Changing a level in a series of cues

[admin]

Question:

I have 20 cues and in those cues Channel 5 is a overhead special along with many other Channels and levels. At some gigs the light I patch to that channel is brighter and dimmer than others and I want to adjust the levels of Channel 5 across all 20 cues in one swoop. Right now I go into each individual cue and change the level of channel 5 manually. This also happens when a set of cues use house lights and those vary greatly from venue to venue.

Is there are way to change the levels of a single channel across multiple cues in one step?

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Reply:

It is possible to proportionately patch a dimmer. Here's how that works:

In the channel table you might enter "213" in the Patch column for channel 5. This means that channel 5 controls dimmer 213.

You can also enter "213@50" to patch dimmer 213 to channel 5 at 50%. This means that if channel 5 is at 60%, dimmer 213 will be at 30%.

Now, suppose that you want to control two dimmers with channel 5. You might enter "213,214" so that dimmer 5 controls both dimmer 213 and dimmer 214. But perhaps the light connected to dimmer 213 is brighter than the one connected to 214. You could correct this with something like "213@80, 214" This means that when channel 5 is at 50%, dimmer 214 will also be at 50% but dimmer 213 will be at 40% (80% of 50%).

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Followup Question:

Do I have to go thru each cue and make the tweak....or can I just change the patch to mychannel@75?

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Followup reply:

Yes, you do not need to change every cue. But to be clear, it is myDimmer@myLevel in the patch column for myChannel.

The patch is the final step before the output (except the dimmer profile). So if you set a proportional level in the patch, it affects that dimmer throughout.

There's another way of making a change through a series of cues and that is by using a group as a preset. It sounds as though you are after the proportional patch as the solution to your problem. But, the group/preset method works as follows:

Suppose you have several channels that work as a unit (group) in a number of cues. The levels of these channels are always the same when the group is used. But, you'd like to be able to adjust all the cues where the group is used all at once. (This is a common need for adjusting the location of moving lights from venue to venue.)

What you do is create a group with the channels that you are going to use. Then, you add this group to the cues where it is needed. You do this in the main window's drawer in the "Advanced" tab by simply adding the group's number to the list.

The thing about preset groups is that they are always the same in every cue that they are used. So, changing the group, changes every cue that references it.

[two]

Hi, i'm trying to patch some channels like explained in post 1 and it doesn't work.
I'd like to use channel 170 to command channel 177 , 178, 179 and 180; some at Full and some at a lower %. For this i wrote in the patch column of row 170 "177, 178@90, 179, 180@75"
but it doesn't work... do i have to set a level in channels 177 thru 180? (doesn't work with or without level in these channels. level in these channels does well affect my lights but the patch don't modify these levels) I've tryed to use the patch in some cues and directly in live mode and i can't get this patch working.

What do i have to do?

[admin]

You want to look at the Preferences' DMX Out settings. There is a checkbox that says "Send Channels". This bypasses the patch and directly sends channels to output addresses as if the patch was 1 to 1. For example, with "Send Channels", channel 1 always controls dmx dimmer 1.

Without "Send Channels" the patch column of the channel table determines what a channel controls and levels can be set proportionally. For example, without send channels enabled, "177, 178@90, 179, 180@75" in the patch column for channel 170 should cause it to control dimmers 177, 178 179 and 180 with 178 and 180 being proportionately lower.

Send channels is meant for basic use and/or for easy testing of a the dmx output.

There are useful options for the patch in the Setup window under "Channels". There's a popup menu that lets you clear the patch or set it 1 to 1. There's also an alternate patch that can easily be switched for the main patch. The alternate patch could be useful if you had a typical setup that sometimes needed to be changed but you always wanted to be able to go back to the standard. The alternate patch lets you do that without requiring a seperate copy of your file.

[two]

Hi,

That's it! Works when the checkbox that says "Send Channels" is unchecked.
But now... I had to check this box because my LED PARs aren't working if unchecked. Do you know Why? These PARs uses each seven channels (intensity, strobe, red, green, blue, amber, effect).

Thanks

[admin]

Have you patched the channels for the RGB PARs? They would need an address to be specified in the channels table.

Perhaps the easiest thing to do is to open the "Setup" window and click on "Channels" in the list at the left side of the window. In the channels tab, there is a popup menu button in the upper right labeled "Patch". From this menu select "Patch 1 to 1". This has the same basic effect as the "Send Channels" shortcut. But, it achieves this by populating the patch column of the channel table so that channel one controls dimmer/address 1, etc.

If you patch 1 to 1 you will need to go back to the channel table to customize those channels that you wanted to be proportionate or to control multiple dimmers/addresses.

[two]

Didn't know that all channels had to be patched. Works fine now .

Thanks.