multiple channels on one address? (i know...)

If this is something you really have to do, there's a way of doing it - but it currently requires external gear, and eats one of your outputs. Patch your channels so the two fixtures are outputting on the same DMX value in different universes, then use a merger to combine the outputs from the console.

I have the exact same need.  In rep we have dimmers that get used in multiple acts for different purposes, which requires re patching at act breaks.   It would be supper great if I could assign multiple channels to a single address. 

chad 

There was only one desk I can think of that did it this was round, the Strand Galaxy. But then you could only patch 2 channel to one dimmer, you couldn't patch one channel to 2 dimmers!!

Not really what you where after I know but to be honest just from a display point of view I have no idea how you would be able show the information in a coherent manner. Plus it would very easily lead to a lot of patch mistakes and I need no help in that department.

An odd function that could get some people in trouble I agree; but in touring situations I have run in to this same issue if say My FOH has to be cut down to a 3 area instead of 5. The outside 2 areas now would want to come up anytime the original outside 4 areas were programmed to. I hadn't thought of the merger trick, but have also not always had extra outputs in the rig physically to do such a workaround :-\

-JD

Maybe I'm missing something, but if you've cued the show for the maximum channel count you would ever have, when you play venues that cannot provide all the gear, you end up with channels that do nothing, I.E, 7 FOH DS area channels as normal and the cue structure shows that.  Some houses can only provide gear to provide 5 channels/areas.  So nothing gets patched into channels/area's 1 & 7.  The channels live in the cues with values, but with nothing patched, they do zip for that venue.  Am I missing something ?.

SB

You are correct in the situation set-up that I'm talking about;

The problem lies in your last part, those channels do zip for that venue. When you have a scene (i.e FAR DSR) that uses ONLY the channels (ch 1 in your example) you had to cut (not patched) you get no front light at all, where if you could have patched the next area (normally channel 2) into that channel (ch 1) as well as its intended channel (ch 2), light would come up on the now double wide area. Is that clearer?

-JD

I'll add a +1 to the exact scenario Jeff mentioned. 

OK, better understood now, except that you seemingly induce a needless complication to the cue structure.  You know that the area needs to be lit and that Ch 1 activates that area for the appropriate scenes.  Then you potentially create a conflict should that same address need to come to a different level at some point following and which channel has priority ?.  

I CAN see the need and use, but just not sure how the console and programmer would deal with a potential conflict of interest, as it where.

SB

In all of my situations where I would need this function; an HTP approach would be ideal: as of those two areas; If one was programmed to be brighter, I'm going to want "both areas" to take on this level.

JD

I have done what you want to do on an Ion.

What you are trying to do is not a patch thing. You want to make channel 2 do what channel 1 is being told to do. I think it still worked as ch 2 at the same time, this wasn't exactly our situation.

We needed to add a led controler to a show, some new stuff and one chan we wanted to mimic an existing one. The fight took three times as long as the reprograming would have taken but we did win. After a patch merge with the saved file the rest of the show worked again too. We put this down to too many random ideas.

Sadly I can't remember how we got there, but we did. I currently don't have a desk to probe on, or a show file from that production.

I have emailed the designer who may remember some of it and I will get the show file in the next few days.

If any of the ETC gurus want to add some clarity to this I will print the responce to be filed under "you know you have"

Daz

It may have had something to do with pixelmapping - I have yet to start using that featureset on the console, but I believe it will get the results the OP is looking for.

I hate to mention Strand, but somthing like the Live automod feature might help.