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    JHarpur
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Ion and Grand MA integration on a Net3 gateway?

We just got an Ion 3K (yay!) for our backstage space (which shares the deck of the mainstage.) Our mainstage console is an MA2 fullsize, and we have a 4-port gateway to get the four universes out of the Ion we need.

Has anyone had any experience trying to get an MA and an Ion talking to the same gateway? It wouldn't have to be simultaneous - it's akin to tying the MA in as a touring console, I'd suppose - but I'd like to have the gateway set up for both consoles, to minimize grief during changeovers as they can be logistically quite tight.

This is my first time playing with gateways and sACN. Luckily the Ion worked pretty much right out of the box - but it's all largely uncharted territory for me. Any help given will need to be explained simply, I'm afraid.

The MA currently has 192.x.x.x as IP standard addressing, where the Ion uses 10.x.x.x - I'm guessing we'll have to switch one or the other over so they can both talk to the gateway - are there advantages or disadvantages swapping one of these over the other? Can both consoles actually be on at the same time, and have the system behave? That is, can Net3 gateways merge two disparate sACN sources?

We also have the iRFR and a wireless access point set up for the Ion - If the MA is in the same TCP/IP world, can it use the same wireless access point for its wireless remote? (I know this is probably a question better suited for an MA forum, but they tend not to talk about their ETC consoles there...)

Any help appreciated, even if it's in the form of bad news.

Cheers,

Jonathan

The Fredericton Playhouse

Ion 3K, Net3 4-port gateway (sACN to DMX, with RDM disabled), Linksys wireless adapter, generic gigabit switch, 192 analog CD80s, 1 Pathways protocol converter, ETC Paradigm houselights, portable 24-ch. Sensor pack.

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  • Hi Jonathan,

    You are correct on the IP settings you would need to change one for them all to work together. As you already have the Ion, Gateway and iRFR working then changing the MA would be easier as its only 1 IP Address to edit.

    The Gateway will happily take 2 or more different sources but this will be a merge of the 2 using HTP so you can run into some strange situations when trying to control moving lights. If one console has all the moving lights in the home position for pan and tilt which is normally 50/50 then the other console will only be able to go above that so you wont get the full control.

    With sACN you can setup a priority of a device that is transmitting data on the network so the Gateway will only output which ever has the highest priority and ignore the data from the other source. This is normally the best way to manage this so you don't end up with only half control of your rig. The priority ranges from 1 to 200. Be aware when the console which has the higher priority starts outputting the change will happen straight away. Also to release control you will need to shut down the console with the higher priority or take it off the network.

    Tom

  • in reply to tom mcguire

    As sACN is a multicast protocol, you don't actually *need* to have the devices on the same subnet - the gateway will read levels from the MA even if it is on a 192.168/16 subnet. I would suggest changing it, however, for ease of management of the network.

    Also keep in mind that you may have to toggle the sACN (E1.31) off and on in the MA's setup area after a reboot.

    Luke

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  • in reply to tom mcguire

    As sACN is a multicast protocol, you don't actually *need* to have the devices on the same subnet - the gateway will read levels from the MA even if it is on a 192.168/16 subnet. I would suggest changing it, however, for ease of management of the network.

    Also keep in mind that you may have to toggle the sACN (E1.31) off and on in the MA's setup area after a reboot.

    Luke

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