10
Adapters for 3 or 5 pin XLR
Systems using a mix of 3 and 5 pin XLR DMX interfaces can be accommodated by
purchasing adapters or building adapter cables. Numbers designating each pin can be
found on connectors. Converting between the two XLR types is done pin-to-pin. Shield
wire connects to pin 1, then connect pin 2 to pin 2 and pin 3 to pin 3, regardless of either
connector’s gender or pin count. No connection is made to Pins 4 & 5.
DMX Start Address
More than one fixture may have the same start address, but they will behave the same.
Giving a unique start address that does not overlap with any other units allows you to
individually control that fixture’s features fully. Never allow channels to overlap. This
fixture features a 3 channel DMX mode. This will determine the spacing of channels you
will need to avoid overlapping of channels when selecting your start addresses.
Example
Select Start Addresses for 4 fixtures each requiring 10 channels of DMX.
For this example, start with the first unit set to the first possible Start Address =
1
. This fixture
occupies DMX channels 1 thru 10. The next DMX channel available for a Start Address is found
by adding the previous fixture’s Start Address to its channel requirement: 1+10=
11
. To maximize
channel usage, we will leave no empty channels between fixtures so the second Start Address is
set to DMX channel 11 and that fixture occupies channels 11 thru 20. The third fixture will be
addressed 11+10=
21
and occupy channels 21 thru 30. The last fixture is addressed 21+10=
31
and will occupy channels 31 thru 40. Thus, 4 fixtures using 10 channels each have Start
Addresses of
1, 11, 21
and 31 and the next free channel in the system is 31+10=41.
5 Pin
XLR (Plug)
Pin 1: GND(Sheild)
Pin 2: Signal(-)
Pin 3: )
Pin 4: N/C
Pin 5: N/C
3
XLR (S
)
Pin 1: GND(Sheild)
Pin 2: Signal(-)
Pin 3: )
Pin ocket
5 Pin XLR (Socket)
Pin 1: GND(Sheild)
Pin 2: Signal(-)
Pin 3: )
Pin 4: N/C
Pin 5: N/C
3
XLR (Plug)
Pin 1: GND(Sheild)
Pin 2: Signal(-)
Pin 3: )
Pin