I have been using normal xlr cable from a dmx splitter for 20 years approx and not had a single issue. Most number of fixtures I have had daisy chained however, is about 8. Total fixtures was approx 60.
Cable type - this was the problem I found in kids auditorium for my church - all but 2 of the cables were xlr, and it seemed to result in uneven and inconsistent dimmer brightness and curves. All DMX now and fixed :)
Do all fixtures in the chain need to be powered on? I had an erratic moving head. In the show there were several other fixtures in the chain that were not needed and so not powered on. I suspect this was my problem but have been unable to prove it. Specifically there are 6 fixtures in that chain, only the first and fifth were on at the time, and the fifth one was the troublemaker. I swapped moving heads thinking it was the fixture itself, and while there were less issues, I still had some erratic moments. Thanks for any insight, and thanks for a great video.
@@kettnercreative Hi mate. Picked up some fairly cheap dmx cables today and hooked it all up. Unfortunately the blue slider cuts out at about 3/4 power and the light flickers very faintly, and then kicks back in when move the slider to full power. Basically the blue light flicks on and off when I’m fading it up. Repeatable problem. Same problem when using my 2nd light, and when trying a different cable, so I suspect there’s something wrong with the board. Cheap, 2nd hand, generic Dmx 192 controller. It’s ok for setting the lights the way I want for static colours, but I thought I’d run it by you in case you had any advice, or if this kind of behaviour might be normal for cheap boards and cables. The parcans are high quality. I’ll get a different board when I can afford it, but any tips you might have to troubleshoot would be appreciated. Not sure a terminator would help, I doubt it from what you said….cheers, Andrew
We've been running a small setup of Chauvet lights in my church setup, but the last few years we've been running into the flickering and random moving and flashing for a while. We haven't used them much the last few years but we want to use them again. Currently using ShowXpress to run them and did the whole setup all over again. It seems I've stopped the flickering and random self movements but now for some reason, the PAR lights aren't working properly with the software, seems like the fader levers are showing wrong colors and not dimming properly . I've triple checked all other steps you've suggested, but Im not sure where to go from here... The intimidator spotlights are working just fine now, just the PAR lights seem to be malfunctioning 🤦🤷 hoping to find some help 🙌
Hey. Great video! I have a venue that's using outdoor string led Edison bulbs which means there is probably 30-40 off each unit. When you talk about fixtures are you talking wattage? I'm having issues with the lights flickering whenever an inductive load runs in the space. Thanks!
I'm having a flickering issue, but it can't possibly be due to fixture, or cable quality. All of my fixtures, and cables are Chauvet brand, so that shouldn't be it. I have a bluetooth fixture as the master, then daisy-chained three other fixtures from it. And for some reason, every time the color cycle goes to green, and blue, the slave fixtures start flickering. Tried switching cables, reconfiguring the order the lights were chained in, nothing worked. Any advice? ** PROBLEM SOLVED ** I don't know the technical terms for some of what I'm trying to say, so just bear with me. The lights were flickering because not all the fixtures were the same model, which is okay as long as they're all the same LED type (RGB, RGBA, etc..), but because the fixture I used as the "master" light wasn't as "powerful" (I guess) as one of the slave fixtures in the chain, that's what caused the flickering. The master fixture had 6 LEDs while the slave fixture had 12. Both fixtures are bluetooth, so all I had to do was switch the order on the daisy-chain so that the 12 light fixture was the master, and the 6 light fixture was a slave. Problem solved. Maybe this should have been obvious, but oh well, live and learn. I'm leaving my original comment so if anyone has the same issue in the future they can see I had it as well, and can also see the solution.
Hi does the flickering can also be cauaed the the dmx decoder? someone recommended the terminator, but am thinking the decoder since it is the driver for the lights. can the software also affects it
Thanks for the info. I’m new to dmx. Would I be able to access the shows (0-4) form my Inno pocket spots as well when I’m in dmx mode? I will make my own scenes but I’d like to use show mode 3 as a scene , is that possible?
In addressing the issue of quality components, does that extend also to the controller? Could a cheap or Mal-functioning controller cause erratic behaviour in the lights as well?
The reason for the limit on the number of fixtures., is length ,this translates into voltage drop.. sobthe amount of fictures you recommended is right on..
