Return-Path: X-Processed-By: Virex 7 on prxy.net X-Real-To: stagecraftlist [at] theatrical.net Received: by prxy.net (CommuniGate Pro PIPE 4.2.5) with PIPE id 4860443; Mon, 01 Nov 2004 03:00:53 -0800 X-ListServer: CommuniGate Pro LIST 4.2.5 List-Unsubscribe: List-ID: Message-ID: From: "Stagecraft" Sender: "Stagecraft" To: "Stagecraft" Precedence: list Subject: Stagecraft Digest #181 Date: Mon, 01 Nov 2004 03:00:40 -0800 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1" Content-Disposition: inline X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.1 (2004-10-22) on prxy.net X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-4.7 required=5.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00 autolearn=ham version=3.0.1 X-TFF-CGPSA-Version: 1.4f2 X-prxy-Spam-Filter: Scanned For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see --------------------------------------------------- Stagecraft Digest, Issue #181 1. Re: LED birds for Into the Woods by Herrick Goldman 2. Re: Drop Cleaning by Dale Farmer 3. Re: Drop Cleaning by Kyle Dugger 4. Re: LED's by "Paul Guncheon" 5. Mold release by "Paul Guncheon" 6. sculpt or coat on a budget by "Neesa Hart" 7. Re: Drop cleaning by Marty_Petlock [at] sarasotagov.com 8. Re: Bizarre Multiple Catastrophic Truss Failure by Mick Alderson 9. DIY DMX? by Jason 10. Re: Colorado Springs by Kevin Lee Allen 11. Re: Colorado Springs by IAEG [at] aol.com 12. ETC Unison by Kyle Dugger 13. ETC Unison by Kyle Dugger 14. ETC Unison by Kyle Dugger 15. Re: DIY DMX? by Jerry Durand 16. Re: ETC Unison by Greg Persinger 17. Re: DIY DMX? by Greg Persinger 18. Re: DIY DMX? by "Kelly Kohls" 19. Re: DIY DMX? by Jerry Durand 20. Re: ETC Unison by Kyle Dugger 21. Re: LED birds for Into the Woods by " joe" 22. Febreeze scentstories by Herrick Goldman 23. Re: ETC Unison by Greg Persinger 24. Re: DIY DMX? by Kåre Olai Lindbach 25. Re: LED birds for Into the Woods by FrankWood95 [at] aol.com 26. Re: Colorado Springs by "Randy Whitcomb" 27. Re: Colorado Springs by Mark O'Brien 28. Re: LED birds for Into the Woods by Jerry Durand 29. Re: Drop Cleaning by "Tony Deeming" 30. Re: Mold release by "Jon Ares" 31. Re: Colorado Springs by "Jon Ares" 32. Re: Febreeze scentstories by Noah Price 33. Re: Colorado Springs by John McKernon 34. Re: Colorado Springs by "Jonathan S. Deull" 35. Re: Mold release by "Joe Meils" 36. 'shop made' sculpt or coat by SMANKO [at] aol.com 37. Re: Febreeze scentstories by Greg Bierly 38. Re: DIY DMX? by Greg Bierly 39. Re: ETC Unison by Kyle Dugger 40. Re: Febreeze scentstories by "Jason Cowperthwaite" 41. Re: DIY DMX? by "Jason Cowperthwaite" 42. Re: Febreeze scentstories by Mark O'Brien 43. Re: DIY DMX? by Noah Price 44. Re: DIY DMX? by Charlie Richmond 45. Re: DIY DMX? by Jerry Durand 46. Re: LED birds for Into the Woods by Stuart Wheaton 47. Re: ETC Unison by Stephen Litterst 48. Re: cold water ground by StevevETTrn [at] aol.com 49. Re: DMX512 Back Channel by Mitch Hefter 50. Re: Febreeze scentstories by *** Please update the subject line of your reply to use the subject *** line of the message you are replying to! Please only reply to *** one message subject in each reply. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 07:38:54 -0500 Subject: Re: LED birds for Into the Woods From: Herrick Goldman Message-ID: In-Reply-To: Well that's because I live backwards in time like Merlin. You're welcome. Talk to me in a week and I'll warn some folks about a potentially catastrophic multiple truss failure and it will never occur. -H On 10/30/04 23:28, "Scott C. Parker" wrote: > For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see > --------------------------------------------------- > > Thanks Herrick. > I love this list: your reply came a minute before I sent my question.., :-) > > -- Herrick Goldman Lighting Designer, NYC www.HGLightingDesign.com "To the scores of silent alchemists who wreak their joy in darkness and in light bringing magic to life, we bow most humbly. "-CDS ------------------------------ Message-ID: <4184E2D1.13D75213 [at] cybercom.net> Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 08:04:17 -0500 From: Dale Farmer Subject: Re: Drop Cleaning References:

Kyle Dugger wrote: > For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see > --------------------------------------------------- > > I need some help. I have a light grey leno cyc that has gotten dirty. > It has had Flame Retardent applied to it so I am leary of trying > anything. I have seen what happens when the FR salts start to leach out > onto the surface of a drop. It is not a very pretty sight. There are > some black marks anlong one side that appear to be just dirt and dust > but there are also a couple of small red stripes and I am not sure what > they are. Are there any companies that I could send the drop to to have > it cleaned and the Flame Retardent re-applied. > > kyle dugger If you mentioned what country and region you are in we could make appropriate suggestions as to the cleaning