kgallen

Ok good stuff. If I have a few spare moments some time (when it’s not sunny!) I might have a bash at building fixture definitions. I’ll post here if/when I do. Feel free to remind me if you need them!

I’ve been having a look around the manuals/forum (without much success/clarity). This post seems to essentially confirm what you observed earlier - 16-bit dimming was added for ZerOS. I assumed, but not it seems, that my Fat Frog would support 16 bit dimming as I have fixtures defined as such. Seems I must be wrong as this thread was about Frog range. I would have thought however that Jester TL would do full 8-bit dimming rather than percentage, but again this seems maybe contrary to your earlier observations. This does bemuse me, because of course the processor is working in binary (and I very much doubt they went to the pain of using BCD!).

I’m not sure if this would help but might be worth a play, if Jester supports Virtual Dimmer. Define a beamshape or position (something that will support 16 bit parameters) onto the channels that the fixture uses for MSB:LSB intensity, then a define a Virtual Dimmer then scale that 16 bit parameter with Virtual Dimmer. I wonder if that might be a method to get you better control at the bottom end. Might not work as a scale on a 16 bit value but as you seem up for a few wacky trials, might be worth a play.

I don't see the ETC Colorsource V Zoom PAR listed either here: https://vari-lite.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/software-firmware/ZerOS-Library-4.5-RigSync-Support.csv or here: https://vari-lite.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/software-firmware/ZerOS-Library-4.5-List-of-Fixtures.csv which must mean it's not in the library and one reason why RigSync has not been able to patch the fixture, and has thus made a "bad stab" at creating one. Probably the RDM data just identifies intensity and non-intensity (I don't know) so the console has put most things as a Beam parameter (we historically put arbitrary control channels under Beam(shape) when there wasn't a better attribute, i.e. not colour or position). What would I do... I'd write my own fixture profile, and I can do that for you (if you're not otherwise au-fait with the Fixture Tools) if you can point me at the pdf for the fixture and tell me which modes are your priority.

Hi Do you know the fixture will actually dim to/from zero smoothly? I have lots of different LED fixtures and only the most expensive (some Philips/Selecon fixtures) even remotely dim ‘smoothly’ to/from zero, and even then not as good as tungsten. Try patching the two intensity channels onto two faders patched as dimmers and see if the LSB fader gives you a smooth fade to/from zero. Commercial manufacturers are never going to release the source code of their products. It’s their IP and they wouldn’t want the bad press or support burden of scores of amateur hacked branches of code being out in the wild. The Fixture Software giving a warning about intensity being a WORD is normal and is a useful confirmation.

Hi @alg A fixture listed in red in the Fixture Schedule means "not a library fixture" which usually means a fixture created by the user in the Fixture Tools (so I have a lot of fixtures listed in red as I write pretty much all of my own fixture definitions). But possibly it means a fixture created by the user on the on-console fixture create utility. Possibly, and more likely in your case, is the fixture identified by RigSync is not defined in the library and the console has put together a fixture definition based on the information it has obtained from the fixture using RDM (=RigSync). This information is possibly incomplete, erroneous or RigSync has interpreted it incorrectly. For whatever reason, the fixture has become patched with a profile that does not correctly define it. Can you unpatch them and patch them manually using a fixture profile from the on-console library? Or find a fixture definition for a similar ETC fixture? This may or may not be your long-term solution, but at this point it's really to help debug what's going on. I don't know if you have physical access to the fixtures to play with DMX addresses and modes.

Hi @invisible It sounds like you’ve defined the fixture correctly. Are you testing this by pushing a fader? You will probably find that the fader has 8 bit resolution. However if you programme a cue with a fade you should find that the console fades with 16 bit resolution. That is what happens on my FLX - 8 bit on the fader, 16 bit from a memory. Here’s a thread where we were talking about this (FLX-S in this case):

@Phil Kiernan are these your words of from Vari-lite? ie is this the firmest suggestion yet there will be at least one more ZerOS release?

