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    suncloud
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Gateway causing flicker on LED

Have a Gio with Ion as backup on a Network with a Net3 gateway to output two universes of DMX. 

We have bought some inexpensive LED battens for an upcoming show, and when connected via the gateway there is a noticeable drop out of level on the LEDs every few seconds. I connected directly to the Gio's DMX output and no such problem. I then connected directly to the Gateway (in case it was a building/cable issue) and the flickering out happened again.

Any suggestions on what the issue could be?

Thanks

  • You should check if your gateway has RDM enabled.
    Maybe your equipment does not comply to the DMX512A standard, and will therefore flicker when it receives RDM messages.
    I bet the flickering is gone as soon as you turn RDM off.

    Hans 

  • in reply to hleiter

    this would be done in GCE, either from your Gio > Shell > Maintenance > start GCE, or from any PC within your lighting network.

  • in reply to hleiter

    Also check your DMX speed as this could be the problem if set to high. This is a fault in the fixtures but the consoles DMX.

  • We have seen this issues several times with fixtures that utilize DMX, but haven't implemented it correctly or if the DMX line is not properly terminated. The issues as mentioned in an earlier post is related to RDM messages that are not properly handled by the fixture. If DMX is implemented properly within the fixture the presence of RDM will not inhibit DMX performance, even if the fixture does not support RDM. If DMX was not implemented correctly, these RDM message can create a flicker in some fixture. The issue can be made worse if the DMX line is not terminated using the required 120 OHm resister at the end of the line. If the fixtures do not self terminate, be sure you have terminated the end of the line. You don't see this on the console DMX ports because those ports do not currently support RDM.

    To check RDM, you just need to be in front of the gateway. Using the single button interface push and release the button until the port that you have you fixtures connected to is shown. IF RDM is enabled it will say 'Port X RDM Enabled' on the top line of the display. To disable RDM for the select port, push and hold the button on the gateway. The display will change and give a 5 sec countdown timer. When the timer expires the gateway ill show that it is turning RDM off and the display ill then show it will now display 'Port X RDM Disabled'.

    If you know you have RDM turned off, then this could be DMX speed. DMX speed can be changed form Net3 Concert or Gateway Configuration Editor (GCE) software using your laptop connected to the network that the gateways is connected to. I would recommend setting it to normal to see if that helps. if not, you can try setting it to slow.

  • in reply to bpalmer

    Thanks for all your suggestions, I'll try these tomorrow...

     

  • in reply to suncloud

    Disabling RDM on the gateway has resolved the flickering. Thanks again for your help.

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