Martin VDO Atomic Bold user guide
25
Data connection to Junction Box or Break-In Cable
The VDO Atomic Bold fixtures may be controlled by DMX512, Art-Net, sACN, or Martin P3
protocol. The data connection is made to the junction box/break-in cable and then linked to the
fixtures via the PDE connections.
Using DMX512
In a DMX-controlled system, an RDM-compliant DMX lighting controller sends a DMX control
data signal over a DMX link to the junction boxes/break-in cables of the system, and then over
the hybrid link to the VDO Atomic Bold fixtures.
A DMX pass – through connector is only provided on the Active Junction Box. When using a
Passive Junction Box or BreakIn Cable, and you need to connect multiple chains to the same
DMX line, you must use an RDM-compliant splitter as described below (and shown in the
diagram below). This example shows the passive PDE junction box being used.
The DMX link requires DMX cable. It can be maximum 300 m (1000 ft.) in length and must run in
one single daisy-chain, but it can be extended or split into branches using an RDM-compliant
amplifier/splitter. Alternatively, you can run the DMX signal from the controller over Ethernet
cable using Art-Net protocol and convert it to a DMX-compliant signal with an Art-Net to DMX
converter.
For reliable DMX and RDM data transfer, it is recommended to terminate each branch with a
termination plug – this contains a 120 ohm resistor between the cold and hot DMX data lines
(pins 2 and 3 on XLR5, pins 4 and 7 on PDE connector). This means that both an unused DMX
through port on an Active Junction Box as well as the female PDE connector of the last fixture on
a chain needs to be fitted with such a termination plug.
The total length of DMX cable and Hybrid PDE cable combined must not exceed 300 m
(measured between lighting console, DMX node or DMX splitter and last fixture on the chain).
If you would like assistance with creating a DMX link, your Martin® supplier will be glad to advise.
The number of VDO Atomic Bolds that you can control on one DMX link is limited by the number
of DMX channels the fixtures will use and the 512 DMX channels available in one DMX universe
at the DMX controller. Each time you have used 512 channels, you must create a new DMX link
that is connected to a new DMX universe on the controller. Note that this limit applies to the
DMX
link
. The maximum safety limits that apply to the chain of dots and cable (see “Safety limits for
connecting devices” on page 24) take priority and must be respected in all cases.
DMX512 data is connected to the junction box / break-in cable using the XLR5 connector. The
pin-out is:
Summary of Contents for Martin VDO Atomic Bold
Page 1: ...VDO Atomic Bold User Guide...
