management is done by a submenu that may be entered here by pressing lt DW gt The items in the submenu are 13 1 1 Load Show 13 1 2 Store Show Shows may be named using the text string editor described in section 24 0 13 1 3 Delete Show 13 1 4 Erase Current Show 13 2 ShowPlayer STRUCTURE Upon entry to ShowPlayer the DMXter4 starts to play back The display is placed at the first item of an eleven item menu loop The first item is the main playback monitor window It is not in fact an entry point to any other function This is the default display from which a prerecorded show is run The other ten menu items are entry points to other functions such as recording a new cue or editing its fade times All menu items other than menu 1 use only the bottom line top line is left showing a summary of the current cue status Further the next cue may be started at any time while displaying the entry display for any item on the ShowPlayer main menu 13 2 1 ShowPlayer READ THE MANUAL please This structure is designed to allow quick and easy manipulation of running a show even with our limited user interface To efficiently operate ShowPlayer it is important to learn the special key conventions used in this software To get the most out of ShowPlayer you will actually have to read the manual Horrors 13 3 Key Conventions The following is a summary of key usage in ShowPlayer The key presses and com
74. will step thru its procedure After the DMXter has completed one test sequence the top line of the display will change to read CABLE GOOD Each time the asterisk moves the unit has completed one complete cable test and the cable has passed A cable test consists first of checking for ground continuity then checking for continuity and lack of shorts on Pins 2 and 3 then optionally continuity on Pins 4 and 5 Then a packet of DMX512 like data is transmitted and checked that it is received intact If all of the above tests are successful we consider the cable good We move the asterisk one place in the display and start doing the test all over again Testing multiple cables If you intend to test more than one cable at a time after testing the first cable simply unplug it from the DMXter without pressing any keys on the DMXter One of the error messages will appear telling you that the cable has failed Plug the next cable to be tested into the DMXter and restart the test by pressing either the lt UP gt or lt DOWN gt keys In this manner you may rapidly test multiple cables So it failed Ifa cable fails the continuity test the top line of the display will read CABLE TEST FAILED The text on the second line will tell you which pin s should be checked P1 means that Pin 1 shield is open If Pin 1 fails the test terminates so you will have no way of knowing if there are problems with other pins of that cable We
75. you wish units may upgraded to ShowPlayer for a reasonable fee 11 2 SHOWSAVER IN UNITS WITH SHOWPLAYER If your unit is fitted with ShowPlayer the ShowSaver menu controls a DMX512 monitor routine that can automatically start ShowPlayer if the main source of DMX512 should fail This feature is described in section 14 If this is the feature you are looking for skip to section 14 12 SHOWSAVER ShowSaver feature is intended to help your show if your console becomes disabled at a bad time Uses of ShowSaver There are many occasions in setting up and in testing a lighting system where it is useful to have several defined lighting looks available to switch between Also when testing or servicing certain DMX controlled apparatus such as color changers it is often useful to cycle thru a few different settings ShowSaver adds to your DMxXter4 the ability to record and save up to eight looks These looks differ from the SNAPSHOT in that they are not overwritten when the DMXter is used to perform its usual diagnostic tasks And should some forklift operator cut your DMX cable having a source of lighting cues small enough to heft in one hand could be very useful no not to brain the klutz with Seriously though while we do not wish you to view the DMXter as a lighting console ShowSaver is intended to serve as a backup when disaster strikes Remember that this capability is useful only if you learn to use it before you need
76. 1 TAKING A NEW SNAPSHOT MULTI CHANNEL MODE TAKE NEW SNAPSHOT Taking a new snapshot does the same thing that it does in the normal transmit menu The snapshot is simply left in the DMX table Any routine that changes the values in the DMX table modifies the snapshot The one exception to this rule is when the multi channel software is set to restore a fixture to its original look on exiting Then the restore function repairs the snapshot The snapshot function is START Code sensitive If your DMXter is still reading TAKING SNAPSHOT for more than three seconds and the bottom line remains blank this means that your DMXter is receiving data with a different START Code than the one it is currently set to receive After 3 seconds if no digital input is received or if the input is not a digital form that the DMXter4 can recognize you will see NO DIGITAL INPUT OR INPUT NOT DMX512 10 11 1 DMX Line Mode During a Snapshot Taking a snapshot momentarily switches on the DMX receiver Switching on the receiver momentarily turns off the transmitter If the transmitter was on before the snapshot was taken it will be turned back on afterward The line termination does not change while the snapshot is taken This switching is glitch free and the result is that the new snapshot will be sent to all DMX channels 10 11 2 Initialization after Taking a Snapshot While taking a snapshot does not leave the transmitter off it sets a fl
77. 12 7 5 Turning on the SIP 20 5 12 7 6 Edit Raw SIP Packet 21 5 12 7 7 Edit Null Packet Data 2 2 2 2 2 2 22222 522 pal 4 12 8 Drive DMX Line with Static 21 5 912922 BERS kde Bee Ree Be eee ep ee 21 5 0 1 Ifa Nonzero START Code 6 21 5 1 VIEW LEVELS ben Rew 22 5 1 1 Display and Timeout 22 5 1 2 lt UP gt Clears the Display Buffer and Restarts 22 5 1 3 lt gt Restarts the Receiver 22 5 1 4 Received Slot Summary 23 5 1 5 Data Error While Viewing 23 5 2 VIEW LEVEL 222 23 5 3 VIEW USB TERMINAL a3 5 4 VIEW 8 24 5 4 1 Break Length 556 035 bo ol eis eel eee Lo eee bes 24 5 4 2 Matk alter Break Lem otha 5
78. 2 0 2 Selecting Playback or Record 49 W231 PLAY BA CK gcc pect heb neces SR ae ASE poate GSE Boake 49 12 2 DMX MONITOR 2 4 2 24 24 50 12 2 1 When the Monitor Mode Detects a 50 12 2 2 If Auto Start Is Disabled eesti mait eya dei eens 50 12 2 3 If Auto Start Is Enabled 51 12 2 3 Now That You Are in Play Back eal 12 3 ABOUT PLAYBACK Seabee Seabee aS EES oe 51 12 3 1 Playback Display 52 12 3 2 Keys Used in Playback 42 123 3 Cross Fader 52 DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents IV Go to Main Menu 12 3 4 The Grand 1 2 123 5 The Onstage Editor ie eed ands awed coe 12 3 6 Playback Summary Display 12 3 7 Technical Information about Playback 00 0 12 4 ShowSaver Start Code amp Line 12 5 RECORDING SCENES fice 2555 eee ha one oe eRe Eee eee 12 5 1 The
79. 23 Return to the Table of Contents 24 Go to Main Menu DMXter4 shows you which START Codes are being sent It also reminds you which START Code it is currently set to receive levels from The top line of the display will read START CODES SET X where X the current START Code The bottom line will read out the START Codes that have been received since the test was started They will be sorted in numerical order with the lowest number to the left If more than four START Codes are being received you will see lt 0 4 58 200 gt orsomething similar The brackets indicate that you may scroll lt RIGHT gt or lt LEFT gt thru all the START Codes being received The START Code may be displayed in hex The status may be changed by queries in the SETUP OPTIONS menu see section 8 4 START Codes may only be displayed in decimal or hex If percent is selected for levels via SETUP OPTIONS START Codes will be displayed in decimal If hex is used the display will show two hex digits followed by a lower case h 5 4 4 of Slots per Packet This screen reads out the minimum and maximum number of slots per packet The START Code is not included in this count Warning while the Standard does not require that the number of frames be fixed for all transmissions if the minimum and maximum number of frames are different you should suspect a problem Also you should never receive more than 512 frames This test is start code sensiti
80. 30 52 84 86 DB DC DC 19 31 32 87 89 89 DD DF DF 20 rare re Fe 21 36 37 8C 8E 2 4 2 33A ers rare ES 31 4F 51 5 7 FC FD 52 53 i F A8 E 54 56 me DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 93 Go to Main Menu 23 9 STANDARDS DMX512 RDM 485 Detailed discussion of DMX512 RDM and EIA485 is beyond the scope of this manual We would recommend that persons wishing to know more consult a good book discussing asynchronous serial communications in computers Anyone doing design work for DMX512 must have up to date copies the following three standards ANSI E1 11 2008 Entertainment Technology USITT DMX512 A ANSI 1 20 2010 Entertainment Technology RDM Remote Device Management Over DMX512 Networks Paper and electronic copies of the DMX512 and RDM standards may be obtained from The ESTA Foundation 630 Ninth Avenue Suite 609 New York NY 10036 USA ANSI TIA EIA 485 A order as TIA 485 Order copies of this standard from Global Engineering Documents 15 Inverness Way East Phone 1 212 244 1421 Fax 1 212 244 1502 Online Store http www estafoundation org pubs htm Discounts offered to PLASA Members Englewood CO 80112 USA ph 1 800 854 7 179fax 1 303 397 2740 website http global ins com 23 10 BUILDING AN EXTERNAL SWITCH ADAPTOR RIGHT ARROW LEFT ARROW NC X 9 oO SHIELD
81. 5 3 16 Supported PIDs PID 0081h 1 27 MFG LABEL RDM device must provide a list of the non required commands PID that it supports This menu lets you retrieve that list The display above shows the first of more than 27 non required PIDs that the current device supports On the top line is shown the numeric value of the PID On the second line is a text description of the PID Because a device may support more PIDs than may be reported in a single packet the standard lets you retrieve multiple packets containing supported PID information The DMXter4 indicates that there are more PIDs to be retrieved by the sign Pressing lt UP gt lt DOWN gt returns you to the first PID in the list RDM allows manufacturers to define their own RDM command PID These parameters are in the range of 8000h FFDFh Manufacturers may choose to reveal these commands in the supported PIDs list This is optional If there are manufacturer specific PIDs they will be reported at the end of the PIDs list Pressing lt YES Q gt will show you additional information about the manufacturer s PID The items you will be shown include the length of the data the different values for the data the command classes that this PID supports and an optional text description of the command This item will list all the optional PIDs 15 3 17 DMXter4 4A RDM Supported PIDs The DMXter4 4A provides at least minimal support for all PIDs in E1 20 At this time th
82. ANGE IT If you press lt YES Q gt the display will read START CODE IS 0 CHANGE START CODE Press the lt UP gt and lt DOWN gt keys to change the START Code to your desired setting Pressing lt UP gt and lt DOWN gt together will cause the START Code to bump to 128 Pressing lt YES Q gt lt DOWN gt together will return the START Code to zero When the desired value is displayed press the lt YES Q gt key to save this value The DMXter will use this value as its START Code for both transmit and receive until it is changed again by the user The only exceptions are when a DMXter has had its battery turned off or when the power supply safety circuit has shut down the power supply or when the factory default values have been restored See Section 2 5 Then it reinitializes the START Code to 0 The START Code may be displayed in hex The status may be changed by queries in the SETUP OPTIONS menu see section 8 4 START Codes may only be displayed in decimal or hex If percent is selected for levels via SETUP OPTIONS START Codes will be displayed in decimal If hex is used the display will show two hex digits followed a lower case h DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 26 Go to Main Menu 5 7 SETTING THE MINIMUM LEVEL FOR SEARCHES SEARCH MIN IS 1 CHANGE IT The search minimum is used by VIEW LEVELS In VIEW LEVELS pressing and holding down the lt DOWN gt key and then pres
83. ARING INCOMING DATA TO REFERENCE As long as no errors are detected and the battery has sufficient charge you will continue to see this message When an error is detected the message will change to ERRORS DETECTED PRESS YES Q TO VIEW The test continues to operate with no further indication of other errors if any So let the test continue to run for whatever period of time you want 15 minutes one hour etc Pressing lt YES Q gt will show you a summary screen of the errors found 3 SLOTS W ERRORS FIRST 2 LAST 216 It will show you the number of slots with errors 1 512 On the second line of the display you will see FIRST and a number representing the lowest slot with errors and LAST and a number representing the highest slot with errors To see details of the slots press lt DOWN gt You will now see a display SLT XXX ERRS XXXXX L XXX R XXX This screen means the number following SLT is the lowest slot with errors The number following ERRS is how many errors accumulated for this slot it may range from 1 65 535 The number following L is the lowest level outside the reference window that the slot went to The number following H will equal the highest level outside the reference window The number following R equals the reference value for this slot recorded when the snapshot was taken It is possible for the L value to be higher than the R value if all the incoming
84. CII Text Packet this routine and a Text Packet Receiving routine in the Receive Menu Both routines use the same user interface This routine is intended to test other Text Packet receiving devices The Text Packet Receive routine can be used to monitor DMX512 A devices that support this feature MS 0 L 24 c 3 DMXter4 RDM v4 18 Viewing the Text Packet Moving about the Display AUTO INCREMENT Hold down the lt RIGHT gt or lt LEFT gt keys to auto increment or auto decre ment the character position by one JUMP BY 10 Hold down the lt YES Q gt key and press the lt RIGHT gt or lt LEFT gt key to increment or decrement the character position by 10 AUTO INCREMENT BY 10 Hold down lt YES Q gt and then press and hold the lt RIGHT gt or lt LEFT gt keys to auto increment or auto decrement by 10 RETURNING TO THE FIRST CHARACTER Press both the lt RIGHT gt and lt LEFT gt keys to return to the first character which is in slot 3 The display above is what you will see on entry to this routine The DMXter4 can send several different stored text messages This release has eight different messages They have been chosen to test the compatibility of a displaying device with this feature Details on required packet format and the currently supported messages are in Appendix A You may change which packet you are sending by using the lt UP gt lt DOWN gt keys You can scroll through a message using the
85. Code 0038h means it is a voltage The descriptive text hopefully will explain why you should care about this message Pressing the lt RIGHT gt key displays SUB DV 1 DATA2 O 0 This status message is for the root device This status type voltage only take 16 bit signed datum 10 If there was more than one message say 3 it would be displayed the top line as STAT 0038h ERR 1 3 and the lt DOWN gt would scroll you thru the list of messages If this were a status for a subdevice the first field of the display would be the number of the subdevice reporting its status 15 8 2 2 GET STATUS MSG WRN This request will return messages that the responder feels are errors or warnings 15 8 2 3 GET STATUS MSG ADV This request will return messages that the responder feels are advisory errors or warnings 15 8 2 4 GET STATUS MSG LAST This request returns the Queued message or the last status message sent Note that it is functionally identical to Get Queued message last 15 8 2 5 GET STATUS MSG NONE The Status Type of STATUS_NONE shall be used when a controller wants to establish whether a device is present on the network without retrieving any Status Message data from the device It is commonly used as an ongoing poll in RDM DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 81 Go to Main Menu 15 8 3Clear Status ID This parameter is used to clear the status message queue 15 8 4 Sub
86. DMXter4 RDM to act like a controller providing basic identification and configuration of RDM units Even in system with a RDM console the DMXter4 will be useful for troubleshooting and system set up You will be able to discover the RDM devices in your system retrieve their present configuration and capability set their DMX slot address and personality You will also be able to set many other configuration settings You will be able to retrieve any sensor information that the RDM devices in the system provide one example is internal temperature another is line voltage If you have purchased the Advanced RDM package you will be able to see detailed packet histories and packet timing as well as a number of other features designed for developers and evaluators of RDM responders 15 1 DISCOVER DEVICES If on entry you see the following display 1 you have a unit with advanced RDM fitted 2 You setup a capture criteria See 16 2 To save the old setup you must answer lt YES Q gt KEEP PREVIOUS CAPTURE SETUP Each RDM device has a unique 48 bit ID This number serves as its address and must be discovered before controller can communicate with the device 4744 00004000 GD FOUND 5 DEPTH 48 The above display is shown during discovery The top line shows the current low address being searched The first two Hex digits are the manufacturer ID here 47 44 This is the ID of Goddard Design Compan
87. DOWN gt keys may be used to increment or decrement the place the cursor is under in this case the tens place When incrementing a parameter overflows carry into the next higher place When the cursor is under the most significant place displayed for a parameter decrementing will stop when that place reaches zero If the cursor is under a field that is not the most significant place displayed for the parameter underflows will cause a borrow from the more significant place A special case needs to be pointed out If the cursor is under the most significant place and all other places are 0 decrementing of the most significant place will stop at 1 not 0 If you press and hold either the lt UP gt or the lt DOWN gt key the value will be auto incremented The lt LEFT gt and lt RIGHT gt keys are used to change the place within a parameter or to move to a new parameter field Holding the lt LEFT gt or the lt RIGHT gt keys will cause the cursor to auto step across the display 10 3 2 Setting the Number of Fixtures in the Block The leftmost two places on the display are used to set the number of fixtures in a contiguous block That is what is shorthand for The allowed range for this parameter is 1 to 99 10 3 3 SiZe Setting the Number of Channels per Fixture Now move the cursor to the SZ or size field The top line will change to read CHANNELS PER FIXTURE The software will allow you to enter a fixture having from to 99 chan
88. DOWN gt keys to change the level The methods of changing the level are summarized in the side bar on this page 4 2 REENTERING ADJUST ONE If you press lt YES Q gt to exit this routine and then press it again to re enter you will return pointing to the last slot that you were editing If you exit to the MAIN MENU you will reset the slot to one Taking or erasing the snapshot will also reset the slot number to one This behavior is uniform for all routines that use a slot number 4 3 AUTOFADING ONE SLOT This menu item is a test that allows you to cycle slots up and down automatically It has two modes one cycles one slot continuously the other cycles a slot once and then steps to the next slot You may choose whether a slot cycles from off to full and back to off fade UP or cycles from full to off and returns to full fade DOWN QUICK STEPPING THRU SLOTS AND LEVELS Slot AUTO INCREMENT Hold down the lt gt or lt LEFT gt keys to auto increment or auto decrement the slot numbers by one Slot JUMP BY 10 Hold down the lt YES Q gt key and press the lt RIGHT gt or lt LEFT gt key to increment or decrement the slot number by 10 Slot AUTO INCREMENT BY 10 Hold down lt YES Q gt and then press and hold the lt RIGHT gt or lt LEFT gt keys to auto increment or auto decrement by 10 RETURN TO Slot ONE Press both the lt RIGHT gt and lt LEFT gt keys to return the slot number to one LEVEL AUTO
89. Device Status Report Threshold This parameter is used to set the verbosity of Sub Device reporting using the Status Type codes Error Warn or Advisory This feature is used to inhibit reports from for example a specific dimmer in a rack that is generating repeated errors 15 9 SEND EDIT DEVICE This item allows editing of the DMX slot values for the currently selected device The first time you run Send Edit it will prompt you to load default values for a device if they are available You can manually request them by holding lt YES Q gt lt UP gt for a few seconds The display is shown below SLT 3 3 4136 99 WhiteLED The DMXter is currently sending a level of 99 to slot 3 of a device with a footprint of 4 0 thru 3 The device has base address of 410 and we are addressing DMX slot 413 The slot description for this slot of this device is WhiteLED The values set when you either move to another slot by lt LEFT gt lt RIGHT gt keys or exit by lt YES Q gt are left as set Standard send edit short cut keys apply lt LEFT gt lt RIGHT gt Hold lt RIGHT gt Hold lt LEFT gt Hold lt YES Q gt amp lt RIGHT gt and Hold lt YES Q gt amp lt LEFT gt 15 10 EDIT NULL START CODE DATA The DMXter4 sends Null Start Code packets between RDM packets The number of packets sent is set by a submenu item in the RDM flavor menu This item allows you to edit the packet to be sent It behaves identically to SEND EDI
90. INCREMENT If you hold down the lt UP gt key the slot levels will auto increment towards full If you hold down the lt DOWN2 gt key the slot levels will auto decrement towards zero LEVEL BUMP TO FULL Hold the lt YES Q gt button down while you press the lt UP gt key to jump to full LEVEL BUMP TO ZERO Hold the lt YES Q gt button down while you press the lt DOWN gt key to jump to 0 LEVEL BUMP TO HALF Press both the lt DOWN2 and lt UP gt then release both keys the level will to jump to 50 FORMAT CYCLING THRU FORMATS Pressing both lt UP gt and lt RIGHT gt cycles thru the three number formats If you answer lt YES Q gt to this question you will cause the DMXter to cycle a slot once and then step to the next slot If you answer lt DOWN gt to this question the DMXter will cycle the same slot up and down continually The display will be static The DMXter will have started to transmit The level sent will be an unchanging zero To start the auto fade press either lt UP gt or lt DOWN gt Pressing lt UP gt causes the DMXter to start fading from zero up to full and then back to zero Pressing lt DOWN gt causes the DM Xter to start fading with the slot set to full fade the slot to zero and then back up to full If you ENABLE AUTOSTEP and select lt UP gt slot 1 will fade to full and DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 10 Go to Main Menu then back to zero When it reaches zero th
91. OPERATING MANUAL SECTION 1 FOR DM Xter4 RDM DM Xter4A RDM Software V 4 23 ShowSaver ShowPlayer FOR HARDWARE DMX 4 DMX 4A Goddard Design Co 51 Nassau Avenue Brooklyn NY 11222 718 599 01 70 718 599 01 72 fax http www goddarddesign com sales goddarddesign com Copyright 1991 2015 by Goddard Design Co 3 3 15 Y word_p wp6doc dmx man dmxman_v423_sec1 wpd This Page Left Blank TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUC TION 225220 sees 1 USITT DMX512 A AND THIS 5 1 Hardware Features of both the DMXTER4 1 0 0 SAFETY WARNING ph oe ees 2 0 1 THE DMXter4 USES A 2 0 2 PRECAUTIONS THAT WILL ASSURE THE BEST OPERATION YOUR DMXter4 2 0 1 1 Use a Blanking Plug in Unused DMX 2 0 1 2 If ESD Is Present Ground the 2 0 3 GETTING 5 3 4 KEY CONVENTION Soera eb bbe hb 4 1 1 1 ACTION ON KEY 1
92. RR flag by pressing and holding lt YES Q gt and then pressing lt UP gt The display will be the same as the first display in VIEW PARAMETERS 5 2 VIEW LEVEL GRAPHICALLY This routine allows 32 slots to be viewed at once for a quick overview The number at the beginning of the top line is the starting slot number for that line The remaining 16 character cells display a graphic representation for 16 consecutive slots Sixteen more slot values are displayed on the bottom line 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 A blank character cell is a zero A fully a annn filled character cell is a value of 255 hex FF The remaining levels are shown as a variable height goal post The graphic to the right shows the ten steps in the first 10 slots The break points are as listed in the table below Pressing lt UP gt and lt DOWN2 gt at the same time will change the display so that the bottom line displays the numeric value of the first displayed slot on the top line 0 01 32 64 96 128 160 192 224 255 31 63 95 127 159 191 223 254 Graphic mode break points 5 3 VIEW ON USB TERMINAL If you have a PC with a terminal emulator installed you can now view the DMX levels on your PC Information on setting up the terminal emulator is in this manual in section 23 1 More detailed information is on our web site
93. Return to the Table of Contents 3 Go to Main Menu 1 CONVENTIONS As with any software based device we have set up some conventions DMX 512 DMX 512 IN OUT DMXter4 RDM 5 z GODDARD DESIGN BROOKLYN 1 1 KEY CONVENTIONS The block of six keys on the right hand side of the unit is used for most of the operation of the unit 1 1 1 ACTION ON KEY UP As a rule the DMXter4 software takes action on key release not on key press The exceptions to this rule include auto repeat functions For brevity this manual will refer to press lt xx gt key even when action will take place after the key is depressed and released When we feel it is important or where confusion is possible we will lay out the key strokes in detail 1 1 2 lt YES Q gt The blue lt YES Q gt key is the YES answer to queries and initiates the action that you have chosen in most cases When the DMXter4 is performing functions where a yes no answer would be inappropriate there will no longer be a inthe display At this point the lt YES Q gt key will Quit the work you have been doing and generally put you back to the point in the menu at which you entered There are some exceptions to this rule quitting some functions will return you to different points in the menu These will be pointed out later in the manual DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 4 Go to Main Menu 1 1 3 The lt OFF gt KEY amp the
94. SHOT of the console s output and compare it to what the console is outputting a short time later You can do this at the console end only checking the console only Or if you have any reason to suspect the DMX512 cable you can do it at either the console first moving down to the dimmer end or you can do the whole test at the dimmer end on the principle that a funky cable will not give you repeatable results If you suspect a bad cable we advise that you run SINGLE ENDED CABLE TEST first as this will test certain cable parameters that FLICKER FINDER is not designed to test Be certain that the DMXter4 is connected to the console s output either at the console or at the dimmer end of the control cable Set the console to output a stable cue important not a chase Set a real cue with real levels not every channel at 00 If you suspect one mode is flickering set the console in that mode Upon entering the FLICKER FINDER submenu the first message is TAKE SNAPSHOT OF CONSOLE S OUTPUT Pressing lt YES Q gt causes it to record the snapshot DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 36 Go to Main Menu A technical note During the taking of the snapshot the DMX512 line is momentarily terminated So there is a very brief moment when data is not passed thru to the DMX512 OUT connector If the DMXter did not see a digital input it will tell you so NO DIGITAL INPUT INPUT NOT DMX512 After correcting the pro
