Q Light Controller+

Hello,

I'm new to DMX, but have an idea of the concept and its possibilities. I wonder if anyone could advice me if the following would be possible;

Software/Hardware:
Using and Elation-DMX20L, some compatible USB-DMX dongle, and QLC+ on Raspberry Pi or running from a laptop. This would be connected with XLR to a Elation-DMX20L unit. To each of the Elations 4 channels regular prewired E27 lamp-holders with either dimmable LED or incandescent type bulbs would be connected.

Goal:
Make a program/show in QLC+ that loops continuously. This program will simulate the effect of a failing/flickering fluorescent light. Ideally all 4 channels on the Elation-DMX20L are used so that 4 bulbs can be controlled simultaneously, running the same type of effect, but timed differently on each channel to make it look a bit random.

Would this be possible?

Thanks in advance for any input!

What you describe is perfectly possible if I don't miss anything...

I work in theater and have used (and still use) similar 4-channel Dimmers often, along with single-channel handheld dimmers, non-dim Relais switches, 19" mulltichannel dimmer packs and other DMX equipment like LED lights, fog machines, strobe, and so on. DMX is a widely used protocol and I haven't yet come across a device that wouldn't work (as long as the DMX address is set correctly and the unit or cabling isn't faulty).

The RPi 4 in my experience is absolutely fast enough to program and run a show, even from a stock Raspberry Pi OS, the RPi3+ Model B might also work well with such a small installation, for bigger show setups it's recommended to use it only for playback, even though Massimo's image is optimized for low system resource usage.

With incandescents you will certainly see smooth dimming curves, while LED even dimmables might cause problems which will be acceptable or not to you in this scenario, in my experience they react very different to conventional lights, especially in the lower range of level settings.

Last remark: do yourself a favour and go for a decent quality USB interface, I have good results with Enttec DMXUSB Pro MkII which never ever failed for me. Cheap passive dongles might cause you headache like many posts in this forum show.

Hi Edgar,

thank you for your thoughtful reply and advice on getting a quality USB device. I was thinking this was possible, but now that I got it confirmed by an experienced operator I will source the needed hardware and dig further into QLC+ and DMX : )

Hans Christian