Life after Expression 3...to the Congo we go!

Well two weeks have passed, and here is how it has gone.

I am liking the syntax and the speed I am able to program, tho I have to admit when it gets late I slip back to my Expression 3 syntax from time to time, hehe.

I am still having some trouble with moving lights, I kinda cheated it by manually programming the parameters as presets and put them on faders, and I am sure this is not the best way.

Two questions, 1. What is the best way to add a patched device to the master faders ( I prefer using those over the wheels), and 2. how do I access the other 30 Master faders ( so far I only seem to be able to access pages 1 to 10 using the (+ and -) buttons. 

I am sorry if I seem like complete dunce, but I figure I'd give it a shot. But hey, the audio guy in my venue seems impressed. ;)

Hi Obie -

I'm glad you like your Congo jr!

1) You can place any parameter controls onto the masters directly - the faders would then behave like the wheels for the most part. To do this, first select a channel that corresponds to one of your movers. This will place the parameters on the encoder wheels. Then press and hold down an encoder wheel and while keeping it pressed down, press the master key for the fader you would like that parameter to be on. This moves manual control of your light onto a fader. However, there are some parameters that might be better controlled by using an encoder - especially functions that have ranges, like strobe, color wheels, gobos and the like - because you can press and hold down the encoder and see the individual ranges on the master wing or up on the direct select keys above the LCD display.. Have a play and see which way you like better.

2) I'm not 100% sure I know what you're asking, but here's some clarification on the master pages - Congo has 999 pages in a show file, we just pre-build the first 10 for you as a convenience thing. You can make a new page simply by typing the number you would like to use for that page, then press the PAGE key between masters 10 -11 or 30-31. Congo will throw a dialog box asking if you want to make that page. It doesn't matter which bank of faders you apply that page to, as you can use any page either the top or bottom faders. You can jump from page to page using the PAGE key as well, just type the number of the page you want to go to then press the PAGE key. Congo supports up to 80 masters, and the master wing alone will get you physical faders for masters 1-40. Masters 41-80 can be used with keyboard commands or for master links, or if you don't need them you can pretty much ignore them. Otherwise, if you get a second wing you can have hands on control over them as well. Controlling the masters is described in the help system on the console.

Does that help?

Thanks!

Sarah

I am not sure exactly what you want.

If you want the main sequence to loop, then you can use the Sequence editor to add a follow and link to the presets.  WFA column (Wait, Follow, Alert).  I most often use Follow.

If you want a sequence on a master to loop through 5 presets, you can simply change it to a Chase in the Sequence List. or open the sequence and use WFA depending on what time of timing control that you are looking to have.

When I am programming, I usually keep the Sequence editor tab open so that I can make changes and additions quickly.

Have fun!

John

Ok, so I am using wait and follow like a boss, I have a great moving light sequence going.....except I cant stop it!

On Expression 3 you simply hit the "clear" button and playback stops, now even when hitting "clear&playback" it keeps on going

only way I figured out how to stop a sequence was hitting pause and then clear&playback...but surely there has to be a better way.

All this is still in Sequence 1...no matter what I do...I cannot load or playback anything I create in other sequences.

I can create other sequences just fine, and make new steps, add presets...no problem...but they wont play back...even when I load created sequences to a fader on my wing.

Ugh, fail. :(

The two consoles do the same when you've put that kind of Sequence/Cuelist onto the Main Playback(s) - however the syntax to remove the Sequence/Cuelist is different.

In Congo, [C/Alt] & [Playback] does a temporary blackout of Main Playback - Expression had no equivalent.
0 [Seq] & [Playback] removes the sequence from Main Playback - that's (sort of) the equivalent of [Clear] on Express(ion).

The core difference to remember is that Express(ion) had exactly one cuelist and two Playbacks (A/B and C/D) - while Congo has a thousand Sequences, 80 Master Playbacks and one Main Playback.

This means you will basically never want to put a 'chase' sequence onto the Main Playback - chases will usually go onto a Master.