95. T in Transmit 15 11 RDM USER OPTIONS These items allow the configuration of the RDM functions of the controller most are fairly obvious 15 11 1 Identify on Select This controls whether the responder is set into the Identify mode while you are selecting it 15 11 2 Retry Lost Bad Packets This item controls whether a packet is resent when the response is lost or corrupt The default setting is No You may set the DMXter to send 1 to 4 retries before giving up 15 11 3 Ignore Disc Warnings Discovery can report a number of different errors The errors listed below can be suppressed A fully working system should not see these errors however it may be desirable to continue with discovery to get a system working or to continue debugging 4744 00004000 GD DUB RESP TOO LONG DUB RESP TOO SHORT WARN BOOTLOAD ON ON LVL 48 RESP CONT ON LVL 48 RESP CONT WARNING FRAMING ERR EUID DECODE ERRROR ON LVL 48 RESP CONT ON LVL 48 RESP CONT DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 82 Go to Main Menu 15 11 4 Get Queued Messages on ACK Timer If an RDM responder cannot provide information requested by GET command or respond to a SET command in the allowed time it can respond with ACK time message This response tells the controller how long it is likely to have to wait before that information is available This item allows you to have a controller retrieve data after
96. TART Code The default START Code setting in the DMXter4 is therefore 0 4 0 1 Ifa Non zero START Code Is Set If you previously changed the START Code to a non 0 value you will now be informed of this fact and given the chance to change the START Code if you wish If you do not wish to change the START Code press lt DOWN gt Pressing lt UP gt will return you to the MAIN MENU 4 0 2 Ifa Non standard Flavor Is Set The DMXter4 provides considerable control of the parameters of the transmitted DMX signal This is required because DMX512 allows many parameters to vary over wide ranges Our method of allowing you to select groups of preset parameters is called selecting the flavor See the discussion of flavors in Section 4 7 below The DMxXter4 s default flavor setting is DMX512 A E1 11 This follows the required minimum break MAB times for 1 11 If you previously changed the flavor to one other than DMX512 A E1 11 you will now be informed of this fact and given the chance to change the flavor if you wish 4 0 3 Support for External Switches In ADJUST ONE SLOT AUTOFADE ONE SLOT and ADJUST ALL SLOTS the software supports two user provided external switches In ADJUST ONE SLOT and AUTOFADE ONE SLOT the switches when present and enabled duplicate the unshifted functions of the lt RIGHT gt and lt LEFT gt keys In ADJUST ALL SLOTS the switches when present and enabled duplicate the unshifted functions o
97. TINES This menu item is the entry point to a submenu In the present version of the software this menu has five diagnostic routines which make use of new features of DMX512 A In earlier DMXters the Adjust All Slots routine was found elsewhere DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 16 Go to Main Menu 4 12 1 Adjust Slots This function allows you to set all the slots to the same level at once Use the lt UP gt lt DOWN2 gt keys If you hold down the lt UP gt key the slot levels will auto increment towards full If you hold down the lt DOWN gt key the slot levels will auto decrement towards zero The level may be displayed in decimal percent or hex The current status may be changed by pressing lt RIGHT gt lt UP gt simultaneously It can also be changed by a query in the SETUP OPTIONS menu see section 8 4 Note the default settings will not allow you to bring all the slots to half or full at once Many installations lack the power service to handle everything at full at once and we don t own a piece of any fuse or circuit breaker manufacturer Note even a location that could handle the load of all slots at full may not handle the surge caused by cold lamps In this software there is a switch to enable bumping all slots See section 8 7 When enabled you may bump all slots to full half and of course zero Be careful when you use this feature Blowing the service may be momentarily exciting but we don t h
98. This routine had a problem that could cause a random number of devices to be deleted DISCOVER W O UNMUTE MUTE DEVICE UNMUTE DEVICE UMUTE ALL Advanced RDM new menu item is SEND EDIT DEVICE SEND EDIT DEVICE shows you the number of slots a device uses what the current slot is the DMX address of that slot the current level of that slot and finally the slot description if supported lt UP gt lt DOW N gt lt LEFT gt lt RIGHT gt allow raising and lower the slot value and moving from slot to slot of the device Normal shortcut rules apply DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 95 Go to Main Menu New View Raw Captured Request Packet New View Raw Captured Response Packet New View Raw Previous Request Packet New View Raw Previous Response Packet All of the above are items that let you view a raw packet generated by either the DMXter4 controller or the DUT responder In V4 05 all of these items can switch from showing slot number to showing slot description Build a Custom Request Packet Improved This routine helps you build any packet you choose It guides you thru modifying labeled RDM fields Then it will let you view and edit the raw data The raw data may be viewed in decimal hex or ASCII using lt RIGHT gt lt UP gt As of V4 05 if you in a menu pressing lt OFF gt moves you up one level in the menu tree The lt OFF gt key only functions as on off key if you a
99. UAL Pressing lt UP gt lt DOWN gt will change the display to CONFIRM MANUAL YES Now pressing lt YES Q gt will switch the mode to the manual state If ShowPlayer were in manual on entry you would see CONFIRM AUTO NO 13 5 8 EDIT DEFAULTS This item follows the same rules as EDIT FADE TIMES However the results are stored as the default setting for these functions for all new cues Whatever is entered here will appear in all cues unless changed on a per cue basis 13 5 9 HALT RESUME SHOW In the same way as the Manual Auto item this item halts or resumes all running fades Since there is a shortcut key to GET directly to this function I am not sure you will often use this menu 13 5 10 FADE ALL TO BLACK This item requires a confirmation that you really mean to fade the stage to black The fade time will be the default fade time 13 5 11 SNAPSHOT RECORD This menu allows you to quickly record the levels of a cue for another console or controller On entry you will DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents Go to Main Menu be asked PASS THRU DMX YES Normally this is how you will want to record cues for a console So press lt YES Q gt If you choose the Pass thru mode the DMX sent by the console will be seen on stage If you want to be in the terminated mode press lt UP gt or lt DOWN gt and then lt YES Q gt You will generally only use the terminated mode if the DMXter is connecte
100. WN gt key to scroll thru the stored Snapshots A used memory is named Note that a blank line is a memory that someone didn t bother to name empty memories are labeled EMPTY Once the memory is selected you will be able to label the memory using our text editor The text string editor is detailed in section 24 Note the editor will allow names to be typed on your PC if the DMXter is connected via USB 4 8 3 Delete Snapshot I hope this one is fairly obvious 4 9 CHANGING THE START CODE DMXS 12 is a standard primarily intended to communicate level information to dimmers It has provisions for non level or non dimmer communications by means ofa START Code For dimmer communication the start code has a value of 0 sometimes referred to as the null start code The default START Code setting in the DMXter4 is therefore 0 Some of this equipment uses non 0 START Codes DMXter4 provides you with the ability to set the START Code you need for the type of equipment you are testing If you press lt YES Q gt the display will read START CODE IS 0 CHANGE START CODE Press the lt UP gt and lt DOWN gt keys to change the start code to your desired setting Pressing lt UP gt and lt DOWN gt together will cause the start code to bump to 128 Pressing lt YES Q gt and lt DOWN gt together will return the start code to zero When the desired value is displayed press the lt YES Q gt key to save this value The DMXter will use
101. ag marks of less than 8s as a warning of possible compatibility problems OVFL OVERFLOW meaning that you have attempted to receive more than 512 slots BNW BROKEN WIRE The probable cause is Pin 2 or 3 of your cable is open If this reads as B W it means that this feature is disabled Turn it on again thru the USER SETUP OPTION Ww Ry tg If any portion of this test returns an error the unit will show it An error is shown by an on the display under the error s code The display on the left shows two errors a short break and packet containing more than 512 slots The display on the right is the no error display FE MK OVFL FE BK MK OVFL NO ERRORS DETECTED Technical Note We report a PARITY ERROR for any frame byte that does not have its first stop bit DMXS5 12 is a no parity system and the 9th bit should always be high To prevent false trips on the BREAK TOO SHORT and MARK AFTER BREAK TOO SHORT measurements the trip point for these measurements is set as follows a break must be measured as 87 5us or less A mark after break must be measured as 7 5us or less The DMxXter4 allows the user to look at certain parameters of the received signal in detail Pressing the lt UP gt and lt DOWN2 gt keys will scroll the user thru the choices Pressing lt DOWN gt will bring you to 5 4 1 Break Length BREAK LENGTH reads out a minimum value a m
102. ag so that the next time SEND EDIT FIXTURES 15 entered the fixtures will be initialized DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 46 Go to Main Menu 10 12 TAKING A NEW DEFAULT MULTI CHANNEL MODE TAKE NEW DEFAULT Taking a new default fixture look records the values being sent by another console to one fixture These values are then moved to a special memory area The fixture whose values are used is the current fixture Taking a default also records a new snapshot The transmitter switching and initialization behaviors of this function are the same as those of the snapshot function See section 10 11 10 13 CLEARING THE PATCH TABLE MULTI CHANNEL MODE CLEAR PATCH TABLE 10 14 TURNING OFF THE DMX512 TRANSMITTER MULTI CHANNEL MODE TURN OFF DMX XMTR One powerful feature of the Multi Channel Mode software is that the DMX512 transmitter can be left running On the other hand leaving the transmitter on is a good way to drain the battery This menu item lets you save the battery It can also be used to reinitialize the fixtures The fixtures are initialized when the transmitter is turned on If the transmitter is ON executing this item turns it OFF The software then returns you to the SEND EDIT FIXTURE menu item Pressing lt YES Q gt again will activate the Send Edit routine turning on the transmitter and initializing the fixtures
103. allows 2 7 device to send up to Viewing the Text Packet 256 different text Moving about the Display messages They are numbered from 0 to AUTO INCREMENT Hold down the lt RIGHT gt 255 This routine or lt LEFT gt keys to auto increment or auto generates up to 8 decrement the character position by one canned test messages The above left screen is JUMP BY 10 Hold down the lt BLUE gt key and the first canned press the lt RIGHT gt or lt LEFT gt key to increment or message in the decrement the character position by 10 DMXter4 AUTO INCREMENT BY 10 Hold down lt BLUE gt L Text message packets and then press and hold the lt RIGHT gt or lt LEFT gt may have from 24 to keys to auto increment or auto decrement by 10 512 data slots plus the START Code See the RETURNING TO THE FIRST CHARACTER Appendix A This field Press both the lt RIGHT gt and lt LEFT gt keys to shows the length of the return the first character which is in slot 3 packet that is currently VIEWING TEXT IN HEX Press lt UP gt and being transmitted lt RIGHT gt C This is the position within the packet of the character that is in the first display position on the second line of the display As you use the lt LEFT gt and lt RIGHT gt keys to move about the display this number lets you know where you are 5 9 1 Displayed Character Many simple display units will not display all ASCII characters as clearly as you would expect When you get to extended
104. and lt RIGHT gt cycles thru the 2 three number formats 5 1 1 Display and Timeout Rules When the Lil DMXter was first built very few devices made regular use of Alternate START Code packets While most DMX is still Null START Code packets ASC packets are seen far more often than in the past In the past if you saw data on the screen it was likely that was the only data on the link If the null packets stopped coming you would soon see a no data message If you are dealing with a DMX512 system that mixes Null and ASC packets it is helpful to understand the display and timeout rules If after 3 seconds the DMXter4 does not receive DMX512 data on any START Code the display will change to NO DIGITAL INPUT OR INPUT NOT DMX512 When this message is displayed reception of DMX512 stops However the buffer is not cleared Whatever was last received is still in the buffer This is a latched display After correcting the problem you may clear the NO DIGITAL INPUT display by restarting the VIEW LEVELS section This is done either by using the lt UP gt or lt DOWN gt keys If a system that mixes Null and ASC messages stops updating the Null packets but continues to send ASC packets the no data message will NOT appear As long as some valid DMX512 packet is received every 3 seconds no time out occurs Simply viewing the display would not indicate this 5 1 2 lt UP gt Clears the Display Buffer and Restarts Receive Pressing lt UP
105. ave to fix it and you do 4 12 2 ADJUST SLOT RANGE START END LEVEL AUTO START END LEVEL AUTO START END LEVEL AUTO i 25 50 1 25 60 FADE 1 25 10 STEP This menu item allows you to adjust a contiguous group of slots The first display shows slots 1 25 set to a level of 50 The second display shows slots 1 25 autofading with a current level at 60 The third display shows slots 1 25 fading from 0 to full and down the group of slots will then be reset to slots 26 50 which will continue to fade up and down and increment The Start slot and the End slot may be set at will as long as the End slot is equal or greater to the Start slot 4 12 3 ADJUST 16 bit SLOT LEVEL MSB LSB LEVEL 1 2 0 This routine allows you to select two slots to act as a 16 bit pair By default they are consecutive slots in a big endian format Any valid slot may be chosen for either MSB or LSB Level field has two functions It shows the current value being sent to the slots and it is where you enter a turnaround value for the fade Turnaround is the maximum level that can be reached when auto fading It lets the user set a level at which the auto fade will change direction and start fading down It s mostly intended for testing the low end fade performance of LED fixtures The rate field is where you enter the step size for fade Steps are spaced about every 20ms
106. aximum value and an average of the last 32 packets all expressed in us or if appropriate in milliseconds The average value will take a few seconds to appear on the display The DMXter4 can measure the minimum maximum and average break length for breaks longer than 65us If it receives a minimum break time of less than 6515 the minimum and maximum values will be replaced with the words TOO SHORT This is to warn you that you have exceeded the measurement capability of the DMxXter The average value will still be shown but its validity should not be counted on Break length is not START Code sensitive the break length of all packets is measured regardless of the START Code that the packet is transmitted with 5 4 2 Mark after Break Length MARK AFTER BREAK LENGTH reads out a minimum value a maximum value and an average value for Mark After Break length expressed in us if appropriate in milliseconds The average value will take a few seconds to appear on the display If it receives a minimum mark time of less than 3s the minimum and maximum values will be replaced with the words TOO SHORT This is to warn you that you have exceeded the measurement capability of the DMXter The average value will still be shown but its validity should not be counted on MAB length is not START Code sensitive the MAB length of all packets is measured regardless of the START Code that the packet is transmitted with 5 4 3 List Received START Codes DMXter4 V4
107. be at the end of the table We do not sort the table When you have selected a device the DMXter will check if the device has any sub devices If it does you will see the next set of displays If it does not you will return to the menu pointing to Device Information SELECT SUB DEVICE CAN T USE SUBDEV W O 22 TOTAL 001 INFO SUPPORT We do not support sub devices unless they also support the device info PID for those sub devices Hence the second display above To set the desired sub device move the cursor under the digit place you wish to change and use the lt UP gt or lt DOWN gt key lt YES Q gt lt UP gt sets the sub device to maximum 512 lt YES Q gt lt DOWN gt sets the sub device to the root device sub 0 15 3 DEVICE INFORMATION All RDM responders are required to return a minimum set of information about themselves They can optionally return a great deal more This menu item lets you view the required information along with some common optional information Certain of the allowed responses to the following queries are up to 32 characters long If there is text beyond the end of the display the unit will go into auto scroll so that the extra text may be viewed If the responder fails to respond with a valid reply to a particular request the display will show one of the following error messages N A for Not Available the responder does not support the PID
108. binations are sorted into several different groups They are sorted by function and by where they are used 13 3 1 Main Loop Key Conventions The first group of key presses is available when ShowPlayer is in the main menu loop item 1 Many of these key presses also work when ShowPlayer is sitting on the entry point of other main menu loop items You should not assume that they are active once you have entered a non zero menu loop item lt UP gt Move backward thru the menu lt YES Q gt Go Next Cue Only active in menu 1 lt YES Q gt Enter menu item Active for all but item 1 lt RIGHT gt Go Next Cue The same function as the above item lt LEFT gt Go Previous Go to the next lower numbered cue lt DOWN gt Forward thru the menu lt RIGHT gt lt YES Q gt Go Blackout cue 00 0 Blacks out the stage and points the lowest number cue as the next cue lt LEFT gt lt YES Q gt Go lowest cue number Normally this goes to cue number 1 0 lt LEFT gt lt RIGHT gt Cut to the end of the cue This bumps the cue on stage 13 3 2 Main Menu Loop Short Cut Keys lt UP gt lt YES Q gt If you are anywhere in the main menu loop and the display is showing the entry point for an item pressing this key combination will return you to item 1 lt OFF gt lt YES Q gt If you are in main menu loop press this key to toggle the halt state 13 3 3 Key Press Convention Used Inside Menu Items lt YES Q gt In general when a question mark is visible pressing l
109. blem press the lt DOWN gt key to try again After the snapshot is recorded the next display will read COMPARE LIMIT IS 4 CHANGE IT The compare limit is the number of steps of change either plus or minus that are allowed before the DMXter considers that a channel is changing or flickering Note that one step is one part in 256 not one part in 100 The default compare limit is 4 but the user may set it from 0 to 64 The DMXter4 will remember the last limit you set and only returns to the default upon hard power up Note that the compare limit menu item does not support any of the multi key bump functions The compare limit may be displayed in decimal or hex If percent is selected for levels the compare limit will be displayed in decimal The status may be changed by queries in the SETUP OPTIONS menu see section 8 4 If hex is used the display will show two hex digits followed by a lower case h If the previously set compare limit is satisfactory you may bypass changing it by pressing the lt DOWN2 gt key Pressing lt YES Q gt allows you to change the compare limit in a manner similar to changing START Code When you have set the compare limit or bypassed setting it you will see the following message FLICKER FINDER AT END OF LINE Is the DMXter the last DMX512 device in line or do you have a loop thru to other receivers Answering this question starts the data comparison The display will read COMP
110. build custom packets routine A full list of supported PIDs can be found on our Web site at www goddarddesign com sub_pid pdf We added an option to disable RDM line bias network when sending RDM See new section15 11 7 RDM Sniffer We added a menu option to send only the HEX dump to USB without the packet summary V4 20 Released 11 15 2013 Added E1 37 1 Setup Features Supports all 21 PIDs from the Standard Fixed bug where pressing the OFF key a single item cursor editor would go back two levels instead of one Changed PRESET to SCENE to better match the wording of the RDM standard Improved parts of CAPTURE PRESET 100 V4 21 D4A Released 07 11 2014 for DMXter4A only This release added support for the new DMXter4A hardware platform V4 22 Beta release for LDI 2014 This is the first code to have dynamic code swapping It supports E1 37 2 PIDs at the table level no UI V4 23 Released 11 24 2014 This release fixed possible bug in code loading software Major changes done to the manuals to update them on both new code and the new hardware platform 23 12 VERIFYING SYSTEM TIMEBASE ACCURACY The DMxXter4 has highly accurate crystal timebase but it is not traceable to a certified calibration standard For normal 5 12 testing and evaluation the stock accuracy of the crystal should be more than adequate If you have any need or desire to know the absolute accuracy of your particular DMXter4 continue rea
111. ccurate reading 23 FCC PART 15 STATEMENT This device complies with Part 15 of FCC Rules Operation is subject to the following two conditions 1 This device may not cause harmful interference and 2 This device must accept any interference received including interference that may cause undesired operation WARNING YOU MUST CORRECT ANY HARMFUL INTERFERENCE CAUSED BY THIS DEVICE This device is professional test equipment and as such it is not intended for residential use DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 101 Go to Main Menu If this device causes harmful interference it is the responsibility of the user to take action to eliminate this harmful interference and if necessary discontinue use of this device in the environment where the interference occurred wR RK 22 USB OPERATIONS INCLUDING CODE UPDATES Some functions on the DMXter4 could use a bit more display space than 40 characters Some current or future functions could benefit from full keyboard All the DMXter s running code is stored in flash so we email you a software update The USB connector allows the DMXter4 to be connected to any computer supporting a serial terminal emulator that connects via USB The USB port on the DMXter is isolated so that it does not provide unintended ground path for common mode voltage on the DMX512 line 23 1 Terminal Emulator Requirements and Recommendations The following are brief comments for the
112. changing the value of a numeric parameter the DMXter4 uses the lt UP gt or lt DOWN gt keys to raise and lower the numeric values They also function as the no to answer the queries of the menu Pressing lt DOWN gt tells the DMXter4 no to the current query and advances you to the next choice Pressing lt UP gt tells the DMXter4 no to the current query and backs you up to the previous choice 1 1 5 1 Bumping a Numeric Value to Minimum or Maximum Hold the lt YES Q gt button down while you press the lt UP gt key to jump a numeric value to maximum Hold the lt YES Q gt button down while you press the lt DOWN gt key to bump a numeric value to its minimum value This will work with most but not all numeric values that are set by the lt UP gt and lt DOWN gt keys 1 1 5 2 Pressing lt UP gt lt and lt DOWN gt 1 Bumping a Numeric Value to Half Press both lt DOWN gt and lt UP gt then release both keys A numeric value will be taken to its half value This will work with most but not all numeric values that are set by the lt UP gt lt DOWN gt keys 2 Returning to the first menu item In most menus the combination of lt UP gt lt DOWN gt will jump to the first item in that menu 1 1 5 3 Auto incrementing a Numeric Value Many numeric values set with the lt UP gt and lt DOWN gt keys may be auto incremented by holding down lt UP gt key If you hold down the lt DOWN gt key the value w
113. chnical Information about Playback PLAYBACK including MONITOR receives and transmits data only on START Code 0 This is the normal dimmer START Code In most systems START Code 0 is used for all show data Most moving lights will operate on START Code 0 START Code 0 is called the Null START Code Using PLAYBACK sets the START Code to 0 When exiting monitor mode PLAYBACK transmission characteristics are set by a special flavor If you need information on what we mean by a DMX flavor see section 4 7 The flavor we use for playback is the same as the default setting of the USER C flavor This flavor is permanent and will not change if you make changes to USER C PLAYBACK FLAVOR USED FOR ShowSaver BREAK MAB SLOTS INTER SLOT MBB UPDATE LENGTH TIME RATE 160 512 45usE 16326us 16 HZ 12 4 ShowSaver Start Code amp Line Termination The receive and edit routines of ShowSaver temporarily change the START Code to which the DMXter is set to the dimmer START Code of 0 Exiting ShowSaver by way of the TO MAIN MENU menu item will restore the START Code to the value you were using beforehand Pressing lt gt to exit ShowSaver will leave the START Code set to 0 The subject of line termination is important but we ll try and spare you the gory details DMX512 uses DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 53 Go to Main Menu balanced terminated transmission line All DMX lines should have and only one t
114. d Devices list 15 1 15 During constant discovery we only counts each packet once 15 1 13 No longer turns off RDM scope trigger when selecting a new device 15 2 Fixed display corruption when setting DMX address if DEVICE MODEL DESCRIPTION is not supported 15 4 Slot count was invalid on corrupt PERSONALITY DESCRIPTION response in Set Personality 15 5 Now lt UP lt DOWN gt jumps to first Selftest in Selftest list 15 6 12 In RDM we moved Self Tests to Setup Device Menu 15 6 12 Fixed bottom line flicker when RDM Send Repeatedly is paused 16 3 4 We have increased the auto pole rate for sensors 15 7 Better error reporting when GET SENSOR_ VALUE fails 15 7 The DMXter warns if sensor number in SENSOR_DEFINITION doesn t match requested sensor number 15 7 New Features In DMX Up to 25 Snapshots may now be stored in Flash 4 8 1 Added adjust 1661 slot level 4 12 4 User flavors can send Breaks as short as 30us MAB s as short as ls 4 7 2 4 7 3 Added Setup Menu routine displaying the serial number and RDM UID 8 12 In RDM You may pause constant discovery by pressing either the lt LEFT gt or the lt RIGHT gt keys 15 1 13 Added Unicast DUB to discovery menu 15 1 14 Select Current Device now supports some more shortcut keys 15 2 1 In Device Information the description auto scrolls if longer than the display 15 3 Improved