Also an issue i found out the hard way, was using the correct dmx frame rate. 1986, and 2004 dmx are different frame rates and mark before and after break also the Mhz, 22 and 44 big differences. So old dimmers and new software may also be an issue.
Very likely one of the things mentioned in this video: Too many lights in a chain, bad cable, need a dmx terminator, or perhaps even a software error and need to turn off/reset?
@@kettnercreative actually I have not experience any problem so far but I've been using a terminator just to signal the end of the chain, if you get what I mean. Is that OK or should I stop using a terminator? BTW Thankyou for responding back.
The bottom line is a top quality good condition cable setup 'shouldn't' need a terminator because the balanced data lines wont reflect, only be absorbed at the target fixtures. However in the real world it is rare that you have 100% quality good condition cabling so is it 'possible' fata reflection can occur causing lost/corrupt DMX data. In these cases an end terminator can absorb such data refelctions . . . . as a band aid. Personally I always setup and test a rig first without terminators to check for cable errors, bit will ALWAYS run the show using terminators as you dont know what might happen during the set. Not using a terminator may cause issues, using a terminator may help but will never 'cause' a problem
Yeah cheap chinese fixtures will be problematic. I bought 6-1 laser with 34 channels and 163 patterns(gobo's) so you can imagine how much work went into programming only to watch it not do things correctly, like use a slider to change patterns and return to the original pattern but the fixture stays on another pattern, Makes the fixture almost useless. I say almost because it does kool stuff just not exactly the way you want it to
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Thank you for supporting my opinion. There are so many dudes out there who think it works with cheap microphone cables and large connectors.
It might work once or twice, but eventually they’ll learn.
RDM can also cause issues. I always make sure to turn it off in the console if I don't need it :)
Thank you so much! One of my fixtures was in sound-activated mode, and changing it fixed the whole thing!
Yes! Glad you got it working.
I have been using normal xlr cable from a dmx splitter for 20 years approx and not had a single issue. Most number of fixtures I have had daisy chained however, is about 8. Total fixtures was approx 60.
Cable type - this was the problem I found in kids auditorium for my church - all but 2 of the cables were xlr, and it seemed to result in uneven and inconsistent dimmer brightness and curves. All DMX now and fixed :)
Seconded :-)
Thank you so much for this video, answered alot of the questions i had
Glad it was helpful!
We have a problem where our dmx fixtures start blinking the minute we start dimming. Any idea what this could be?
Made in China?
Do all fixtures in the chain need to be powered on? I had an erratic moving head. In the show there were several other fixtures in the chain that were not needed and so not powered on. I suspect this was my problem but have been unable to prove it. Specifically there are 6 fixtures in that chain, only the first and fifth were on at the time, and the fifth one was the troublemaker. I swapped moving heads thinking it was the fixture itself, and while there were less issues, I still had some erratic moments. Thanks for any insight, and thanks for a great video.
Thank Jordan. Picked up a generic dmx 192 controller today. Nice to know I shouldn’t need the terminator once I have the right cables.
Glad it helped.
@@kettnercreative Hi mate. Picked up some fairly cheap dmx cables today and hooked it all up. Unfortunately the blue slider cuts out at about 3/4 power and the light flickers very faintly, and then kicks back in when move the slider to full power. Basically the blue light flicks on and off when I’m fading it up. Repeatable problem. Same problem when using my 2nd light, and when trying a different cable, so I suspect there’s something wrong with the board. Cheap, 2nd hand, generic Dmx 192 controller. It’s ok for setting the lights the way I want for static colours, but I thought I’d run it by you in case you had any advice, or if this kind of behaviour might be normal for cheap boards and cables. The parcans are high quality. I’ll get a different board when I can afford it, but any tips you might have to troubleshoot would be appreciated. Not sure a terminator would help, I doubt it from what you said….cheers, Andrew
We've been running a small setup of Chauvet lights in my church setup, but the last few years we've been running into the flickering and random moving and flashing for a while. We haven't used them much the last few years but we want to use them again. Currently using ShowXpress to run them and did the whole setup all over again. It seems I've stopped the flickering and random self movements but now for some reason, the PAR lights aren't working properly with the software, seems like the fader levers are showing wrong colors and not dimming properly . I've triple checked all other steps you've suggested, but Im not sure where to go from here... The intimidator spotlights are working just fine now, just the PAR lights seem to be malfunctioning 🤦🤷 hoping to find some help 🙌
Hey. Great video! I have a venue that's using outdoor string led Edison bulbs which means there is probably 30-40 off each unit. When you talk about fixtures are you talking wattage? I'm having issues with the lights flickering whenever an inductive load runs in the space. Thanks!