service, not that I know one offhand. Have you already tried brushing it with dry brush while applying suction from a vacuum cleaner? Start with a soft brush and work up to stiffer brushes. This can produce pilling in the cloth, so use care. This will do a pretty good job of pulling dust type marks out, especially if they are fresh. Blowing with clean, dry compressed air will help dislodge dust particles that have gotten entangled in the weave of the cloth in thin materials. Next technique is lightly rubbing with a clean just barely dampened cloth. This will remove some surface marks. Do both sides. Good luck. --Dale ------------------------------ Message-ID: <16146866.1099231081932.JavaMail.root [at] bigbird.psp.pas.earthlink.net> Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 07:58:01 -0600 (GMT-06:00) From: Kyle Dugger Subject: Re: Drop Cleaning I am in the US in North West Tennessee. kyle -----Original Message----- From: Dale Farmer Sent: Oct 31, 2004 7:04 AM To: Stagecraft Subject: Re: Drop Cleaning For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see --------------------------------------------------- Kyle Dugger wrote: > For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see > --------------------------------------------------- > > I need some help. I have a light grey leno cyc that has gotten dirty. > It has had Flame Retardent applied to it so I am leary of trying > anything. I have seen what happens when the FR salts start to leach out > onto the surface of a drop. It is not a very pretty sight. There are > some black marks anlong one side that appear to be just dirt and dust > but there are also a couple of small red stripes and I am not sure what > they are. Are there any companies that I could send the drop to to have > it cleaned and the Flame Retardent re-applied. > > kyle dugger If you mentioned what country and region you are in we could make appropriate suggestions as to the cleaning service, not that I know one offhand. Have you already tried brushing it with dry brush while applying suction from a vacuum cleaner? Start with a soft brush and work up to stiffer brushes. This can produce pilling in the cloth, so use care. This will do a pretty good job of pulling dust type marks out, especially if they are fresh. Blowing with clean, dry compressed air will help dislodge dust particles that have gotten entangled in the weave of the cloth in thin materials. Next technique is lightly rubbing with a clean just barely dampened cloth. This will remove some surface marks. Do both sides. Good luck. --Dale ------------------------------ Message-ID: <003f01c4bf53$41eda2a0$0202a8c0 [at] MyLastPC> From: "Paul Guncheon" References: Subject: Re: LED's Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 04:09:37 -1000 A couple of links oughta help you out. http://wild-bohemian.com/electronics/flasher.html http://www.white-leds.co.uk/led-wiring-guide.htm As the first link states, it's easier to use already blinking led's than to make them blink. I would probably opt for "grain of wheat" or miniature Christmas lamps as led's are directional. Laters, Paul "Don't wipe your feet on Fido!" said Tom dogmatically. ------------------------------ Message-ID: <000701c4bf5d$f0054f00$0202a8c0 [at] MyLastPC> From: "Paul Guncheon" References: Subject: Mold release Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 05:26:03 -1000 I am going to attempt casting some ice cubes in polyester resin for a food stylist friend. I have decided, after a lengthy period of research and investigation, to use, as a mold, an ice cube tray. If anyone on the list has done this, I would like to know what to use as a mold release. I would prefer some sort of locally available product if there is one that will work. Mahalo, Paul "It's a tree," Tom said, woodenly. "It's the 14th letter of the alphabet made out of plywood" said Tom, woodenly. ------------------------------ Message-Id: <200410311534.i9VFXxCM007522 [at] host6.christianwebhost.com> From: "Neesa Hart" Subject: sculpt or coat on a budget Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 10:33:58 -0500 In-Reply-To: Thanks everyone for the suggestions. We went with the Jaxsan 600 and it worked beautifully. Actually, we ended up doing three steps. I found that because of the extensive amount of carving we had to do on this particular prop (more on that later), we had pits and divots throughout. We filled these with bondo and sanded down for a nice smooth finish. This step created a lovely coating of foam dust which dutifully filled in all the tiny little bubble holes. To capitalize on the dust phenomenon, we coated the entire thing with a 50/50 mix of Elmer's glue all and water. That sealed all those dust pockets in and began to give us that hard, shell-like surface we needed. Because we have to tour with this prop, we wanted a really hard shell -- plus, it's children's theatre, so you can never really be too careful or too durable. So Jaxsan 600 made the final sealant coat (we