115. d and re transmitted as different levels BUT when the DMXter4 is in percent mode you can only enter one value for each percent step To find the exact values see the transmit conversion table listed below There is an exception to the rule that changing display mode does not change data The display resolution of hex and decimal is finer than that of percent This means that there are two or three values of hex and decimal that are nominally displayed as 50 If the DMXter has been set to hex and you have been searching for slots set to 80h nominally 50 and you switch the unit to percent you would expect to find all slots displayed with a value of 50 or greater Hence we change the search value from 80h to 7Fh so that all slots displayed as 50 are included On changing from hex or decimal to percent all search values are corrected so that all slots displayed as set to the same DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 92 Go to Main Menu percent will be found 23 8 PERCENT TABLES E 2 06 07 5C 5D B2 B4 Be fr 0 0 38 61 62 7 9 9 10 11 40 66 68 8 15 16 16 42 6B 6D C1 C3 o m e ta 1 1 70 72 78 C6 C8 EMES Se FFE 1F 20 75 17 CC CD 0 PAES 24 26 26 TA 7C D1 D2 ears are 16 29 2 TF 81 84 6 7 18 2E 30
116. d as the last thing in a DMX daisy chain You will now be asked which cue you wish to SNPSHT or which cue you wish to RE SNP On entry the cue number in the record window will be the last cue played on stage So if you were playing cue three the display would look like the following CUE 03 0 PASS RE SNAP 0 30 The label PASS indicates that the unit is in pass thru mode When you have selected the cue you wish to save press lt YES Q gt When the unit is capturing the snapshot the cue number display changes to read TAKING If inbound DMX is present this will only be displayed for a brief moment If DMX is not present the TAKING message will remain visible for a few seconds and then be replaced with the message NO DMX Press any key other than Top to remove this message If you wish to record a number of snaps you may do so by simply changing the cue number and hitting lt YES Q gt If the display says SNPSHT XX X then you are going to record a new cue if it say RE SNP XX X then you are about to overwrite an existing cue If a successful snapshot is taken the output buffer of ShowPlayer will match the most recently captured look 13 5 11 1 Keys Active during SNAPSHOT Within the Snapshot menu key functions are lt UP gt Increments the cue number to record based on the cursor position If the existing number is displayed the field label changes to RE SNP lt DOWN2 gt Decrements the cue n
117. d directly However if the proper one is not available it will be the responsibility of the purchaser to obtain it locally 23 4 POWER SUPPLY VOLTAGE SETTINGS The DMXter4A RDM does not require any modification to run on line voltage almost any place on earth However earlier models did Make certain that you know which model you have before plugging the unit into mains supply different than your home base Units able to run on international voltages should have the following label in the top lid Units Shipped set for 90 to 260 Volts 23 5 REPLACEMENT FUSES There is a fuse in the AC line voltage circuit It is mounted to the bottom of the power supply printed circuit card This fuse should never blow in normal operation Even overloads or shorts to the low voltage supply should be limited by electronic means DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 90 Go to Main Menu The failure of this fuse may well mean that there has been a major failure in the power supply It is not advisable to replace this fuse without a complete retest of the power supply If this fuse blows the unit should be returned to the factory or dealer for service But since we are required to list replacement fuses here they are Type 5x20mm 250mA slow blow Interrupting Rating 150A at 250 Volts Example Littlefuse 0219 250MXAP 23 6 CONNECTOR FUNCTIONS AND CONNECTOR WIRING The DMXter4 RDM supports bidirectional requirements of E1 20 RDM The original Lil DMXter
118. d return to where you were If you exit to the MAIN MENU you will reset the slot number to slot one Taking or erasing the snapshot will also reset the slot number to one This behavior is uniform for all routines that use a slot number DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 12 Go to Main Menu 4 6 3 Clearing the Snapshot Within Send Edit You can set all slot levels to zero from within SEND EDIT SNAPSHOT Hold the lt YES Q gt and lt DOWN gt keys After about 3 seconds the display will change to read ISET 25 26 27 28 CLEAR SNAPSHOT The top line of the display will not change only the bottom line is rewritten Release both keys Now pressing lt YES Q gt will clear all the slots pressing lt UP gt or lt DOWN gt will return you to SEND EDIT SNAPSHOT 4 7 CHANGE SEND FLAVOR Although they are standards there are many parameters of DMX512 A that are permitted to vary over a wide range These parameters may vary from product to product or even from moment to moment at the output of the same product The Standard defines the acceptable range within which a number of parameters of the transmitted signal are permitted to vary The DMXter4 allows you to vary 5 important parameters of the DMX512 signal Three of these parameters may be adjusted to values that fall outside those permitted by the Standards We provide these out of Standard test signals to allow sophisticated testing of DMX receivers It should be understoo
119. d spot the bad cables All DMXters have incorporated the OPEN LINE DETECTOR This circuitry flags seemingly good data when all the pins are not connected To do this detection reliably required special circuitry that is NOT EIA485 compliant It has always been possible for certain driver and load combinations that are totally legal under the EIA485 specification to trigger an error message Hence there has always been a method of disabling this feature It is always enabled for the cable test which will not work without it The following functions use the OPEN LINE DETECTOR VIEW LEVELS it is the feature we call BNW for broken wire VIEW PARAMETERS error summary screen where it is also called BNW DOUBLE ENDED CABLE TEST it is inherent to this test and cannot be turned off This test will not test cables where Pin 1 is not connected at both ends 8 5 1 False Errors with 3 3 Volt 485 Drivers DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 34 Go to Main Menu When DMXter4 was designed it was discovered that certain 3 3 volt drivers would cause false trips of the OPEN LINE DETECTOR This was not a fault of 3 3V drivers they just have a different offset voltage The detector was designed to spot bad cables It is not involved in receiving and decoding DMX data Unfortunately this behavior was not documented prior to V4 18 of the manual The DMXter4A contains the modification that resolves this potential problem 8 5 2 Har
120. d that one piece of equipment s ability to operate outside the Standard does not make it inherently a better piece of gear than one that does not While these parameters are individually variable to simplify matters we have provided for presets of those parameters and we have taken to referring to those presets as flavors Therefore to choose a flavor refers to choosing a preset of parameters for the transmitted signal The concept of flavors applies only to a transmitted signal generated by the DMXter4 and not to reception There are 10 Preset flavor choices NAME Updates Sec 1 11 DMX512 A 44 08 RDM 176us 12us 3 DMX512 1990 8us 24 SLOTS 815 MAB DMX5 12 1990 4us MAB 24 SLOTS 4us MAB 70us 4us MAB 20S USER A default values USER B default values USER C default values BREAK BREAK TIME MAB MARK AFTER BREAK SLOTS NUMBER OF SLOTS IST INTERSLOT TIME MBB MARK BEFORE BREAK Getting into the SEND FLAVOR submenu will put you at the last flavor that was set You may step thru the choices from there Use the lt YES Q gt key to select your flavor and return to the TRANSMIT submenu You will find yourself at the ADJUST ONE SLOT choice This is an exception to the general rule that lt YES Q gt returns you the point from which you entered the menu DMxXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 13 Go to Main Menu 4 7 1 Changing the User Flavors The DMXter4 gives you three choices of s
121. d we say more 8 14 UTILITIES MENU We hope the functions are self explanatory 8 14 1 Erase EEPROM This function should be used every time new software is down loaded 8 14 2 Erase Flash 8 14 3 Reset User Setting and Shut down 8 14 4 Test SRAM Expansion All DMXter4A units and most DMXter4 units have a serial 32K RAM chip used as an extra high speed data store At this time this RAM is only used if you have the RDM Sniffer software DMxXter4 RDM units shipped after 4118 have this RAM It may be retrofitted to many earlier units 8 14 5 Install Co Processor Firmware This item allows upgrading the code for the Co Proccesor If you need to use this item you will be sent instruction with the upgrade code 9 FLICKER FINDER Running a cue causes DMX512 levels to change When your console is sitting there not running cues the levels should be constant Sometimes they aren t and that s not an easy problem to diagnose and troubleshoot without a DMXter Most of the time the flickering lamp is not caused by the console it s the lamp or the socket or the dimmer Once in a while it is the console or the DMX512 transmission line Since all of us automatically suspect the piece of equipment we understand the least the DMXter4 allows you to do a quick diagnosis of your console and the transmission line and lets you get out the ladder with a heavy heart but a clear conscience To use FLICKER FINDER you will use the DMXter to take a SNAP
122. dicates that the maximum is not defined Normal Minimum Maximum Value MIN lt NORMAL gt MAX MIN lt NORMAL gt MAX 23000 25000 NOT AVAILABLE These are signed 16 bit values that define the lowest and highest sensor values for which the device is in normal operation A value of 32768 indicates that the minimum is not defined A value of 32767 indicates that the maximum is not defined 101234567890123456789 RECORDED VALUE RECORDED VALUE 24031 NOT AVAILABLE This is a signed 16 bit value that represents the value that was recorded when the last RECORD SENSORS was issued Support for this data is optional SENSORS RESET MIN MAX SENSORS RECORD VALUE SENSORS RESET ALL MIN MAX SENSORS RECORD ALL VALUES 15 7 1 Sensors Abbreviation milli Multiply by 107 KILO Multiply by 10 micro Multiply by 10 MEGA Multiply by 107 nano Multiply by 10 GIGA Multiply by 10 pico Multiply by 10 TERRA Multiply by 10 fempt Multiply by 10 PETA Multiply by 107 atto Multiply by 104 EXA Multiply by 107 zepto Multiply by 107 ZETTA Multiply by 107 yocto Multiply by 1074 YOTTA Multiply by 1074 15 8 DEVICE MESSAGES Status Collection Messages include messages used to retrieve deferred queued responses device status and error information and information regarding the RDM parameters supported by the device Status Coll
123. ding If not skip the rest of this section as it will only serve to confuse matters To verify the actual accuracy of the system timebase it is necessary to measure the operating frequency of the microprocessor To do this will require a frequency counter capable of measuring 12 Mhz with an accuracy of better than 20 PPM FIRST UNPLUG THE DMXter4 FROM THE AC LINE NEVER OPERATE THE UNIT FROM THE AC LINE WHEN IT IS OUTSIDE ITS CASE OK so now take the unit apart Start by removing the single screw in the back of the case careful as the unit will drop on the floor if you are clumsy Remove from case Next remove the four screws in the comers of the front panel The unit will separate into two pieces connected by a ribbon cable and a twisted pair Read section 4 7 of this manual In particular read section 4 7 1 Changing the User Flavors 4 7 2 Change Break Length Turn the DMXter on You need to set the break length greater than 16 384uS a nice round number like 17000uS will work Find the test point T6 DMXter4 or T9 DMXter4A on the main PCB Both are also labeled ECI The signal on this test point should be a 12mHz square wave It is 1 4 the operating clock frequency of the DMXter4 which is nominally 48mHz A side note Do not try to measure the frequency of the crystal directly with any normal probe system as the additional capacitance of the probe and counter will de tune the crystal oscillator and result in an ina
124. dware Modification of Open Line Detector for 3 3V Drivers for DMXter4 Units Goddard Design feels that the most consistent performance is had leaving the unit set for 5V drivers This also maintains compatibility with legacy equipment For those users experiencing problems with false trips GDC offers a factory modification that will work on most 3 3V and 5 drivers Units can be returned to GDC for the modification at a nominal cost For users who feel confident they can perform this modification in house we offer a modification note Please contact the factory 8 6 ENABLE EXTERNAL SWITCHES In ADJUST ONE SLOT AUTOFADE ONE SLOT and ADJUST ALL the software supports two user provided external switches In ADJUST ONE SLOT and AUTOFADE ONE SLOT the switches when present and enabled duplicate the unshifted functions of the lt RIGHT gt and lt LEFT gt keys In ADJUST ALL SLOTS the switches when present and enabled duplicate the unshifted functions of the lt UP gt and lt DOWN gt keys Once set this feature will stay set until a cold boot or a change to the default values is done See Section 2 3 8 7 ENABLE BUMP ALLON The original DMXter software did not allow bumping all slots to full Many installations lack the power service to handle everything at full at once and we don t own a piece of any fuse or circuit breaker manufacturer However there are tests where bumping all slots is very useful This menu item allows you to enable this feature We
125. e to see a summary screen for a particular scene hold down both the lt LEFT gt and lt RIGHT gt keys simultaneously An example of a summary display is shown below The top line starts with S x where x is the current scene number The rest of the top line displays the scene name if any The second line lists the number of slots with levels equal or greater than 1 the first and last such slot The number after T is the fade time in seconds DFL equals default fade time DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 54 Go to Main Menu 12345678901234567890 S 2 THIS SCENE NAME 510 SLTS 1 510 5 510 SLTS 1 510 DEL These conventions will be used any time you see a display of this type 12 5 2 Taking the Snapshot Press lt YES Q gt to record If nothing was previously recorded in the scene the screen message will display briefly TAKING SNAPSHOT If the scene had been previously recorded you will see the warning OVERWRITE SCENE 1 with the second line displaying the alphanumeric name of the old scene If you do wish to overwrite the scene answer lt YES Q gt here If not use lt DOWN gt to cancel the operation The snapshot will be taken assuming that data is sent with the Null Start Code 12 5 3 Naming the Scene After recording the scene the screen will read EDIT SCENE NAME The second line of the display provides space for a sixteen character alphanumeric
126. e Advanced Transmit Menu DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 97 Go to Main Menu This allows a stable known drive state to be sent for testing receivers RDM RDM Sniffer is a complete RDM line monitor and debugger for controllers or responders RDM Controller Changes Added a fifth canned RDM flavor It is called SLOW and it is the default SLOW is 200us Break 20us MAB 20us between slots 200us between packets Added Reset Responder Timing to shortcut menu Added a glitch filter to the first falling edge during discovery Display ACK_TIMER times in seconds instead of HEX Fixed problems in TIMER Added Print Responder Timing Summary to Dump info to USB menu RDM Capture Setup is saved between sessions Decode and Display UID when sending DUB packets In Select Current Device menu lt YESQ gt lt UP gt when held jumps to the first device in the TOD In Browse Packet History menu lt YESQ gt lt UP gt when held jumps to the oldest packet in the history Fixed a bug ACK_TIMER during discovery would corrupt device count The Setup RDM Device sub menu is greatly expanded It now includes the following Device Label Display Level Brightness Pan Invert Tilt Invert Pan Tilt Swap Lamp State Lamp ON Mode Power State Capture Preset Warm Reset Cold Reset Restore Factory Defaults Link to a list of supported PIDs Other Changes Fixed a display bug in View Parameters
127. e display will read AUTOPATCH START 51 15 693 1DA Pressing lt UP gt again will put you back to the SELECT DIMMER MODE display 10 3 8 1 Setting the Arc Mode Press the lt UP gt key until an is displayed ARC LAMP ON CHANNEL 15 6 93 13 6 Move the cursor all the way to the rightmost place the display Press the lt UP gt key You will be allowed to enter any number up to the number of channels you have defined for the fixture here 6 If the fixture you are defining uses a light source that cannot be switched on and off at will having that light source s control channel protected from changes made by the restore features of this software is desirable See section 10 6 for details of these functions The fixture channel defined by the setting of this field will be handled in a special manner on all fixtures The display above shows the arc controlled by channel 6 10 3 8 2 Setting or Viewing a Patch Let us go back and set the current fixture to 1 and then move to the A field Press the lt UP gt key twice and the display will now read AUTOPATCH START DM 15 6 93 1DA We are now in AUTOPATCH mode Many fixtures are made up of a DMX dimmer and some sort of automated fixture It can be as simple as a PAR can and a color scroller It can be a two axis mirror module that mounts to the front of a standard theatrical instrument or it can be a complete robotic lighting fixture tha
128. e of a product covered by this warranty GODDARD DESIGN CO will repair a unit returned to us within year of the original purchase provided the warrantor s examination discloses to its satisfaction that the product was defective The warrantor may at its option replace the product in lieu of repair With regard to any unit returned within 1 year of the original purchase said repairs or replacement will be made without charge Ifthe failure has been caused by misuse neglect accident or abnormal conditions of operation repairs will be billed at a nominal cost In such case an estimate will be submitted before work is started if requested THE FOREGOING WARRANTY 15 IN LIEU OF ALL OTHER WARRANTIES EXPRESS OR IMPLIED INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY FITNESS OR ADEQUACY FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE GODDARD DESIGN CO SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES WHETHER IN CONTRACT TORT OR OTHERWISE If any failure occurs the following steps should be taken 1 Notify the GODDARD DESIGN CO giving full details of the difficulty and include the serial number On receipt of this information service data or shipping instructions will be forwarded to you 2 On receipt of the shipping instructions forward the unit shipping prepaid Repairs will be made at the GODDARD DESIGN and the unit returned shipping prepaid All shipments to GODDARD DESIGN CO should be made via Uni
129. e slot number will increment to slot 2 and the level will start fading from zero to full Ifyou ENABLE AUTOSTEP and select lt DOWN2 gt slot 1 will bump to full fade to zero and then back to full When it reaches full it will bump to zero the slot number will increment to slot 2 slot 2 will bump to full and start fading from full to zero In either case the DMXter will cycle through all the slots lt LEFT gt and lt RIGHT gt keys operate in the same way as in ADJUSTING ONE SLOT above and may be used to change which slots are autofaded If you did not ENABLE AUTOSTEP you must use the lt LEFT gt or lt RIGHT gt key to select the slot to autofade Pressing lt LEFT gt or lt RIGHT gt zeros the old slot and sets the new slot to the beginning of its fade either full or zero depending on whether we are fading lt UP gt or lt DOWN gt You may temporarily stop the fade by pressing lt YES Q gt and either lt UP gt or lt DOWN gt Pressing lt UP gt forces the slot to full pressing lt DOWN gt forces the slot to zero With the fade stopped pressing either lt UP gt or lt DOWN will restart the fade The level may be displayed in decimal percent or hex The current status may be changed by queries in the SETUP OPTIONS menu see section 8 4 If percent is used the level is followed by a sign If hex is used the display will show two hex digits followed by a lower case h This is one menu from which you cannot change the numb
130. e user interface does not support E1 37 2 PIDs Those PIDs mostly deal with configuring IP based systems The E1 37 1 PIDs are supported by the user interface See section xxxx The supported PID list is on our web site at www goddarddesign com sub_pid pdf 15 3 18 Comms Status SHORT LEN CHKSUM 0 0 0 If a responder supports this optional PID it will report the following packet errors SHORT The message ended before the Message Length field was received It was very short LEN The number of slots actually received did not match the Message Length plus the size of the Checksum This counter is only be incremented if the Destination UID in the packet matches the Device s UID CHKSUM The message checksum failed This counter is only be incremented if the Destination UID in the packet matches the Device s UID DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 70 Go to Main Menu A second item in this short sub menu supports resetting the above counters 15 3 19 Mute Control Field Any time a responder is sent either DISC_MUTE or a DISC_UN_MUTE message its response contains control field and optionally a binding UID This short sub menu lets you view and decode this information The display is CTRL PDEV BL SD PXY 10002 The bits are 0 PXY flag The device is a managed proxy we are talking to a gateway 1 SD Sub device The responder has sub devices 2 BL Boot loader mode The device needs a code
131. eceived levels and functions such as CABLE TEST and AUTOFADE ONE SLOT while the unit is begging for a feeding The actual transmit routines continue to run The low battery warning does not cause any interruption of the data sent to the DMX receivers The amount of time charge left in the battery is dependent on the function you are performing CABLE TEST and TRANSMIT consume more power than RECEIVE While you can continue to operate off batteries for 20 maybe 30 more minutes you should start thinking about finding the nearest AC outlet As soon as you have plugged the unit in you can continue your work on AC operation The unit will also start to charge 22 3 Meal Penalty If you have been seeing the LOW BATTERY WARNING message for some time the unit will at some point shut down after first displaying this message for a few seconds DMXter4 V4 23 MEAL PENALTY Unlike earlier DMXters the power supply does not shut down The DMXter4 just puts itself in the low drain sleep mode No data should be lost You may be able to restart the DMXter4 after a few seconds however soon the DMXter4 will refuse to boot This is to protect the data Starting the DMXter4 s computer consumes enough power that with a discharged battery it could cause the supply voltage to drop to the point that configuration data could be corrupted 22 4 Turning off the Battery If you plan to leave the DMXter4 unplugged for more than 2 months at a time you will prolon
132. ection messages are normally addressed to Root Devices 15 8 1 Get Queued Messages The QUEUED_MESSAGE parameter shall be used to retrieve a message from the responder s message queue The Message Count field of all response messages defines the number of messages that are queued in the responder Each QUEUED_MESSAGE response shall be composed of a single message response DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 80 Go to Main Menu A responder with multiple messages queued shall first respond with the most urgent message A controller my request the level of reply it wishes to get from the responder We provide four different request messages 15 8 1 1 QUEUED MSG ERR This request returns only messages classed as an Error or the clearance of an Error state What you will see depends on what the responder chooses to send you You may get response to any PID 15 8 1 2 GET QUEUED MSG WRN This request will return messages classed as Warning or Errors or their clearance 15 8 1 3 GET QUEUED MSG ADV This request returns messages classed as Advisory Warnings or Errors or their clearance 15 8 1 4 GET QUEUED MSG LAST This request returns the Queued message or the last status message sent 15 8 2 Get Status Messages 15 8 2 1 GET STATUS MSG ERR STAT 0038h ERR 1 1 descriptive string In this display this message is the first of 1 status event to be returned
133. elect the Hardware tab Select Device Manager Select Ports COM amp LPT Plugging and unplugging the USB will reveal an additional USB port This is the one you will use You may be required to install a new driver for the USB port If the OS reports new hardware found install the drivers as requested Right click on the new port Select Properties Select the Port Settings tab 102 Select Advanced Uncheck the Serial Enumerator box Answer OK Exit all the way back to the desktop 23 3 Using a PC with Routines That Support USB You must launch the terminal emulator and configure the com port then if a DMXter routine supports USB the PC display and the keyboard are extensions of the DMXter4 23 4 Downloading new operating code to the DMXter4 If you are getting a software update for your DMXter4 you must provide us with your correct serial number Each update file is made for one and only one DMXter4 The file we will email you will have its file name in the following format V4 yy hex 1234 shows that it is Version x yy code hex shows that it is in Intel hex format and 1234 is the serial number of the unit that this code is built for Put the code in a folder directory and open that folder in a small window Tum on your DMXter4 by holding down lt LEFT gt lt RIGHT gt lt UP gt lt DOWN gt keys while pressing and releasing the lt TOP gt The display should then read Bootstrap v01 sn 4xxx USB Not Connec
134. en 0 and 255 us in steps of 1 ps 4 7 6 Mark Before Break formerly Interpacket Time The next user adjustable parameter is Mark Before Break or interpacket time DMX512 A requires that a dimmer function properly with no pause between packets However some older dimmers may require such a pause The DMXter4 inserts a very short pause of about 4s at the end of each packet We will consider this to be a zero MBB time The DMXter4 allows the user to insert up to an additional 1441 milliseconds of MBB time The display reads out in microseconds u in milliseconds as is needed This value 15 setable in steps of 20us Before V4 08 this item was adjustable in 22 5 steps One use of the MBB is to allow the DMXter4 to send DMX packets with fewer than 24 slots without violating the Standard DMX512 A requires the break to break time be not less than 1208 6 With packets of fewer than 24 slots this requirement will not be met by the DMXter4 unless interpacket time is added to maintain the minimum break to break time requirement Should you wish to send packets of less than 24 slots that conform to the Standard you should add at least 44us of MBB for each slot less than 24 that you have select 4 8 THE SNAPSHOT LIBRARY 4 8 1 Load Snapshot The DMXter can store up to 25 named Snapshots in non volatile flash This item lets you load the Snapshot of your choice 4 8 2 Store Snapshot This is the item that stores the current Snapshot Use the lt DO
