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    cquinn
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Element DMX Addresses Not Responding...missing. I have an Element 60-500.

Element DMX Addresses Not Responding.  I have an Element 60-500.  I am running 26 Elation Opti Par QAs.  In the past each light had their own set of addresses and could be controlled individually.  Now, certain groups of addresses do not work.  Basically addresses 250-350 are not responding.  All lights are addresses and labeled as usually.  From the board in the second universe I have a show baby sending signal to another show baby on stage.  That runs into an opti-splitter that runs 4 lines out to each of the 4 electrics.  Currently only the lights addressed on the 1st and 4th electric work and respond.  I have verified the show baby work (1st and 4th electrics respond).  I also checked the dmx splitter.  I tried switching the 4 lines running out of the splitter to see if the dmx splitter is bad, but the same electrics work.  I have also set some lights on the 2nd electric to the same dmx addresses as ones that work on the 1st, and they now work.  This means the cables are fine, and the lights seem okay too.  This leads me to believe it is patched in the board incorrectly.  But, I can not for the life of me figure out what is different, or where I went wrong.  I have tried deleting old show data, restarting the board, and updated the software.  I tried starting a new show and repatching, but same problem.  Also, the power to the lights are parked on full (checked that).  Still no luck.  How did I lose the ability to use those addresses?  Currently I have them grouped so they all work in batches, but I would like to run them individually.  FYI, I work at a high school, so the majority of the people using the board are between 13-17 years old.  As you can imagine I find myself fixing loads of things, but this has me STUMPED!  Can anyone help!

  • 0
    I should clarify. The addresses are there when I go to patch, and they look like every other light patched, but they don't work. Also the output says 255 so they are one, but nothing happens. At a lose. Thanks!
  • 0 in reply to cquinn

    Have you confirmed that the lights are not parked at 0 or controlled by an inhibitive sub that may be down?

    Does the tombstone indicate a level when you try and bring up the channels that aren't outputting?

    Are there any other indicators in the tombstone?

    Are the fixtures set in the correct/same mode as the mode they are patched as?

  • 0 in reply to bosox242
    Thanks for the help. I'm not at the board right now, but I'll be there tomorrow. Here is what I know: The channels I parked for power are at full. They can turn on if I use the addresses I know that work. When I use an address that doesn't they do not respond. Also i see they blue LED display on each light is on...just not responding. The tombstones do say they are full. When I compare a light that works to one not responding they look identical as far as I can tell in the LIVE screen on in the PATCH screen. I will check again to make sure there are no other indicators. They are all *'d under DMX in the PATCH screen. I'm not sure exactly what you mean by 'mode'. I'm sorry.
  • 0 in reply to cquinn

    By Mode I mean on each light you can specify what mode it runs in, but I just re-read your original post and I see you said you changed the addresses of some of the non working lights to match some of the working lights and then they worked. If that's the case the mode should be correct. It still may be worth checking the mode of the actual lights that aren't working and be sure they match the mode that the patch says. It may help to post your show file here so it can be looked at to see if anything jumps out as being odd or wrong.

  • 0 in reply to bosox242
    I will double check all lights are the same mode tomorrow (I have them set at DMX 8CH). And you're right, they do work when I use a friendly address. I am a super rookie here, so I will see if I can figure out how to get a show file from the board to this site for you to check out. Thanks again for taking the time to help! Trial by error, but learning a lot! Everytime I think the kids can't mess anything new up I haven't seen before, they prove me wrong! HA!
  • 0
    Just a thought... I see that you restarted the console... but did you restart the Show Babys and the splitter?

    addresses 250-350 aren't working... but there are higher addresses that are working, right? or are these the last addresses you use in the universe?
  • 0 in reply to Kris Ladd
    Did you run out of addresses usable for your console? In the about screen does it say 600 addresses it of 500 or something? If you unpatch everything but the problem does it work?
  • 0 in reply to Jay
    an element 60-500 has 1024 adresses. so the question would be if you use more than 1024 addresses.

    if you go to patch and compare a working with a non-working channel, do they have the same information in the Interface field?
  • 0 in reply to ueliriegg
    In the patch field, each LED has the same info. And I am sure we didn't go over the 1024. We kept all addresses under 500.

    Because those middle numbers weren't working and we needed the LEDs we did have a work around during the past show. Our original set up (before things messed up) addresses started at 200 because all lights and house lights ended at channel 188. Then each light was labeled at intervals of 10. Ex. 200, 210, 220, etc. That was easy for the kids to remember and the last LED ended before the 500 channel. Lights only needed 8 addresses, so interval of 10 gave us a cushion of 2 between each light.

    But when addresses 260-380 began to no work, we had to move to addresses be every 8 to get the 2 spare addresses in between. We still needed more addresses, so I unpatched floor pockets and rear wall pockets, and a few valences. Then those patches were repurposed to the LEDs. That worked, but it was a bandaid. Now for the current show, that work around doesn't seem to work as well. I am thinking maybe I will try today to address all LEDs with the second universe (Ex. Channel 200 @ 2/1, etc.). From what I read online it makes the second universe address start at address 513, and so on and so on. Never done that before, but it might clear things up and create less cofussion. I'll have to experiment today. Not sure if second universe must start at 1 or 513, but I will experiment.

    Thanks! Wish me luck. Still would like to have old addresses work again. I'll also try and get a show file and upload when I figure that out.
  • 0 in reply to Kris Ladd
    I have turned them all off and on again. I also checked to make sure the show baby's were set to transmit and receive. The splitter works for the electrics 1st and second, and when I swatch out the leading dmx that go to the electrics, they still work. So not the splitter, or the cables, or the show baby's I think.
  • 0 in reply to Kris Ladd
    They addresses start working again around 380. Yes. From about 256-370 they are not responding.
  • 0 in reply to Jay
    Not sure where the 'about' screen is, but I will look. It was my understanding with this element board that I had 1024 addresses. I will try to unpatch everything and just patch and unworking light today.
  • 0 in reply to cquinn

    Just to troubleshoot could you bring one of the lights to the booth, connect to the console directly and set to a not working address? That would help to reduce the stuff that can go wrong



    typo
    [edited by: ueliriegg at 3:25 AM (GMT -6) on Sun, Nov 13 2016]
  • 0 in reply to ueliriegg
    And instead of patching to 513 you can also patch to 2/1 (DMX line 2, address 1)
  • 0 in reply to cquinn
    There is an About hard key on the facepanel above the Go To Cue key. Press it then bring up a channel and it will show all sorts of info about the channel.
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