I'm having a flickering issue, but it can't possibly be due to fixture, or cable quality. All of my fixtures, and cables are Chauvet brand, so that shouldn't be it. I have a bluetooth fixture as the master, then daisy-chained three other fixtures from it. And for some reason, every time the color cycle goes to green, and blue, the slave fixtures start flickering. Tried switching cables, reconfiguring the order the lights were chained in, nothing worked. Any advice?
** PROBLEM SOLVED **
I don't know the technical terms for some of what I'm trying to say, so just bear with me. The lights were flickering because not all the fixtures were the same model, which is okay as long as they're all the same LED type (RGB, RGBA, etc..), but because the fixture I used as the "master" light wasn't as "powerful" (I guess) as one of the slave fixtures in the chain, that's what caused the flickering. The master fixture had 6 LEDs while the slave fixture had 12. Both fixtures are bluetooth, so all I had to do was switch the order on the daisy-chain so that the 12 light fixture was the master, and the 6 light fixture was a slave. Problem solved. Maybe this should have been obvious, but oh well, live and learn. I'm leaving my original comment so if anyone has the same issue in the future they can see I had it as well, and can also see the solution.
Hi does the flickering can also be cauaed the the dmx decoder? someone recommended the terminator, but am thinking the decoder since it is the driver for the lights. can the software also affects it
Thanks for the info. I’m new to dmx. Would I be able to access the shows (0-4) form my Inno pocket spots as well when I’m in dmx mode? I will make my own scenes but I’d like to use show mode 3 as a scene , is that possible?
In addressing the issue of quality components, does that extend also to the controller? Could a cheap or Mal-functioning controller cause erratic behaviour in the lights as well?
It certainly could.
The reason for the limit on the number of fixtures., is length ,this translates into voltage drop.. sobthe amount of fictures you recommended is right on..
For sure.
Also an issue i found out the hard way, was using the correct dmx frame rate. 1986, and 2004 dmx are different frame rates and mark before and after break also the Mhz, 22 and 44 big differences. So old dimmers and new software may also be an issue.
This helps a lot! thanks!
thank you for the info 🙂
So when I have some DMX moded lights chained by DMX cable together, I don't need any DMX terminator as long as they are working normally?
In theory, you should always use a terminator. In practice nobody does unless they have an issue.
@@kettnercreative Many thanks
My spotlight won’t stop moving even though every slider is down and I’m not moving any of the sliders. What’s going on???
Very likely one of the things mentioned in this video: Too many lights in a chain, bad cable, need a dmx terminator, or perhaps even a software error and need to turn off/reset?
@@kettnercreative tried a reset. Still nothing. It’s weird because it was working fine for 1 hour before going haywire.
Thanks!!!
So your advice is don't use a dmx terminator????
It might help you in a pinch, but it's a bandaid and means that you probably have an issue elsewhere.
@@kettnercreative actually I have not experience any problem so far but I've been using a terminator just to signal the end of the chain, if you get what I mean. Is that OK or should I stop using a terminator? BTW Thankyou for responding back.
The bottom line is a top quality good condition cable setup 'shouldn't' need a terminator because the balanced data lines wont reflect, only be absorbed at the target fixtures. However in the real world it is rare that you have 100% quality good condition cabling so is it 'possible' fata reflection can occur causing lost/corrupt DMX data. In these cases an end terminator can absorb such data refelctions . . . . as a band aid. Personally I always setup and test a rig first without terminators to check for cable errors, bit will ALWAYS run the show using terminators as you dont know what might happen during the set. Not using a terminator may cause issues, using a terminator may help but will never 'cause' a problem
"Cheaper brands" *couchough HOSAcoughcough*
Yeah cheap chinese fixtures will be problematic. I bought 6-1 laser with 34 channels and 163 patterns(gobo's) so you can imagine how much work went into programming only to watch it not do things correctly, like use a slider to change patterns and return to the original pattern but the fixture stays on another pattern, Makes the fixture almost useless. I say almost because it does kool stuff just not exactly the way you want it to