Hi @Davidmk Of course you’re right - I just wanted to note that the use mode might be restricting what @ATC Tech might be trying to do if they’d opted for Cue Only thinking it would be ‘simpler’ but might be hampering them.

Are you in Cue Only mode? You seem to need to record-all (snapshots) using Shift+Record. This is rarely a good thing - it effectively nulls many desk features like playback overlaying, tracking, move on dark. You are effectively using the desk in a very basic mode.

It’s easy, you’ll be fine!

For each connector I would: - Remove the clip - Pull the IDC connector out of the receptical - Replug - Replace the clip Go systematically around the console doing this.

Only if I’m doing work on a board out of the system - in circuit, CMOS chips aren’t quite as vulnerable. I’m assuming you’re not running your feet on a nylon carpet first! But if you have a wrist band then might as well use it.

Just guessing but there is probably a ribbon cable dedicated to the displays (separate to wheels, buttons etc). I’m sure that was the case when I opened my Fat Frog a few weeks back. If you’re up for opening it I’d check that as a common cause - ie highly unlikely all LCDs themselves went bad at the same time!

In theory you can put channels across 64 universes. Might depend more on the ArtNet node handling two controllers. https://www.zero88.com/manuals/zeros/patching/available-channels

That suggests they are just working on App Store issues to get the existing iOS apps available. No commitment there on updating them or getting the Android versions updated to go in the Play Store.

Juggler was a ‘simple’ 2-preset desk so I don’t think it was superseded by Jester which is a programmable desk. I think the lineage was more like: Level series -> Juggler Alcora/Elara -> Jester Illusion -> Jester TL, ML Sirius -> Frogs Stage Electrics had Juggler in stock (albeit clearance) earlier this year. I’ve not seen Jesters on sale new for a long time. So in answer to your question, Juggler could have been current until 2021/22 timeframe I recon. The datasheet says ‘(c) 2018-2021 Signify’ as a copyright date. The Juggler manual says 2005. So it was around for some time. Maybe search on the forum to see if Jon mentioned a discontinue date.

That’s weird. I see from this thread, I wrote an IFT fixture for another user using the 2.6 fixture tools and he reports it loaded and worked ok. This needs more investigation…

OK, I have an answer, employing "secret sauce". If the console is in global cue only mode, this means that upon recording, tracking will be Cue Only, and fixtures that are on will be snapshotted. Therefore, to capture values for fixtures that are currently off (0%), you would need to do a full snapshot. So go into the cue, stop the effect, SHIFT+RECORD > type the cue number > ENTER > Overwrite. @Worcester RGSTech I hope this finally solves your issue!

If that’s the case, how does he record No Effect in Cue Only? This needs insider knowledge of ZerOS. Where is @Edward Z88 when you need him!

Did you use Fixture Tools 2.6 and save an ift file? It should just work… Can you elaborate more on what you did? Maybe upload your fixture file here and we can take a look. I see you started a new thread - maybe we can continue on that (but please avoid double-posting, you won’t get help any quicker…).

If you’re in cue-only mode then I thought the console records ‘everything’. In which case your ‘No Effect’ should have worked regardless. Maybe that’s not how ZerOS works! In cue-only I wonder if move on dark can ever work. Hmmm. Others more experienced with cue-only may know!

Somehow you have to get a "No Effect" instruction in there otherwise even if your next movers cue is at a new position, they'll just start dancing around that new position. I'm not familiar with Solution but as it's a "modern" ZerOS console (i.e. post Frog2/LF94/ORB) I would expect it to have Smart Tag, assuming you're not in "Cue Only" mode. So I'm not clear why your Record and Update options boxes don't show a usable Smart Tag button.

This is why we’re here! Keep asking/sharing and we’ll do our best. If you can help out another user - either directly by asking a question of your own which is answered, or more directly, then even better. That’s how this forum works, especially now the Vari-lite support is minimal.

Just to check, did you run the cue first and then apply the recipe?