Q Light Controller+

Hello group,

This is my first post and I could use a little guidance so I can speed up the learning curve. I actually enjoy learning new programs but have found that expert advice can shorten the process.

I'm not looking for anyone to solve my puzzle but I am looking for suggestions. Here's my application: My son's robot project where we program events such as controlling relays in a certain order and synchronization. I have an electronics background but didn't want to break-out the micro controllers and write a bunch of code. In addition, once we get the hang of QLC+ I'm pretty certain my son will get interested in lighting control also.

The application might go something like this (hopefully a macro we can activate manually.) Relay 1 (R1) on wait 7 seconds R2 on wait 2 seconds R1 off wait 10 seconds R2 off wait x seconds R3 on and so forth. Our plan is to use cheap 3 channel DMX receivers near the relays or Mosfets to be controlled. I was thinking simple lighting commands with no dimming would work. Long story short, starting from scratch, what QLC+ tools would you use to accomplish our goal?

We will be using a notebook PC with a dongle and would like to know if the UI can be stripped down to just macro buttons to reduce end user confusion? This is a school project where the bot is stationary but is in competition so the least screen clutter the better. Once I hear your recommendations I will begin studying the User's manual and practicing with the application.

I really appreciate any help you may provide and wish to thank you in advance.

Hello and welcome to the forums

First i want to give you the hint that it would your post make far more readable if you use paragraphs

Your problem can be solved in different ways with QLC+

You can uses Scenes, you can uses a chaser defining the timings or a script
All of them can be assinged to various virtual consol elements.
The virtual console can be desinged as you want it to appear so how much clutter is on your gui depends on you

If the pattern should be somehow random i recomend using scripts
If the pattern should be always the same i would use a chaser

Thank you Baer, exactly what I was looking for. A concise and clear path, I can do it!

You may also run QLC+ on raspberry and use its GPIO pins to control the relays. There is a GPIO plugin, but can't tell you what exactly does it do.
In that case, you can control QLC+ from any browser using web interface (i.e. tablet/smartphone; you can do that also when QLC+ runs on notebook).

Another great idea, thanks Jano! I will look into it. I appreciate the generosity of everyone's time and knowledge.