Bugs

Hello Marc.

Thank you for your comments.  We will look into these and let you know the outcome, in the meantime here is some information:

1  Yes, saving stops the internal fade engine and associated functions.  This is sort-of inevitable with the design and is not likely to change.

2  Yes, there are some interesting challenges for us the designers in the use of effects on the faders.  In some cases they would logically fade in and out, in others not.  We are looking at the issue already and ways to improve it.

3  This is related to the above point and is one of the things we have to solve without breaking anotgher aspect of running effects.

4  I agree, we need to adjust the speed ranges of a number of effects.  I hope to introduce a new setting; high-range / low-range that would give far mopre speed range for all the effects from very fast to imperceptibly slow.

5  There are some known bugs in memory edit that we are investigating at present.  A new version (1.2.0) will be released shortly that corrects a number of problems in this area.

best regards,

Adam Bennette

I have noticed a bug as well with my smartfade ml (version 1.2). Im running mac 250 entours in extended mode, I also tried in standard mode to see if this would correct the issue, it did not. When I run the strobe fader all the way up, the lamps reset.

 Also, when programming looks using record all, and going to the looks in go mode randomly the lamps will go to their correct positions but not with the correct gobo or colour frame.

Any insight on these issues would be greatly appreciated.

Hi,

 The reset behaviour you describe is the normal function for the Strobe channel.  When taken above 82% it operates reset.  When taken above 97% it turns off the lamp.

Please see page 39 of the Martin manual here:

http://www.martin.com/service/downloadfile.asp?name=UM_MAC250KryptonEntour_EN_I.pdf&cat=65

 For your other problem with random operation of GO I will need your showfile.  Please send it to me at adam.bennette@etcconnect.com

Thanks, as soon as I looked through the 250 manual I smacked myself for being dumb. Now im running a show right now, so I know I wont get an answer before the intermission is over, but I recorded color palletes for my 250's. During the show I randomly call back color, beam and focus palletes. A few times now when calling back a color pallet the lamps all change to the correct color, then 3-5 seconds later it resets to open white. When scrolling through the lcd panel to color, when i call up say pallet 10 it shows on the lcd as C10 then a few seconds later changes to 0.

All my faders are down, I have only been using the intensity fader to bring in my lamps. I bumped up the color wheel fader a little bit, and now my color palletes are retaining their color. Is there something im doing wrong?

Also I noticed the mac 250 book claims the mac's in extended mode use 17 dmx channels. Yet when i patch the lamps in the smartfade ml board using the device patch wizard, it shows them as 18 dmx channels each.

I tried to recreate the issue today. Heres what I found. Randomly it would change color back to 0 after a few seconds, other times it would retain its color until I hit the color pallette button, then it would return to 0.

When I switch to Param B the issue disappears. Whatever pallette I call up is what stays. I also have issues with my beam pallette. I have a pallete saved as open white (no frame) to restore to. Randomly when I switch between gobos. Usually when I have 4 different gobos in 4 different lamps, when i hit the pallete to restore it to open white, they go to random gobos. I cannot clear these gobos unless I reset the macs. Also this problem goes away if im in Param B.

Would it be better to use the Home + pallete button to restore to an open frame? or is there an issue with my faders?

Thank you so much for your speedy answers, and I hope theres a fix to my issue.

Hello,

It is possible that the cause of randomly cancelled palette values is noisy faders.  This means that the faders, when stationary, may wobble or shift very slightly, due to mechanical vibration, temperature or electrical noise.  This could cause the software to believe that the user, you, had deliberately moved a fader and accordingly set the parameter level to that value, cancelling the palette value.

There are two things I would ask that you try that may give important clues to us to help solve this problem:

1  Save your show, turn off SmartFade ML and then re-start holding down the (menu) button until the test mode appears. The following display will appear:

U/I:fader         #:003
msg:027   value:000   

The actual numbers may be different.  The important thing is to see if the msg count increases over time.  Make a note of the msg number and the fader number.  Leave the console for some time and then check again.  Have any fader movement messages been received?  is the msg value a higher number

2  Load your show and continue operating normally.  Each time you set a palette value, or several values, when completed, change the fader mode to either INT A, INT B or INT DEVICE (not param or mems).  In these modes the fader positions can not affect the parameter values.  Does that stop the problem?

If either of these tests shows that the faders are changing unintentionally then you may have a faulty console and we will either replace or repair it under warranty.  If these measures do not show any fader faults then you may have found an extremely obscure and unknown bug.  We think it is more likely that the faders are faulty.

ok, I saved my show to disk, and rebooted the board into the test mode as you had indicated. The starting message was U/I fader 28 msg: 27 value 255. I left the board alone for just over an hour. When i returned to the board the display said. U/I fader 005 msg:45 value 000.

The results of your test suggest to me that you have a faulty SmartFade ML.  I recommend that you contact your dealer for a warranty repair or replacement.  If your dealer requires any information or assistance please refer to ETC Techncial Services or myself.