To put Sequence 2 onto the Main Playback, type the following:

2, hold down [Seq] & press [Playback]

To put sequence 2 onto a Master it's:

2, hold down [Seq] & press the [Master Key] by the fader

If Sequence 2 doesn't exist, Congo will ask if you want to make it.

The LCD box by the master will now show "C2" or "S2", followed by the name of the Sequence.
- If it's an empty box then the Master is empty.

• The Fader is the Intensity of the Sequence - it must be up above 1% for the Sequence to do anything.
• The "Master Key" becomes the Go/Pause button.

If the Sequence is in Normal mode "S2", then it will wait for you to hit Go (the Master Key) before it steps onwards.

If the Sequence is in Chase mode "C2", then the chase will start when you move the fader up and stop when you pull it down.

Some general info (apologies if I'm teaching you to suck eggs):

We write out the syntax in the Congo manual and help like this:

• # indicates typing a number
• [KEY] is pressing a key
• [ACTION] & [TARGET] means holding down the [ACTION] key and pressing the [TARGET] key.

Most of the commands in Congo are of the form # [ACTION] & [TARGET]
- You can often miss out the number if you want the console to pick one for you.

The entire manual is built into the console:

• Hold down the [?] key and press any key to see help on that key.
• With Help open you can also press [Text] to get a search box.

There are also some tutorial videos both on the ETC website and included in the console - look in Browser > Media > Movies.

Thank you Richard....your patience is remarkable.

I think that is pretty much it, you guys have been awesome. The big Jazz fest is upon me and I am gonna make em dazzle!

PS: I have the iRFR app on my ipad now, I can check dimmers fine, but the "cue list" is blacked out, how can I play back Cues on my iRFR?

Good Morning Omar,

The playback buttons are disabled by default for safety.  To use the playback buttons, you must enable them in Settings in the iRFR.

Have you read the Wiki Instructions on How to use the iRFR yet? They are very informative with my photos explaining the functions.

It can be found on our online Wiki here:

http://community.etcconnect.com/wikis/products/irfr-getting-started-with-eos-ion-element.aspx

Good Luck!

Hi Omar -

Actually, the iRFR and aRFR do not support cue playback with Congo at this time. This is something we plan to fix, however I don't know when that fix will be available.

Thanks much and I hope your show goes well!

Sarah

Thanks, Sarah.

That is a bit of a bummer, but I hope you guys can fix that in an update for the app.

Quick question, is there a way to scroll though all the channels on the live page? I sometimes like to see what channels are currently active but which are not displayed.

Also two strange technical hings, I can't seem to change monitor orientation, the main playback screen and live screen seem to be locked to their monitors, even when I try the settings menu, the sytem menu, even when swapping the cable itself...am I missing something?

Oh, and I swear one time the channels became unresponsive, I would select a channel, move the wheel and nothing would happen. The channel would light up, there would be a small green arrow in the box but no intensity numbers would appear or  any light output. A glitch maybe?

Hi Omar -

1) CH & the level wheel will scroll the channel views. You can also use CH & Down/up arrow to page channels. However, most users use the tab formats to filter the view to a view like "Selected Channels" or my favorites "Non-Zero Channels" or "Used In Play Channels". Just press the FORMAT key when focused on the Live tab.

2) Displays are on tabs in Congo. You can move the tabs around using TAB & arrow keys. TAB & Left/Right Arrow will move the focused tab to another screen or position, TAB & Down arrow will split tabs on a single screen if there are two or more tabs open on that screen. ESC will close an unlocked tab one at a time. C/ALT & TAB will clear all unlocked tabs in one fell swoop.

3) Have you created any inhibitive masters or independent faders? This is what you would see in the case that an inhibitive master/independent is at zero. What software version are you using? Check in the Browser > About> About Congo

I hope this helps -

Sarah

So I can drag tabs across screens? I am currently using a dual monitor setup ( miss the good 'ol "swap" button. ;)

Nope no inhibitive masters or independent faders. They simply refused tor respond, so finally I restarted the board and then everything worked normally again. 

I am running V6.

