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    ejpredny
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scrollers: Asci transfers and independant option?

Hi,

 I have two questions:

1) Because I frequently transfer between etc boards, from ion/obsession to express/expression, I am constantly converting my cues to asci and importing them to the new board format. I am setting up my new ion and wondering if I set up my CXI and 4Runner scrollers as scrollers in the board, how does that affect the asci transfers? Will setting them up as scrollers make it so that the values for the extra scroll channels are no longer computed in ascii terms? 

2) if i decide to run my scrollers as "dimmers" so that the asci values will definitely transfer, is there any way to set the channels to independant so that the cue changes/grandmaster,etc will not affect them? 

thanks, emily

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  • Hi Emily,

     This is a bit complicated, because all of the systems that you mention have different capabilities.  The Expression/Express family will export most of their show data to ASCII via Off-line, but will only import generic ASCII, which includes conventional dimmers and cue, sub and group data for those dimmers.  Obsession also exports most of its data through off-line, but does not import any ASCII at all.  Eos/Ion exports only conventional dimmer data until 1.4.2, when it will export scrollers and multi-channel fixtures also.  Eos/Ion can import most show data from Obsession, Express and Expression. 

    It is easy to get show data into your Ion, but if you intend to read it back into Expression/Express, then you should patch everything as generic dimmers.  "Independent" is not available for intensity parameters.  However in 1.4.2 (due out next month) you have an additional method for transfer of scroller data, which is [Copy To].  The idea would be to patch the scrollers as CXI's and Forerunners in Ion but then create a macro to copy the scroller data to intensity data for export to Exress(ion) and then write another macro to restore these after importing back into Ion.  You would patch some generic dimmers to unused channels and then create a macro as follows:

    [Cue][1][thru][100][Enter]{channel}[1][Thru][96][Scroller][Copy To][{channel}[301][Intens][Enter]. 

    The inverse macro would copy the intensity values on channels 301-396 back into the scrollers for channels 1-96, and then delete channels 301-396.  A future version will add a [Move To] command so that the extra step of deleting those channels can be skipped.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • in reply to afoster

    Ann,

    As you've answered the question so well can I pick your brains on ASCII transfer from Strand 500 series consoles.

    I'd like to know if I could do a similar thing with scrollers when pulling a Strand show into EOS/ION. I'm not sure how the scrollers values would export, as dimmers?? Any advice would be greatly accepted as I might have to try this soon.

     

    Thanks

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  • in reply to afoster

    Ann,

    As you've answered the question so well can I pick your brains on ASCII transfer from Strand 500 series consoles.

    I'd like to know if I could do a similar thing with scrollers when pulling a Strand show into EOS/ION. I'm not sure how the scrollers values would export, as dimmers?? Any advice would be greatly accepted as I might have to try this soon.

     

    Thanks

Children
  • in reply to grahamparker

    Strand->EOS is more tricky. You didn't say Strand 300-500, but that's probably what you meant. Here's a sample Strand ASCII cue:

    Cue 102
    Up 5
    $$Blocked
    Chan 388=100 389=100 390=100 391=100 392=100 393=100 394=100 395=100 396=100
    $$Attr 229.02 H80 229.44 H80 230.02 H80 230.44 H80 231.02 H80 231.44 H80
    $$Attr 232.02 H80 232.44 H80 233.02 H80 233.44 H80

    I just pulled this out quickly, so I don't remember which show it is, but I believe that 229.02/.44 is (because of the .02 and .44) a two-scroll scroller , like a CXI. You will have to massage this ASCII file into suitable input for the EOS, which is a very tedious (but possible, if you have time and an assistant.) There are some shareware programs that can help you automate search and replace. But the task has to be stated so that other appearances of numbers like 02 and 44 don't get changed, like cue and channel numbers! It's not pretty.

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