got it at Lowes) before painting. It really worked perfectly, what we have is a 6' x 3' Rocket-Powered Camel complete with vent tubes (8" metal duct work), back thrusters (plastic flower pots with Le Flame kits mounted inside) and a smooth finish that really looks very credibly like a fiberglass amusement park car. That was the designer's entire concept to begin with. Soon, I plan to have pictures up on the website of the whole process. Many of you helped along the way -- whether you know it or not -- with various techniques and tips that allowed us to build this prop for around $1500 instead of the $7000+ we were quoted from professional shops. Thanks again. Neesa Hart www.frickandfrackmusic.com ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Drop cleaning Message-ID: From: Marty_Petlock [at] sarasotagov.com Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 10:39:40 -0500 Message-ID: <41846107.9060204 [at] earthlink.net> Date: Sat, 30 Oct 2004 22:50:31 -0500 From: Kyle Dugger Subject: Drop Cleaning References: Kyle, I'm pretty sure that Rose Brand in NYC can do that for you 800-223-1624 Marty Petlock Technical Facilities Manager Van Wezel P.A.H. Sarasota, FL. ******************************************************************************************************************************************* E-mail messages sent or received by City of Sarasota officials and employees in connection with official City business are public records subject to disclosure under the Florida Public Records Act. ******************************************************************************************************************************************* ------------------------------ Message-ID: <4184FFE4.2060804 [at] uwosh.edu> Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 09:08:20 -0600 From: Mick Alderson Subject: Re: Bizarre Multiple Catastrophic Truss Failure Chris Babbie wrote: >>It is not designed to be a folcrum point and that's what it >>>would be if it was 'outside' the pick up point. >>>Zat help? > > > Yup, 'cept that I still don't understand why the (seemingly equally) > opposite forces on the connections between the picks are ok. There must be > some sorta rigger math or bistro math involved that I don't yet > understand... > There probably is some sort of rigger math involved, but think of it this way: Stick a shovel in the ground. Push down on the handle, and the ground gives way and lifts the dirt. Stick a brace under the end of the handle, and the shovel can't lift the dirt. If you push on the middle of the handle hard enough you'll break the handle, but the dirt stays unturned. Obviously this isn't an exact analogy, but I think the principles are similar. Cantilevering creates a huge multiplication of applied force (you "could move the world") while the pressure on a beam supported on both sides of a load is distributed between both ends, so load on the adjacent joints of the truss is far less. But with enough force you can break anything! :-) -- Mick Alderson TD, Fredric March Theatre University of Wis. Oshkosh ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 11:28:00 -0500 (EST) From: Jason Subject: DIY DMX? Message-ID: Hey folks, I have been thinking about tinkering with DMX and was wondering if any of you have any web/book/etc resources on getting started in DIY DMX... especially on the recieving end... taking a DMX signal, breaking it up, and making an object respond to it properly. Thanks in advance, Jason Cowperthwaite ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 11:28:01 -0500 From: Kevin Lee Allen Subject: Re: Colorado Springs In-reply-to: Message-id: References: you're gonna die from the cold. On Oct 30, 2004, at 6:10 PM, CB wrote: > For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see=20 > > --------------------------------------------------- > > Hey, I've got a corp gig up in Colo Spgs next month, and I may need=20 > some > local guys at the Broadmoor forAV waiter stuff. ----- Kevin Lee Allen Production Designer http://www.klad.com 973.744.6352.voice 201.280.3841.cell klad [at] klad.com =F0 ------------------------------ From: IAEG [at] aol.com Message-ID: <1f6.1dcfd51.2eb66d8f [at] aol.com> Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 11:32:15 EST Subject: Re: Colorado Springs In a message dated 10/31/04 8:31:22 AM, klad [at] klad.com writes: >> Hey, I've got a corp gig up in Colo Spgs next month, and I may need > >> some > >> local guys at the Broadmoor forAV waiter stuff. they have to be AV techs AND waiters ? sounds like dinner theatre ! very best, Keith Arsenault ------------------------------ Message-ID: <13743592.1099240561202.JavaMail.root [at] louie.psp.pas.earthlink.net> Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 10:36:00 -0600 (GMT-06:00) From: Kyle Dugger Subject: ETC Unison I have an Unison unit from ETC that I can not get to pass, or send out, DMX. I can use a handheld remote and get DMX to the dimmers but it will not pass through the Unison. I can by-pass