Scrollers and Move on Dark

[drscoop]

Anyone know I how can I force a scroller to move on dark when it’s not a standard “‘lamp+1” fixture, but the scroller is a standalone fixture - and how to link to it’s dimmer channel so the desk knows when it is dark, if it’s not a straightforward patch?

For context, I’m helping out a new theatre group and using scrollers for the first time in an FLX S.  The rig has some pairs of tungsten fixtures wired back to the same dimmer channel, but the pairs of scrollers have their own DMX address, so I can’t use the multiple part standard fixtures as I need 1 dimmer channel but 2 independent scroller channels for each set of paired fixtures…

I am using the generic “scroller” 1ch fixture on the desk and can build colour palettes etc but can’t work out how best to patch this to link to intensity to move the scrolls on dark.

I kinda need a fixture that has 1 ch for intensity, but 2 channels, ideally individually selectable, for the two scrollers…  

Is there a workaround here?

Thanks in advance…

Edited yesterday at 11:09 PM by drscoop
Clarification

[Davidmk]

Is there a problem putting the pairs of scrollers on the same address?

[kgallen]

The scroller uses the intensity channel of the associated fixture to know when ‘dark’ (as I’m sure you’re well aware). Scroller probably only has colour attributes. 

You might have to patch the lamp+scroller and patch the ‘lamp’ to an unused DMX address then use that bogus lamp fixture intensity to control your move on dark. 

I think early days of my FLX I asked a similar type of question and it just came down to you need that linked intensity channel to support move on dark.

I know you probably don’t have time or access but this is a candidate for having a play to see what methods can be used to fool the desk whilst maintaining a usable workflow. I don’t think anyone left here knows how the desk actually uses the fixture information under lamp+scroller to know what cheats are viable.  

[kgallen]

OK this is 10 years old comment, but this is where Jon told me the association of dimmer has to be within the fixture. I think at the time I was trying to do something vaguely similar to you where I had a patched Source 4 and wanted to associate the scroller with it to support move on dark.

 

[drscoop]

10 hours ago, Davidmk said:

Is there a problem putting the pairs of scrollers on the same address?

I think this is what we’ll do next time - presently they’re set so we can apply asymmetric colour washes to  the stage… so each one can be controlled individually.  
 

I’d hoped there may be a fix so that we could use 1 DMX address for the lamp but then add in 2 addresses for the scrollers.  Using dummy fixtures may be the way forward if we want to retain this feature….

[drscoop]

10 hours ago, kgallen said:

The scroller uses the intensity channel of the associated fixture to know when ‘dark’ (as I’m sure you’re well aware). Scroller probably only has colour attributes. 

You might have to patch the lamp+scroller and patch the ‘lamp’ to an unused DMX address then use that bogus lamp fixture intensity to control your move on dark. 

I think early days of my FLX I asked a similar type of question and it just came down to you need that linked intensity channel to support move on dark.

I know you probably don’t have time or access but this is a candidate for having a play to see what methods can be used to fool the desk whilst maintaining a usable workflow. I don’t think anyone left here knows how the desk actually uses the fixture information under lamp+scroller to know what cheats are viable.  

I think this is the way forward.  It can go waaaay up theDMX and fixture list and always be dark.  The scrollers will only ever move the other “real” fixture is dark, so it shouldn’t go rogue if the dummy one is never lit…. I think!!

[Davidmk]

17 minutes ago, drscoop said:

asymmetric colour washes

@drscoop If you need this then using the same address is not possible. (Well, it is if you arrange the colour rolls appropriately but that would be a faff and still might be impractical.)

@kgallen, as always, makes a good point but wouldn't keeping the dummy fixtures dark just mean that they skip straight to the last state in the cue list? Surely the dummies need to follow the real fixtures. Maybe they should be added to the same desk channel as the dimmer?