Super Widget for Console Failover

I'm having trouble finding any info at all on how to set up a super widget within a console failover set up. I have Hog4 PC tracking with my Road Hog. Hognet from the console is feeding a router which is supplying the Hog4 PC with the show. Everything seems to be working perfectly. But the way I have the Super Widget set up is wrong I'm sure. It's coming off the usb at the back of the Road Hog. If the console goes down, I'm sure the widget will go with it since it's getting data through usb. It seems likely to me that I should be feeding the super widget through art-net or from the router. I'm at a loss. Please help.
Thanks for any and all info ahead of time!
Jeremy
  • Correct, if Road Hog went down, PC would take over, but have no way to physically spit out DMX. Do you 'need' more than 4 universes of DMX? If not, you could have 4 universes coming out of Road Hog, clone the output to match the Hog PC internal DP, and then have the super widget plugged into the Hog PC giving you the same 4 universes from the Hog PC.
    Console switch over would be a matter of swapping DMX cables from Road Hog output to Hog PC. If you had a DMX A/B switch, you could plug Dmx from both consoles into the switch, and have show DMX coming out of there.
    IMPORTANT NOTE: If you end up changing ANYTHING in the patch of one console, make sure you do the same thing on the other console.

    My preference is to forgo the console DMX outputs and to use a DP8000 connected on the network. That way, it doesn't matter what console is online, it'll always be the source of actual DMX signal.
  • Thanks for all your help on this Ned, I really appreciate it. Right now I'm set with 4 universes and that's a bit overkill for this show. Is there no way at all to art-net the Super Widget?

    If not, I'm going to go DMX out of the widget then connected via usb to the console. If the console fails, I'll just move the usb to the PC.

    Thanks Ned!
  • No way that I know of to Art Net directly to the widget without connecting to a console or DP..... Essentially a widget always needs a DP8000.
    ON the console, there is a DP internally. You have the 4 XLR DMX ports (varies depending on board). The DP is always 'capable' of generating 16 universes, but you are limited by the number of actual DMX XLR ports. IT's generating 16, but on a Full boar, you can only immediately access the first 4. with a usb Super widget, you are able to access the next 4.
    A rack mount DP 8000 also generates 16 universes, with 8 dedicated DMX XLR ports. Add widgets to access the rest of the universes.
    Hog PC uses an 'internal' DP and they only way to access the DMX is with widgets.
  • Hmmm
    4 universes... So why dont you use the 4 outs of your roadhog, and the widget on the PC? And then an A/B Switch for the DMX?
    Or did I miss something? As you are saying you are set with 4 universes. Or do you mean you need more than those 4?