it to make the show happen but I still need to get it fixed. Does anyone have ideas on what steps I might take. I have reloaed the program and it seems to be functioning there is just no data coming out of the unit. kyle ------------------------------ Message-ID: <15980387.1099240592235.JavaMail.root [at] louie.psp.pas.earthlink.net> Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 10:36:31 -0600 (GMT-06:00) From: Kyle Dugger Subject: ETC Unison I have an Unison unit from ETC that I can not get to pass, or send out, DMX. I can use a handheld remote and get DMX to the dimmers but it will not pass through the Unison. I can by-pass it to make the show happen but I still need to get it fixed. Does anyone have ideas on what steps I might take. I have reloaed the program and it seems to be functioning there is just no data coming out of the unit. kyle ------------------------------ Message-ID: <28993254.1099240637615.JavaMail.root [at] louie.psp.pas.earthlink.net> Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 10:37:17 -0600 (GMT-06:00) From: Kyle Dugger Subject: ETC Unison I have an Unison unit from ETC that I can not get to pass, or send out, DMX. I can use a handheld remote and get DMX to the dimmers but it will not pass through the Unison. I can by-pass it to make the show happen but I still need to get it fixed. Does anyone have ideas on what steps I might take. I have reloaed the program and it seems to be functioning there is just no data coming out of the unit. kyle ------------------------------ Message-Id: <6.1.2.0.0.20041031084103.00b175b0 [at] localhost> Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 08:48:21 -0800 From: Jerry Durand Subject: Re: DIY DMX? In-Reply-To: References: At 08:28 AM 10/31/2004, you wrote: >I have been thinking about tinkering with DMX and was wondering if any of >you have any web/book/etc resources on getting started in DIY DMX... >especially on the recieving end... taking a DMX signal, breaking it up, >and making an object respond to it properly. If you have a processor with a built-in UART that can detect break (or the "stop-bit") it makes life a lot easier. If you haven't programmed UARTs before, start with just getting it to talk to a regular RS-232 port. Once you have that, you're 90% there. After that, you just need to detect break (or the stop bit being "wrong"), the next byte received is the start code (always 0x00 for lighting), that is followed by a stream of bytes that are the levels for channels 0-511 (or 1-512). Count bytes until you get to the one(s) you're interested in and ignore the rest. Hint: You do NOT need to receive every packet, fast controllers (like our box) can send out about 800 packets/second for 15 channels. Even if you dim every half cycle at 60Hz, that's only 120 times a second you could possibly update. So, to prevent flickering (or crashing) that cheap dimmers do, once you have a dim value for this 120/th of a second, TURN OFF the serial input until you're ready for the next packet. Then, just wait for a break to start the next packet. Oh, properly handle start codes other than 0x00 (ignore the entire packet) and don't crash if you get too few (or zero) channels of data or more than 512. And, you're on your way! ---------- Jerry Durand Durand Interstellar, Inc. 219 Oak Wood Way Los Gatos, California 95032-2523 USA tel: +1 408 356-3886 fax: +1 408 356-4659 web: www.interstellar.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 10:57:06 -0600 Subject: Re: ETC Unison From: Greg Persinger Message-ID: In-Reply-To: Kyle, Does Unison control your dimmers from the wall stations or LCD touch pad OK. Have you had a console hooked up to it before? Is your Unison controller in a DR dimmer rack or an ER4 stand alone controller? Have you just added these dimmers? Chances are good that it is not a Unison problem but rather a wrong setting in the config file. Unison as a general rule does not pass DMX without telling it to. Please detail your problem a bit more and maybe I can help you figure it out as there are several ways to deal with DMX in a Unison system. Greg Persinger Vivid Illumination Greg [at] Vividillumination.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 11:01:30 -0600 Subject: Re: DIY DMX? From: Greg Persinger Message-ID: In-Reply-To: Ok Jerry, As an electronics wizard you make it sound so easy but I know that's not true. :-) I'll stick to buying my DMX stuff off of the shelf. Greg Persinger Vivid Illumination Greg [at] Vividillumination.com ------------------------------ From: "Kelly Kohls" Subject: RE: DIY DMX? Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 11:19:07 -0600 Message-ID: In-Reply-To: Jason, >I have been thinking about tinkering with DMX and was wondering if any of >you have any web/book/etc resources on getting started in DIY DMX... Have a look at my homepage (http://www.qsl.net/n5tle/). I've posted the source code and schematics to my DMX projects. Let me know if you have any questions. Kelly Kohls, N5TLE Bedford, Texas There never enough time to do it right, but plenty of time to do it over. ------------------------------ Message-Id: <6.1.2.0.0.20041031091729.00b1a7e0 [at] localhost> Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 09:20:32 -0800 From: Jerry Durand Subject: Re: DIY DMX? In-Reply-To: References:

