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Operation Guide

250ML Lighting Control Consoles

5

PREFACE

PREFACE

1. About this Guide

Congratulations on your purchase of your Philips Strand Lighting 250ML Control Console. It is a compact lighting
control console, versatile, powerful, and the perfect desk to introduce you to the world of intelligent fixture control.

Every unit has been thoroughly tested and carefully packed before shipment.

Unpack the shipping carton carefully, saving the carton and all packing materials for
possible later use. Refer to

"Included Items"

 for a complete list of items and accessories

that are provided as part of your console.

Note:  

Check carefully that your product has not been damaged and that there are no 

accessories missing. If your product appears to be damaged or missing any accessories, 
please do not use the console and contact your Authorized Philips Strand Lighting Dealer 
immediately.

Please read this manual carefully and thoroughly, as it gives important information
regarding safety, use and maintenance. Keep this manual with the console for possible
future reference.

You can use the QR code (to the right) on any QR code enabled smartphone to connect directly to the 250ML Control
Console product page and download the product manual or other product data.

Note:  

This version of the Operation Guide covers software version 1.1.x. Should your 250ML Control Console need 

to be upgraded, go to 

www.strandlighting.com

 and click on the product downloads area in the Support section for the 

latest software available.

2. Included Items

Each 250ML Lighting Control Console includes the following items:

• Lighting control console (with integrated video [VGA] card)

• Console dust cover

• Universal voltage power supply

• USB key drive

• LED  desk  lamp

• 250ML Console QuickStart Guide

 (not this document)

Note:  

Monitors, cables and other accessories are not included and are sold separately. For available accessories, 

please contact you local Authorized Strand Lighting Dealer. A list of Authorized Dealers is located on the Strand 
Lighting web site at 

www.strandlighting.com

250ML Control Console

Product Page

Summary of Contents for 250ML

Page 1: ...For Console Software Version 1 1 x Up ...

Page 2: ...n Le matériel décrit dans ce manuel est pour information seulement et est sujet à changements sans préavis La compagnie Philips Strand Lighting n assume aucune responsibilité sur toute erreur ou ommission inscrite dans ce manuel Pour tous commentaires ou suggestions concernant des corrections et ou les mises à jour de ce manuel veuillez s il vous plait contacter le bureau de Philips Strand Lightin...

Page 3: ...icinity of equipment that generates strong electromagnetic radiation or magnetic fields Strong static charges or strong magnetic fields produced by equipment such as radio transmitters could interfere with the display or affect the product s internal circuitry f Equipment should be mounted in locations and at heights where it will not readily be subjected to tampering by unauthorized personnel g T...

Page 4: ...ons 7 Connecting Power 7 Glossary of Terms 7 Text Conventions 9 CONSOLE SETUP Main Menu 10 Setup 10 Record Options 10 Lock Unlock 11 MIDI Setup 11 Playback Setup 12 DMX In Setup 13 Display Setup 13 Patch 13 Patching Conventions 15 Patch Screen 16 Viewing Patch 16 Range Patching 17 Removing Patching Assignment 17 Patching Intelligent Fixtures 17 Patch Unpatch Fixture to DMX Address 18 Fixture Pages...

Page 5: ... a Group 43 Applying Groups 43 Basic Automated Luminaire Control 43 Home 44 Paging the Fixture Display 45 Tagging and Untagging 45 Palettes 45 Recording a Palette 46 Applying A Palette 46 Accessing Fixtures using Channel Numbers 47 Focus 47 S9 Show List 48 Automated Luminaire Effects 48 Archive 49 Save Show 49 Clear Memory Subs 50 Clear Palettes 50 Default Setup 51 Load Show 51 Effects Tutorial 52...

Page 6: ...ves important information regarding safety use and maintenance Keep this manual with the console for possible future reference You can use the QR code to the right on any QR code enabled smartphone to connect directly to the 250ML Control Console product page and download the product manual or other product data Note This version of the Operation Guide covers software version 1 1 x Should your 250...

Page 7: ...sole Rear Panel Connections A B C D F G H I E J L K A 24 Faders Submasters B Playback Master C Programming LCD Display D USB Port showfile storage USB key sold separately E Main Console LCD Color Display F Grand Master G Black Out Button H Softkeys 10 each I Encoders 4 each J Programming Buttons K A B Playback Controls with Go and Load buttons L 24 Bump Buttons Legend For USB LED desk lamp Not for...

