I need to patch 4 separate Supernight LED light strips to ETC Element light board.

do you have a manual or do you know which dmx address does what?

I do have a manual and have read through patching an LED light fixture. Someone else has hooked up the lights and I have not been given the addresses as yet. I'm just not entirely sure how to proceed given that the fixture is not in the library and I will have to use "generic" when asked to identify the light

in the manual there should be a list of what addresses do what. can you take a picture/scan it and upload it here? (to upload click Reply, then Insert, then Image/video/file)

I apologize but I cannot find a list of what addresses do what in the general manual

There are other lights patched to the light board - we are working in only one universe

In order to know how to patch these fixtures, or how to create a profile for you, we need to know the control layout for DMX for the fixtures themselves. The only Supernight LED strips I can find online are not DMX controlled at all.  Do you have a DMX decoder connected?

Ugh I don't know - have been trying to find out - I wasn't in on the choice or hookup of the strips - they just did it and want me to patch them to the light board. These are the lights:

Supernight

RGB + Cool White, Mixed Color Changing LED Light Strip （No Power Included）

150pcs RGB LEDs + 150pcs White LEDs

• LED Type: SMD 5050
• Light Color: RGBW (RGB+Cool White)
• Length: 500cm/16.4Ft
• Width: 1cm Height: 0.25cm
• White Temperature: 6500K-7000K
• Working Current: 5A
• Working Input Voltage: DC 12V
• Waterproof Rating: non-waterproof
• LED Quantity: 300 LEDs Per 5 Meter or 60 LEDs Per Meter

I just heard back from one of the people working on this - they haven't even hooked up or addressed the lights - I need help

Apparently there are a couple of decoders at church but they have not connected them. I am attempting to learn DMX in a very short amount of time now in addition to my original question of patching those lights

i don't know those specific LEDs but it sounds like they don't directly understand DMX. you need a "translator" in between. i don't think you can currently connect them to your element.

as soon as there is this translator (sometimes called DMX decoder or LED dimmer) you can then think about what you need to do in your element. in the end you will be controling the translator box which in turn controls the LEDs

They are going to connect the decoder tomorrow. That is nice but now what.  I an address generated when the decoder is attached? Once it is attached and hopefully addressed then it's back to my original question. How do I patch something like this as a generic fixture?

DMX is quite simple. you send 512 values through the cable. and with the start address you tell the console and the light to which of those 512 values it has to listen to. those 512 values are sent over and over. a light that was set to DMX address 3 will always listen to the 3rd number.

the numbers sent go from 0-255. if the receiving thing is a dimmer 0 means light is dark, 255 means light is full. on the console side those values translate to 0% and 100%. the console makes it easier for humans, were better thinking in 0-100. the dmx side makes it easier for machines, they prefer 0-255.

for each property of a light you want to control you need 1 address. so your LEDs can do Red, Green, Blue and White. 4 different things, so you need 4 different addresses. they will usually have to be in a row (because that's what the decoder expects). with those 4 addresses you tell the decoder which levels its ouputs 1, 2, 3, and 4 should output.

so whoever installs the decoder has to make sure that to know and to tell you which color they connect to which output. to make it simple for you the order R, G, B, W would be prefered.

depending on length you will need more than one decoder. how many meters the decoder can do depends on how many watts the decoder can output and how many watts your LED strip consumes.

DMX is quite simple. you send 512 values through the cable. and with the start address you tell the console and the light to which of those 512 values it has to listen to. those 512 values are sent over and over. a light that was set to DMX address 3 will always listen to the 3rd number.

the numbers sent go from 0-255. if the receiving thing is a dimmer 0 means light is dark, 255 means light is full. on the console side those values translate to 0% and 100%. the console makes it easier for humans, were better thinking in 0-100. the dmx side makes it easier for machines, they prefer 0-255.

for each property of a light you want to control you need 1 address. so your LEDs can do Red, Green, Blue and White. 4 different things, so you need 4 different addresses. they will usually have to be in a row (because that's what the decoder expects). with those 4 addresses you tell the decoder which levels its ouputs 1, 2, 3, and 4 should output.

so whoever installs the decoder has to make sure that to know and to tell you which color they connect to which output. to make it simple for you the order R, G, B, W would be prefered.

depending on length you will need more than one decoder. how many meters the decoder can do depends on how many watts the decoder can output and how many watts your LED strip consumes.