At 09:01 AM 10/31/2004, you wrote: >Ok Jerry, > >As an electronics wizard you make it sound so easy but I know that's not >true. :-) > > I'll stick to buying my DMX stuff off of the shelf. Hey, I'd love more people to buy our stuff, too (we did just do a DMX slave unit for an architectural customer, if anyone is interested contact me). But, he asked about doing his own and I'm not about to say it's a secret and you MUST buy our products. A DMX slave is not trivial, but it's not rocket science, either (yes, I do rockets, too). Where it gets tricky is a slave doing a lot of channels cheap (I'm considering doing one of those) and doing a DMX controller like our 4201. ---------- Jerry Durand Durand Interstellar, Inc. 219 Oak Wood Way Los Gatos, California 95032-2523 USA tel: +1 408 356-3886 fax: +1 408 356-4659 web: www.interstellar.com ------------------------------ Message-ID: <8436106.1099244604749.JavaMail.root [at] kermit.psp.pas.earthlink.net> Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 11:43:24 -0600 (GMT-06:00) From: Kyle Dugger Subject: Re: ETC Unison Kyle, Does Unison control your dimmers from the wall stations or LCD touch pad OK. No there is no data coming out of the unison at all. The wall stations do seem to be working correctly though. Have you had a console hooked up to it before? Yes, the console has always gone through the unison. The console goes into the "data in" and the "data out" goes to the dimmers. Is your Unison controller in a DR dimmer rack or an ER4 stand alone controller? It is stand alone unit. The dimmer rack is an ETC sensor rack, SR48 Have you just added these dimmers? No nothing has been added or changed about the sytsem, as far as I know. I have been gone from this particular theatre for about 5 months for more reasons that I can list here. I am sure that everyone knows what it is like to work in a community theatre and what all you have to deal with. I have come to back to do a show this winter to a host of problems. Chances are good that it is not a Unison problem but rather a wrong setting in the config file. Unison as a general rule does not pass DMX without telling it to. As far as I know it just worked one day and then did not work the next. We have had some pretty serious storms in our area lately. Please detail your problem a bit more and maybe I can help you figure it out as there are several ways to deal with DMX in a Unison system. I would love to know more about how the unsion deals with routing DMX. I have seen the routing setup but since is was not very explanitory as to what it does I have just left it alone. I am currently running version 1.4 of the software. I hope this helps. If not let me know and I will get some more information together. kyle ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 13:14:40 -0500 Message-Id: <200410311314.AA328270306 [at] paonline.com> From: " joe" Subject: Re: LED birds for Into the Woods >We want to create some sort of twinkling birds for Into > the Woods. I am thinking about a bunch of multi colored > LEDs attached to a 9V battery There are many such electronics kits available. Craft stores also sell blinking-light bundles as minature X-mas tree lights, and to put on T-Shirts. But most use two AA batteries, or button type batteries, not 9v. But, I do recommend going for incandescent over LED's because most LED's have a focused direction for their light. Some links for this stuff; Large variety of electronics kits (they manufacture many of the kits others sell) www.kitsrus.com A LED resistor calculator http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Bill_Bowden/led.htm Some sources for LEDs and related products; http://www.ledproductstore.com/ http://www.ledtronics.com/ Finally, a good source for many surplus electronics, perhaps including some blinking-led stuff. http://www.allelectronics.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 13:15:41 -0500 Subject: Febreeze scentstories From: Herrick Goldman Message-ID: In-Reply-To: So I know we've talked about smell-a-theater before but febreeze is advertising "scentstories" some scent generator that uses a CD to generate a different household fresh scent each half hour. It sounds like they are cueing scent. If we could get 10 of these in a theater and coordinate their output......hmmm http://www.scentstories.com/welcome/faq.php?flash Kinda cool dontcha think? -- Herrick Goldman Lighting Designer, NYC www.HGLightingDesign.com "To the scores of silent alchemists who wreak their joy in darkness and in light bringing magic to life, we bow most humbly. "-CDS ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 12:20:38 -0600 Subject: Re: ETC Unison From: Greg Persinger