Page 8: ...connect to another MIDI device DMX512 In 1 Connection DMX512 input connection for DMX512 signals from another console or device DMX512 Out 2 Connections The console provides two standard female XLR 5 pin connector for connecting to and controlling DMX512 devices DMX512 is for outputting to a universe of DMX devices for your primary output This can include dimmers LED fixtures and moving lights Not...

Page 9: ...ixture display AT command that tells the desk that the next numerical entry is a level of brightness Example 1 5 0 ENTER CLR clears the Command Line plus releases channels CLR will remove the last command entered into the Command Line In the event that there is nothing entered into the Command Line CLR CLR will release all Selected Channels in the Red Box a third CLR shall release all Adjusted Cha...

Page 10: ...ures on some items For example on Fade Up Fade Down this will allow for time adjustment in 1 10th second 5 Text Conventions When a key is referred to in the manual it will be in hard brackets For instance RECORD would refer to the record button A softkey command on the LCD screen will be written inside So for instance the S9 Enter would refer to a softkey option available on the LCD screen For ope...

Page 11: ...p Menu can be navigated to using Encoder D to scroll Up Down the list of setup options Figure 4 Setup Menu Within Setup there are options that determine how the console functions The setup options are Record Options Record Options determine how the record action works By default the Mode which refers to the Record Mode is set to Full That means that everything that is being outputted from the cons...

Page 12: ...ed to engage disengage this feature Note The password is 168168 Figure 6 Lock Console Screen MIDI Setup This feature allows the console to communicate with other consoles using the MIDI interface MIDI In and Thru are available Just connect a standard MIDI cable from a third party console to the 250ML console s MIDI In port If you need to communicate to a third console a MIDI cable can be connected...

Page 13: ... 45 Note 76 E4 Channel 77 Note 108 C7 Channel 109 Note 13 C 1 Channel 14 Note 45 A1 Channel 46 Note 77 F4 Channel 78 Note 109 C 7 Channel 110 Note 14 D 1 Channel 15 Note 46 A 1 Channel 47 Note 78 F 4 Channel 79 Note 110 D7 Channel 111 Note 15 D 1 Channel 16 Note 47 B1 Channel 48 Note 79 G4 Channel 80 Note 111 D 7 Channel 112 Note 16 E 1 Channel 17 Note 48 C2 Channel 49 Note 80 G 4 Channel 81 Note ...

Page 14: ...ustment of the backlight level settings for the color display screen on the console Figure 10 Display Setup Screen The options are S1 Backlight High sets console display to highest brightness level S2 Backlight Medium sets console display to the medium brightness level S3 Backlight Low sets console display to lowest brightness level 2 Patch Patch allows the operator to determine the channel and fi...

Page 15: ...Patch 14 250ML Lighting Control Consoles Operation Guide Press S2 Patch to go into the Patch menu Figure 11 Patch Menu ...

Page 16: ... on Encoder D to select DMX Patch The monitor will now display the patch screen to show what the current channel assignments are As shown in Figure 12 the DMX output number is the top line in white and the second line is the control channel in yellow Figure 12 VGA Patch Screen Note After 250 you only see the DMX output numbers displayed Remember that the console has a limit of 250 control channels...

Page 17: ...key for Patch is pressed the patch screen above will be displayed The and keys will advance the patch screens to show you all 1024 patch outputs Pressing the F key for Patch will return the console to the previous screen While in the Patch Menu the F keys will access paging the patch screen with PATCH and PATCH In order to change the default patch direct your attention to the color screen on the c...

Page 18: ...ENTER This will remove any channel assignment to the selected dimmer and any previous channel number yellow will be removed Notice that THRU and will help you speed up the patching process Note Refer to Range Patching above on how to use THRU and Patching Intelligent Fixtures Intelligent fixtures such as LEDs and Moving Lights require a more sophisticated control system and the 250ML Control Conso...

Page 19: ... model Figure 18 Patching Intelligent Fixtures Selecting a Fixture from Fixture Library Now a location must be selected for the fixture These will be accessed by the softkeys It is recommended that you start with S1 but you can select any softkey When the appropriate softkey is selected it will be lit red select Encoder D to assign the fixture Once that is complete the name will appear for the sof...

Page 20: ...ou are clearing out the DMX assignment of a particular fixture pressing S7 Delete will accomplish this Figure 21 Patch Menu Assigning Fixtures Select S1 Line 1 for the first universe of DMX512 This will be 1 thru 512 Select S2 Line 2 for the second universe of DMX512 This will be 513 thru 1024 Notice that the first available DMX512 address is automatically populated on the command line That s 251 ...