Hi Omar -

Can you send your show file (which I assume you are saving to the hard disk often)? Sarah DOT Clausen AT etcconnect DOT com. There's a command in the browser to save the current show to USB, then you can copy it into an email and send it along.

And to the tabs, you can move them from screen to screen, but not drag them with a mouse. Swapping the tabs would mean focusing (getting the gold bar/outline around) the tab and then simply using the key combination TAB & Arrow (press and hold TAB and then press the left or right arrow and then let them both go, with two screens it doesn't matter which arrow you choose).

Are you anywhere near Miami? There's a Congo training session coming up down there that you might find helpful...

Thanks much -

Sarah

Yes, you can move tabs around however you like:
[Tab] & [Left/Right] moves them between screens, [Tab] & [Up/Down] unsplits/splits two tabs on screen if there's more than one on a screen.

"v6" isn't the full version number - the version number is of the form "X.Y.Z.#.#.##" and we need at least the X.Y.Z

The green arrow appearing/disappearing shows that the channels were being controlled, but your command was being overridden by something else before getting to Live.

The intensity value (0-100) will be shown in Red if the channel is being Inhibited, and Blue if it's under Exclusive control.
- v6.0.4 and earlier didn't show this for 0%, hence Sarah's question about the version you're running.

As you don't think there was an inhibit or exclusive anywhere, the other possibility is that these channels had been Captured by accident.
- Captured channels will automatically Release on show load or console start.

If anything is captured you'll see "Capture" at the top of the screens, and the Captured channels have a dark red background in Live.

Hit [Release] to release the currently-selected channel, or [Release][Release] to release all captured channels.

[Capture][Capture] toggles the Capturing mode on and off.

I will not be at my console till later this afternoon, I will update the post with accurate software version and also mail Sarah the show file.

I would love to attend the Congo workshop, I dont mind traveling for that. Where can I find more info on time/location of said event?

Thanks again guys. :D

The forum thread for the Miami training event Sarah mentioned is here.

Thank you Richard, sadly I wont be able to attend, but I would love to attend one at a later date. I would imagine that would be quite a fun workshop.

My current software version is:

6.0.4.9.0.82

I was thinking of upgrading to 6.1 tomorrow.

Hi Omar -

Yes, updating to 6.1 would be a good idea, or you can wait just a little longer as we hope to release 6.1.1 very soon, which solves a couple of things found in 6.1.

I think you do in fact have an inhibitive master somewhere in your show, and I think it's lurking on a master numbered over 41 (even though you have one wing, you actually have 80 master fields for stuff to get into). Somewhere on Master Page 3 or 4 there's an inhibitive master in the 0 position. If you send me your show I can take a look, or you can look in the Master Pages yourself - they are found in the Browser>Masters>Master Pages.

Thanks much -

Sarah

Hi Omar -

Yes, updating to 6.1 would be a good idea, or you can wait just a little longer as we hope to release 6.1.1 very soon, which solves a couple of things found in 6.1.

I think you do in fact have an inhibitive master somewhere in your show, and I think it's lurking on a master numbered over 41 (even though you have one wing, you actually have 80 master fields for stuff to get into). Somewhere on Master Page 3 or 4 there's an inhibitive master in the 0 position. If you send me your show I can take a look, or you can look in the Master Pages yourself - they are found in the Browser>Masters>Master Pages.

Thanks much -

Sarah

Now, lets hypothetically say that one of my collegues went into the board and hypothetically deleted all my presets and sequences.

I use a USB stick as a back up, if I want to restore the board completely to the most up to date saved state on the stick.

Do I chose Open or Import option in the browser? And once I do it shows me a whole gamut of options of what I would like to import, what is the correct one?

Thanks! Did I mention you guys are awesome?

If the most up-to-date version is on your stick you choose open.

Gotcha, that worked.

A quick moving light question.

So selected a template and patched it correctly, my moving device is responding to the "beam" ,"color" and "focus" buttons. I know that pressing the buttons multiple times will allow me to access more functions corresponding that function.

