5. Appendix
20
10/9/2009 2:29 PM
This drawing
provides a general
illustration of the
DMX input/output
panel of a lighting
fixture.
Universal DMX
Controller
Continue the link
3-Pin to 5-Pin Conversion Chart
If you use a controller with a 5-pin DMX output connector, you will need to use a 5-
pin to 3-pin adapter. The chart below details a proper cable conversion:
3-P
IN TO
5-P
IN
C
ONVERSION
C
HART
Conductor
3-Pin Female (Output)
5-Pin Male (Input)
Ground/Shield
Pin 1
Pin 1
Data ( - ) signal
Pin 2
Pin 2
Data ( + ) signal
Pin 3
Pin 3
Not used
Pin 4
Not used
Pin 5
Setting up a DMX Serial Data Link
1. Connect the (male) 3-pin connector side of
the DMX cable to the output (female) 3-pin
connector of the controller.
2. Connect the end of the cable coming from
the controller which will have a (female)
3-pin connector to the input connector of the
next fixture consisting of a (male) 3-pin
connector.
3. Then, proceed to connect from the output as
stated above to the input of the following
fixture and so on.
Setting the Starting Address
This DMX mode enables the use of a universal DMX controller device. Each fixture requires a start address
from 1~512. A fixture requiring one or more channels for control begins to read the data on the channel
indicated by the start address. For example, a fixture that uses six DMX channels and was addressed to start
on DMX channel 100, would read data from channels: 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, and 105. Choose start
addresses so that the channels used do not overlap, and note the start address selected for future reference.
If this is your first time addressing a fixture using the DMX control protocol, we suggest jumping to the
“Appendix” section and reading the heading “DMX Primer”. It contains very useful information that will help you
understand its use.