135. end flavor for you to define using your own parameters When you press lt YES Q gt the next display briefly reads USER FLAVOR EDITOR USER A USER B USER C 4 7 2 Change Break Length The entry routines for the next 5 parameters are a sub menu loop When you are done editing these parameters you can go to the 6 item or you can use the lt OFF gt to exit The top line of the next display reads BREAK LENGTH IN us On the second line there will be three numeric entries representing the user A B and C break lengths If you wish to change values for break lengths press the lt RIGHT gt or lt LEFT gt keys You will see an underline cursor entering from the right or left side of the display The arrow keys move the cursor along this line when you are at the location where you wish to change the entry use the lt UP gt and lt DOWN2 gt keys to count up or down When you are done making changes pressing the lt YES Q gt key enters the numbers and clears the cursor You may now use the lt UP gt and lt DOWN2 gt keys to step thru the next parameter submenu If you do not wish to change break lengths press the lt UP gt or lt DOWN gt keys to step thru the parameter submenu The DMX512 A Standard requires that transmitted breaks be at least 9245 and allows for breaks as long as 1 second The DMXter4 can transmit spaces as short as 30us anything shorter than 44s isn t a break or a break up to 49 144us
136. entered Simply moving the cursor into the field changes nothing Patches are calculated as the numbers are entered If you enter 300 and then move the cursor to the ones place incrementing from 0 to 5 a patch will be calculated starting at 300 then 301 then 302 and finally for 305 The effective patch is the one left when you move the cursor out of SL fields Patches take effect the next time you use SEND EDIT FIXTURE If you try to patch dimmers to channels greater than 512 you will be given a warning message AUTOPATCH STOPPED MORE THAN 512 DMRS Fixtures that would have been patched to nonexistent channels will be left with their old value If you have been incrementing the dimmer number the old value will be the last valid patch It is therefore easy to end with several dimmers patched to DMX channel 512 Other than checking that the patch does not extend beyond DMX slot 512 patches are not bounds checked You may patch a fixture s dimmer to a DMX channel used by another fixture for a different parameter If you wish to autopatch several blocks patch the one for the lowest fixture number first Do the autopatch before any manual patching 10 3 8 5 Manual Patching of External Dimmers If you want to have absolute control of the patch you may enter it slot by slot The rule is autopatch the straightforward channels first and then go back and change the channels with odd patch assignments When the top l
137. enu will use the current number format percent decimal or hex 13 7 3 ShowPlayer and the Auto Shutdown Timer Entering ShowPlayer disables the auto shutdown timer It will run until the battery is exhausted 13 7 5 ShowPlayer and the Colortran Protocol ShowPlayer is not compatible with the Colortran Protocol option 13 7 5 ShowPlayer Other Technical Information For details on building an external switch to activate the function on Pins 4 amp 5 of the input connector see section 23 10 13 8 The Fuel Gauge How many cues do have left There is no simple answer Viewing the fuel gauge will give a pretty good idea ShowPlayer can store 227 cues if they don t use every slot in every cue Very few shows use all the slots all the time It can store 454 blocks of data each block can store 64 non zero slots When you are in the main loop press and release the lt UP gt lt DOWN2 gt keys and you will get a display similar to this CUE 00 0 4 5 220 CUE 451 BLK FREE The top line is not important here it will be whatever was displayed there The second line shows how many cue headers raw cue numbers are left and how many storage blocks are left 14 SHOWSAVER FOR SHOWPLAYER ShowPlayer can serve many functions One is as a full featured backup console at a very reasonable price Since this was one of the functions of our original ShowSaver software we decided to use the ShowSaver menu to provide
138. er format 4 4 CLEARING THE SNAPSHOT The DMXter4 can take a snapshot of slot level information transmitted down the line assuming you have plugged the input of the DMXter4 into the line coming from a working console This is a useful function that we will discuss later You may also build a snapshot slot by slot using the DMXter4 5 keys Before doing this you may wish to clear the old snapshot DMXter4 will ask you TRANSMIT DMX512 CLEAR SNAPSHOT you should press lt YES Q gt to answer yes The unit will next ask CLEAR SNAPSHOT ARE YOU SURE This gives you a second chance if you didn t really mean to clear it If you did press lt YES Q gt again and the unit will momentarily read 22 SNAPSHOT IS HISTORY The DMXter4 will then drop thru to TRANSMIT DMX512 SEND EDIT SNAPSHOT skipping the TAKE NEW SNAPSHOT menu item 4 5 TAKING NEW SNAPSHOT The DMXter4 can take the information it receives from the digital line and hold it in memory for later use Taking a snapshot overwrites any old snapshot When you press lt YES Q gt the top line of the display will briefly read TAKING SNAPSHOT Assuming that there is data to be recorded the bottom line will read briefly SNAPSHOT RECORDED After a brief pause the DMxXter4 will drop thru to the next menu entry and the display will read TRANSMIT DMX512 SEND EDIT SNAPSHOT The snapshot function is START Code sensitive If
139. er DMXter4 This value is not part of the SIP packet SIP CHECKSUM PREV PACKET CHECKSUM 18 1 1 0008 1318 18 1 Al 0008 1318 are the displays of the two check sums carried by every SIP They SIP check sum is 8 bits at slot 24 the previous packet checksum is 16 bits at locations 3 MSB and 4 LSB 5 11 5 Error Count Menu This menu displays the number of SIPs received since the last counter reset It displays the three different error counters SIPS 5 LEN 2100 0 0 01 SIPS RCVD since RS 2100 1 1 1 SIP Checksum Err Prev packet Errors SIP Length errors 2100 1 1 2100 1 1 1 2100 1 1 Seeing a nonzero length error means that a SIP with a faulty format was received The most likely reason is that a cable was plugged in hot 5 11 6 View Raw SIP Packet VIEW SIPS VIEW RAW PACKET DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 29 Go to Main Menu 5 11 7 View the SIP Checked Null Packets VIEW SIPS VIEW SIP CHCKD With one difference this is a copy of VIEW LEVELS The major reason it is here is so that you don t have to navigate all the way to VIEW LEVELS The difference is that this version automatically restarts after a lost data time out It may be useful for testing transmitter outputs such as splitters where many outputs are to be checked 5 12 RAW HEX DUMP TO USB
140. ermination impedance at the RECEIVER end of the line The DMXter can either terminate a line or bridge the line When bridging the line the DMXter passes the data from its IN connector to its OUT connector We refer to this mode as pass thru mode If you have plugged in the DMXter after the last dimmer rack it is important that you respond lt YES Q gt to SHOW SAVER AT END OF LINE This response terminates the line unterminated DMX512 line may cause faulty reception by all devices connected to it This is particularly true with cable runs of greater than 250 feet Answering lt YES Q gt will cause the DMXter to keep the DMX5 12 line terminated until you exit back to the MAIN MENU using the TO MAIN MENU query Pressing lt TOP gt to exit ShowSaver will leave the line terminated until some other operation unterminate it You will probably record new scenes with the DMXter physically near the console You will also often wish to see the scenes you have recorded on stage We believe the most common method of using the unit will be daisy chained between the console output and the receivers so most of the time you will want to answer No to the termination question using the lt DOWN gt key If you do answer lt YES Q gt to the termination query you will see the message ARE YOU SURE STAGE WILL BLACKOUT This tells you that if your dimmers are plugged into the output of the DMXter they will blackout If the DMxXter
141. error reporting for Device Information 15 3 Added Boot_ Software Version display 15 3 14 Added product detail ID list to Device information menu 15 3 15 lt UP gt lt DOWN jumps to first PID in Supported PIDs list 15 3 16 Setup Device arrow editor shows the PDATA value for out of range replies 15 6 3 15 6 11 Added the standard short cut and auto repeat keys to RDM Send Edit Device 15 9 Added support for Queued and Status messages 15 8 Send Edit Device can request default slot values from a device 15 9 In the Browse Packet History display when a Queued message is requested reply type is now displayed 16 1 An additional display in Send Repeatedly allows for a reduced time between packets 16 3 4 lt LEFT gt or lt RIGHT gt key will pause Constant Discovery 16 3 4 Added Specific Tests sub menu to Advanced RDM 16 4 In the Sniffer renamed Capture to Match 18 0 DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 99 Go to Main Menu V4 18 General The lt Up gt lt Down gt Key combination now jumps to first file in the Flash File Browser 4 12 3 ADJUST 16 bit SLOT LEVEL We have eliminated the double prompt bug when setting the max level and the keys are held 4 03 Support for External Switches Once enabled external switches stay enabled until the unit is turned off 4 3 AUTOFADING ONE SLOT lt UP gt lt DOWN gt bumps the level to 50 8 14 Test SRAM Ha
142. ery is not able to support its operations Plugging the unit into the AC mains should allow the unit to be used The internal battery switch is turned off 2 2 BYPASSING THE INITIALIZATION MESSAGE This is a vestigial feature Earlier versions of this software had a scrolling copyright message The following key presses were required to bypass the message Since many people myself included use these key presses as second nature we have preserved them The overall effect is the same as if you pressed any key in the cross of buttons or waited three seconds If you re new to our product line we appreciate your humoring us If you re an old user we ve just proved that we care about you Hold down the lt OFF gt key while pressing the lt gt key release the lt TOP gt key while still holding down the lt OFF gt key During the time that you are holding the lt OFF gt key but have released the lt TOP gt key the following message will be displayed When you release both keys you will drop to the owner identification message or if it is not present to the power timer display OK OK I M AWAKE with SHOWPLAYER DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 7 Go to Main Menu 2 3 RESETTING TO FACTORY DEFAULTS The DMXter4 s software has a number of setable parameters or variables The Transmit routine in particular is table driven These tables are stored in RAM memory It is possible to set some user setable pa
143. estroy your battery is to let the DMXter4 sit on the shelf discharged It is very difficult to damage the battery by over charging a DMXter4 Nor do you always to have to charge a DMXter4 fully But do not let it sit with a dead battery for extended periods of time 22 6 BATTERY REPLACEMENT When it is time to replace the rechargeable battery it must be replaced by a part that matches specifications of the original battery Non rechargeable types must not be used The original battery is a 6 3 volt 1 3 amp hour battery The chemistry is a gelled electrolyte lead acid battery Replacing the battery shall only be done by a qualified service technician or other SKILLED PERSON FIRST UNPLUG THE DMXter4 FROM THE AC LINE NEVER OPERATE THE UNIT FROM THE AC LINE WHEN IT IS OUTSIDE ITS CASE To remove the unit from the case DO NOT USE THE FOUR SCREWS ON THE FRONT PANEL USE THE ONE SCREW ON THE BOTTOM OF THE CASE The unit will drop out of the open case into your hand or the floor if you re a klutz about this remember that the display is glass Now turn off the battery switch In current production units the off position ofthe battery switch is shown on the label mounted to the top panel support Now remove the four screws in the front panel to enter the battery area The battery is held in place by a metal pressure plate fastened by two machine screws It is connected by two push on connectors The positive lead is the red wire the
144. f the lt UP gt and lt DOWN gt keys A small pendant control or a foot switch can be used to activate these functions This has been found to be useful by a number of customers To use this feature it must enabled by an item in the SETUP OPTIONS It will stay active until the unit is turned DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 9 Go to Main Menu off External switches are also supported by ShowPlayer However ShowPlayer internally enables them Technical details needed to build your own external switch unit will be found in section 23 10 4 1 ADJUSTING ONE SLOT If you want to look at the output of one dimmer or if you want to use the DMXter4 as a focusing remote you want to use the first choice in the TRANSMIT DMX512 menu TRANSMIT DMX512 ADJUST ONE SLOT If you choose lt YES Q gt you will get a new display reading SENDING SLOT 1 TO LEVEL 0 The level may be displayed in decimal percent or hex This status may be changed by queries in the SETUP OPTIONS menu see section 8 4 If percent is used the level is followed by a sign If hex is used the display will show two hex digits followed by a lower case h Change the slot number by using the lt RIGHT gt and lt LEFT gt keys with the default flavor setting you may choose slots from 1 to 512 methods of changing the slot number are summarized in the side bar on this page Use lt UP gt and lt
145. g battery life by turning off the battery However you must charge the battery at least every 6 months even if the battery is turned off Otherwise the battery may go into deep discharge This damages the battery s ability to hold charge To turn off the battery you will need to access the battery switch inside the case FIRST UNPLUG THE DMXter4 FROM THE AC LINE NEVER OPERATE THE UNIT FROM THE AC LINE WHEN IT IS OUTSIDE ITS CASE DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 86 Go to Main Menu To remove the unit from the case DO NOT USE THE FOUR SCREWS ON THE FRONT PANEL USE THE ONE SCREW ON THE BOTTOM OF THE CASE The unit will drop out of the open case into your hand or the floor if you re a klutz about this remember that the display is glass Place the uncased unit on a table with the legends facing away from you Look for a switch mounted to the base plate next to the right hand spacer There isa label Put the DMXter4 back into its case and put the bottom screw back in loosely This will help remind you to check the battery switch before you next try to use the unit We also recommend that you tag the unit as further reminder Note that when the unit is turned back on it should have enough charge to operate and you will momentarily see the message DMXter4 is sleeping 22 5 Battery Operating Time Approximate operating time on a fully charged battery Shelf life between charges Running Cable test The fast way to d
146. gt will restart the receive routine and will clear the receive buffer When the key is released the bottom line of the display will momentarily display the word CLEAR The lt UP gt key can be used at any time to see if the display is being updated or is static 5 1 3 lt DOWN gt Restarts the Receiver Pressing lt DOWN gt restarts the receive routine and will show you the data that was in the buffer at the time the time out occurred When the key is released the word RESTARTING momentarily appears on the bottom line DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 22 Go to Main Menu 5 1 4 Received Slot Summary Display Hold down the lt YES Q gt key and press lt DOWN gt You will see the following display 23 OF 256 L gt 1 SLT 2 TO SLT 100 The top line of this display tells you the total number of slots received in the case above 256 and the number of slots having a level greater or equal to the search minimum In this case 23 slots have a level greater than or equal to 1 percent The bottom line lists the lowest slot and the highest slot to have a level greater than or equal to the search minimum The search minimum can be set from 0 to 255 it is set by its own menu item see Section 5 7 5 1 5 Data Error While Viewing Levels If a significant data transmission error is detected the first three characters of the second line of the display will read ERR instead of LEV You may view the error and clear the E
147. he shown for channels are the ones entered for the current fixture the vahiesof the DMX channels ate default in section 10 8 As you move around using d p 4 If RETURN t to RESTORE th 1 the lt LEFT gt and lt RIGHT gt keys you will notice BARSE 2 are written back to the DMX channels when the that the top row of numbers only go up to 6 That s because we are working with a fixture defined as having six channels Also notice that fixture channel 6 is marked D6 That s because this channel is patched to an external dimmer Using the lt LEFT gt and lt RIGHT gt keys you are confined to editing 2 DFLT When the current fixture is deselected the fixture The lt UP gt and lt DOWN gt keys function as stored default fixture look is copied to the DMX they do in other SEND EDIT windows ch nnelforthat fixture fixture is deselected If you wish to return the fixtures to the SNAPSHOT you must use this setting This is the only setting that will preserve the SNAPSHOT for future use 10 8 1 Changing Fixture Number in 3 ASIS When the current fixture is deselected the Send edit Using lt YES Q gt lt LEFT gt or edit values are left in the DMX channels for that lt YES Q gt lt RIGHT gt fixture When you wish to test or edit another fixture press lt YES Q gt lt RIGHT gt if you wish to move to the next higher number fixture If you wish to move to the next lower number fixture press lt YES Q gt lt LEFT gt
148. he RDM controller will warn you if the responder is in Boot Loader mode during discovery This is important for a user to know since a responder that needs a firmware update may not work properly until it gets new firmware RDM ADVANCED configurable Auto Fade of Null START Code data may now be selected flag is now set in the packet history every time a new MIN or MAX timing value is recorded The Packet History reports good and bad checksums on Discovery Unique Branch responses Discovery error reporting has been improved Single Discovery Packet item is added to the Discovery menu DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 96 Go to Main Menu The DMXter no longer allows the RDM interleave to be set to zero though they may be disabled which gives the same end result We have improved the display of DUB packet statistics during send repeatedly V4 08 November 24 2009 DMX A number of small changes have been made to the DMX features in this version Most will not affect the user The lt OFF gt key is more fully implemented and will generally bump up one layer in most menus The View on USB Terminal routine has an improved display On many terminal emulators the display will now be in color Inter packet spacing now increments in 20us steps instead of 22us This change was made to make the timing steps more consistent and to lower jitter Added Proxy Management features Added optional
149. he mapping of these different parameters has made testing multi channel devices a pain The MULTI CHANNEL MODE software is a specialized transmit routine It is different from the rest of the DMXter4 and it has its own rules 10 1 TERMINOLOGY IN THIS SECTION Before the introduction of the term slot this section was a terminology night mare We had to keep straight what was a DMX dimmer or channel as opposed to fixture channel or dimmer We will use the term dimmer to refer to something that controls specific dimmer level Slot will refer to a particular frame within the DMX512 packet per DMX512 A The terms fixture channel or channel will refer to a relative control channel of a particular type of multi channel fixture 10 2 SUMMARY OF THE FIXTURE PROFILING FEATURES You may define a fixture type using 2 to 99 fixture channels Actually the software will let you define a fixture using only one channel but this setting is so useless that we will not talk about it further You may define the number of similar fixtures in a contiguous block A block may contain from 1 to 99 fixtures Many multi channel fixtures 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 e If the external dimmers are in contiguous blocks a simple auto patch routine will set up the patch with the absolute minim
150. ical uncertainty of at most Ips Added to this uncertainty is any inaccuracy caused by the finite accuracy of the DMXter4 s time base The time base should be accurate to 75 parts per million for units 5 4 10 Updates per Second This screen reads out the minimum maximum and average number of DMX512 packets per second The minimum and the maximum values are refreshed once per second Thirty five seconds is required for the average to appear initially Following that it is refreshed once per second 5 5 RETURN TO MAIN MENU While may users will find using the lt TOP gt key to be the easiest way to get back to the main menu using this menu item provides an advantage if you answered lt YES Q gt to the lt END OF LINE gt query the DMXter is now in a terminated mode and will not pass data Using lt RETURN TO MAIN MENU gt unterminates the DMxXter using lt gt does not 5 6 CHANGING THE START CODE DMXS 12 is a standard primarily intended to send level information to dimmers It has provisions for non level or non dimmer communications by means of a START Code For dimmer communication the START Code has a value of 0 referred to as the null START Code The default START Code setting in the DMXter4 is therefore 0 Some equipment uses 0 START Codes The DMXter4 provides you with the ability to set the START Code you need for the type of equipment you are testing The display will read START CODE IS 0 CH
151. ice dependent 15 6 12 Self Test RDM CONTROLLER SELF TEST RDM responders may support one or more self test modes A set of optional PIDs can cause a unit to start or stop any available self test mode Self test 0 zero will stop any self test running on the current responder Self tests 1 to 254 are different optional self tests Self test 255 will run all the self tests See the responder user manual for any device s specific details There is no way to know in advance which self tests are supported however we guess that most responders will support test 1 before test 200 By default we enter set to self test 1 On entry you will see SELECT SELFTEST 1 name of selftest 1 If you press lt UP gt you will lower the test number lt DOWN gt will increase the test number Pressing lt UP gt lt DOWN gt will jump to the first self test the list As you change the number the DMXter asks the responder for its description of the displayed self test If the response is STRING NOT AVAIL there isa very good chance that there is no self test routine for that number If you press lt YES Q gt the packet to start the test will be sent and assuming it is ACKed you will see this TEST IS RUNNING END IT If you press lt YES Q gt the test will terminate and return you to entrance menu SELF TEST You may re enter the test or move on If instead of lt YES Q gt you answer with any other
152. if the mark after break is set at 845 The total of the mark after break and the break can equal no more than 49 152us and the DMXter4 will not allow you to exceed this total 4 7 3 Change Mark after Break Length The next user adjustable parameter is mark after break length MAB Just as above for break length use the lt RIGHT gt and lt LEFT gt keys to move the cursor across the display and lt UP gt and lt DOWN gt keys to increment and decrement the information When you are done making changes pressing the lt YES Q gt key enters the numbers and clears the cursor DMX5 12 1986 defined the MAB as 4 5 DMX512 1990 defined the MAB as no shorter than 8 5 and less than 1 second The DMXter4 can transmit a mark after break as short as 1s and as long as 49 064us if the break is set at 88 The total of the break and the mark after break can equal no more than 49 152us and DMXter4 will not allow you to exceed this total 4 7 4 Setting the Number of Slots The next user adjustable parameter is number of slots As before use the lt RIGHT gt and lt LEFT gt keys to move the cursor across the display and the lt UP gt and lt DOWN2 gt keys to increment and decrement slot number Press the lt YES Q gt key to enter the information Press the lt DOWN gt key to go on The DMXter4 may be set to transmit any number of slots from 1 to 999 DMXS512 A sets a maximum number of slots at 512 No dimmer system should be expected to work cor
153. ill auto decrement towards its minimum 1 1 6 lt LEFT gt lt RIGHT gt The most frequent use of the right and left arrows is changing the current slot numbers In displays that have an underline cursor they are used to move the cursor While they are marked with arrows for the remainder of this manual they will be referred to as lt LEFT gt and lt RIGHT gt 1 1 6 1 Changing Slot Number by To increase a slot number by one press the lt RIGHT gt key To decrease slot number press the lt LEFT gt key 1 1 6 2 Auto increment The Slot Number Hold down the lt RIGHT gt or lt LEFT gt keys to auto increment or auto decrement the slot numbers by one DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 5 Go to Main Menu 1 1 6 3 Jumping the Slot Number by 10 Hold down the lt YES Q gt key and press and release the lt RIGHT gt or lt LEFT gt key to increment or decrement the slot number by 10 1 1 6 5 Auto increment the Slot Number by 10 Hold down lt YES Q gt and then press and hold the lt RIGHT gt or lt LEFT gt keys to auto increment or auto decrement by 10 1 1 6 6 Forcing the Slot Number to One In routines that reference slot number pressing both the lt LEFT gt lt RIGHT gt simultaneously will reset the slot number to one This key combination is also used to see cue details in ShowSaver 1 1 7 lt UP gt lt RIGHT gt Cycles Through Number Formats The native format of most data in the DMXter4 is 8 bi
154. ill read TEST STOPPED ERROR OVERFLOW VIEW 9 2 1 Low Battery Warnings During Flicker Finder Low battery warnings are displayed in a slightly different way during the data compare test of FLICKER FINDER FLICKER FINDER is a very processor intense task that cannot tolerate any interruption so a special battery warning was required When the battery discharges to the point that the DMXter4 would normally display the standard warning the display changes from the one on the left to the one on the right This display will be latched and will not change back to the normal display even if the DMXter4 is plugged into AC power COMPARING INCOMING FLICKER FINDER DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 38 Go to Main Menu DATA TO REFERENCE LOW BATTERY WARNING Once the low battery warning is displayed it will only change if errors are detected If the errors are detected and you have a low battery warning the display will look as shown below ERRORS DETECTED LOW BATTERY WARNING k k k k k 10 MULTI CHANNEL MODE MOVING LIGHT TEST SOFTWARE The DMXter4 MULTI CHANNEL MODE SOFTWARE is designed to ease the testing of multi channel DMX512 devices Originally DMX512 was used to drive dimmers Today many DMX512 devices particularly moving lights use more than one DMX slot Each slot of a device controls a different parameter Keeping track of t
155. in the same way as they do for Get Set Fail Mode 15 6 17 16 Get Set DMX512 Block Address 37 1 3 3 This parameter provides a mechanism for block addressing the DMX512 start address of subdevices Sub devices implementations such as dimmer racks are often composed of an array of subdevices i e dimmer modules that allow a 512 start address to be set for the sub device Often it is desirable to linearly address the sub devices to consume a contiguous block of DMX512 slots This item provides a convenient way of accomplishing this without the need of sending a SET COMMAND message to address each sub device Since this message globally affects all sub devices within a device it shall only be sent to the root device of the product BLOCK OF SLOTS SET DMX ADDR 1 If the sub devices are not currently linearly addressed as a contiguous block the display will read BLOCK OF SLOTS NOT LINEARLY Addr 15 7 VIEW SENSORS View sensors is a submenu with 10 items The first item lets you pick which of the sensors fitted on the current responder you wish to look at SELECT SENSOR 0 10 sensor description Select the sensor you wish to look at with lt UP gt or lt DOWN gt and then press lt YES Q gt If the request fails you will get a fairly detailed error messages such as NACK HARDWAR FAULT RESPONSE TIMED OUT or NOT RESPONDING Hopefully what you will see is below 1 VOLTAGE 12 1 VDC