However oddly, some instruments only give me a fraction of their functions. I will have dimmer and color control, pan and tilt but nothing else.

Am I missing something? Are there other ways to access additional functions of said instrument?

I did make sure that the mode the instrument is set in (mode 2) is identical to the mode of the template I downloaded. (Robe ColorMix 575 M2)

So yeah, if any of you plan visiting LDI in Orlando, tell me, I owe all of you dinner. :D

Open will open the entire show file - that's everything you've done after the Welcome screen. Patch, Setup, Presets, Groups, Masters etc etc.
- The only things this doesn't include are the system options in System Settings.

Import is for when you want to copy some things from one show file to another - the most common use is when you've got a custom (or customised) Template for some kind of moving light that's not in the standard or extended library - you can use Import to copy that Template from the show file you built it in into your current show.

Returning to your hypothetical scenario:

The console automatically stores the previous 9 saves of a given show as .001 thru .009, so if a hypothetical somebody were to accidentally break the show, you can always load the previous save (or go back a few saves) to get it back before they messed with it.

You can see those if you press the right arrow on the show file name in the Browser, and highlighting them will show the date and time they were saved in the Info area.

Hi Omar -

Regarding your ColorMix fixtures - how did you import the template? Was it from the standard or extended library? Can you send a show file? Is it possible that when you go to the BEAM encoders, that they are sitting on another page (not 1 of #)? What happens when you press the BEAM key a few times?

Thanks much -

Sarah

Richard said:

Returning to your hypothetical scenario:

The console automatically stores the previous 9 saves of a given show as .001 thru .009, so if a hypothetical somebody were to accidentally break the show, you can always load the previous save (or go back a few saves) to get it back before they messed with it.

Haha as you might as guessed that scenario was not quite a hypothetical, a colleague ( sound guys I tell ya!) went to play around with the board and deleted everything! But problem solved.

Sarah I mailed you the show file, please be gentle. :P

So onto more fun......Direct Selects...can they make my life easier when using moving lights?

DIrect Selects  are definitely fantastic for moving lights.
I have Groups, Focus positions , Colours, Gobos , and certain specific setups all on the direct selects. It makes it easy for me to place all or any movers at any position with one button!!

Use them !!!!

A keep in mind that you can put any Palette on any Master....... Great for busking.......

I see the direct selects sitting there, but I havent the foggiest what they do. The booklet has not been to helpful in that regard.

Can I use them to quickly select a moving light for example? Or am I misinterpreting its function?

Obienator said:

I see the direct selects sitting there, but I havent the foggiest what they do. The booklet has not been to helpful in that regard.

Can I use them to quickly select a moving light for example? Or am I misinterpreting its function?

Yes you can.

At the top left of the console are 40 direct select buttons above these in the far corner are 5 silver page buttons. on the Jr they are at the side of the console wing and at the top left of the main console this gives a total of 200 dedicated direct access buttons between the two blocks are the type and bank keys.

To choose what you would like each block of 10 buttons to do.

select silver button Bank 1

Press and hold [Type] the available choices for each of the four sections

Press Focus, colour, beam, palette,group,screen,parameter,auto group, more will appear. Press the button that corresponds to the content type you want to display

To select the range

Press and hold Bank 1-10,11-20,21-30 etc,etc

Press the button that corresponds to the bank you want 

Example

Lets set page 1 to show focus, colour, beam and group

Press and hold [Type]

Focus in the top left bank select
Colour in the bottom left bank select
Beam in the top right bank select
Group in the bottom right bank select

You will now see the groups we just record appear in the bottom right block.

The direct selects display things that you have already recorded like groups or colour palettes. they can also display parameters of moving lights that are already patched

For example you could show the colours of a scroller by selecting the TYPE Param then with
a scroller channel selected press the colour palette key then the colour key under the moving light display

You will now see the first ten colours of the scroll in the direct selects
repeat this in another block of 10 and then change the bank to 11-20 and you will see the rest of the colours.

You can now select the scroller colours directly from the direct select keys.

I hope that helps....