Message-ID: In-Reply-To: Kyle, Have you given the ER4 a hard reset? If not turn off the power wait a couple of minutes and then turn it back on. Other than that it sounds as though you may have taken enough of a lighting strike to toast the DMX output chips as what you are describing seems to be a hardware issue instead of a software issue. This theater doesn't own a copy of Lightmanager does it? This is the program used to configure a Unison System. Although simple in use, if you don't know what you are doing you can quickly and easily render a Unison system inoperable. I would call ETC and ask them for help or call one of the ETC dealers in Memphis and get them to send a tech to fix the problem. One temporary work around to make your console work would be to land the DMX output to the dimmers in the same wiring header as the input from the console. This effectively splices the wires together and would allow you to use the console until you can get the unit fixed. Remember to turn the power off before working in the unit. Good Luck. Greg Persinger Vivid Illumination Greg [at] Vividillumination.com ------------------------------ From: =?ISO-8859-1?Q?K=E5re_Olai_Lindbach?= Subject: Re: DIY DMX? Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 19:26:20 +0100 Organization: LLP Message-ID: References:

In-Reply-To: On Sun, 31 Oct 2004 11:19:07 -0600, you ("Kelly Kohls" ) wrote: [Jason:] >>I have been thinking about tinkering with DMX and was wondering if any of >>you have any web/book/etc resources on getting started in DIY DMX... > >Have a look at my homepage (http://www.qsl.net/n5tle/). I've posted the >source code and schematics to my DMX projects. Let me know if you have any >questions. I just did some googling, and was almost going to suggest links like Kelly Kohls' ;-). Lots of goodies there. If you like more: I suggest a google on terms like: dmx+pic or dmx+avr just to mention the two most used 8bit microcontrollers. Other sources are Elektor Electronics (www.elektor-electronics.co.uk) and maybe Velleman, then maybe more as soldering kits. Elektor does not show schematics on Internet, you need to buy/loan elder magazines. But sourcecode and pcb are available. Firms like http://www.dil.nl/ also sells kits of several of those products. (I have built DMX-tester, 8 ch DMX-to-analog from Elektor) www.dmx4all.de is also an interesting site for those who like to use somewhat premade stuff. The site is only in German, though, yet. -- mvh/Regards Kåre Olai Lindbach (News: Remove '_delete_' and '.invalid') (HTML-written email from unknown will be discarded) ------------------------------ From: FrankWood95 [at] aol.com Message-ID: <1b8.4fec100.2eb68a6b [at] aol.com> Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 13:35:23 EST Subject: Re: LED birds for Into the Woods In a message dated 31/10/04 04:10:06 GMT Standard Time, scparker [at] gmail.com writes: > Source for LEDs that work on 9v dc? LEDs are current operated devices. They have a forward voltage drop of 1.5 to 2V, depending on colour, and always need a series resistor to limit the current. So you select a resistor that will drop, say, 7V at the design current if you're on a 9V supply. > Source for a very small circuit board to create a variable blink pattern? For each LED, it takes two transistors, two capacitors, and four resistors, in a circuit called an 'astable multivibrator'. Several of these can easily be assembled on a small piece of Veroboard (stripboard?), or even built as a bird's nest. The circuit can be found in most elementary textbooks. Frank Wood ------------------------------ Message-ID: <001b01c4bf78$8d76cb50$0200a8c0 [at] D4D3R151> From: "Randy Whitcomb" References: Subject: Re: Colorado Springs Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 11:36:36 -0700 We're expecting snow today, but next month could very easily see temps in the 70's. It can be rather variable this time of year. I've always found weather along the Front Range to be rather mild. But I grew up on the shore of Lake Ontario. Randy Whitcomb, TD Price Civic Aud. Loveland,CO. ----- Original Message ----- From: "CB" To: "Stagecraft" Sent: Saturday, October 30, 2004 9:10 PM Subject: Colorado Springs > For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see > --------------------------------------------------- > > Hey, I've got a corp gig up in Colo Spgs next month, and I may need some > local guys at the Broadmoor forAV waiter stuff. Anyone know who does this > stuff locally and without constant supervision? And am I gonna die from > the cold? It gets down to the fifties here, and I'm already fraid to go > outside... > Chris "Chris" Babbie > Location Sound > MON AZ > > Delete key training and post trimming done by appointment. Rates > negotiable, will trade for typing lessons/ADD treatment... ------------------------------ In-Reply-To: References:

