Park.... a Query

Hmmm.... we do get some people who want the option.  Soooo, I think what we should probably do it add Park as an option on a File Open.  So, by default, it opens the data that was in use in park when the file was saved, clearing anything else that might be in Park at the point the file is opened.... or you can exclude the "park" from opening, thereby maintaining the current park state.

??

a 

I thought that was a bug!

I think that ETC park functionality has always treated the function as show independent, it's a background state.  The idea of having it load the channels that were parked when the console saved the show makes me writhe in horror, at the very least make the default the other way around.

If I have a channel parked off because someone's working on it on a ladder, NOTHING, other than user intervention, should change that.  In my eyes, this is a major safety issue.

Victor 

We have three different shows every day.  I don’t want to start all my “things” just because “someone” saved my show without “unparking” them all first. And I want the [park][park] to show me what is actually parked live, not just what I have parked after changing show. I don’t want mayhem all over, just because I’m starting my board in the morning and “someone” forgot to unpark before closing up the night before, - when I have regular parking needs, I’ll make a macro.

 t.
 

It would make my life a lot easier if it wasn't included when loading a new show.

It should maintain the park info though after a power cycle as it does now.

We will be making it an optional recall then.  Thanks for the input guys.

 Victor!!  Welcome.  Glad to see you here.

a 

Speaking as an Obsession2/Expression3 owner..
I would have to agree that I have come to expect park to function as a background/somewhat show independent item;
and while having the option would be great, I would not like to enter the park state of the last save automatically when loading a show, but sometimes it would be nice.

-scott 

Resurrecting this thread for a minute - I got bit by Park tonight. I had parked my houselights while programming a show in the afternoon, and that park state persisted through the loading of another show file, confounding the hell out of my board op when the houselights didn't come up with the house-open cue. She knows the console well enough to have looked at the park screen, where she saw no indication that anything was parked. They called me, and I also could find no sign of what was keeping that channel from having any effect. I could bring the dimmers up by address and by Unison...'twas very confusing.

Eventually (after the show) I figured out (with help from Tracy Fitch - thanks!) what was going on. So now I know that even if something doesn't appear to be parked, it might be. The fun part is that in the first showfile, the houselights were parked at 50%. Loading the second showfile caused the indicators to disappear, and for the channel's Park level to drop to zero.

 The background info/show info debate aside, I'm pretty sure that everyone would agree that having something parked, with no indication that it is, is a Bad Thing.

"Either the park information should show regardless or some option to jolt ones memory would be good"

Hmm, yes, excellent idea. I, for one, cast my vote in favor of the new User Memory Upgrade feature. That sure would come in handy.

Hi all,

Okay, so here is a new one I have never seen before.  And maybe I am just slow today and not thinking...

I am upgrading from 1.4.5 to 1.7.0.  So I backed up our currently running show (both HD and flash) and then did the update.  Love the new software changes by the way, ETC!

So, I open the show as it was last night, and all my parks are gone.  And I know they are not there at all because my power supplies for scrollers etc did not start up as they used to.

I did check the OPEN FILE options, but didn't see anything related to opening all the saved park information.

I also tried to look at the show file offline (using the console's previous software version - 1.4.5) but there are no parks shown there either.

Am I loosing my mind??  Or did I just miss something.  HELP PLEASE!

Thanks.

D

I just wanted to reserect this subject, just in case anyone has some advice on the subject.

Before today I set up 2 macros turning the House lights On and Off,

These went along the line of:

(Ch)@ Full Park Enter

and

(Ch)Park Enter

These macros are used for inbetween shows, allowing the ushers to see where there cleaning up etc etc,

The problem arose when in the preset state with houselights up at 50. The macro turning Hosuelights off was pressed after the ushers had finished cleaning and the house was about to be opened, but accidently pressed twice, thus parking them at 50.

So when moving into the next cue which was a Blackout, the houselights did not go out.

Now to rememdy this problem I've used the Address of the House lights instead of the channel, this means that even if you press it twice it won't park it on at a level that is in the cue.

I know that there is a little P shown on the channels tombstone but I'm just trying to make this fool proof and eliminating any possibility of this happening again.

If you park an address, you won't see any major changes on the screen to tell you something is parked.  I figure you're more likely to leave something accidently parked in this scenario (even though it just happened when there was a small P in the tombstone).

Use a different command syntax to unpark the channels (since you're not actually parking them off, you're just releasing them from Park). 

Not at my console, but @ Park Enter should clear any channels from Park, and definitely won't re-record into park if it gets double pressed again.

Or, if you don't leave any channels parking during a show, clear all parked channels with a Park Park command. (someone else will need to confirm my syntax on these two examples, please.)

This should be an easy solution.

Andrew Riter

Chan Centre for the Performing Arts.

Hi Andrew,

Thankyou for your reply,

To address your first suggestion, parking them off, e.g at 0, would not work in this case because I need to be able to use the house lights at there recorded level during the shows throughout the day. Parking them off instead of un-parking them would only override the values they have been recorded at throughout the show.

At the moment I'm running the latest software on my console, I can assure you when pressing (ch) @ Park Enter, or (ch) Park Enter, will yes unpark the channel if it is already parked but if pressed again will repark the channel at the value it is at at that moment, or if it does not have a value it will be parked at 0.

Sadly we park our HP for Movers, Scrollers etc so a Park Park command won't work in this case.

I notice also that there isn't a confirmation message to park channels On, only to unpark them.

Many Thanks

Sam

Hi Sam,

I believe this is a perfect use for a new feature which was added in 1.9.6.

You can now add 'Enable' or 'Disable' into macros which previously toggled a state.

So, as you have discovered, previously [Ch] [Park] [Enter] would Park a channel if it wasn't currently parked, and un-park a channel if it was currently parked.

Now you can make a macro which reads [Ch] [Park] {Disable} [Enter] [Enter] - so if your channels are parked they will be un-parked, if they are not parked they will be unaffected.

Enable and Disable are available in the softkeys area of the Macro editor.

Other good uses for Enable or Disable are for Macros which change setup options. For example switching between Tracking and Cue Only mode, or turning Automark on or off.

Hope that helps

Graham

Hi Graham,

That's done the job perfectly. I also changed the Macro to Background Mode, which is another new thing learnt today.

Thanks very much for your response and help

Sam