Zero 88 FLX Lighting Console
–
User Manual
Page
37
of
64
Patching
–
introduction
The DMX Patch (o
r “patching”) is a required process where
ZerOS is told all about the devices, known as “fixtures”
,
being used in your lighting rig
(
see “
” on
. From
this information, ZerOS will be able to provide you the
controls required on-screen (and on the fixture wheels) to
control all the functions,
known as “parameters”
, of these
fixtures
(
see “
” on
page 37).
Fixtures
Every device controlled by
ZerOS is known as a “
Fixture
”,
and will be
assigned a “
Fixture Number
”. Fixtures can be a
simple generic dimmer channel or a more complex device
such as a colour scroller, LED fixture, moving head, strobe
light, smoke machine or media server.
Parameters
A parameter is a function of a fixture. A fixture with ten
different functions has 10 different “
parameters
”.
Dimmer
channels are simple fixtures with only one parameter - the
“
intensity
”. More complex devices
(such as moving lights,
LEDs etc) are fixtures with multiple parameters (for
example “
pan
”, “
tilt
”, “
red
”, “
green
”, “
blue
”, “
strobe
”
and/or
“
focus
”).
Some fixtures may contain multiple operating “modes”,
which can vary the amount of parameters that are
available. For example, some customers may want less
control than others, so they can choose a mode that has
less parameters. For more information on this, please
consult the fixture’s operating manual.
Attributes
Parameters are grouped together into four attributes for
easy access and control. These attributes are called
“
Colour
”, “
Beam
”, “
Shape
” and “
Position
”.
A fifth attribute, called “
Effect
”, manipulates parameters to
create effects such as “
Circle
”, “
Ballyhoo
” and “
Rainbow
”.
On FLX, these five attribute buttons can be found along the
right hand side of the internal touchscreen.
Zero 88 Fixture library
ZerOS includes the Zero 88 Fixture Library. This is a
library which contains information for over 4500 fixtures,
including how they work, what parameters they have, what
their default vales are etc. During the patching process,
you tell ZerOS the Make and Model of the fixtures being
used, and ZerOS finds those fixtures in the Zero 88 Fixture
Library to learn all about them. The Zero 88 fixture library
is regularly updated, and can be downloaded from
zero88.com/software/library.
User fixture types
If the fixture type you require is not in the library, you can
import it - see zero88.com/software/library for more info.
Here you can either request a “User Fixture Type”, or
create one yourself using the Fixture Tools utility which is
available on the above link, along with a guide to creating
User Fixture Types.
Once a User Fixture Type has been obtained or created, to
load it into console you save it onto USB, plug it into the
console, press Setup and then choose
Load File
.
A list of files found on the drive will then be displayed and
you can select the required file using the cursor keys or
touch screen. Once the file you want is highlighted, press
the
OK
button to load it into the desk.
All the fixture types contained in the selected fixture type
file will be loaded and added to the fixture library on the
desk. These now work in the same way as any of the
normal fixture types already present in the fixture library on
the desk, displayed in the correct place based on the
alphabetical sorting of manufacturer and fixture type.