Page 21: ...dditional fixtures Fixture Pages As illustrated in Figure 23 use the Arrow Up and Arrow Down next to the LCD screen to identify the fixture page to which the units are being patched Page 1 shall be fixtures 1 thru 10 accessed by S1 S10 Page 2 shall be fixtures 11 thru 20 and page 3 will be fixtures 21 thru 30 Pan Tilt Options There are many pan tilt options to allow the customization of the operat...

Page 22: ...t the fixture to adjust S1 in the example s case then use the appropriate encoders to change the setting Pan Invert shall invert the pan values so that clockwise movement on the encoder shall lower the pan value Tilt Invert shall invert the tilt values so that clockwise movement on the encoder shall lower the tilt value Pan Tilt Swap shall allow the pan encoder to affect tilt and the tilt encoder ...

Page 23: ... console setup correctly to match your installation 1 Console VGA Monitor Display Attributes When a VGA monitor sold separately is connected to the console Figure 26 represents the console s output when the console is powered up for the first time with a default showfile Figure 26 Console VGA Monitor Display Attributes Note A VGA monitor while not required is highly recommended for console operati...

Page 24: ... commands can be accepted to give the conventional channel s intensity CHANNEL ON The simplest example is 1 ON This will put channel 1 at 100 However the user is not limited to applying an intensity level to a single channel at a time The user can apply any combination of numbers the THRU and keys Examples 1 THRU 5 ON 1 3 5 ON 1 THRU 5 3 ON CHANNEL LEVEL ENTER Any selection of channels can be assi...

Page 25: ...Relative manner or an Absolute one It defaults to Relative and the Shift key will place you so Encoder A works in absolute values Look to the color screen for DMX values and look to the monitor for percentage values Releasing Channels CLR will remove the last entry onto the command line CLR CLR will release any selected channels Those in a red box with white text Pressing CLR one more time the thi...

Page 26: ...alues in a zero time when the cue is activated Fade color beam and position values shall fade with the transition of the cue using the time of the cue Snap 100 color beam and position values shall output to the stored values in a zero time when the cue is com pleted S6 Delete All Cues This option allows the ability to delete all stored cues as illustrated in Figure 31 When in this screen Press S9 ...

Page 27: ... the cue Pressing S10 Name shall bring up the following screen as shown in Figure 33 for labeling a cue Figure 33 Adding a Label Name to a Cue Rotate Encoder D to identify the first letter for the label Shift will allow for Upper Case letters and press down on Encoder D to Select the highlighted letter Repeat as necessary to add all letters to the label Once the name is selected use Encoder D to s...

Page 28: ...r to playback a cue use the following command CUE LOAD GO or CUE GO The Cue key is on the main command panel the number is the number of the cue that you want to load Load and GO are below the crossfade sliders The continued pressing of the GO key will automatically trigger the next sequentially numbered cue in the cue list Once you are at the end of the cue list the GO button has nothing other to...

Page 29: ...k and completed yellow states Figure 36 Cue Transitioning Graphic 8 Cue List The Cue List will allow the ability to view the list of cues as well as edit cue properties preview cue content and delete cues Start by pressing the CUE button on the command panel and the color screen will display the recorded cues as see in Figure 37 Figure 37 Cue List Figure 37 shows cues 1 and 2 in the list The cue w...

Page 30: ... you want to copy Then press the S2 Copy softkey and it will select the highlighted cue Now type in the destination cue number that you want to create Finish by pressing ENTER Ranges of cues can be copied when you highlight multiple cues with the Shift button and Encoder D Note The destination cue number must be available before the copy procedure can be accomplished Figure 39 Copy Command Copy Cu...

Page 31: ...information Figure 41 Recording a Submaster Record Mode Note In Record Mode many commands are limited to recording actions Submaster Pages In order to record levels to a submaster on a particular page when the RECORD button is pressed look for the page indication on the two number LCD display By default it will say 01 If another submaster page is desired use the Arrow Up and Arrow Down keys as sho...

Page 32: ...ll remove all other channel s levels and allow the channels that are stored in the selected sub to output based on the level of the submaster as long as the button is held down When the button is released all affected channels will restore to their previous levels Latch the button when pressed and released shall send all channels to their stored value and shall remain that way until the button is ...

