Using Phantom with a USB DMX device

[DSUK73]

I'm considering buying an unlock dongle for Phantom to use my laptop to control our dimmers and also to play around with light fittings that aren't 'stock' and need specific profiles creating to allow them to be used in shows.

I've been looking at various sites and seen references to Phantom outputtting via Ethernet and other sites suggesting it can be used with a USB connected controller. What experience do people have with using a laptop and an unlock dongle via either Ethernet or USB and what device did you use to hook into your DMX infrastructure (dimmers, fittings etc.).

[Archie D]

Hi @DSUK73,

Welcome to the Zero 88 Forum.

Using a Phantom ZerOS Unlock Dongle unlocks the maximum amount of channels available for the fully upgraded console you are emulating (e.g. emulating a FLX will give you 8192 channels = 16 universes, emulating a Solution will give you 2048 channels = 4 universes).

Any USB to DMX device that supports the ENTTEC protocol should work with Phantom ZerOS, I personally use the ENTTEC DMX USB Pro and have two of them. Each ENTTEC DMX USB Pro device will output a single universe of DMX. You can, of course, output DMX over Ethernet via your computer's network port for less cabling out of your PC if you have an Ethernet gateway. Once the USB to DMX device is plugged in, it can be configured in SETUP > Devices. This allows you to set the universe being output on that device, refresh rate, etc.

Purchasing an Unlock Dongle is a great investment and I highly recommend it.

I hope this helps, let me know if you have any questions.

Archie

[DSUK73]

5 hours ago, Archie D said:

Hi @DSUK73,

Welcome to the Zero 88 Forum.

Using a Phantom ZerOS Unlock Dongle unlocks the maximum amount of channels available for the fully upgraded console you are emulating (e.g. emulating a FLX will give you 8192 channels = 16 universes, emulating a Solution will give you 2048 channels = 4 universes).

Any USB to DMX device that supports the ENTTEC protocol should work with Phantom ZerOS, I personally use the ENTTEC DMX USB Pro and have two of them. Each ENTTEC DMX USB Pro device will output a single universe of DMX. You can, of course, output DMX over Ethernet via your computer's network port for less cabling out of your PC if you have an Ethernet gateway. Once the USB to DMX device is plugged in, it can be configured in SETUP > Devices. This allows you to set the universe being output on that device, refresh rate, etc.

Purchasing an Unlock Dongle is a great investment and I highly recommend it.

I hope this helps, let me know if you have any questions.

Archie

Thanks Archie