PRG VL5+, User Manual

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TECHNICAL
S
PECIFICATIONS
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B
Terminate/
Termination
Termination refers to the dampening of DMX signal at the end of the transmission line. Termination is
created by placing a 100 ohm resistor between pins 2 and 3 of the DMX line. Often, there is a switch on
DMX devices to do this internally. If not, a terminator is provided in the form of an XLR connector with the
proper resistor between pins 2 and 3 to be placed in the DMX Thru port on the device.
Test
Software
Software resident in the Smart Repeater unit that allows for troubleshooting of a Series 300 luminaire.
Three-
Phase Power
In order to manufacture electricity efficiently, it is created in what is known as three "phases". In other words,
in its creation, the sine wave of alternating current are offset by 120°. The VARI
❋
LITE system runs on three-
phase power, as indicated by the five Cam-Lok connectors on the mod rack - Phase X, Phase Y, Phase Z,
Neutral and Ground. Each phase in a 200A feed can support 200A of equipment. To adequately power the
same amount of equipment on a single phase, you would need a 600A feed.
Thumb-
wheel Switch
Three digit switching device used to set the range of channels a particular Smart Repeater unit or other
Series 300 hardware device looks at for control information. Also used to set the operating mode of a Smart
Repeater unit.
Tilt
The movement of the luminaire around the axis of the tilt tube.
Time
Control of the duration of the change of the variable parameters of VARI
❋
LITE automated luminaires and
other devices in a lighting system.
Timing
Channel
A Timing Channel is used in lieu of cue fade rate to determine the time it will take a luminaire to move from
one setting to another. For example, a cue in which a luminaire pans from one side of stage to the other may
look "steppy" if cue fade rate is used, because of the nature of the DMX512 signal. To overcome this, a
timing channel causes the Smart Repeater unit and luminaire to calculate the move in time, effectively
smoothing out the movement. To operate properly, the new position and timing channel levels need to be sent
to the Smart Repeater in a zero count, (an instant change).
Zero
Position
Pan and Tilt values at 50%. Also called "Home Position" or a "50/50" cue or group.
8-Bit DMX
The universally accepted lighting control protocol in the entertainment industry. A console uses this protocol
to control specific devices in a lighting system. A DMX512 channel packet is eight bits of absolute parameter
data. 8-bit refers to the resolution of the signal: 256 step resolution, providing channel values from 0 through
255. A DMX512 data packet is a group of 512 data channels.
16-Bit DMX
To smooth out the movement of automated luminaires, the industry has adopted 16-bit DMX. This is not a
change to the DMX512 specification, rather a change in the way luminaires and consoles treat DMX512
information. In practice, 16-bit DMX adds a DMX512 channel each to pan and tilt - pan coarse, pan fine, tilt
coarse, tilt fine, instead of just pan and tilt. The console and luminaire combine these levels and increase the
resolution of pan and tilt from 256 steps to a theoretical maximum 65,536 steps at the console level, resulting
in the ability to position the luminaire more accurately.