Page 33: ...mp button shall be lit in white and will be marked with an I in the submaster display area of the monitor Note Any Inhibitive submaster should normally be in the UP position It will affect the output of all stored channel s levels if it is at any other value that full A good example is to put all of the Front of House FOH channels in this so that when you need to remove all FOH light when the curt...

Page 34: ...e 45 Delete All Subpages Del Page Sub Screen S8 Del Sub This setting allows the ability to delete the selected submaster Note the XX XX indicates SubPage Submaster WARNING Once executed this command cannot be reversed Figure 46 Deleting Selected Submaster Del Sub Screen S10 Name This option allows the ability to label the submaster Pressing S10 Name shall bring up the following screen for labeling...

Page 35: ...rrect press ENTER to complete the record sub action An alternate method is to press and hold the submaster s bump button for 3 seconds to complete the record command Once the submaster is recorded the submaster s bump button will be lit in red and the channel s levels will still be active in red Press CLR CLR to release and now the submaster shall function correctly When the channels have been rel...

Page 36: ...l Levels on page 23 for more information Figure 50 Recording a Playback Record Mode Screen Note In Record Mode many commands are limited to recording actions The next step after RECORD is pressed is to select a submaster by pressing its bump button The selected submaster s bump button will flash red to indicate that the active live channels are in the process of being stored into the selected subm...

Page 37: ...tion related parameters Snap color beam and position values shall output to their stored values in a zero time when the cue is activated Fade color beam and position values shall fade with the transition of the cue using the time of the cue Snap 100 color beam and position values shall output to the stored values in a zero time when the cue is com pleted S6 Insert This option will store the curren...

Page 38: ...ns The next step after RECORD is pressed is to select a submaster by pressing its bump button The selected submaster s bump button will flash red to indicate that the active live channels are in the process of being stored into the selected submaster The following screen shows the options once the submaster has been selected by pressing its bump button Figure 54 Changing the Settings of an Effect ...

Page 39: ...n tilt and any other position related parameters Snap color beam and position values shall output to their stored values in a zero time when the cue is activated Fade color beam and position values shall fade with the transition of the cue using the time of the cue Snap 100 color beam and position values shall output to the stored values in a zero time when the cue is com pleted S5 Direction This ...

Page 40: ...Encoder B Speed This option will adjust the rate at which the effect s step will wait prior to triggering the next step Note Repeat this process for the number of steps that are required on that submaster effect 13 Cue Submaster Preview The Cue Submaster preview screen Figure 56 is in a grey background to let you know you are in preview Figure 56 Cue Submaster Preview Screen Level information is i...

Page 41: ...t of numbers 01 while the fader number is the second set of numbers 01 The Step column displays how many steps are stored S is for Submaster Up displays the up time This is often referred to as the in time Dw displays the down time This is often referred to as the out time In the example above Fader 1 is stored as a submaster as is fader 2 However fader 7 has an effect stored on it with 2 steps Pu...

Page 42: ...ing changes and returns the screen to the main Sub List screen options S9 Preview Allows previewing and editing the content of the submaster See Cue Submaster Preview on page 39 for more info While in Sub Preview the monitor will appear with a grey background That s the indication that you are in preview Editing can be done at this point A simple example of editing levels while in preview CHANNEL ...

Page 43: ... made Encoder D use the Up Down action to highlight the effect step that is to be affected Edit a Submaster Playback Once a playback is stored as a submaster it can be edited without the need to recreate the look onstage and rerecord Figure 61 Edit a Submaster Playback S1 Edit Time This will allow the editing of all parameters of the submaster effect that was selected as well as editing the item i...

Page 44: ...aused effect S10 Pause Shall freeze or pause a running effect 16 Recording a Group A Group is a collection of fixtures only not channels used by programmers to speed up the act of assigning levels to fixtures The first step is to select the fixtures that you want stored in the group Select FIXTURE button and then S1 through S10 Then press RECORD GROUP and the appropriate softkey The first group wi...

Page 45: ...ures 21 thru 30 Use the Arrow Up and Arrow Down keys next to the LCD screen to change fixture pages Basic attributes like Intensity shall appear on the color screen and are accessed from Encoders A thru D Figure 64 Automated Luminaire Control Engaging the encoder shall change the values for the selected attribute When the attribute s value has been changed the background shall change to white and ...

Page 46: ...eter will tag that parameter A tagged parameter will appear on the color screen in a white background On the monitor the parameter will appear in a red background If in Setup the Record Mode is at the default setting of Full recording an attributed fixture shall record all changes based upon the tagging even if the values are at zero Tagging of a fixture occurs when the parameter has been changed ...