Message-Id: <9B136014-2B6D-11D9-A877-000393897332 [at] email.arizona.edu> Cc: marko [at] email.arizona.edu (Mark O'Brien) From: Mark O'Brien Subject: Re: Colorado Springs Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 11:49:33 -0700 CB, What you are going to like about the Broa'more, is the door SL=20 from backstage, that leads to the basement pub. One they brought over=20 from England. Not that I ever used it... Mark O'Brien Opera Technical Director University of Arizona, School of Music Tucson, AZ 520/621-7025 520/591-1803 Mobile On Oct 31, 2004, at 9:28 AM, Kevin Lee Allen wrote: > For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see=20 > > --------------------------------------------------- > > you're gonna die from the cold. > > > > On Oct 30, 2004, at 6:10 PM, CB wrote: > >> For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see=20 >> >> --------------------------------------------------- >> >> Hey, I've got a corp gig up in Colo Spgs next month, and I may need=20= >> some >> local guys at the Broadmoor forAV waiter stuff. > > > ----- > Kevin Lee Allen > Production Designer > http://www.klad.com > 973.744.6352.voice > 201.280.3841.cell > klad [at] klad.com > =F0 > > ------------------------------ Message-Id: <6.1.2.0.0.20041031105755.00ac9530 [at] localhost> Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 11:03:00 -0800 From: Jerry Durand Subject: Re: LED birds for Into the Woods In-Reply-To: References: At 10:35 AM 10/31/2004, you wrote: >For each LED, it takes two transistors, two capacitors, and four resistors, >in a circuit called an 'astable multivibrator'. Several of these can >easily be >assembled on a small piece of Veroboard (stripboard?), or even built as a >bird's nest. The circuit can be found in most elementary textbooks. If you're doing more than a couple of channels of blinking LEDs, I've found it's cheaper and quicker to use one of the cheap PIC processors with its own internal oscillator to drive them. I just designed a GigEthernet board and use a PIC to drive two dual-color LEDs on the panel. I also find the small ones can even replace the old 555 timer (about the same cost in production and fewer parts). I used a PIC12F675 to read a pot and generate a PWM output. Total circuit, one pot, one 8-pin chip, one bypass capacitor, and a solid state relay connected directly to the PIC output pin (not even a resistor needed). You can program these with the PicKit (under $40 including software and development board) or the BFMP ($25, USB programmer and cable, no development board). ---------- Jerry Durand Durand Interstellar, Inc. 219 Oak Wood Way Los Gatos, California 95032-2523 USA tel: +1 408 356-3886 fax: +1 408 356-4659 web: www.interstellar.com ------------------------------ Message-ID: <002b01c4bf7c$94327080$0a01a8c0 [at] Tony> From: "Tony Deeming" References:

Subject: Re: Drop Cleaning Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 19:05:22 -0000 From personal research last year, I'd hazard a guess that it may well be cheaper to buy a new cyc! Unless you have an expensive cloth to start with, I've looked twice at having our softs cleaned, and it worked out almost as much to clean them as it would be to buy - note however that I don't pay top-price for softs, as they tend (in our venue, anyway) to get more abuse than they deserve, and need replacing every few years as a result. Ynot ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kyle Dugger" To: "Stagecraft" Sent: Sunday, October 31, 2004 3:50 AM Subject: Drop Cleaning > For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see > --------------------------------------------------- > > I need some help. I have a light grey leno cyc that has gotten dirty. > It has had Flame Retardent applied to it so I am leary of trying > anything. I have seen what happens when the FR salts start to leach out > onto the surface of a drop. It is not a very pretty sight. There are > some black marks anlong one side that appear to be just dirt and dust > but there are also a couple of small red stripes and I am not sure what > they are. Are there any companies that I could send the drop to to have > it cleaned and the Flame Retardent re-applied. > > kyle dugger > > ------------------------------ Message-ID: <000b01c4bf7d$1e4ff3f0$0600000a [at] BRUTUS> From: "Jon Ares" References:

Subject: Re: Mold release Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 11:09:16 -0800 > > I am going to attempt casting some ice cubes in polyester resin for a food > stylist friend. I have decided, after a lengthy period of research and > investigation, to use, as a mold, an ice cube tray. From my "Let's Re-invent the Wheel" category... These things already exist... pretty cheap, too. I've bought acrylic and polyester ice cubes many-a-time. Novelty and display companies and catalogs have them. -- Jon Ares Program Director, West Linn HS Theatre Arts www.hevanet.com/acreative http://www.wlhs.wlwv.k12.or.us/aresj/theatre/index.htm ------------------------------ Message-ID: <001d01c4bf7e$6d58b0d0$0600000a [at] BRUTUS> From: "Jon Ares" References: Subject: Re: Colorado