Q Light Controller+

Hello all, I'm a beginner at this but have been putting in a lot of time learning QLC+ in an attempt to program a light show for my band. Part of my setup includes a few generic Mini Spider Lights. I want to program them to pan at a few different speeds for use throughout the set.

For the life of me I can't figure out the best way to do this. As of right now I've made approximately 21 scenes, with the pan angle value set in increments of 15, and then put those scenes in a chaser. If I set the transition time between steps small enough the motion feels relatively fluid, though at slower speeds the incremental movement is noticeable.

However I'm mainly curious if there is a better way to do this that I'm perhaps missing? As this method is very time consuming. I've watched tutorials on using the EFX function but that seems to apply to single moving heads. Also read through the whole manual and no described function stuck out to me.


DMX Channel functions are as follows:

1.) 15 Channel Mode(NOTE: Enter Addr-A001 to DMX control mode) Channel Function Value Instruction
2.) Motor1 route 0-255 60°---150°
3.) Motor2 route 0-255 60°---150°
4.) Sum Dimmer 0-255 0---100％
5.) Strobe 0-9 No Strobe 10-255 Strobe speed from slow to
6.) LED1 Dimming 0-255 0---100％
7.) LED2 Dimming 0-255 0---100％
8.) LED3 Dimming 0-255 0---100％ 5 Effect
9.) LED4 Dimming 0-255 0---100％
10.) LED5 Dimming 0-255 0---100％
11.) LED6 Dimming 0-255 0---100％
12.) LED7 Dimming 0-255 0---100％
13.) LED8 Dimming 0-255 0---100％
14.) Marco Function 0-7 No Effect
15.) Effect speed 0-255 From slow to fast / Reset 241-250 For 5 seconds

It is best to use the EFX function. It is certainly not restricted to Moving heads, you can very well use it for minispiders as well.

In order to use the EFX function to its full ability however, you need to use a fixture definition that is set up in the right way: you need to define 2 heads and each head should include 1 motor (next to the RGBW channels).
So Head 1 = Motor 1, Red 1, Green 1, Blue 1 and White 1 and Head 2 = Motor 2, White 2, Blue 2, Green 2, and Red 2.

I copied the definition of the Venetian Mini Spider VT M30A (credits to Augusto Campi) and made some minor changes to it.
Unfortunately your DMX chart is a bit confusing, as channel 1 is "no channel" (so channel 2 is actualy channel 1 and so on) and the last channel appears to me as 2 channels (which brings the number of channels back to 15).

If my interpretation is correct, this definition should work with your Fixture:
You need to put this QXF file in your Fixtures User Libary and restart QLC to make it available (check the manual: https://docs.qlcplus.org/v4/fixture-definition-editor ).


If you create a new EFX, you should notice that there are 2 heads available ( ....[0] and ....[1] ).
By boxing "Reversed" for one of the Two or by using different Start Positions you can make them run out off sync.
On the next tab (because each head only has 1 motor), only Pattern = Line (or Line2) will be usefull.

Hope that this will put you in the right direction.

Hey Michel,

First off, many thanks for the reply!

This definitely is a solid start to my journey of figuring this out on my own. As of yet I hadn't experimented with the Fixture Editor tool and didn't understand that you could address something in this way. I'm beating myself up a little bit for not looking over my initial post a little better. Your assumption on the channel definitions was correct. When I import that fixture profile it does allow me to have a continuous panning of the heads. Maybe I need to review the information out there on EFX so that I can understand how to then modulate the speed of the panning motion, and also get the led bulbs themselves to come on. As of right now I can only get it to pan. But again that's probably just a lack of knowledge on my part and I will continue trying.

ha6il6sa6tan wrote: ↑Mon Apr 15, 2024 10:48 pm how to then modulate the speed of the panning motion,

Look for the timing (clock) icon. There you can set the speed of the EFX.

ha6il6sa6tan wrote: ↑Mon Apr 15, 2024 10:48 pm and also get the led bulbs themselves to come on. As of right now I can only get it to pan. But again that's probably just a lack of knowledge on my part and I will continue trying.

Create two scenes (or more). Select only the intensity channels you want to use. Put some buttons onto your VC. Bind the button's function to those scenes. Go into produce mode and press the buttons. Let there be light.

Have a look at the example overhere: viewtopic.php?p=72730#p72730


It is a different type of fixture, as it has Pan and Tilt and uses a color wheel, but it gives you an example what you can do with Functions (like Scenes, RGB Matrices and EFX) and the Widgets that control them (like Slider, Button, XY Pad and Speed Dial).

Above the XY Pad on the right (Patterns) you will find a speed dial with preset buttons 1, 2, 4, 6, 9.
This is another way to dynamically control the speed of your EFX.