Page 47: ...tribute family button position color or beam above the color screen The screen shot below show recording position as an example Figure 69 Recording a Palette Position Example Use Encoder A to assign a Name to the palette Note this step is optional To complete the recording process press ENTER The recording position s will now appear and be accessed by the S keys Applying A Palette Once palettes ha...

Page 48: ...he first fixture patched will have a channel alias of 901 From the Command Line press 9 0 1 ENTER This shall have the same effect as selecting the S1 softkey 20 Focus The Focus button F2 is the point of information for all focus positions that are recorded in the current showfile Each type of focus point Position Color and Beam are available and can be manipulated here Figure 71 Focus List Screen ...

Page 49: ...ed focus point A warning screen shall allow the user to select S9 Yes or S10 No WARNING Once executed this command cannot be reversed S9 Preview allows the user to preview the highlighted focus point The VGA monitor will display the stored focus information to be viewed S10 Name allows the user to label the focus point 21 Automated Luminaire Effects Effects allow constant movement of light in eith...

Page 50: ...angle The effect that is selected will appear in yellow text S6 Direction determines the direction of the movement Options are Clockwise and Counterclockwise Encoder B Size X determines the scale of the movement on the X axis Encoder C Size Y determines the scale of the movement on the Y axis Encoder D Speed determines the speed at which the effect operates 22 Archive The Archive screen in Setup a...

Page 51: ...der names When the proper six character name has been selected press ENTER using Encoder D to highlight and select and the file will be saved Note When viewing the showfile on a PC the showfile that was created will be in the directory 250ML SHOW Clear Memory Subs This maintenance action will clear all stored cues subs and playbacks from the memory of the console Figure 76 Setup Menu Clearing Memo...

Page 52: ...how data This action is not recoverable nor reversible Password 168168 Load Show This maintenance action allows the loading of a previously stored showfile Figure 79 Loading a Showfile Using Encoder D scroll up down to highlight the show to load and select S10 Enter to confirm the showfile Figure 80 Showfile Loading With the softkeys the user can select which items within the showfile will be load...

Page 53: ...ting levels storing the effect on a submaster releasing the channels then repeat this process until all steps are recorded Here is a key to the images in the example This image Figure 81 represents the smaller buttons on the console These are bump buttons and softkeys Figure 81 Small Button on Console This image Figure 81 represents the larger buttons on the console These are the command line keys...

Page 54: ...ent Step as 02 If you want the default of the current step adding to the end of the step list then no adjustment is needed However if you need the step that you are recording to be in front of the currently recorded step 1 then adjust the C Step U D option on Encoder A Also this is a good time to adjust the Speed of the effect For this example please leave the Current Step set to 02 Finish by clea...

Page 55: ...lips Selecon dealer or technical support 1 Reset Desk This shall remove all show data and default the console back to its original settings Figure 86 Maintenance Screen Reset Desk Option WARNING This action is password protected for the safety of the show data This action is not recoverable nor reversible Password 168168 2 Update Software This shall allow the user to update the operational softwar...

Page 56: ...o update the video output software of the 250ML Control Console Please download the latest version of the 250ML software from www strandlighting com Insert the USB key with the software into the USB port on the top of the console Do not use the port on the back plate of the desk as this is reserved for a USB light Use Encoder D to navigate to the Update VGA Screen option and press to select Figure...

Page 57: ... functionality of the hardware Once the test mode is running all buttons shall light up and activating all hardware items buttons and sliders shall provide on screen feedback to the onboard color screen for confirmation of functionality Once all tests have been completed press SHIFT S10 to exit the text routine ...

Page 58: ...MX OUT 2 Each DMX512A RDM XLR5F Ports Power Input Connects to a Universal Power Supply 100 240VAC to VDC provided with unit Power Requirement DC 9 12V 2A Max USB Ports 2 Ports Front USB port for library storage rear USB port is specifically for desk light connection Overall Dimensions 28 9 x 12 8 x 3 2 in 734 x 324 x 81 mm Weight 19 4 lbs 8 8 kgs Housing Electrolytic Plate with powder finishing 73...

Page 59: ...ol via 1024 DMX out puts LCD display for easy operation with contrast adjustment Monitor display to provide enhanced display of information USB port for uploading downloading data or updating software Ethernet port for faster communication with compatible devices DMX IN allows 5 pin XLR connector to connect external console DMX output 5 pin XLR connector Back lighting bump buttons changes color de...

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