156. ine of the display reads LAMP ON SLOT NUMBER you may enter a patch for that fixture Two points to remember are An autopatch will overwrite a manual patch on any fixture equal to or greater than the starting fixture of the autopatch Patches are not bounds checked If you enter a stupid patch you will get one Well six pages later we are done with the entries that go on one 20 character display So let s move on Press and release the lt YES Q gt key and then press the lt DOWN gt key 10 4 SELECTING THE INITIAL FIXTURE STATE INITIALIZE FXTRS TO SNPSHT gt DFAULT lt ZERO Whenever the SEND EDIT FIXTURE routine turns on the DMX512 transmitter the block of slots used by the configured fixtures are initialized By this we mean that all these DMX slots have a predetermined value written DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 42 Go to Main Menu to them Note that we said that the fixtures will be initialized when the transmitter is turned on Unlike most other DMXter4 transmit routines the actual DMX512 transmitter is not simply turned off when the edit display is exited We will explain this in detail below in section 10 8 5 The DMXter4 gives you three options on what values will be written to these channels SNPSHT stands for SNAPSHOT This is the same snapshot sent by the standard Transmit DMX512 routine If you have a moving light console that has a standard test cue you may start with all the fixtures set to this lo
157. ing and decreasing signals By setting the On Below Minimum field this can be used to provide Preheat functionality for incandescent lamps 15 6 17 13 Get Set Maximum Level 37 1 4 5 Maximum Level sets the highest level that the output may go to in response to the control signal DMXS5 12 Preset Playback or otherwise This can be used to provide Topset functionality The upper and lower limits for Maximum Level are indicated in the DIMMER _ INFO message 15 6 17 14 Get Set DMX512 Fail Mode 37 1 3 4 This parameter defines the behavior of the device when the DMX512 control signal is lost The setting is usually per device but may be supported at the sub device level The DMXter uses three displays for this PID the first allows the user to get and set which scene will be played and at what level The second display allows you to view and set a delay time and a hold time While these two displays allow you to enter new values they do not update the values stored by the responder That is done using the third display Loss of Signal Delay Time This field is the amount of time that the device shall delay before playing the scene specified from the point when the DMX512 signal is lost Times are specified in tenths of a second The DMX512 signal is considered to be lost when no null start code packets have been received for a period of greater than 1 25 seconds See ANSI E1 11 Section 9 2 A value of OxFFFF shall be used to specify an infinite
158. ing to the standard in Table A 5 The first two digits 71 denote it as a piece of test equipment The second two digits 01 are available to be used as a more specific categorization We use the second line to provide a label which is determined by the first two digits 15 3 9 RDM Protocol Version RDM PROTOCOL VERSION 2 0l Any reply other than the one shown would be from a newer version of RDM than this software is designed to decode 15 3 10 Device Power State The Standard defines four power states OFF Completely disengages power to device This is a set only parameter SHUTDOWN Reduced power mode may require device reset to return to normal operation Device still responds to messages STANDBY Reduced power mode Device can return to normal without a reset Device still responds to messages DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 69 Go to Main Menu NORMAL Normal Operating Mode 15 3 11 Hour and Power Cycles DEVICE HOURS 501 POWER CYCLES 24 15 3 12 Lamp Hour and Lamp Strikes LAMP HOURS 200 LAMP STRIKES 35 15 3 13 Lamp State and Lamp Mode Need we say more 15 3 14 Boot Software Version BOOT SOFT 1A2BC3D4 h descriptive string 15 3 15 Product_detail_id_list PRD DETAIL IDS 0500 0305 0306 0401 It is a mirror ball 500 it bubbles 305 uses propane flames 306 and it has a reverse phase control driver 401 Neat 1
159. is the last thing in line there will be no change 12 5 RECORDING SCENES ShowSaver s scenes can be recorded from the output of any DMX512 console in the same manner as TAKING A SNAPSHOT They may also be entered slot by slot painfully If you wish to do this please see EDITING SCENES Section 12 7 below An important difference between the DMXter and most lighting consoles is that the DMXter deals in slots not in channels To translate cue sheet to the DMXter will require some thought and an accurate copy of any softpatch This is another reason why it is usually easiest to record from the console So then connect the DMXter to the output of your console Normally you will do this by daisy chaining with your dimmers so you can see on stage what you re recording Set the console to output a look you want to save which need not be a cue The entrance message for recording a scene is appropriately SHOW SAVER RECORD SCENE 12 5 1 The Scene Select Display When you press the lt YES Q gt key you will see RECORD SCENE RECORD SCENE Pixs 23 4 56 1 8 or 14 2 34 5 6 8 The numbers thru 8 are the eight scenes that ShowSaver can store A set of brackets points to the currently selected scene Solid brackets enclose a recorded scene open brackets enclose a cleared scene To select the scene use the lt LEFT gt or lt RIGHT gt key to move the brackets to enclose the desired scene If you would lik
160. it and you make a practice of using it during show setup 12 0 1 ShowSaver Conventions and Structure ShowSaver has two major subsections The first section records or edits the stored scenes The second section plays back scenes The sections are separate except that they share a common entry point It is not expected that a user will switch back and forth between record and playback so once you enter the PLAYBACK SCENE section the only exit takes you to the MAIN MENU ShowSaver has a convention that is peculiar to it The lt LEFT gt and lt RIGHT gt keys are used to increment or decrement the current scene number 12 0 2 Selecting Playback or Record On entering ShowSaver the first choice we give you in the menu is to playback the previously stored scenes SHOW SAVER PLAYBACK SCENE This may seem a little out of order but think about it your stage is in total darkness when it shouldn t be How many menu items would you want to go thru to get light on the stage 12 1 PLAYBACK PLAYBACK SCENE is the only method to sequence thru the recorded scenes Its operation is designed to be simple and we hope obvious since you may not be at your calmest when using it The behavior of PLAYBACK 2 Show Saver SHOW SAVER and ShowSaver are trademarks of Goddard Design Co DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 49 Go to Main Menu depends on whether you are connected to a transmitting source of DMX512 when you press lt YES
161. its IN connector to its OUT connector so that the DMXter4 may be put in line between a console and the receivers transparently The switching from terminated to unterminated mode is done by a magnetically latched relay The advantage of using a latched relay is that the DMXter maintains its state even when off If you place the DMXter on a cable after the last dimmer rack you will wish to terminate the line by answering lt YES Q gt to the END OF LINE question in RECEIVE DMX512 If the DMXter4 turns off while sitting at the end of the line it would be embarrassing if it removed the line termination but it won t Similarly if the DMXter4 is placed between the console and the receivers it will stay in the Pass Thru mode when turned off 23 6 4 Uses of Pins 4 amp 5 Pins 4 and 5 of the DMX connector are reserved for future Standards use There have been a number of non Standard uses of pins 4 5 The DMXter4 does not test any of these non Standard uses but it passively connects DMX in 4 5 to DMX out 4 5 Further we use pins 4 and 5 to test DMX cables and to provide four features They are a Transmit Scope Trigger section 4 10 allowing the installation of external switches to duplicate the lt LEFT gt and lt RIGHT gt keys section 23 10 and controlling the external hardware for our Receive Scope Trigger option see our website and in ShowPlayer you may assign several control functions to two external switches The EIA485 dri
162. itter JITTER REC D BRK MAB 250nS Sum of both errors rounded as needed for ACCURACY 75 1 display REC D BREAK TO BREAK See section 5 2 5 DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 89 Go to Main Menu 3 INPUT amp OUTPUT VOLTAGE AND CURRENT LIMITS VOLTAGE OR CURRENT DMX512 OUT PINS 2 amp 3 MAX VOLTS 50VDC DMX512 IN PINS 2 amp 3 1 50 Withstanding voltage MAX VOLTS SCOPE TRIGGER OFF PIN 4 amp 5 IN or OUT 70 VDC DOUBLE ENDED CABLE TEST OFF 14 VDC 5 VDC PIN 4 amp 5 OUT SCOPE TRIGGER ON 100 MA Withstanding voltage 4 OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENT LIMITS THIS TABLE REFERS TO DMXTER4A ONLY PARAMETER RANGE AC Line Voltage Range 85 260 VAC lt 30 Unit will operate and charge over the full range AC Line Frequency Range 50 60Hz Humidity 0 to 95 Non condensing Altitude 0 to 1900 meters Temperature 0 to 40 Degrees Celsius 23 3 IEC POWER INLET AND LINE CORD SETS An IEC appliance inlet connector is mounted in the top center of the front panel This connector is used regardless of the voltage setting or the local AC mains plug requirements Units shipped to North America will be provided with a standard US cord set Units purchased from dealers outside of North America will be provided with the proper local AC mains cord set by their dealer Goddard Design will stock a limited number of different AC mains cords sets for units purchase
163. ixtures to the SNAPSHOT you must use this setting This is the only setting that will preserve the SNAPSHOT for future use DFLT When the current fixture is deselected the stored default fixture is copied to the slots for that fixture ASIS When the current fixture is deselected the edited values are left in the slots for that fixture 10 6 MOVE DATA TO NEXT FIXTURE MOVE DATA gt NXT FXTR gt YES lt NO This should be obvious Do you wish to copy the edited look to the next fixture or not Well you have now configured your fixture The next menu item will get you out of the configure submenu so you can go and enter a default fixture Isn t this fun Ok now press lt YES Q gt DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 43 Go to Main Menu 10 7 SENT EDIT THE DEFAULT FIXTURE The default fixture is a way of setting up a neutral or standard position for every fixture Its values are usually chosen to be a good jumping off point for testing the functioning of the fixture A common default is to point the fixture straight down in white You may enter the default either by recording it from another console or by entering it from the keyboard This section describes how to enter it You may enter the number blind if you choose or you may edit the default by viewing it connected to one fixture The way you select which fixture the default drives is by setting the current fixture The current fixture may be selected in two p
164. ke place on stage immediately as you enter them The levels seen on stage will be the levels shown in the display as proportionally mastered by the Grand Master The changes are made only to the STAGE scene and are temporary unless they are saved If they are not saved the changes will not be present when you return to this scene the key combinations available in SEND EDIT will work here So you may use such functions as search for next channel with level and bump to half Remember that the Grand Master value affects the actual dimmer level seen onstage When you are running with a modified scene you are warned of this fact by the addition of a to the STAGE scene number example below STAGE 2 GM 100 NEXT 3 TIME 10 save the changes Exit the onstage editor by pressing lt OFF gt or lt YES Q gt and then press both lt UP gt and lt DOWN gt You will be asked to confirm the save Do so 12 3 6 Playback Summary Display If you would like to see a summary screen of the NEXT scene hold down both the lt LEFT gt and lt RIGHT gt keys simultaneously An example of a summary display is shown below The top line starts with S x where x is the current scene number The rest of the top line displays the scene name if any The second line lists the number of slots with levels equal or greater than 1 and the first and last such slot 5 2 THIS SCENE NAME 10 SITS 3 510 T 6 12 3 7 Te
165. laces It may be selected in the configuration display as described in section 10 3 or it may be selected in the SEND EDIT FIXTURE routine See section 10 8 The current fixture cannot be set in this routine Press the lt Down gt key twice MULTI CHANNEL MODE SEND EDIT DEFAULT 1 2 3 4 1 0 0 0 0 10 8 5 Actions That Turn and off the DMX512 Transmitter Actions That turn ON the DMX512 transmitter 1 Entering SEND EDIT FIXTURE routine 2 Entering SEND EDIT DEFAULT routine Actions that turn OFF the transmitter 1 Pressing the lt TOP gt key 2 Pressing lt YES Q gt to the following menu item MULTI CHANNEL MODE TURN OFF DMX XMTR 3 Using the TO MAIN MENU menu item This is the preferred way to exit Multi Channel Mode You will note that you are now in what looks like a normal DMXter4 SEND EDIT window FX stands for FiXture The df stands for default As you move around using the lt LEFT gt and lt RIGHT gt keys you will notice that the top row of numbers only goes up to 6 That s because we are working with a fixture defined as having six channels Also notice that fixture channel 6 is marked D 6 That s because this channel is patched to an external dimmer Let us enter a few values The values we will enter will not be real values but ones that are good for seeing the effect of this feature later in this section Set cha
166. levels are higher than the R value Similarly it is possible for the H value to be lower than the R value if all the incoming levels are lower than the R value DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 37 Go to Main Menu At this point pressing the lt RIGHT gt key will take you to an identical screen for the next slot with errors Using the lt LEFT gt key will take you to the previous slot with errors If you are at the first slot with errors the lt LEFT gt key will take you to the highest slot with errors Both the lt LEFT gt and lt RIGHT gt keys have auto repeat functions Holding the lt YES Q gt key while pressing either the lt RIGHT gt or lt LEFT gt key will jump you to the last slot with errors or the first slot with errors respectively At any time while viewing the detailed error screens holding the lt YES Q gt and lt UP gt will temporarily redisplay the error summary screen When viewing either the summary or detailed error screens you may quit by pressing lt YES Q gt This will return you to FLICKER FINDER TO MAIN MENU 9 1 RE ENTERING FLICKER FINDER If you hit lt YES Q gt accidentally do not despair You may reenter FLICKER FINDER at three separate points Pressing the lt DOWN gt key will offer you the chance to take a new snapshot Pressing the lt DOWN gt key again offers you the chance to reuse the existing snapshot Pressing the lt DOWN gt key a third time offers you the cha
167. ll toggle to the other state When you press lt DOWN gt you will enter the edit slot screen This display is exactly the same as the SEND EDIT SNAPSHOT display see section 4 6 if you are not familiar with it When you have adjusted all the slots you wish to change press lt YES Q gt to exit Next you will be given a chance to edit the scene name followed by a chance to edit the fade time The methods used are the same as those used by RECORDING SCENES above 12 8 COPY SCENE Enter the source scene you wish to copy to another scene COPY SCENE 14234 67 86 Select the destination scene TO SCENE 123 45 64 7 8 Press lt YES Q gt Any questions 12 9 GETTING A SUMMARY OF THE SCENES SHOW SAVER SCENE SUMMARY This menu in ShowSaver is another way to get a scene summary If you enter this routine you will see the following display SCENE SUMMARY rin 234567 8 Now you could get a summary display by pressing both the lt LEFT gt and the lt RIGHT gt keys but that display is only shown as long as you hold both keys If instead you press lt YES Q gt you will get a latched summary display as per the example below 5 2 THIS SCENE NAME 10 SLTS 1 512 3 If you wish to view a summary for another scene you may increment or decrement the scene number using either the lt UP gt and lt DOWN gt keys or the lt
168. lowly chasing across the bottom row of text This indicates that good DMX is being received If the ON Failure parameter is set to loss of DMX512 for 2 seconds will cause switching to ShowPlayer If the STAGE parameter is set to F CUE the last thing seen on stage is loaded and a fade in is started into the first selected cue The DMXter is now in ShowPlayer If the ON Failure parameter is set to WAIT loss of DMX512 for 2 seconds causes the display to change to DMX FAILED RETEST lt UP gt ABORT lt DW gt GO So your choices are lt UP gt to abort and return to ShowSaver menu lt YES Q gt to retest the DMX data If it is now good you will go back into monitor mode if not you will jump to ShowPlayer lt DOWN gt to go directly to ShowPlayer DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 64 Go to Main Menu DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 65 Go to Main Menu 15 RDM CONTROLLER In using RDM the definition of the devices end is a bit different from that in straight DMX512 RDM uses controllers and responders A controller sends out an RDM request a responder receives this request and replies An important detail to keep in mind is that a responder may NEVER reply unless it receives a request An RDM system is controlled by the controller The RDM software accessed by the Controller menu allows the
169. ls of battery care and replacement 23 01 CLEANING The exterior of the DMXter4 may be wiped clean with a soft damp rag The rag may be moistened with any mild water based cleaner Do not immerse the unit If any water enters the unit let the interior dry fully before the unit is operated 23 2 SPECIFICATION TABLES This information is for the DMXter4A RDM it is similar to the information for older models But if details for an older model are needed download one of the older manuals from our website Units that run software V1 00 V1 80 DMXter model 1 part FD DMX 1 Units that run software V2 00 V2 45 are DMXter model 2 part FD DMX 1B Units that originally ran software V4 00 V1 80 are DMXter4 RDM FD DMX 4 Units that originally ran software V4 20 or later are DMXter4A RDM At this time the current software release V4 23 is available for both the model 4 and model 4A Hardware difference will mean that future releases may have a few features that only apply to the 4A Most features will be common to both The major non software related difference is that the power supply is now internationally compatible allowing input voltage of 85 260 Vac 1 TRANSMITTED DMX512 PARAMETERS DEFAULT MINIMUM MAXIMUM RESOLUTION BAUD RATE 250 000 BREAK LENGTH 9215 30us 4914415 lus MARK AFTER 3 BREAK 1235 lus 49064us lus INTERSLOT MARK TIME Ous Ous 2558 lus MBB INTERPACKET 4us 4us
170. mum and maximum times seen 15 12 5 Response Packet Total Length TOTAL LENGTH IN us 1344 2057 2232 RDM response packets vary from 27 to 256 bytes in length and may have a wide range of timing values So valid packets may be as short as 1332 5 and may be as long as 31 1ms So the responder measured here is sending short packets fast 15 12 6 Reset Responder Timing Data Do we need to say more 15 12 7 Discovery Time to First Activity Advanced RDM only 15 12 8 Discovery Time to Last Activity Advanced RDM only 15 12 9 Number of Unicast and Discovery Packets Received Advanced RDM only 15 12 10 Unicast Retry Count Advanced RDM only we EK 16 ADVANCED RDM These features are only available if you have the developer s package installed The instructions for this module are in section 2 of this manaul and maybe ordered or they maybe downloaded from out website at www goddarddesign com pdf _doc dmx4 23 sec2 pdf KEK K 17 RDM Flavors Advanced Only These features are only available if you have the developer s package installed 18 RDM Sniffer requires Sniffer package These features are only available if you have the RDM sniffer package installed The instructions for this module are in section 2 of this manaul and maybe ordered or they maybe downloaded from out website at www goddarddesign com pdf_doc dmx4 23 sec2 pdf KEK 19 RECEIVE SCOPE TRIGGER SOFTWARE To use Receive Scope Trigger you need t
171. n Menu 3 MAIN MENU The DMXter4 works on a function menu All tests and functions of the DMXter4 are accessed by way of 13 MAIN MENUs You can step thru the choices by pressing lt UP gt or lt DOWN gt keys until you come to the function you wish to use To select that function press lt YES Q gt The functions are TRANSMIT DMX512 Section 4 RECEIVE DMX512 Section 5 INTERCEPT amp MODIFY Section 6 CABLE TESTER Section 7 SETUP OPTIONS Section 8 FLICKER FINDER Section 9 MULTI CHANNEL MODE Section 10 RECV SCOPE TRIGGER Section 19 requires Scope trigger hardware option SHOW SAVER Section 11 amp 12 SHOWPLAYER Section 13 requires ShowPlayer option SHOWSAVER for SHOWPLAYER Section 14 RDM CONTROLLER Section 15 ADVANCED RDM Section 16 requires Advance option RDM SNIFFER Section 18 requires Sniffer option 4 TRANSMIT DMX TRANSMIT DMX is one of the primary diagnostic tools offered by DMXter4 The unit can transmit a DMXS 12 signal to allow you to check that the receive end of your transmission link is correctly receiving the signal Originally DMX512 was a standard primarily intended to communicate level information to dimmers It had provisions for non level or non dimmer communications by means ofa START Code For dimmer communication the START Code has a value of 0 sometimes referred to as the null S
172. n to the Table of Contents 20 Go to Main Menu TURN ON TURN OFF Unlike most other routines in the DMXter the transmitter is not turned on automatically Once turned on the transmitter will stay on until it is either turned off by this menu item or is turned off by leaving the SIP submenus 5 12 7 6 Edit Raw SIP Packet Data SEND SIP ROUTINES EDIT RAW SIP PACKET We sort of hope you can figure out what this menu item does 5 12 7 7 Edit Null Packet Data END SIP ROUTINES DIT NULL SC DATA Oh you figure it out FW 4 12 8 Drive DMX Line with Static Data This menu item allows you to drive the line to a known state It does not send valid DMX It is useful for trouble shooting DMX receiving hardware On entry the line is tri stated with no RDM bias You can select the line states as shown below Pressing the lt LEFT gt key will alternately turn on and off the RDM bias network This is shown on the bottom line of the right hand display lt RIGHT gt lt UP gt lt DOWN gt UN DRIVEN TRISTATE DRIVING HIGH MARK DRIVING LOW SPACE RDM BIAS ON If you have enabled the Scope Trigger Output in the Transmit menu this function will produce a pulse each time a setting changes This may be useful for measuring the rise time and propagation of driver circuits Note that you must navigate from enabling the trigger to this menu without hitting the lt TOP gt key
173. n when testing an installed DMX512 cable that no hazardous potentials are present The user should note the following Testing of DMX512 lines that are shorted to the AC line is hazardous and should not be attempted The DMXter4 does NOT indicate the presence of hazardous voltages the DMX512 lines The metal frame and metal front panel parts of the DMXter4 are grounded only when the DMXter4 is being used with its 3 wire line cord plugged into a properly grounded outlet The DMX512 lines entering the DMXter4 are isolated from the metal frame The frame should not become hot if there is AC leakage on the DMX512 lines But do not rely on this for your safety check that YOUR DMXS12 lines are not hot IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THE SHELL OF THE DMX512 CONNECTOR MAY BE HOT IF THE SHELL OF THE CONNECTOR IS HOT THEN THE METAL FRONT PANEL PARTS OF THE DMXter WILL HOT UNLESS THE DMXter IS GROUNDED If there is ANY likelihood that ANY of the DMX512 lines are hot to the AC line the case of the DMxXter4 should be grounded at all times Simply plugging the unit into AC will achieve this end During battery operation this can be accomplished by using the AC cord and connecting a ground wire from the ground pin of the AC cord to suitable ground In older wooden construction building a cold water pipe ground was always considered a suitable ground However today there is a trend to use nonconductive pipes for water systems In steel framed
174. nal delay times for the DMX_FAIL MODE message A value of 01h indicates the device does support the use of infinite delay times for this message A value of 00h indicates the device does not support the use of infinite delay times for this message Devices not supporting DMX FAIL shall report 00h for this field DMXS512 Fail Infinite Hold Time Supported This field indicates if the device supports an infinite hold time for the DMX _ FAIL MODE message A value of Oth indicates the device does support the use of infinite hold times for this message A value of 00h indicates the device does not support the use of infinite hold times for this message Devices not supporting DMX_FAIL MODE shall report 00h for this field Startup Infinite Hold Time Supported This field indicates if the device supports an infinite hold time for the DMX message A value of 01h indicates the device does support the use of infinite hold times for this message A value of 00h indicates the device does not support the use of infinite hold times for this message Devices not supporting DMX shall report 00h for this field D3 MAX SCENE NUMBER 0 This one shouldn t be too hard to figure out D4 MIN FADE TIME MAX 0 0 Preset Minimum Maximum Fade Times Supported These fields indicate the minimum and maximum fade times for a preset scene that the device can supp
175. nce to view previous errors Isn t that reassuring NO ERRORS RECORDED You will see this display if the last time FLICKER FINDER was run no errors were detected or if FLICKER FINDER has not been run since the battery switch was turned on or if FLICKER FINDER has not been run since the unit went into a MEAL PENALTY or if you have run the SHOW SAVER PLAYBACK or if you have run the MULTI CHANNEL MODE send routines If during the data comparison section of the test you press lt YES Q gt before any errors are detected you will get the following message TEST SUSPENDED TO MAIN MENU If you wish to continue the test press lt DOWN gt or lt UP gt Pressing lt YES Q gt will return you to the main menu Once errors are detected the data comparison section of the test cannot be re entered Once stopped restarting the comparison clears the error tables 9 2 TECHNICAL NOTES ON FLICKER FINDER Flicker Finder disables the power off timer while it is comparing incoming data regardless of the user setup The backlite is turned off and left off as well terminating the test by using lt YES Q gt turns it back on During the comparison test the only keys on the DMXter that are operational are lt YES Q gt and lt TOP gt The lt OFF gt key will not turn the unit off while the test is running If during the data comparison section of the test any slot records 65 535 errors the test will be suspended The display w
