Parking DMX (theatre based)

[silkstg]

Good evening gentlemen,

Is there a way to park DMX addresses on the software yet? (use dimmers to provide hot power to heads and LEDs, I know it's not the best way to do it but there are a lot of theatres in the UK that do it).
I've tried to find some way of doing it but have been unsuccessful to make it work properly.

My best method was to patch the channels in question as dimmer and set up a switch to activate them, make the console live and turn them on.
The problem I had was that way caused the software to have issues with the programmer not clearing as I edited the scenes.
Obviously I had to make them visible as I edited positions and colours and as I moved on from editing a scene the changes wouldn't clear.
So that just didn't work.

Any ideas? or is this a software feature that needs requesting?

Kind regards

Tom

[mcallegari]

What do you mean with "parking DMX" ? Can you please elaborate ?

[janosvitok]

Afaik parking means hard channel override. E.g. setting fixed pan and tilt when moving head motors go wrpng.

[mcallegari]

Afaik parking means hard channel override. E.g. setting fixed pan and tilt when moving head motors go wrpng.

So is this the same old "default value" feature we're missing in the fixture definitions ?

[giacomo]

parking fix a channel's value independently from any other action on the board, even the GM or BO, eg. to have always a minimum service light on the back stage.
from a manual:
"It is possible to park (freeze) channels using the PARK soft button, Parking persists over shutdowns and resets. Parking information is stored in the show file.
Parking forces HTP values to the parked value regardless of other playbacks."

[silkstg]

Yes the manual description is pretty accurate.

Essentially what QLC+ would need to do is provide a constant output on the selected DMX channels regardless of any other interaction with the software.

So whatever you are doing, whether it is editing or being live, as long as the program is open the output of those DMX channels stays consistent.

For most if not all purposes it would be on at maximum value, as 99% of the time it is someone using it to power moving lights/LED through a dimmer pack instead of providing hard power, for example in theatres with fly bars that have dimmer channels hardwired in, I have found they plug in to the sockets on the bar for the dimmer and 'park' the dmx channels that correspond to those sockets/dimmers at 255 instead of running a power cable to the bar.

In terms of where in the software to able to access it, it would make sense to me (and please anybody weigh in here if you have other ideas) to go on the inputs/outputs page along with the mapping/profile/audio tabs as it is something to set up as you're mapping the universes to the hardware.

[Baer]

Can excactly imagine your use case, where you ran out of constant power but have plenty of dimming channels left because the cabling was built before LED fixtures where even present.... (same for moving heads on small theaters)
Run into that problem for years befor we were able to change the whole power distribution on stage...

I think it should be a good idea to create some kind of generic fixture (generic power or someting like that) which got a default dmx value on creation.

QLC+ needs to make sure during output processing (maybe at the same stage the simple desk comes in?) that these channels always stays at there default values regardless what is put on simple desk or somewhere else.
To make sure qlc+ is aware of this channel it may be a good idea to add a 3rd channels behaviour (HTP, LTP and CONSTANT)

Not sure how much effort this will be and if its worth the effort, thats a question the developers need to answer...

[janosvitok]

The main question is: what happens if a) QLC+ sets a different value (<255) b) if QLC+ crashes. Will the lights survive? Will they trip breaker? Will the fuse inside the lights survive?

Note: the questions relate the OP's usage. There are many safe usages of parking.

See also http://qlcplus.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=10723 (summary: you can more or less park values by using channel modifiers; except: blackout that doesn't use them yet IIRC).

[silkstg]

I can see where you are coming from but wouldn't it be better to not have it as a fixture?
If it was a fixture it'd just be in the way of programming and you'd have to add in multiple of them if there were more than one address.
It's the same as house lights, you can never be sure just how many channels you're going to have to put in (I've had between one and eighty channels of house lights before depending on how the theatre had them installed).
Having it as a separate setting within the software would mean you can set the addresses, set the value and leave it.
That said if it works out doing it as a fixture is far simpler and means being able to do it then I would be up for that!

I agree that it's down to Massimo & co as to whether this is something they can put in, I have to admit I am an extreme newb at programming of any kind so wouldn't even know where to begin or even how easy/difficult it was to add in. It's just a thought as I am really enjoying the software and don't want to have to get to a place and find out I can't use it over something so minor.

