Properly Patching Martin Roboscans 218 MK1 in QLC Plus

[Pheisen]

Introduction:

Hello everyone,

This is my first time posting on this forum. I am currently working on a project with my old Martin Roboscans 218 MK1 and I hope to tap into your expertise to solve some issues I've been running into.

I'm hoping someone here can help me with a problem that I've been struggling with for a while. I'm trying to configure my old Martin Roboscans 218 MK1 in QLC Plus. I have everything working within QLC, but all the channels are consistently shifted two positions to the right (faders).

My Setup:

• Martin Roboscan 218 MK1 (first series, still using the old Martin protocol with 6 dip switches).

• Using a Martin DMX-to-protocol converter.

• Connected to QLC Plus via an OPEN USB DMX-interface from Enttec.

• QLC Plus version 4.11.2 (instead of 4.12) due to a bug in the latest version with my open USB DMX box from Enttec.

What I've Done So Far:

• I managed to set all original 218 MK1 channel settings with various functions (color, gobo, pan, tilt, etc.) in the Fixture Definition Manager and saved it to a QFX file.

• I successfully loaded this QFX file in QLC Plus.

• It seems like the channels might be shifted because the first two channels are possibly being used by the converter. This was suggested by Laurens, a friend of mine.

• I watched three YouTube tutorial series by Massimo Callegari, which helped me get to this point.

My Questions:

• Has anyone had experience with properly setting up the Martin Roboscan 218 MK1 in QLC Plus? They are not available in the QLC library under the Martin brand by default. The 218 listed there is the MK2, which has the standard 512 DMX protocol (16-bit) and 6 channels instead of 7 (MK1). Mine are the MK1 and require a Martin DMX-to-Martin protocol.

• Are there specific settings in QLC Plus that I need to adjust to correct these channel shifts? I feel like I am very close to solving this, but I'm not sure what step I am missing.

Any suggestions or tips are very welcome! I'm trying to bring these old lights back to life for an '80s/'90s themed party, and it would be amazing if I could get them fully functional.

Thanks so much in advance for your help!

Best, Paul

[janosvitok]

Hi,

I've checked the manual (https://www.martin.com/en/site_elements ... b9104c3864) and they do not mention any channel shift.

I understood that you set DMX address with pins 1-8, you have to set odd address (they saved one pin this way), pin 9 on if the interface is the last one in the DMX chain, and set pin 10 to off (no full mode for your lights).

The best way to check the channels is to use Simple Desk. Move faders and observe the lights. Don't forget to reset the channel afterwards with the red X button.

---
Now that I think about your 2 channels shift: It might be caused by your misinterpretation of the DIP pins (See the table in the manual):

DMX address 1: pins to 0000 0000 (address in binary is 000000001)
DMX address 2: not supported
DMX address 3: pins to 0000 0001 (address in binary is 000000011)
DMX address 4: not supported
DMX address 5: pins to 0000 0010 (address in binary is 000000101)

Jano

[Pheisen]

Hi Jano,

Thanks for your response and for going through the manual, I really appreciate it.

Regarding the DMX addressing, your explanation helps make things a lot clearer. As you mentioned, it seems like I may not have interpreted the DIP pins correctly. Right now, I have the first scan set to DIP 1, the second to DIP 2, the third to DIP 1 and 2, and the fourth to DIP 3. If I understand your explanation correctly, the first scan should actually be set to DIP 0, meaning all DIP switches should be off, right? Although I can't recall ever having done this back in the 90s with the 218s, but that was with a Martin controller 3032 on an old Pentium 286, lol ).

I also used Simple Desk to see how the channels respond, and I indeed found that all channels are shifted exactly two positions. This shift is consistent, so after seven channels, the shift repeats. I tried reloading the fixtures with a different DMX address, but I still get the same shift. Perhaps I've overlooked something in the address settings.

I will first test if adjusting the DIP switches solves the issue, and then I'll retest everything with your suggestions in mind. I'll make sure to take another careful look at the table in the manual, and I'll get back to you with the results. The black section of the table (see screenshot) is still a bit confusing for me. If you have any other tips on how I can solve these channel shifts, I'd love to hear them.

Once again, thank you so much for your help, hopefully, this will do the trick!

Best regards, Paul

[janosvitok]

Hello,

my understanding is as follows:

Interface:
- there are two sets of DIP switches: DMX (left, 10 pins) and fixture type (right, 6 pins)
- DMX DIP sets:
- DMX address (pins 1-8, according the table that you asked about)
- terminator (pin 9 o if interface is the last on the DMX chain)
- reduced/full mode (pin 10; set to off)
- Fixture type DIP: RoboScan Pro 218 is value 11, so 1, 2, 4 ON, 3,5,6 OFF

DMX Address on the interface:
there is a virtual PIN 0 set to ON - bit 1 - so all addresses are odd.
PIN 1 adds 2 to address
PIN 2 adds 4
PIN 3 adds 8
PIN 4 adds 16
etc.
PIN 8 adds 256
So the red numbers mean PINs
Green part is how to set PINs 1-4, black shows PINs 5-8
Blue shows DMX address.
The process is:
- find your desired address in the blue part. make a circle around it if you wish. let's say it's 209.
- from the circled address go to the left to the green part (same row). It reads 0 0 0 1. Set pin 1 to 0, pin 2 to 0, pin 3 to 0, pin 4 to 1
- from the circled address go to the top to the black part (same column). It reads 0 1 1 0. Set pin 5 to 0, pin 6 to 1, pin 7 to 1, pin 8 to 0

Your fixtures have 7 channels each. The manual says the interface can control 8 independent fixtures of one type.
The DIP on the fixture (6 pins) selects Martin channel (1-8, see table in the manual, page 10).
There's another DIP that selects standalone mode and all of their PINs should be off (here I guessing).

Back to the first DIP:
If you set each fixture to a different channel, you can control them individually. If you put some on a common channel, you'll control them together.
E.g. if you have 16 fixtures, you can still use all of them, but you must control them in pairs.

Now if you set DMX address to N, then fixture on channel 1 is N..N+6, channel 2 is N+7..N+13, channel 3 is N+14..N+20 etc.
Channel C is (N+(C-1)*7)..(N+C*7-1)
Example: if DMX address is 1, then channel 1is 1..7, channel 2 is 8..14, channel 3 is 15..21.
if DMX address is 209, channel 1 is 209..215, channel 2 is 216..222, etc.

I hope that makes sense (and obviously I hope that I understood it correctly).

Jano

[Pheisen]

Hi Jano,

I can't thank you enough for your explanation. The solution was indeed in understanding the table correctly (I get it now, thanks!).

I set the first Fixture DMX address to 11 (new fixture settings start dmx 11, and dipswitches om 11), and after that, everything immediately worked perfectly in QLC. I even let out a short cheer of joy .

Now I'm currently working on scenes, automatic EFX movements, and setting up buttons in solo fields—so I'm already a lot further along!

I couldn't have done it without your help. Thanks so much again for your expertise and support!

Best regards, Paul

[janosvitok]

Glad to hear that! Provided I've never seen anything we discussed, except for the manual, I'm glad to hear that it worked!

Jano