176. nd the new default to the fixtures Answering lt gt will cause the fixtures to be immediately initialized Return to the Table of Contents 44 Go to Main Menu sending the default to the fixtures now That display is shown below If either of the other settings was chosen you will return to the menu item that lets you SEND EDIT a fixture INITIALIZE FIXTRS NEW DEFAULT If you want to initialize all the fixtures to the default that you just edited press lt YES Q gt now You have just left a transmit routine but unlike other DMXter4 transmit routines the DMX transmitter is still on Nothing on stage should have changed unless you answered lt YES Q gt to the above question If you enter the SEND EDIT FIXTURE routine nothing will change Initialization only takes place when the transmitter is turned on and it is already on 10 8 TESTING THE FIXTURES SEND EDIT FIXTURE MULTI CHANNEL MODE SENT EDIT FIXTURE Finally it is time to test some fixtures What happens when you press the lt YES Q gt key is dependent on how you have configured the fixture and what you were doing before See the sidebar on the previous page for details 1 2 3 4 IL 2 4 6 8 This is the edit fixture display FX stands for fixture the number below it is the number of the fixture currently under test now fixture 1 The values 1 RESTORE When a fixture is selected as t
177. nels 10 3 4 BGN Setting the Starting Slot Number Moving the cursor into the BGN or Beginning field changes the top line to read STARTING SLOT The block of fixtures will start at the slot entered in this field Any valid slot may be used if the block of fixtures will fit without extending past slot 512 10 3 5 Range Checking The values entered into the first three fields are range checked as entered The DMXter4 does not allow you to set up a system with ninety nine fixtures each requiring ninety nine channels starting at slot 200 Range checking is done as you enter The rule is that the number of fixtures times the number channels per fixture plus the starting slot minus one must be 512 or less 10 3 6 Out of Range Behavior If you are increasing either the number or SiZe fields and the BeGiNning field resets to 1 you have attempted to create an impossible system Once you have entered the first two fields you may increase the slot to the maximum that will work Likewise if all the fields freeze you have tried to build an impossible system 10 3 7 CRT Setting the Current Fixture The next field is labeled in shorthand and dynamically labeled CURRENT FIXTURE IS The number entered in this field selects one fixture as the current fixture The current fixture is the one that you can edit with SEND EDIT routines This field is limited to a number that is less than or equal to the number of fi
178. ng So we have include it in the SETUP OPTIONS menu 8 1 AUTO SHUTDOWN TIMER If no keys have been pressed for 10 minutes the AUTO SHUTDOWN TIMER if enabled turns the unit off AUTO SHUTDN ENABLED AUTO SHUTDN DISABLED DISABLE SHUTDOWN ENABLE SHUTDOWN Pressing lt YES Q gt reverses the state of the timer and displays the appropriate message Pressing lt YES Q gt will not step you to the next menu entry it just reverses the timer state To step to the next menu item you will have to press lt DOWN gt This will preserve the current state of the timer 8 1 1 THE AUTO SHUTDOWN TIMER IS DISABLED BY AC MAINS Plugging the DMXter4 into the AC mains overrides the setting of AUTO SHUTDOWN TIMER When plugged in the AC mains your DMXter4 will continue to run until shut off Plugging the unit into AC does not change the shutdown flag it just prevents the unit from automatically powering down until the unit is unplugged 8 2 BACK LITE OFF OPTION BACKLIGHT ENABLED DISABLE BACKLIGHT Answer either lt YES Q gt or lt UP gt lt DOWN2 gt as you choose Leaving this menu item by way of the lt UP gt lt DOWN2 gt keys will turn the backlite on The display will step to the next or in the case of lt UP gt the previous menu item 8 3 DISABLING THE BACKLITE TIMER The next menu will be one of the following items DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 33 Go to Main Menu
179. nician using standard laboratory equipment 5 9 RECEIVE ASCII TEXT PACKETS A feature of DMX512 A is the ASCII or UTF 8 TEXT PACKET This routine decodes ASCII messages the next menu is for a routine that decodes UTF 8 messages Today there are many DMX512 transmitters that are not large lighting consoles Many devises designed for embedded applications require very little user interface once they are configured However configuring or trouble shooting these devices is difficult at best If only they had an LCD screen The DMXter4 and similar devices can be that screen The present software provides two routines supporting Text Packet This routine be used to monitor DMX512 A devices that support this feature 101234567890123456789 101234567890123456789 5 0 3 MS 512 3 m 11 was beginning The displays above are what you will see on entry to this routine The left one is when you are not receiving text packets On the right is what the display looks like when you are receiving a long text message Shown is the third of the canned DMXter4 messages This message is the full packet length of 512 and we are looking at the beginning of the text Details on required packet format and the currently supported messages are in Appendix A You can scroll through a message using the lt LEFT gt lt RIGHT gt keys DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 27 Go to Main Menu MS DMX512 A
180. nit allows you to step thru the levels for all of the slots displaying 4 at one time Regardless of how many slots are being transmitted there will always be 512 entries in the slot table The level value for slots that are not being transmitted will be displayed as 0 If you wish to know how many slots are being transmitted see 5 1 4 RECEIVED SLOT SUMMARY DISPLAY below The levels may be displayed in decimal percent or hex The current status may be changed by queries in the SETUP OPTIONS menu see section 8 4 If QUICK STEPPING THRU SLOTS AND LEVELS Slot AUTO INCREMENT Hold down the lt gt or lt LEFT gt keys to auto increment or auto decrement the slot numbers by one Slot JUMP BY 10 Hold down the lt YES Q gt key and press the lt RIGHT gt or lt LEFT gt key to increment or decrement the slot number by 10 Slot AUTO INCREMENT BY 10 Hold down lt YES Q gt and then press and hold the lt RIGHT gt or lt LEFT gt keys to auto increment or auto decrement by 10 percent is used LEV is changed to read LEV If hex is used the display will show two hex digits followed by a lower case h RETURN TO Slot ONE Press both the lt RIGHT gt lt LEFT gt keys to return the slot number to If you wish to change the display format immediately use the short cut keys shown in the side bar to the left of this text FORMAT CYCLING THRU FORMATS Pressing both lt UP gt
181. nnel 1 to 2 set channel 2 to 4 set channel 3 to 6 set channel 4 to 8 set channel 5 to 10 and set channel D 6 to 200 10 7 1 EDITING AIDS The lt UP gt and lt DOWN2 gt keys function as they do in other SEND EDIT windows Pressing and holding the lt YES Q gt while pressing and releasing the lt LEFT gt lt RIGHT gt keys will cause the channel display to jump by ten channels This function is also found in our normal SEND EDIT window but these key presses are used for a different function in SEND EDIT FIXTURE window described in section 10 9 When you are done editing the display should look like the one shown below C D 6 1 2 3 L 200 2 4 6 Press lt YES Q gt Which display you see next will depend on what setting was chosen for the INITIALIZE FXTRS TO menu item If default was chosen then you will be given the option of DMXter4 V4 23 10 8 S1 Initialization Rules When will the Fixtures Initialize When the SEND EDIT menu is entered the fixtures are initialized to the values set in the configuration menu if any of the following are true 1 The DMX transmitter is OFF 2 The initialization mode has been changed since the last time SEND EDIT was run 3 If a snapshot has been taken since the last time SEND EDIT has been run If the initialization mode is set to DEFAULT and you have just edited the default fixture you will be asked if you wish to se
182. not normally prevent it from operating normally DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 2 Go to Main Menu 0 1 1 Use a Blanking Plug in Unused DMX Connectors When the unit is operating always have a plug in both the DMX OUT and the DMX IN connectors Since the DMxXter is often used with only one cable connection the other connector should be capped with an un wired XLR style plug This plug must be of the metal body type and should be totally un wired The purpose of this plug is to prevent ESD discharge to the open connector pins Such discharge is unlikely to harm the DMXter but it may cause mis operation possibly requiring power cycling to reset the unit 0 1 2 If ESD Is Present Ground the Case When operating in an environment where ESD discharges are likely and nonstop operation of the DMXter4 is required it is advised that the case of the DMXter4 be grounded earthed Simply plugging the unit into AC will achieve this end 0 3 GETTING STARTED QUICKLY So you want to play NOW First read the SAFETY WARNING above Then go right ahead We feel that the operation of the DMXter4 is fairly straightforward But we would suggest that you read the following sections before you start taking our name in vain 1 0 1 3 CONVENTIONS all of it 2 0 TURNING ON 3 0 MAIN MENU 4 0 TRANSMIT DMX The most commonly used functions in TRANSMIT are 4 1 ADJUSTING ONE SLOT 4 6 SEND EDIT SNAPSHOT 5 0 RECEIVE DMX 5 1 VIEW LEVELS DMXter4 V4 23
183. o purchase additional hardware The instructions for this software are provided with that hardware They are also available on our web site at www goddarddesign com pdf_doc scope pdf or www goddarddesign com pdf_doc dmx4 23 sec2 pdf KKK 20 COLORTRAN PROTOCOL SUPPORT The DMXter4 RDM may be ordered with support for the Colortran protocol The instructions for this module are in section 2 of this manaul and maybe ordered or they maybe downloaded from out website at www goddarddesign com pdf_doc dmx4 23 sec2 pdf 21 DMxXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 84 Go to Main Menu The European Union has established certain requirements that most electronic equipment must conform to if they are used within the EU It has established testing methods to determine that a unit does conform Units that do conform may carry the CE mark 21 1 CE Declaration of Conformity Model number FD DMX 4 meets the relevant requirement of the Low Voltage Directive Goddard Design Company believes that this equipment meets the requirements of the EMC Directive 89 336 however formal review is ongoing This unit is certified for emissions under EN55022 as class A ITE device This unit is certified for immunity under EN50082 1 This unit is certified for electrical safety under EN 6101 1 A2 1995 The certification was issued on the 11 of March 2009 Robert M Goddard Head of Electronic Design Goddard Design Co
184. of 4us The MAB will be the length set by the current flavor or up to 4 us longer 4 10 SETTING THE MINIMUM LEVEL FOR SEARCHES In SEND EDIT pressing and holding down the lt DOWN gt key and then pressing either lt LEFT gt or lt RIGHT gt will cause it to search the slot table for the next higher or lower slot with a level greater or equal to the search minimum 4 11 TRANSMIT SCOPE TRIGGER The DMxXter4 can provide an oscilloscope triggering signal synchronized to the break in the transmitted DMXS512 data stream Most users will not have any interest in this function feel free to skip the rest of this section For this reason the default for this function is off The scope trigger menu display reads SCOPE TRIGGER IS OFF ENABLE TRIGGER Use the lt YES Q gt key to enable it The scope trigger will turn on and the display will read SCOPE TRIGGER IS ON DISABLE TRIGGER Each time you press the lt YES Q gt key the display will toggle Leave this function by using the lt UP gt or lt DOWN2 gt keys Technical details The Scope Trigger is output on Pins 4 and 5 of the female connector The signal is balanced 185 Pin 5 goes high approximately 2us after the falling edge of transmitted break and remains high until approximately 2us after the falling edge of mark after break If you need to trigger an oscilloscope DMX512 sent by another transmitter see section 19 4 12 ADVANCED TRANSMIT ROU
185. ok by taking a snapshot of that look and configuring the software for SNPSHT DFAULT stands for DEFAULT We allow the recording of a standard look or a default fixture look This look may be the fixture pointing straight down in white the iris fully open no effect enabled If this option is selected all fixtures will be set to values stored for this default fixture Recording the default is explained in section 10 13 Editing the default is explained in section 10 8 ZERO means that all slots that are used by the configured fixtures will be set to 00 If the above settings are changed the fixtures will be initialized to the new settings the next time the SEND EDIT FIXTURES routine is entered 10 5 SETTING WHAT VALUES A FIXTURE WILL BE RETURNED TO RETURN FIXTURE PRESTORE lt DFLT ASIS In MULTI CHANNEL MODE only one fixture is edited at once That fixture is the current fixture When you are done editing one fixture you may move on to the next higher or lower numbered fixture When you do the current fixture is deselected becoming the previous fixture Wow really deep huh This menu controls what happens to the values that are being sent to the current fixture when it is deselected RESTORE When a fixture is selected as the current fixture the values of the slots are saved If RETURN is set to RESTORE these values are written back to the slots when the fixture is deselected If you wish to return the f
186. old the last transmission for considerable time before fading to black while others will dump immediately Your console is still connected to your dimmers via the DMX line if you can still run cues the problem must have been transitory On the other hand if your console is still transmitting but erratically you may get disco dimmers Now you have two choices three really if you count turning it all off and going out for coffee and then calling the shop Choice 1 Retest the DMX512 line press the lt UP gt or lt DOWN gt keys this will cause the DMXter to retest the DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 50 Go to Main Menu incoming DMX line If valid DMX512 has returned the unit will return to monitoring the line If on testing the line the DMXter does not find valid DMX it will go into ShowSaver playback just as if you pressed lt YES Q gt Choice 2 Go to playback press lt YES Q gt This will transmit the last stored transmission to the stage We cannot guarantee that this look is not corrupt It all depends on how the console failed The display will read STAGE GM 100 NEXT 1 TIME 3 The stored scene will bump to the stage If your dimmers were holding level you may see little change If they were black During the time between FAIL appearing and pressing the lt YES Q gt key to start transmission the following apply The console is still connected to the dimmers The
187. on as much as your soldering iron is on you ll be better off not disabling the backlite timer 8 4 NUMBER FORMAT OPTION The next menu item is the NUMBER FORMAT OPTION Certain numbers may be displayed in any one of three formats decimal percent 5 or hexadecimal HEX Slot levels may be displayed in all three formats Decimal or hexadecimal notations are available for the START Code and for the FLICKER FINDER compare limit When the DMXter is set to percent mode the START Code and the FLICKER FINDER compare limit will be displayed in decimal Slot numbers and timing information are available in decimal notation only DISPLAY DATA IN DECIMAL 5 54 HEX The current display format is the one pointed to by the filled arrows To set the display format use lt LEFT gt or lt RIGHT gt keys to move the filled arrows so they point to the desired selection The format will be set to whichever format is marked when you exit by pressing either lt UP gt lt DOWN gt or lt YES Q gt The default for this option is percent 8 5 OPEN LINE DETECTOR OPTION The OPEN LINE DETECTOR is a proprietary Goddard Design Co circuit to overcome a potential problem with the parent standard of DMX512 EIA485 In 485 it is possible to receive data from a cable that does not have connection of all of its pins This can throw you off when trying to track down problems Since some broken cables work we designed a circuit to try an
188. ore information about System Information Packets see www goddarddesign com pdf doc sip info pdf These sections are sometimes redundant but each has something of its own to offer Further there is nothing like reading the original standard The following menus allow you to set most of the important slots in the SIP packet Note that we do not present the SIP slots in the order that they are in the packet We present them in an order that seems to us to be most useful However we also allow you to view and modify the raw SIP packet SIPs are different from normal DMX512 and the routines that send them are different in some important ways Way one is that entering the SEND SIP menu does not turn on the transmitter It is turned on by a special menu item 4 12 7 1 Loading Default Values When you enter the SIP routines the first menu asks if you want to reload the SIP with some standard default values The default values are at least a reasonable place to start The menu displays shown below are loaded with the default values 4 12 7 2 Send Menu 1 The first menu allows the setting of some of the most valuable informational slots of the SIP U PL SV NLP ID1 0 00 06 512 4745 UNIVERSE NUMBER 1 00 06 512 4745 The value sent in the SIP packet in slot position 6 is the universe number This is the shown in the first field of this display Use the lt RIGHT gt key to move the cursor onto the display You will no
189. ort These 16 bit times report tenths of seconds D5 MIN WAIT TIME MAX 0 0 Preset Minimum Maximum Wait Times Supported These fields indicate the minimum and maximum wait times for a preset scene that the device can support Times shall be reported in tenths of a second D6 MIN FAIL DELAY MAXI 65535 65535 DMXS512 Fail Minimum Maximum Delay Times Supported These fields indicate the minimum and maximum loss of signal delay times for the DMX FAIL MODE DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 75 Go to Main Menu message that the device can support Times shall be reported in tenths of a second Devices not supporting DMX FAIL shall report FFFFh for these fields DMXter displays these values decimal D7 IMIN FAIL HOLD 65535 65535 DMXS512 Fail Minimum Maximum Hold Times Supported These fields indicate the minimum and maximum hold times for the DMX _ FAIL MODE message that the device can support Times shall be reported in tenths of a second Devices not supporting DMX FAIL shall report FFFFh for these fields The DMXter displays these values in decimal D8 MIN START DELAY MAX 65535 65535 Startup Minimum Maximum Delay Times Supported These fields indicate the minimum and maximum startup delay times for the STARTUP_MODE message that the device can support Times shall be reported in tenths of a second Devices not supporting STARTUP_MODE shall report FFFFh for
190. paces erases one character moving the characters to the right back one space lt RIGHT gt Cursor right lt YES Q gt lt RIGHT gt Insert a blank at the cursor moving the rest of the line over lt LEFT gt lt RIGHT gt Returns the cursor to the first position lt RIGHT gt lt UP gt Clears at the cursor and to the end of the line lt RIGHT gt lt DOWN gt Clears at the cursor and to the end of the line lt YES Q gt lt DOWN gt Held Asks you if wish to clear the whole line Entry from the PC via the USB is a bit simpler The old text is not printed on the PC When the editor is started the PC prompts Enter a string Anything typed on the PC is viewed on the PC and is inserted on the DMXter display While entering lt backspace gt and lt Delete gt will delete the last character and move both cursors PC amp DMXter back one space lt Enter gt terminates entry as if lt Yes Q gt was pressed on the DMXter 104 25 WARRANTY The GODDARD DESIGN warrants each unit it manufactures to be free from defects material and workmanship under normal use and service for the period of 1 year from date of purchase This warranty extends only to the original purchaser This warranty shall not apply to fuses disposable batteries rechargeable type batteries are warranted for 90 days or any product or parts which have been subject to misuse neglect accident or abnormal conditions of operations In the event of failur
191. pment meant to help you troubleshoot your console dimmers and moving lights Using ShowSaver or ShowPlayer it can also control a lighting system when a large console isn t mandatory or maybe when said large console develops an attitude at a bad time All DMXter4 s have both a ShowSaver and a ShowPlayer menu What those two menus do varies depending on which software you purchased Units are shipped with either a full version of ShowSaver or a full version of ShowPlayer not both This manual describes both options Both ShowSaver and ShowPlayer are simple lighting controllers Our original controller program was ShowSaver ShowSaver includes the following features Records eight looks or scenes Provides a permanent blackout scene Each scene be given a recorded fade time of between 0 and 30 seconds Each scene be given an alphanumeric name of up to 16 characters long ShowSaver allows you to edit the slot levels the fade time and the alphanumeric name of the scenes Scenes may be edited blind or live onstage MONITOR MODE monitors the DMX transmission and holds the last transmission for fast stage restore In playback ShowSaver allows you to sequence thru the eight scenes in any order using the prerecorded fade times A Grand Master level control is provided more ShowPlayer includes the following features Up to 227 linked cues Cue number from 0 1 to 99 9 in ten
192. r entry in the proper INI file It is FT_INI However installing a modified driver is not a simple task If an unmodified version of the driver can be found on your system or on the Internet Windows will load that version and not the modified version If you wish to use this method you must consult the FDTI website and follow their instructions KEK SK 6 INTERCEPT amp MODIFY A new feature in the DMXter4 RDM is Intercept and Modify Place the DMXter inline with a console The DMXter receives and re transmits the DMX from that console while letting a user modify any or all slot values This a powerful tool when multiple people must work on a lighting system at the same time The programer at the console can continue to program the movers while a tech checks out a troublesome dimmer rack or bunch of scrollers The routine can also be used to clean up borderline DMX flavors that can give a lighting system stability problems Intercept and Modify s output flavors are conservative The user can select an update rate of 15 20 or 30 updates a second The choice is made in the User Option menu The default is 20 updates per second The display and controls for 1 amp will be familiar to any DMXter operator It is a cross between View Levels and Send Edit Snapshot The three displays below show major states of Intercept and Modify 15 2 1 2 3 3 SLT 1 2 3 3 SLT 1 2 3 31 O RX 100 20 40 01 0 0 0 O RX 100 O
193. rameters to rather unusual settings It is also possible that certain RAM parameters may be corrupted If the internal battery switch is cycled OFF wait 15 seconds or so and then back ON all parameters will be reloaded from ROM To reset RAM parameters to factory default Press and hold both the lt OFF gt and the lt YES Q gt keys While holding the two keys press and release the lt TOP gt key All internal parameters are now reset to the factory default values This is confirmed by the following message 1 Boot MemCleared If you updated your software the routine to reset the defaults will run automatically and you will see the above message after pressing the lt TOP gt key 2 4 OWNER IDENTIFICATION MESSAGE OPTIONAL We offer an optional internal identification message that briefly displays PROPERTY OF LITES R US Or any two lines of 20 alphanumeric characters If you have ordered this option the message will last three seconds This message may be keyed through in the same way that the version numbers can be keyed through If your unit is not fitted with this option this message will not be seen This option must be entered at the factory It is not field programable 2 5 DISABLING THE AUTO SHUTDOWN The unit will turn off if it hasn t registered a keystroke for 10 minutes This is intended to conserve battery life We strongly suggest that you make a habit of leaving the AUTO SHUTDOWN timer on But if you are
194. re in the Main Menu loop V4 06 September 14 2009 General In most menus the combination of lt UP gt lt DOWN gt will jump to the first item in that menu DMX The items to save and load show data for either ShowSaver or ShowPlayer have been moved from the SETUP menu to the ShowSaver menu or the ShowPlayer menu When selecting a current device lt DOWN gt selects the next device while lt YES Q gt lt DOWN gt selects the first device of the next manufacturer In the same manner lt YES Q gt lt UP gt selects the last device of the previous manufacturer Basic sub device support is added However the sub devices must support the DEVICE_INFO PID Triggering preset recording and playback is supported RDM now uses one of 4 flavors one is fixed and 3 are the DMX user favors This allows very flexible timing control In RDM USER OPTIONS there is now an option to Retry lost bad packets The user may set the number of retries from 0 to 4 Internal up grades to the RDM controller The RDM termination network is disabled on reset and when exiting the RDM menu The controller now verifies the Command Class and PID in RDM responses DMXter now allows the user to end discovery after bad Discovery Unique Branch response The display during discovery is improved showing the current bottom search boundary The cached DEVICE_INFO data is updated if the responder s Personality is changed T
195. rectly when receiving more than 512 slots We provide the ability to transmit more than 512 slots as a test feature While DMX512 A does not set a minimum number of slots setting the DMXter4 to transmit fewer than 24 slots will violate the minimum break to break spacing requirements of DMX512 A unless you properly set the interslot time or the interpacket time see below 4 7 5 Interslot Time Slot Spacing DMX512 A transmits slots grouped in packets A packet starts with a break and mark after break sequence Next the START Code is sent followed by the slots Each slot is transmitted as a byte A start bit and two stop bits are added to the raw byte Technically when the start bit and stop bits are present the byte is referred to as a frame However in DMX512 A we use the term slot The slots are sent sequentially The packet is considered to continue until the start of the next break The Standard does not require there to be any time between slots Many DMX512 DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 14 Go to Main Menu transmitters do insert a small pause between frames Unlike earlier DMXters the DMXter4 inserts almost no time between slots unless programed to do so To help simulate consoles that insert pauses and to allow testing of some early dimmer designs that may require pauses between slot frames DMXter4 allows you to insert an additional pause between each slot frame The inter slot interval may be adjusted betwe
196. riptive text returned by this parameter is intended for display to the user The label may be up to 32 characters 15 3 5 Slot Address amp Slot Foot Print DMX512 ADDRESS SLOT FOOTPRINT Hopefully the meaning of the DMX address is obvious The slot footprint field specifies the DMX512 footprint number of consecutive DMX512 slots required This information can be used in conjunction with DMX_ADDRESS for auto patching capabilities Both fields are required 15 3 6 Personality PERSONALITY OF YY descriptive text The numeric data is required the descriptive text is optional Many RDM parameters may be affected by changing personality 15 3 7 Sub Device Count amp Sensor Count SUB DEVICE COUNT SENSOR COUNT THF Sub devices are yet to be widely supported A sub device allows a RDM responder to contain a root or base device and multiple sub devices which have separately addressable properties The classic case for sub device is a dimmer rack where each dimmer is a sub device This allows each dimmer to be individually patched with parameters individually set All sub devices will have an identical set of parameters A sensor reports such things as temperature and voltage measurements Another menu item will let you read the values of any sensors 15 3 8 Product Category PRODUCT CAT 7101h TEST EQUIPMENT In the above example 7101 describes a product categorization accord
