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    nfarwell
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Some notes on my new ION consoles.

So we took delivery of two IONs on Wednesday and immediately started delving into it.  We have some bug reports and questions and feature requests.

 

Patching:

If patched separately, second dimmer for a channel overwrites existing dimmer instead of becoming a second part.  Example:

    [141] [at] [1] [enter] patches dimmer 1 to Ch. 141

    [141] [at] [9] [enter] patches dimmer 9 to Ch. 141 and eliminates dimmer 1. 

It *should* put dimmer 9 as part 2 keeping dimmer 1 as part 1.  It works this way in address mode.

 

 Creating new fixture:

Cannot use touchscreen to select a specific box on spreadsheet to alter anything, we are forced to use arrow keys.  Can't click with mouse either.  Seems to be left out of the touch/mouse GUI. 

 

Can we get the ability to copy existing fixture profiles to the user folder and edit them?  It would be so, so useful.

 

Our Follow/hang button gets stuck on the Preset button.  One or the other is misaligned.  Any ideas on how to fix that?

 

Tracking of non-intensity parameters:

    Is it possible in the future (or current console) to view the levels as 0-100 instead of, for example, -28 to 50 or similar?  Are there view options to show it this way?  Can it be added in?

 

Fixtures:

   Why does it make us "exit ION", essentially log out, when clearing out/deleting fixtures from the user folder? 

 

The console became very unresponsive this morning after booting up.  There was a 5-10 second delay from either clicking with mouse or touching screen.  It made no sense as we have just turned the console on and hadn't done anything yet.  Any ideas?

 

We'll be adding bug reports, feature requests, and various other information as we play further. 

 

Nick Farwell

ACT Theatre, Seattle WA
 

Parents

  • Why, if there are options for Clear Patch and Clear Targets, when one clears Targets, does it clear Patch as well?  It seems like it should be more selective.  We just wiped out our patch.

     Rem Dim, while returning things to zero, does not *release* channels.  Can this be fixed?  Since Groups have become something different (no intensity, channels only), this becomes a problem when starting programming and building groups.

     Changing number of channels, if one has already started to patch, requires an Exit ION to get it to update.  Add this to the Clearing Fixtures from the User Folder gripe I spoke about in my first post.

      

     

  • in reply to nfarwell
    nfarwell:

    Why, if there are options for Clear Patch and Clear Targets, when one clears Targets, does it clear Patch as well?  It seems like it should be more selective.  We just wiped out our patch.

     Rem Dim, while returning things to zero, does not *release* channels.  Can this be fixed?  Since Groups have become something different (no intensity, channels only), this becomes a problem when starting programming and building groups.

     Changing number of channels, if one has already started to patch, requires an Exit ION to get it to update.  Add this to the Clearing Fixtures from the User Folder gripe I spoke about in my first post.

      

     

     We are adding additional granularity to Clear Record Targets - this should make it more apparent.   Sorry it was unclear as it what is currently does. 

     Rem Dim does not release channels because you may want to reverse the rem dim state - it is often used as a tool to isolate a light on stage.  If we released channels, you would not a) be able to store a zero value for channels that were previously on in the cue but you'd now like to turn off or b) restore the state of manually set channels when the rem dim condition is reversed.  This becomes even more of an issue in 1,4, where you will be able to set a value for rem dim (25% for example), so you can use rem dim without plunging the rest of the stage into darkness.

    The last item is on our list of things to address in an upcoming build.

    Hope this helps.

    Anne

     

     

  • in reply to Anne Valentino

    We understand the features of Rem Dim, we were running into the trouble of zero values being recorded into a group.  For instance:

     

    Take 1-20 to full.  Type 11-20 full Rem Dim.  Try to record 11-20 as Group 1.  Due to the new format of Groups, it records 11-20 AS WELL as 1-10 because it is not recording level information, only captured channels.  1-10 are not released.  We understand that the full functionality of Groups has been rolled into Intensity Palettes, but during the transition from Obsession to ION, especially with designers who have not used it, it will be a pain.