[silkstg]

Hi Jano,

Valid point, I don't like to power lights this way but the theatre's own product is not my place to demand hard power for them.
I have used it a few times and the times that they cut out (once about 40 times using QLC+ as I tried to program) they have survived, as much as I know how bad it can be it's something that should be allowed for in the rare occasion a theatre does it that way.

I haven't looked at channel modifiers yet, will have a look now.
My issue was visibly editing scene's whilst the virtual console was live as the programmer wouldn't clear as i changed scenes, I don't know if that was the way I was using the software and will experiment further when I get a chance to see if I can replicate the situation.

[GGGss]

Maybe a silly solution thinking about your problems...
Repatch the channels to a dimmerpack(s) that sits in a different physical universe and use a second instance of QLC holding them @255
Or are the dimmerpacks not reachable so you can't repatch them?

[silkstg]

Hi Fredje,

I wouldn't say it was a silly solution but yes unfortunately the dimmer packs are usually hardwired into a locked cupboard somewhere remote and the DMX addresses are unchangeable.
Part of the reason I enjoy this software is the ability to repatch so easily as every theatre wants you to fit in around their set up.
If I was touring a complete package then it would work.
Although if I was touring a complete package there would be hot power units with proper mains distribution to each light.

[mcallegari]

Repatch the channels to a dimmerpack(s) that sits in a different physical universe and use a second instance of QLC holding them @255

And since you're suggesting this, you know for sure that 2 instances of QLC+ (not QLC) work together, right ?
Not considering that they would both be using the same DMX adapter, which doesn't work at all.

Instead, this whole thread made me think we have channel modifiers, but I'm not sure I fully understand the parking issue.
Basically you can draw a flat line modifier and assign it to the channels involved in parking. That acts at the end of the whole QLC+ DMX chain, but (if I remember correctly) before the grand master.
Dunno if it is of any help.

[janosvitok]

That acts at the end of the whole QLC+ DMX chain, but (if I remember correctly) before the grand master.

It's after GM. https://github.com/mcallegari/qlcplus/b ... e.cpp#L385
I've made it intentionally after GM so that limits imposed by channel modifiers are not disrupted by any other mechanism.

Only blackout doesn't honor channel modifiers: https://github.com/mcallegari/qlcplus/b ... p.cpp#L103
The fix for this is easy to implement.

We may provide a channel modifier template "Always ON", "Always OFF", "Always 50%".

[Baer]

QLC+ is so huge that one can easyly forget or overlook such a function....

But this looks like a good solution as soon as blackout also leaves the channels as they are...

I think nobody want's to repower his fixutres on pressing blackout...
Especially fixtures with discharge lamp

[GGGss]

And since you're suggesting this, you know for sure that 2 instances of QLC+ (not QLC) work together, right ?
Not considering that they would both be using the same DMX adapter, which doesn't work at all.

Massimo,
Sorry for the confusion ... With second instance I was trying to say build a second QLC+ environment (eq 2nd controller, 2nd PC or Raspi) and have those set fixed @255

[janosvitok]

I've added Always Full, Always 50% and Always Off templates. https://github.com/mcallegari/qlcplus/t ... stemplates
They seem to be applied on the first value change. After that, even simple desk can't change the value.
Blackout and Universe passthrough still affect the output. BO sets to 0, passthrough is merged HTP with the fixed value. Since your desired output is 255, HTP will not change it.

[janosvitok]

I've (hopefully fixed) channel modifiers for blackout. See https://github.com/mcallegari/qlcplus/pull/967
Please test if you can.

Obviously, there may be bugs (and probably are) so if you fry your lamps, don't complain here!

[silkstg]

Hi Jano,

That's great thank you, I've had a quick sample of it and on the DMX output view on the software it's locked at full except when you click on Blackout. I don't use the Blackout button so it's not an issue for me.
Thank you for responding to this so quickly, this is one of the reasons I really like this software, the support is phenomenal.

Kind regards

Tom

[Pace]

Hello all !!!

On tour, almost every theater ask to "park" some dimmers, mainly for safety reasons.
You have to be able to do so easily and forget about it. Or patch these dimmers to a channel and park that channel.

But first, you have find a way to patch several dimmers to a single channel... which i still wandering if it is possible...

Sorry for my so so english !

Have a nice day !