197. rom such a request 15 1 15 Proxy Management A proxy is any in line device that acts as an agent or representative for one or more devices Represented devices may be non RDM devices and may be logical non physical devices A proxy shall respond to all controller messages on behalf of the devices it represents as if it is the represented device A proxy itself may be discoverable as an RDM device and may optionally support the Proxy Management commands which may be used by a controller to reduce the complexity of Discovery in a large system A proxy with such capabilities is known as a managed proxy NO CHANGE 12 DEVS CHANGED 12 DEVS FLAG 06h 12 DEVS VIEW DEVICE LIST VIEW DEVICE LIST VIEW DEVICE LIST This submenu will let you view which devices if any are being managed by the currently selected proxy This submenu will not report the existence of responders proxied by a non discoverable device However such devices will appear in the TOD and can be selected as the current device in the normal way The displays above are the entry displays for managed proxy It is presently managing data for 12 devices The first display tells you that the list of proxied devices has not changed since the last time the proxy was queried The second display tells you that list has changed and you might want to view the changes The third item is warning that respon
198. rsion of Tera Term you can drag and drop the hex file into the emulator window DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 103 Go to Main Menu 24 TEXT STRING EDITOR The Text editor edits ASCII text for use by the DMXter It allows entry by two different methods Text may be entered from the DMXter front panel the text may be typed on your PC and entered via the USB port Both methods available at the same time In v4 18 it is used to enter text strings in the following routines 4 8 2 Store Snapshot 12 SHOWSAVER 13 1 2 Store Show 15 1 4 Store Rig 15 6 1 Set Device Label For entry from the DMXter front panel the character set is upper and lower case letters numbers the following list 9 6 From a any ASCII character can be entered however the backslash prints as a Yen sign and the does not display at all The following key combinations work from the DMXter s front panel lt UP gt Increments thru the alphabet from 0 9 A Z and then the punctuation lt DOWN gt Decrements thru the punctuation and then Z A 9 0 lt YES Q gt lt UP gt Switches the character at the cursor from upper case to lower case or the reverse lt YES Q gt lt DOWN gt Switches the character at the cursor from upper case to lower case or the reverse lt UP gt lt DOWN gt Erase the character under the cursor lt LEFT gt Cursor left lt YES Q gt lt LEFT gt Backs
199. ru the ShowSaver menu more than once this is where you will find the playback query 13 SHOWPLAYER Thank you for purchasing ShowPlayer Or did you If you see the following message you did not get a unit fitted with ShowPlayer but never fear we can fix that problem Purchase ShowPlayer GDG 718 599 0170 Ok all of you our faithful users who have grumbled for years that you wanted ShowSaver to do linked cues and to handle more cues you re getting your wish In fact you re getting MORE than you asked for ShowPlayer is a full function miniature show controller and backup console Features of ShowPlayer It allows you to enter or record up to 227 cues in non volatile flash The exact number of cues depends on how many slots in each cue have levels You may store 8 complete sets of cues as shows The cue numbers are 0 1 to 99 9 Each cue may have a fade time of up to 1 hour and a wait time of up to 1 hour Each cue may be linked to any other cue so multiple shows or loops are possible Each cue can record one of a suite of commands These commands are activated by injecting a voltage into 4 and or pin 5 of the DMX connector 13 1 Starting ShowPlayer Managing Shows MANAGE SHOWS lt DN gt DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 57 Go to Main Menu START SHOW lt YES Q gt As mentioned above ShowPlayer lets you store
200. s a continuous SRAM test option hold down lt LEFT gt lt RIGHTt gt when starting the test with lt YES Q gt ShowSaver ShowSaver has had its first operational overhaul in a long time The standard DMXter4 text editor is now used to enter the scene name When editing scenes you may copy a scene to another scene In playback you can store the changes made by the onstage editor RDM Controller Changes Most long strings Auto scroll The DMXter4 makes sure that the slot number in the response matches the requested slot in SLOT_DESCRIPTION It makes sure the personality number in the response matches the requested personality in DMX_PERSONALITY DESCRIPTION Verifies that the Number of Personalities field in DMX PERSONALITY matches number from DEVICE_INFO Warns on entry to Set Personality if Personality in DEVICE INFO and the one in GET DMX_ PERSONALITY does not match It makes sure that the sensor number in response matches requested sensor in SENSOR_ VALUE makes sure test number in the response matches the requested test in SELF_TEST DESCRIPTION lt UP gt lt DOWN gt Jumps to first personality in Set Personality 15 5 SET DMX PERSONALITY Jumps to first sensor in sensor list 15 7 VIEW SENSORS New section 15 2 2 When re selecting the current device the DMXter4 remembers the last selected sub device Advanced RDM We have added E1 37 1 PIDs as of this release they are only used in the
201. s are thru 8 and BLK which stands for BLACKOUT GM Shows the current setting of the Grand Master It may be set from 0 to 100 NEXT Shows the scene that will be faded to the next time the cross fade is started The user may select the scene number in this field with the lt LEFT gt or lt RIGHT gt keys TIME Shows the recorded fade time into the next scene While a cross fade is underway the display will change The TIME field changes to read XFADE and starts to count down the fade STAGE BLK GM 100 NEXT 1 XFADE 9 12 3 2 Keys Used in Playback The seven keys all have functions in Playback The following list is a quick summary of their playback uses lt RIGHT gt Increments the scene number lt LEFT gt Decrements the scene number lt YES Q gt 1 Starts a cross fade into the next scene 2 exits onstage edit mode lt UP gt Raises grand master level lt DOWN gt Lowers grand master level lt YES Q gt lt UP gt Bumps to next scene lt YES Q gt lt DOWN gt Bumps to blackout scene lt LEFT gt lt RIGHT gt View summary screen Press and hold lt UP gt lt DOWN gt Saves onstage editor changes lt OFF gt Toggles the onstage edit mode lt RED gt Selects the onstage edit mode lt TOP gt Shows a warning message but does NOT exit Playback lt OFF gt lt TOP gt Exits playback to OK OK I M AWAKE 12 3 3 The Cross Fader The crossfader executes a dipless cross fade between
202. s device in the Table of Devices The selected device will be placed in Identify as long as the lt YES Q gt key is held 15 5 SET DMX PERSONALITY This item lets you select current personality while displaying the personality description 15 6 SETUP RDM DEVICE This menu allows RDM responder configuration Many RDM devices will not support all of these functions You can t swap pan and tilt on a color change Most of the following menu items will indicate if they are not supported as you scroll by 15 6 1 Device Label Uses the text string editor including the USB option to enter the device s label 15 6 2 Display Level Brightness If supported this item controls the brightness of the configuration display on the RDM responder The next seven menus read the status of the responder on entry and write back the status on exit 15 6 3 Display Invert Some responders can rotate the displayed characters on the configuration display This and the next six routines request the current status of the particular parameter from the responder If the response is outside the expected range an error is displayed showing the numeric value returned as shown on the right below DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 71 Go to Main Menu DISPLAY INVERT DISPLAY INVERT YES AUTO gt NO lt RESP ERR GOT ABh 15 6 4 Pan Invert Obvious isn t it 15 6 5 Tilt Invert See above 15 6 6 Pan Tilt Swap You
203. scover Without Unmute Advanced RDM only This item works like normal discovery except that it does not unmute any responders first If the DMXter s table is empty and all the responders are unmuted already it acts just like normal discovery If all the devices are muted it will find nothing new to add If some devices are not muted but are in the DMXter s table it will stop and high light that responder s address and ask if you wish to continue It is useful for finding problem responders that do not properly mute 15 1 9 Mute Device Advanced RDM only This menu item lets you send a mute message to any device in the TOD On entry it points to the current device You may scroll thru the TOD if you wish to mute a different device 15 1 10 Unmute Device Advanced RDM only The UI for this item is the same as Mute Device 15 1 11 Unmute All Advanced RDM only What it says 15 1 12 Send Single DUB Request Advanced RDM only 15 1 13 Constant Discovery Advanced RDM only You may pause discovery by pressing either the lt LEFT gt or the lt RIGHT gt keys Pressing them again will restart discovery 15 1 14 Send Unicast Discovery Advanced RDM only While Discovery Messages are normally sent to the broadcast address the standard does not prohibit them being sent to a unicast address This test sends a single Discover Unique Branch PID to the currently selected device It is mostly used to test whether a responder does get a tummy ache f
204. se to the proxy count PID returned the flag byte set to a disallowed value Pressing lt YES Q gt will let you scroll thru the proxied device list Pressing lt UP gt lt DOWN gt jumps to the first UID in the proxy device list DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 67 Go to Main Menu 15 2 SELECT CURRENT DEVICE This item lets you scroll thru the discovered devices including any proxied devices The current device will be displayed as 12 hexadecimal digits The first 4 digits are the manufacturer s ID string in this case 47 44 which is Goddard Design s ID The next 8 digits are a unique serial number for that manufacturer The last two characters are the manufacturer s ID converted to ASCII characters if possible The second line of the display is the device Model Description text 15 2 1 Short cut keys for 15 2 lt LEFT gt lt RIGHT gt By default the currently selected device will be set into its identify mode However this feature may be switched on or off using these keys While the keys are held the second line of the display will read IDENTIFY ENABLE or IDENTIFY DISABLE lt YES Q gt lt DOWN gt selects the first device of the next manufacturer in the TOD lt YES Q gt lt UP gt selects the last device of the previous manufacturer in the TOD If the TOD was populated by running Discover it will be in numerical order If it has had additions made by Discover New or manual addition of UIDs the additions will
205. seco Sunes 87 23 DMXter4 TECHNICAL DISCUSSION 2 21 2 2 88 231 DMXter4 4 88 23 OU CEEANING 88 23 2 SPECIFICATION TABLES rras niri anea unr ARARE EAER EEES OEA DEES EA a eek ee es 88 1 TRANSMITTED DMX512 8 88 2 RECEIVED DMX512 86 89 2 ACCURACY ceo ace 89 3 INPUT amp OUTPUT VOLTAGE AND CURRENT 8 90 4 OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENT 8 90 23 3 IEC POWER INLET AND LINE CORD 8 90 23 4 POWER SUPPLY VOLTAGE 6 90 23 5 REPLACEMENT FUSES set VE eas Heo ee MOTE ENE Nea eee 90 23 6 CONNECTOR FUNCTIONS AND CONNECTOR WIRING 91 23 61 DMX Aireen e A Cae E Bee aS 91 23 02 DMX OUt a inal E O es 91 23 6 3 Topology for DMX Terminate amp DMX Pass Through 91 23 6 4 Uses OF Pins 4 85 52250 91 23 7 5 Functions Causing the DMXter to Terminate the 92
206. sent This error stops the test If you wish to try again press the lt UP gt or the lt DOWN gt keys If on the other hand occasional data errors are found which might be caused by an intermittent solder joint or a cable that is borderline for transmitting data the top line of the display will read DATA ERROR Once you ve found a data error the top line will continue to read DATA ERROR The test will continue to run and the bottom line of the display will flash a black bar for about a second each time you encounter a data error 7 1 1 Ending Cable Test To end cable test press and hold the lt YES Q gt key for about one second You will know that cable test has ended when you no longer hear the clicking noise Release the key and you will see the following message TEST SUSPENDED You may now use the lt UP gt or lt DOWN gt keys to restart the test Pressing lt YES Q gt will return you to CABLE TESTER DOUBLE ENDED As in many places in DMXter4 the quickest way to terminate a test is by pressing lt YES Q gt lt gt 8 SETUP OPTIONS The DMxXter4 is intended to be versatile so we provide the opportunity for the user to set certain options that make life a little easier These options affect more than one function or menu The AUTO SHUTDOWN TIMER query is only displayed the first time that lt TOP gt is pressed after the DMXter has been off sleepi
207. sing DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 28 Go to Main Menu level software version and manufacturer s ID 5 11 3 View Sip Menu 2 ID2 ID3 ID4 ID5 0000 0000 0000 0000 This menu shows same fields as the Send SIPs menu 2 5 11 4 Packet Control Data Menu SN PBS CS PPCS 18 1 01 0008 11 1318 LENGTH BYTE COUNT 18 1 02 0008 12 1318 The Null packets on the originating device have standard length as show by fields 9 and 10 in the SIP CONTROL BIT FIELD 18 1 03 0008 13 1318 The control bit field can have values from 0 to 3 It is in two bit field When set to it indicates that the originating device is requesting that the receiver only use null packets that have a valid check sum in the next sip The DMXter4 is test equipment and it only has an LCD screen as its output It does not suppress packets with faulty check sums instead it logs the number of packets with errors SEQUENCE NUMBER 18 1 04 0008 25 1318 Each SIP has sequence number Field 5 DMXter4 does not process the sequence number further PACKETS SIPS 18 1 05 0008 AA 1318 The difference between this number and the one set in the send routine 15 that this is count of how many packets were sent since the last SIP The other is an instruction of how long to wait The end result is that the number will be the same fora DMXter4 receiving SIPs from anoth
208. sing either lt LEFT gt or lt RIGHT gt will cause VIEW LEVELS to search the received slot table for next higher or lower slot with a level greater or equal to the search minimum The number of slots with a level greater or equal to the search minimum is reported in the RECEIVED SLOT SUMMARY DISPLAY This menu item is used to set the search minimum The range for the search minimum is 0 to 255 The search minimum may be displayed in decimal percent or hex The status may be changed by queries in the SETUP OPTIONS menu see section 8 4 If percent is used the level is followed by a sign If hex is used the display will show two hex digits followed by a lower case h 5 8 DMX512 PARAMETERS NOT CHECKED BAUD RATE The DMXter4 does not measure the baud rate of the received signal Neither does it measure bit jitter If baud rate of the console is within the allowed range the DMXter4 should properly receive the signal but no measurements are made or reported SIGNAL VOLTAGE LEVELS The DMXter4 does not measure the voltages provided on the EIA485 line specifically neither differential nor common mode voltages are evaluated to see if they fall within the EIA485 specification If the DMXter4 is reliably receiving data it is probable that the differential signal level is adequate Testing of common mode signals is beyond the scope of the DMXter4 and this manual Both common mode and differential mode signals can be tested by a qualified tech
209. t controls every parameter of the lamp except for requiring an external dimmer Consider a fixture with pan tilt color wheel one color wheel two and beam spread channels This five channel fixture will require a sixth channel to handle intensity We are going to continue with the imaginary fixture we have already entered DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 41 Go to Main Menu 10 3 8 3 Entering an Autopatch AUTOPATCH START 51 15 6 93 1 DA 200 You can enter any valid slot in the fields under SL I have chosen 200 because the fixtures we entered take all the channels from 93 to 182 Whatever number you enter will be the first channel of a contiguous block of slots used to dim the fixtures So if you leave the display as shown above you will have defined channels 200 214 as the dimmer for our 15 fixtures To check this move the cursor back to the CRT field Change the current fixture Note that the dimmer number displayed in last field changes The display below shows the patch for fixture 13 CURRENT FIXTURE IS 15 6 93 13 DA 212 Let us assume that the dimmer pack we are using ends at 211 and the next dimmer pack can only be addressed by tens So we wish fixture 13 to be patched to dimmer 220 To do this move the cursor back to the SL fields and enter 220 Go back to the fields and check the results 10 3 8 4 Rules for Autopatching You must change something to cause a patch to be
210. t YES Q gt will cause the question to be answered in the affirmative and ShowPlayer will do something now However in many ShowPlayer menus pressing lt UP gt and lt DOWN does not provide a negative response See the exit and DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 58 Go to Main Menu termination methods below lt LEFT gt or lt RIGHT gt Moves the cursor across the display highlighting functions that can be changed lt UP gt or lt DOWN gt Increment or decrement a number or scrolls through a list of text choices lt UP gt lt DOWN gt Displays on the bottom line a message indicating how much memory is used See 13 8 14 3 4 Exit and Terminate Methods lt OFF gt For all lower level menus other than ADJUST LEVELS you may leave without changing anything by pressing lt OFF gt For all menus where a numeric value is being entered except ADJUST FADE TIME you may use the lt LEFT gt or lt RIGHT gt keys to change the numeric field to one that says NONE When NONE is displayed pressing lt YES Q gt will exit without changing anything 13 4 READING THE MAIN MENU ITEM 1 DISPLAY The top line of the display shows the current on stage cue number When a fade is running the remaining fade time is shown A summary of the functions assigned to pins four or five are also shown When the current cue has a wait time recorded the amount of time left for the wait is shown on the second line Note cue number moves from NXT to
211. t binary Eight bit binary is seldom the best way to display data The DMXter4 can display 8 bit slot values in three formats percent decimal or hexadecimal You can select the default number format in the Setup Menu Pressing the lt UP gt and the lt RIGHT gt key at the same time will cause the unit to cycle through the three number formats Details on the display formats can be found in section 1 3 1 1 8 lt YES Q gt As a Shift Key There are several places in this software that use lt YES Q gt as a shift key to allow one of the other four keys to access a second function or status display When accessing a second function the lt YES Q gt is pressed and held while the second key is pressed and released 1 1 9 QUITTING lt gt vs lt YES Q gt When you finished using a function and want to do something else there are two basic ways to Quit You use either the lt YES Q gt or the lt TOP gt keys but the result will be somewhat different lt YES Q gt as mentioned above generally puts you back to the point in the menu at which you entered If you want to use another function within the same main menu group use lt YES Q gt Example If you are in VIEW LEVELS and you next want to VIEW PARAMETERS press lt YES Q gt lt DOWN gt lt YES Q gt But if you next want to ADJUST ONE SLOT first you will have to use lt YES Q gt to quit and then move to the TO MAIN MENU entry and then lt YES Q gt to return to
212. t displays the number of curves available the current curve and a description if provided 15 6 18 2 Get Set Output Response Time 37 1 4 8 4 9 As with curve this shows the total number of choices the current one and a description if provided 15 6 18 3 Get Set Modulation Frequency 37 1 4 10 4 11 This item is like the above but also can provide a numeric value for modulation frequency 15 6 18 4 Get Set Identify Mode 37 1 3 2 This item allows selecting one of two different identify modes the default is loud In general this would be something that is easily identifiable but not something you would wish to do during a performance Quiet is less obvious but still a detectable identify mode 15 6 18 5 Power On Self Test 37 1 3 6 Yes or No 15 6 18 6 Get Set Preset Merge mode 37 1 5 4 The RDM standard ANSI E1 20 Section 10 11 7 assumes that when a preset is played with the PRESET PLAYBACK message that it takes precedence over the DMX512 input signal On some devices this may not be the desired result and other merge modes may be offered The desired mode is selected with the lt LEFT gt lt RIGHT gt cursor editor The selected value is sent to the responder when the menu is exited The choices are DFL Default Preset overrides 5 12 this is the default behavior as defined in E1 20 PRESET PLAYBACK HTP Highest Take Precedence LTP Last Action Take Precedence DMX DMXS512 input only used Preset ignored OT
213. te that the top line of the display changes from the reasonably incomprehensible abbreviations to Universe Number The first field on the left is the Universe Number It may be edited using the lt UP gt and lt DOWN gt keys The SIP originating device sets this field to reflect the desired universe number for this port This field allows the identification of DMX cables at remote locations Use the lt RIGHT gt key to move the cursor to the next field Note that the top line changes to reflect the contents of the next field PROCESSING LEVEL 1 00 06 512 4745 SIP slot 7 is the processing level i e the number of devices that have reformatted or re timed the data A device that receives and re sends the packet should increment this number A passive device like a splitter or even an RDM hub would not change this number SOFTWARE VERSION 1 00 06 512 4745 SIP slot 8 is a number identifying the software version of the originating device for this data stream It is a number between 1 and 255 It may not reflect the number reported by other means The DMXter4 reports the software version as front panel version minus 2 39 times 100 So for front panel version 4 00 the SIP version is 171 NULL PACKET LENGTH 1 00 06 512 4745 SIP slots 9 MSB and 10 LSB hold the length of the Null packet that this SIP checksummed MFG ID 1 GD 1 00 06 512 4745 DMXter4 V4 23 Return
214. ted sn 4xxx will be replaced with the serial number of your DMXter4 Assuming you have USB serial drivers fitted on your computer once you connect the USB cable between the DMXter4 and the PC the display should change to Bootstrap 01 sn4xxx USB Connected 57 6k This means that the PC driver and the DMXter4 s USB driver can talk Now launch the terminal emulator Start your emulator See http www goddarddesign com usb2 html for more details Once it is launched and you have configured it by selecting the right com port you should start to see the following displayed on the PC Press to connect This message is repeated every few seconds until you comply Then you will see the following S Send New Code E Erase Flash C Checksum B Blank Check R Restore shipped code To download the new code to your DMXter4 you need to do the following steps 1 erase the current code This will erase the operating software Are you sure y N lt Y gt 2 B Blank checks the memory that will hold the code This is not required but is a check to make sure everything is ready You should see Firmware is Blank 3 S S to send the new code Serial Number is 4xxx Send HEX file now Control C to abort Now open the provided hex file as the source of a download How you do this will depend on the terminal emulator you are using With some emulators you may need to open the file first With the new ve
215. ted Parcel Service or similar best way carrier prepaid The unit should be properly packed either in its original container or if in a substitute container in one that is rigid and of adequate size to allow for suitable packing padding to protect the unit from shock The unit should be thoroughly inspected immediately upon original delivery to purchaser All material in the container should be checked against the enclosed packing list The manufacturer will not be responsible for shortages against the packing sheet unless notified immediately If the unit is damaged in any way a claim should be filed with the carrier immediately Final claim and negotiations with the carrier must be completed by the customer DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 105 Go to Main Menu
216. th number steps Cues may be linked and loops of any length formed Fade times and wait times for any cue may be set from 0 1 second to one hour Two separate macro commands are available Each macro configures an external input The supported functions are Play cue The input may cause a context sensitive jump to any other cue number Halt Show The input may be programed to Halt all fades or it may resume previously halted fades Manual Mode ShowPlayer may be externally switched in and out of linked cue mode In manual mode cues with wait times do not sequence to the next cue Fade to Black a macro function is selected it will remain armed until another cue changes it This means that the same external input may have one function at the beginning of a sequence another in the middle and third function at the end ShowPlayer has monitor mode too This monitor mode offers considerably more control 00000 DMxXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 48 Go to Main Menu choices than are offered by ShowSaver monitor mode 11 1 Determining Whether ShowPlayer or ShowSaver is Installed In Your DMXter Turn on the DMXter4 After a few seconds you will see one of the following displays DMXter4 RDM V4 18 DMXter4 RDM V4 18 with ShowPlayer with ShowSaver If the display on the left appears the lighting controller is ShowPlayer otherwise ShowSaver is the lighting controller software for your unit If
217. that a console with a slot set to 50 does not transmit the number 50 on the DMX512 line but a number that is 50 of 255 i e 128 The normal lighting console 0 to 100 representation of slot levels is really a percent scale and will be referred to as percent throughout this manual Details of the percent conversion used by the DMXter can be found in section 23 7 The DMxXter4 can display numbers in three formats decimal percent or hexadecimal Decimal percent or hexadecimal notations are available for levels Decimal or hexadecimal notations are available for the START Code and for the FLICKER FINDER compare limit When the DMXter is set to percent mode the START Code DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 6 Go to Main Menu and the FLICKER FINDER compare limit will be displayed in decimal Slot numbers and timing information available in decimal notation only The status may be changed by queries in the SETUP OPTIONS menu see section 8 4 1 3 1 Default Display Format The default format is percent for any value that is displayable in percent Any readout displayed in hex will be two hex digits ending with a lower case h Any readout displayed in percent will contain a sign in the display KEK 2 THE lt TOP gt KEY TURNS THE UNIT ON When the unit is off lt TOP gt functions as an ON key Press the lt TOP gt button and you will see the opening message DMXter4 RDM 4 18 Goddard Design