     

     

     

  • in reply to nfarwell

    Ah... Understood.   I find that most people record groups now as selective stores ---- so it is more of a command line function.  Rather than saying: 

    11-20 full rem dim enter.  Record Group 1 enter.  

    Just

    11-20 record group 1 enter.  

    Does that make sense?  

    a 

  • in reply to Anne Valentino
    Yes, it makes sense.  Now we just have to train the designers about the difference.  Some like to play around while building groups and we will have to suppress that urge a bit.  Gently steer them towards Intensity Palettes.
  • in reply to nfarwell

    Let's move to the Radio Remotes.  Thanks sooooo much for getting them to me so fast.  I got both in the mail the day before tech.  Phew!

     

    Questions:

     

    On the Radio Remote, how does one bring up a dimmer?  I can't believe it isn't possible, it's gotta be hidden.  This is huge!

    The battery life must get slowly better as it's used, like all NiMH batteries - ours died within 2 hours.  What is the mAh rating on the AA batteries?  Can I replace them with some 2700mAh MAHA batteries?  Will the internal charger deal with those?

    That's it for now - we're just getting into it.

    The Obsession remote was the best in the business, I'm hoping this gets more features (Go To Q, maybe?) 

  • in reply to nfarwell
    David responded and showed me how to get at the other features. Still no way to bring up dimmers (Address, I mean) in live.  Unless someone tells us how....
  • in reply to nfarwell

    Just got my RFR today.. cool. I see what you mean about being in live wanting to bring up an address. The only way I found to to do it is in the park screen. While in park, if you hit the {address} softkey, followed by the dimmer number, then a level or the {full} softkey, it will then park that dimmer to that level. You can then hit the {next} or {last} softkey to go up or down (or use the thumb wheel). When you hit clear, it actually does clear the parked address from the console. This seems to be the next best thing to being able to call up an address from live.

  • in reply to nfarwell

    So how is it that you get to the other functions?

     

    Inquiring minds want to know! 

  • in reply to Jeff Mabray
    You get to the other functions by pressing and holding the [softkeys] button. The screen will then give you more functions to go to like park, patch, and so on. The manual for the remote is in the back of the ION manual that should have shipped with the console (Keep in mind that the manual is now out of date for certain things). That goes through all of the functions of the remote if you have any other problems.
  • in reply to Brian Webber

    Still getting used to the RFR.  It was handy last week while troubleshooting my dead Unison processor as it reached all the way into the dimmer room.

    I still want an Address key in Live on the RFR.  Oh man.  Please?  Pretty please?

     The antenna connector keeps loosening up and I am going to add some threadlock to the inside and outside so it doesn't spin itself off the circuit board.

    When I shut down my IONs, right before the power goes off, the console helpfully picks a random channel and flashes it to full.  Unfortunately, due to the also helpful nature of the Sensor racks, this channel then stays up for the next 5 minutes. Sometimes, its a very saturated 2kW fresnel and it burns the color.  Sometimes its the houselights.  Will this be fixed in 1.4? 

  • in reply to nfarwell
    Address is one of the softkeys in Patch mode. You get there by holding more softkeys and then selecting Patch.
  • in reply to usesafesets

    Hey guys.  Live address functions are accessed with the Park mode on the RFR.

    Hope that helps.

    Anne

     

  • in reply to Anne Valentino
    Yeah, I know. Doesn't mean I don't still want it.
  • in reply to nfarwell
    I second the motion for easier access to addresses.
  • in reply to BSmith
    If changing modes does not work for you, you could always write a macro for it.
  • in reply to usesafesets

    The biggest problem with writing macros to access console keys from the RFR is unless you use single digit macros (ie 1 > 9) it ends up being a very tiresome and longer process.... just my 2c

    Cheers 

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