218. the MAIN MENU The key strokes are lt YES Q gt lt DOWN gt lt DOWN gt lt YES Q gt lt UP gt lt YES Q gt lt YES Q gt It would seem to be a lot easier to hit the lt TOP gt and roll down the MAIN MENU There is a reason why this is not always the best practice Hitting lt TOP gt does not clear the termination relay in the same way as lt YES Q gt A detailed description of termination relay setting can be found in section 20 6 3 While using lt TOP gt alone is seldom a problem we suggest that you get into the habit of using the following key strokes to return quickly to the MAIN MENU lt YES Q gt lt gt 1 2 DISPLAY CONVENTIONS There are two different purposes of the display One is to allow you to move around the menu structure to the area you need for the test you want to perform Here the top line of the display will generally tell you where you are in the menu and the second line will usually ask you a question or give you a choice of actions These displays are always in the form of a question and will contain a The other purpose of the display is to give you information about the DMX512 system you are testing This will be done either in one line or two line messages 1 3 NUMBER CONVENTIONS DMXS5 12 uses an 8 bit binary byte to transmit slot levels and the START Code This allows 256 different slot levels and START Codes from 0 to 255 Most lighting consoles display these levels as 0 to 100 This means
219. the scene in the STAGE field and the scene in the NEXT field The cross fade starts when the lt YES Q gt key is pressed and released During a fade holding down the lt YES Q gt key will cause the fade to stop temporarily The time remaining in a fade is shown in the XFADE field At any time pressing and holding the lt YES Q gt key and pressing the lt UP gt key will cause bump to the next scene During a cross fade pressing lt YES Q gt lt DOWN gt does not cause a bump to black unless the next scene is BLK a blackout The following keys are also locked out during a fade lt LEFT gt lt RIGHT gt and lt OFF gt 12 3 4 The Grand Master The grand master is operated by the lt UP gt lt DOWN gt keys If one of these keys is held it auto repeats The value changes in 1 steps The Grand Master is last in line affecting stage value if the Grand Master is set at 80 a dimmer entered at 100 appears onstage at 80 DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 52 Go to Main Menu 12 3 5 The Onstage Editor If you need to change the levels of a few slots while in PLAYBACK SCENE you can do so by using the onstage editor Pressing lt OFF gt will change the display to the same display seen in SEND EDIT SNAPSHOT The present STAGE scene will be loaded and slot levels may be changed in the same way they are in SEND EDIT SNAPSHOT You exit the editor by pressing either lt OFF gt or lt YES Q gt These changes ta
220. these fields The DMXter displays these values in decimal D9 MIN START HOLD MAXI 65535 65535 Startup Minimum Maximum Hold Times Supported These fields indicate the minimum and maximum startup hold times for the STARTUP_MODE message that the device can support Times shall be reported in tenths of a second Devices not supporting STARTUP_MODE shall report FFFFh for these fields 15 6 17 8 Get Set Preset Status 37 1 5 3 SCENE NUMBER 1 Select a scene SCENE NUMBER SCENE NUMBER 2 PROGRAMMED 1 NOT PROGRAMMED Scene number 1 is not programed while scene 2 is 12345678901234567890 DOWN WAIT 1111 0 2222 5 1234 0 This display allows getting and entering new fade and wait times 12345678901234567890 PRESET STATUS UPDATE SCENE TIMING However the values aren t updated until this query is answered 15 6 17 9 Get Set Lock Pin 37 1 3 9 LOCK PIN 15 CHANGE IT This parameter is used to get and set the PIN code for devices that support locking The lock state is set using the LOCK_STATE message The PIN format and length is deliberately kept simple to ensure interoperability with devices that may have limited UI and display capabilities DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 76 Go to Main Menu 15 6 17 10 Get Set Lock State 37 1 5 7 LOCK STATE 1 OF LOCKED description This displa
221. this feature for ShowPlayer If you did not purchase ShowPlayer and are looking for the original ShowSaver you should be reading section 12 This menu will let you set the following parameters What is the starting cue number ShowPlayer On DMX failure does ShowPlayer take control of the DMX line or does it wait for confirmation from the operator before starting to transmit What does ShowPlayer transmit on starting Does it send a blackout Does it send the last look sent by the main controller Does it start in the last thing seen on stage and then fade into the selected first cue Is ShowPlayer started in the automatic mode where cues with wait times automatically sequence or is it DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 63 Go to Main Menu started in the manual mode where GO is required for cue to start In the following items if the display is set the way you want to leave it you may use the lt DOWN gt key to move to the next item You need to enter the menu item only if you wish to change the current setting 14 1 What Cues Should ShowPlayer Start With On DMX failure ShowPlayer will load the cue selected here When you enter ShowSaver the lowest valid cue recorded in ShowPlayer is displayed Press lt YES Q gt if you wish to change to another cue number 14 2 SHOULD ShowPlayer WAIT OR START ON FAILURE DMX failure ShowP or DMX failure ShowP Waits for input CHG Starts
222. this value as its START Code for both standard TRANSMIT and RECEIVE until it is changed again by the user The following routines use special alternate START Codes and are not affected by the setting of this menu item po ex DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 15 Go to Main Menu The Hex 55 test message 55h UTF8 Text messages 90h SIPS CFh 207 RDM request and responses CCh 204 The START Code initializes to 0 when a DMXter has had its battery turned on or if the battery is totally drained or when the factory defaults have been restored See section 2 5 amp MEAL PENALTY Section 22 3 The START Code may be displayed in hex The current status may be changed by queries in the SETUP OPTIONS menu see section 8 4 or by using lt UP gt lt RIGHT gt START Codes may only be displayed decimal or hex If percent is selected for levels via SETUP OPTIONS START Codes will be displayed in decimal Exiting CHANGE START Code jumps you to ADJUST ONE SLOT This is an exception to the general rule that lt YES Q gt returns you to the point at which you entered the menu 4 9 1 MAB Accuracy Vs START Code If the START Code is set to 0 and the break length is less than 16mS the mark after break should be essentially jitter free When you set non 0 START Code or when the break time is longer than 16115 regardless of START Code we change the method of generating the mark after break This alternate method has an uncertainty
223. tines for Break MAB and Break to Break keep a running average of the last 32 values This function adds values to a counter and displays that result when enough data points have been collected One result of this is that if a parameter is changing the user will not see it count up or down smoothly It will instead update every second or so with the new average value One display note The measurement method causes the minimum and maximum to have a few micro seconds of jitter On the order of 3 micro seconds Since zero is an allowable time for these measurement it is possible that a negative time could be returned We do not display negative times however we can display a value of 0 A DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 25 Go to Main Menu value of negative zero means that jitter return a negative result 5 4 9 Break to break Time This screen reads out the minimum value the maximum value and an average value The DMXter4 can measure the minimum maximum and average break to break length of a DMX512 signal where this time is 900us or longer If it receives a break to break time of less than 900 all three values will be removed from the display and be replaced by the words TIME LESS THAN 900uS Break to break time is not START Code sensitive the break to break time of all packets is measured regardless of the START Code that the packet is transmitted with The method of measuring break to break length on the DMXter4 has a statist
224. to exactly match any particular console and should not be used if it is important to know the actual level that you are receiving It should not be assumed that a DMXter4 transmitting 45 percent will transmit the same code as your light console set to 45 DMXS512 uses an 8 bit binary byte to represent slot level This means 256 possible levels 0 to 255 Theatrical lighting has long used a 10 point scale which with the advent of the digital control console became a 101 point scale 0 100 There is no integer factor to convert 101 to 256 Therefore an integer conversion between these scales will be approximate There is no universal agreement on exactly how the rounding should be done The discrepancies manufacturer to manufacturer are seldom of great import in theatrical lighting although they are of some import when DMXS512 is used to drive other devices such as color scrollers Technical note The conversions from percent to decimal and decimal to percent in the DMXter4 are all table driven When the DMXter4 is set to the percent mode more than one received code will be displayed as the same percent value For example 7Fh 80h and 81h are all displayed as 50 The full receive conversion table is listed below The RAM slot table always stores slot levels in 8 bit binary Conversion is done when a number is displayed Hence a snapshot is re transmitted exactly as it was received While 7Fh and 81h are both displayed as 50 they will be store
225. to the Table of Contents 19 Go to Main Menu SIP slots 13 and 14 holds the manufacturer ID for the originating device When the cursor is under any digit of the MFG ID the top line will display the ID as two ASCII characters if possible If the numbers are unprintable characters the top line will display two dots 5 12 7 3 Send Menu 2 ID2 ID3 ID4 ID5 0000 0000 0000 0000 SIP slots 15 thru 22 hold four more ID s See the standard for usage rules Like all SIP data they are Big Endian MFG ID 2 0000 0000 0000 0000 The two dots on the top line indicate that 00 is a non printable ASCII character 4 12 7 4 Sip Menu 3 Packet Control Slots CC ER PBS CS PPCS 00 0008 AU 1318 This menu allows you to set how you want the receiver to process the DMX data stream Some of the items are not freely adjustable However the data in this menu controls the way the SIP and the Null packet data is used SIP slot 2 holds the control bit field The control bit field is used by the originating device to request how it wants the receiving device to process the packet that the SIP checksumed HOLD NEXT NSC FOR CS 01 0001 AU 1318 If the originating device wants receivers to use only Null or in some cases ASC packets that have passed a checksum test it sets the LSB of this byte to one PREV WAS ASC 10 0008 AU 1318 Setting bit one indicates the previous packet was an Alternate Start Code
226. um 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 channel as the arc lamp control channel This channel s level will never be changed except by an explicit instruction 10 3 USING THE FIXTURE CONFIGURATION SUBMENU The configuration submenu is the first item that you will see upon entering the MULTI CHANNEL MODE Pressing the lt YES Q gt key will drop you into the configuration display The first time you enter this routine the display will be as shown below SZ BGN CRT If you have used this routine before at least the first four fields will be filled in and it may look like the one shown below DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 39 Go to Main Menu SZ BGN CRT 10 12 136 01 In either case these displays are rather cryptic Before you start taking our name in vain please press the lt RIGHT gt key once An underline cursor will appear under the left most character of the display The top line of the display will change so that it now reads NUMBER OF FIXTURES 10 12 136 01 Are things getting a little clearer In this menu what label text is displayed is dependent on which field the cursor is in and on the content of that field 10 3 1 The lt UP gt lt DOWN gt Key Use in Configure Fixture The lt UP gt and lt
227. umber as described above lt RIGHT gt Moves the cursor position to the right Note there is no Exit None option in this menu The only way to exit this menu is with the lt TOP gt key lt LEFT gt Moves the cursor position to the left lt YES Q gt Takes a snapshot of incoming DMX and stores it with the indicated cue number and default parameter values lt OFF gt No Action lt TOP gt is the only way to leave this menu Transmitter is turned back on and the last snapshot is sent to the stage 13 6 EXITING SHOWPLAYER Pressing lt TOP gt does not exit ShowPlayer It momentarily stops everything When you release lt TOP gt you will get the following slightly rude message TO QUIT SHOWPLAYER DEPRESS OFF AND TOP Pressing and holding the lt OFF gt key while pressing and releasing the lt TOP gt key is the only way to exit ShowPlayer 13 7 SHOWPLAYER TECHNICAL DETAILS 13 7 1 ShowPlayer Flavor ShowPlayer uses the Null START Code It does not change the START Code used by other routines Other flavor details are in the table below DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 62 Go to Main Menu ShowPlayer Flavor Details 20146 101 us Slots 512 Inter Slot Time 56us Mark Before Break 54 5 Updates Second 20 13 7 2 ShowPlayer Number Format The ShowPlayer uses decimal format for all numbers except in the ADJUST LEVEL menu That m
228. upload and may have limited RDM 3 PDEV device The information for this device is coming from a proxy that is spoofing its replies CTRL This is the raw data word If anything beyond 4 bits is used we have an error Pressing lt DOWN gt will get to the second item If present it is the Binding UID The Binding UID field shall only be included when the responding device contains multiple responder ports If the device does contain multiple ports then the Binding UID field shall contain the UID for the primary port on the device This Binding UID field allows the controller to associate multiple responder ports discovered within a single physical device 15 4 SET DMX ADDRESS ADDR 1 modelID text This item lets you change DMX slot assignment of the current device The model ID of that device is displayed Note that you may use the lt RIGHT gt and lt LEFT gt keys to choose which digit to change When querying a responder that does not use a slot the DMX address is displayed as NONE In this item pressing and holding the lt RIGHT gt and lt LEFT gt keys displays the UID of the current device It also places the current device into identify mode for as long as the keys are held Pressing and holding the lt YES Q gt key while pressing and releasing the lt RIGHT gt key will select the next device in the Table of Devices In the same manner the lt LEFT gt key selects the previou
229. using the DMxXter4 in a situation where you frequently need to walk away from the unit you may find it best to disable this timer Answer yes by pressing lt YES Q gt or no by pressing lt UP gt or lt DOWN gt DISABLE AUTOMATIC SHUTDOWN Operating the DMXter from the AC mains temporarilly disables the shutdown timer 2 6 THE DISPLAY BACKLITE The backlite will time out if you haven t used the keys in about one minute To turn it back on press any key 2 7 PRESSING lt TOP gt WHEN THE DMxXter IS RUNNING The AUTO SHUTDOWN query is only displayed the first time that lt TOP gt is pressed after the DMXter has been off sleeping When the unit is running pressing lt TOP gt returns the DMXter to the top of the MAIN MENU to the TRANSMIT DMX512 query 2 8 Sleeping Versus Electrically Off DMxXter4 is seldom truly off The lt OFF gt key doesn t interrupt power to the processor To turn off the battery you must open the case See the section on BATTERY OPERATION in Section 22 for details on battery operation and Turning Off the Battery If you really insist on trying to do this before you read the section put down the allen key First unplug the DMXter4 from the AC line Never operate the unit from the AC line when it is outside its case Now you want to remove the single screw on the bottom of the case not the four screws on the top of the face DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 8 Go to Mai
230. ute Device Advanced RDM 15 1 11 Unmute All Advanced RDM 15 1 12 Send Single DUB 15 1 13 Constant Discovery Advanced RDM 15 1 14 Send Unicast Discovery Advanced RDM only 15 2 SELECT CURRENT DEVICE 15 3 DEVICE INFORMATION 15 3 1 Device Model chee ed SONNE aS Bes BEE LGR bee 15 32 Device abel eae eo eh oO ek aoe eee 15 3 3 Manufacturer 15 3 4 Software Version Number amp 1 15 3 5 Slot Address amp Slot Foot Print 15 3 6 Personality hee ee 15 3 7 Sub Device Count amp Sensor Count 0 0 0 ee cece nen 15 3 Product 22 25 gt reee bii iaei piace 15 3 9 RDM Protocol Versiony 2 22 oo hn GSMs Me dee 15 3 10 Device Power State whe eed eed ee ees 15 3 11 Hour and Power Cycles 15 3 12 Lamp Hour and Lamp 5 15 3 13 Lamp State and Lamp On 15 3 14 Boot Software
231. ve this test reports the frame count of only those packets transmitted with the currently selected start code 5 4 5 Interslot Time us This routine measures any extra time between slots Note that from a users point of view there is no ideal number for this parameter However too long a time will decrease the update rate If you are working with compliant legacy equipment that may not be fully compatible with the standard it can be very useful to have some space between slots We have added this and the next two routines to provide full development and diagnostic tools The display is similar to the Break and the MAB routines It displays the minimum average and maximumt time seen The averaging algorithm for this and the next three routines differs from the one for the other older routines The reason for this is the time intensive nature of these measurements 5 4 6 MARK BEFORE BREAK in us The time between the end of the last slot of a packet and the break is given several different names including Inter Packet Time and Mark Before Break MBB Prior to V2 45 for the Lil this was not a measured parameter 5 4 7 MARK AFTER START CODE in us The Mark After Start Code is conceptually the same as inter slot time However some software designs could cause its value to be completely different from Inter slot time For that reason we measure it as a separate parameter 5 4 8 Average Routines for 5 4 5 5 4 6 5 4 7 The average rou
232. ver connected to pins 4 and 5 out is now fully bidirectional but at this time no use is made of this feature Input and Output Connector Functions DMX512 IN DMX512 OUT NOTES DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 91 Go to Main Menu connect to signal Shield amp common common of DUT EIA485 DATA bidirectional DMX512 data pair EIA485 DATA bidirectional EIA485 DATA bidirectional ew spare Scope trigger the DMXter can circuit not cable check this Spare Left switch pra4gs_ Spare Scope trigger pair 23 7 5 Functions Causing the DMXter to Terminate the Line 1 In RECEIVE DMXS512 and in FLICKER FINDER answering lt YES Q gt to the END OF LINE question Including all sub menus 2 Any function that transmits data if exited in a normal fashion unterminates the line on exit Note that exiting a function via lt TOP gt is not a normal exit and will leave the line terminated These functions include TRANSMIT DMX512 INTERCEPT amp MODIFY MULTI CHANNEL MODE ShowSaver when transmitting ShowPlayer when transmitting and the RDM controller menu 3 CABLE TEST single or double ended terminates the line the condition on exit is the same as in TRANSMIT 23 7 THE PERCENT SCALE We have included a percent display mode in the DMXter4 for the convenience of having a display that approximates the display seen on your lighting console The percent display mode should not be expected
233. xture to fixture Arc channels will be left at current value No restore takes place Further regardless of the setting in the MOVE DATA menu item data is never moved into an Arc lamp channel 10 8 5 Displaying Absolute DMX Slot Numbers It is very useful not to need to worry what DMX slot the iris of fixture 13 is on Still it may be useful to know sometimes if only to fix the patch on the console To display the DMX512 slot number press and hold both the lt LEFT gt and lt RIGHT gt keys The fixture channel number will be replaced by the slots If a dimmer channel one marked with a D displays NP in this mode no patch was entered for this fixture s dimmer While you may set a level for this channel this level is NOT sent to the DMX line Most of the following menu items are self explanatory Our explanations will be brief 10 9 CLEARING THE SNAPSHOT MULTI CHANNEL MODE CLEAR SNAPSHOT What this function does is pretty self evident but why you might wish to use it may not be If you have the fixtures configured to initialize to the default fixture only the DMX channels that are used by the configured fixtures will be set to known values All other channels will be left with whatever happens to be in the DMX transmit table If this is left over garbage from yesterday your stage may look interesting 10 10 CLEARING THE DEFAULT MULTI CHANNEL MODE CLEAR DEFAULT 10 1
234. xtures in the block Why do I care what the current fixture is now Will you let me change the current fixture in the edit routine DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 40 Go to Main Menu Yes you will get to change this value elsewhere and much of the time you will not bother to enter a value here Sometimes it will be handy to set up the first fixture to be tested here There are two common uses for setting the current fixture by way of this field One is to set the fixture whose dimmer you wish to patch The other is to set the slots from which the default fixture look is recorded More details of this use can be found in section 10 8 10 3 8 Selecting the Dimmer Mode We hope you understand the first four fields As practice at this point would you please enter the values shown below We will be using these settings to explain the next sections SZ BGN CRT 6 93 13 Move the cursor under the first dash The display changes to SELECT DIMMER MODE IS 6 93 13 Press the lt UP gt key Again the display changes ARC LAMP ON CHANNEL 55 93 13A The mode is selected We will explain the details below Now press the lt UP gt key again The display reads LAMP ON DIMMER NUMBRI jis 6 93 13 The manual or patch review mode has been selected Again the details are below If you press lt UP gt again you ll find yourself in AUTOPATCH Mode Th
235. y Note that if possible the ASCII characters for the manufacturer ID are shown to the right in between quotes 15 1 1 Discover Newly Connected Devices This item looks for all devices connected to the system since the last discovery It will discover only new devices 15 1 2 Discover All Devices This item erases the table of devices and re discovers all connected devices This item should be used anytime you connect the DMXter to a new rig 15 1 3 Load Rig The DMXter can store in non volatile flash up to 8 named Table Of Devices This item lets you load the TOD of your choice 15 1 4 Store Rig This is the item that stores the Table Of Devices Use the lt DOWN gt key to scroll thru the stored TOD s A used memory is named Note that a blank line is a memory that someone didn t bother to name empty memories are labeled EMPTY Once the data is stored you will be able to label the memory using our text editor The text string editor is detailed in section 24 15 1 5 Delete Rig I hope this one is fairly obvious 15 1 6 Add UID Manually A This feature is only available if you have the Advanced RDM developer s package installed If installed it will allow you to manually enter the 12 hexadecimal digits that make up a UID DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 66 Go to Main Menu 15 1 7 Remove UID Manually Advanced RDM only If installed it will allow you to delete any UID from the Table of Devices 15 1 8 Di
236. y shows whether the responder is presently locked or unlocked and which lock state is in effect The end of the display is an optional description of the state 15 6 17 11 Get Set Burn In 37 1 3 10 This parameter provides a mechanism for devices that require specified burn in times In order for fluorescent lamps to operate properly with all types of fluorescent dimming ballasts they must be operated continuously at full output for a manufacturer recommended period of time BURN_IN This parameter will allow users to set a burn in time for dimmers controlling fluorescent ballasts after changing lamps for example The Get message shall return the remaining time on the burn in The Set message shall set the burn in time and start the burn in process Setting a burn in time of 0 shall abort any burn in process running The DMXter displays this value as a 1 byte decimal number 15 6 17 12 Get Dimmer Info 37 1 4 3 This parameter is used to retrieve a variety of dimmer related information that describes the capabilities of the dimmer LOWER MIN LVL UPPER 0 2 Minimum Level Lower Limit This field indicates the lowest value that MINIMUM_LEVEL can be set to Devices not implementing MINIMUM_LEVEL shall set this field to 0000h Minimum Level Upper Limit This field indicates the highest value that MINIMUM_LEVEL be set to Devices not implementing MINIMUM_LEVEL shall set this field to 0000h LOWER
237. you do nothing or if you press lt DOWN gt the DMxXter will inform you of a failure but will not automatically turn on its transmitter Pressing lt YES Q gt will enable the DMXter to start transmitting automatically on a failure of the console s DMX output Pressing either key will change the display to the following STAGE 99 GM 100 1 3 While the DMXter is in monitor mode lt RIGHT gt lt LEFT gt keys are active and you may preset scene you wish to go to following the OK scene in the event of a failure 12 2 1 When the Monitor Mode Detects a Failure If you have had the DMXter in monitor mode for more than a minute the display backlite will have timed out If the DMXter fails to detect valid DMX for one second it holds the last valid transmission it received turn on the display backlite and the display changes to one of the displays below STAGE FAIL GM 100 STAGE GM 100 NEXT 59 TIME 0 NEXT 1 TIME 01 This is meant to get your attention assuming that what is happening to the lights on stage hasn t If you enabled auto start the display on the right will be shown If not the display to the left is shown 12 2 2 If Auto Start Is Disabled The DMXter is not yet transmitting and we presume your console isn t either If the console has stopped transmitting what you are seeing on stage now depends on your dimmers certain types will h
238. your DMXter is still reading TAKING SNAPSHOT for more DMXter4 V4 23 Return to the Table of Contents 11 Go to Main Menu than three seconds and the bottom line remains blank this means that your DMXter is receiving data with a different START Code than the one it is currently set to receive After 3 seconds if no digital input is received or if the input is not a digital form that the DMXter4 can recognize you will see NO DIGITAL INPUT OR INPUT NOT DMX512 When you see this message on the display first check to see that you have a cable plugged into the DMXter4 input connector and into the output connector of a working console Neither executing lt TOP gt nor lt OFF gt erases a snapshot However many menu items erase a snapshot 4 5 1 Actions That Overwrite or Erase a Snapshot The following events will overwrite a snapshot with a new snapshot 1 Taking a new snapshot including the snapshots in MULTI CHANNEL MODE 2 test mode using SINGLE ENDED cable test 3 Using the FLICKER FINDER 4 Using VIEW LEVELS Whatever levels are in the table at the time one exits VIEW LEVELS will be preserved and may be used as a snapshot 5 SHOW SAVER RECORD SCENE EDIT SCENE and PLAYBACK SCENE 6 Using any transmit function in MULTI CHANNEL MODE The following events will erase a snapshot and leave the table clear 1 ADJUST ONE SLOT 2 ADJUST ALL SLOTS 3 Using CLEAR SNAPSHOT 4 Shutting down due to low battery

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