Springs Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 11:18:39 -0800 > > they have to be AV techs AND waiters ? sounds like dinner theatre ! > Ok, I've had about enough of this. This probably has come up on the list before, but I must comment. Why must AV Techs and Waiters be lumped together? These are two very distinct skills and talents, and I find it despicable that the education system and 'pro' (?) theatre lumps them together. I even feel that the Tony Awards committee should recognize BOTH equally, and not exclude one OR the other. The higher ed system continually hires ONE professor to teach both AV Tech AND Waitstaff. This has got to stop, and equal respect must be observed. This type of generalization has got to be stopped. We only have ourselves to blame for this perpetuation. -- Jon Ares Program Director, West Linn HS Theatre Arts www.hevanet.com/acreative http://www.wlhs.wlwv.k12.or.us/aresj/theatre/index.htm ------------------------------ In-Reply-To: References: Message-Id: From: Noah Price Subject: Re: Febreeze scentstories Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 11:20:26 -0800 On Oct 31, 2004, at 10:15 AM, Herrick Goldman wrote: > It sounds like they are cueing scent. If we could get 10 of these in a > theater and coordinate their output......hmmm > > http://www.scentstories.com/welcome/faq.php?flash Dating back to Smell-O-Vision of the 60's :-) Noah -- | Noah Price | http://stagecraft.theprices.net/ | | Stagecraft Mailing List | stagecraft-web [at] theprices.net | ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 14:24:47 -0500 Subject: Re: Colorado Springs From: John McKernon Message-ID: In-Reply-To: > you're gonna die from the cold. My sister and her family live in Colorado Springs, and I was born in Denver. My advice: get a really good sub-zero winter jacket for the cold days, and be sure to carry a space blanket, flashlight, and some food in the car with you - in addition to a small shovel and your cell phone. However, it's good to know that CS also gets more sunshine per year than most places in the country. The temperature swings can be extreme, 70 degrees one day, 20 the next. So when it's not snowing, the sun is out and *very* bright. A good thing indeed in the middle of the winter. - John McKernon ------------------------------ From: "Jonathan S. Deull" Subject: RE: Colorado Springs Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 14:28:14 -0500 In-Reply-To: Message-ID: In NY the rule is the waitstaff are all AEA members. That is to say ... actors. Jonathan -----Original Message----- From: Stagecraft [mailto:stagecraft [at] theatrical.net] On Behalf Of Jon Ares Sent: Sunday, October 31, 2004 2:19 PM To: Stagecraft Subject: Re: Colorado Springs For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see --------------------------------------------------- > > they have to be AV techs AND waiters ? sounds like dinner theatre ! > Ok, I've had about enough of this. This probably has come up on the list before, but I must comment. Why must AV Techs and Waiters be lumped together? These are two very distinct skills and talents, and I find it despicable that the education system and 'pro' (?) theatre lumps them together. I even feel that the Tony Awards committee should recognize BOTH equally, and not exclude one OR the other. The higher ed system continually hires ONE professor to teach both AV Tech AND Waitstaff. This has got to stop, and equal respect must be observed. This type of generalization has got to be stopped. We only have ourselves to blame for this perpetuation. -- Jon Ares Program Director, West Linn HS Theatre Arts www.hevanet.com/acreative http://www.wlhs.wlwv.k12.or.us/aresj/theatre/index.htm ------------------------------ Message-ID: <000801c4bf8b$14f55bc0$0fecbed0 [at] hppav> From: "Joe Meils" References:

Subject: Re: Mold release Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 14:49:13 -0600 Above all, stay away from anything oil based, including wax. There are some really good silicone based releases on the market. See what your local automotive, or craft store might have in stock. Joe Meils UCA Theatre Conway, Arkansas ----- Original Message ----- From: "Paul Guncheon" To: "Stagecraft" Sent: Sunday, October 31, 2004 9:26 AM Subject: Mold release > For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see > --------------------------------------------------- > > I am going to attempt casting some ice cubes in polyester resin for a food > stylist friend. I have decided, after a lengthy period of research and > investigation, to use, as a mold, an ice cube tray. > > If anyone on the list has done this, I would like to know what to use as a > mold release. I would prefer some sort of locally available product if > there is one that will work. > > Mahalo, > > Paul > > "It's a tree," Tom said, woodenly. > "It's the 14th letter of the alphabet made out of plywood" said Tom, > woodenly. > ------------------------------ From: SMANKO [at] aol.com Message-ID: <1f6.1de4bde.2eb6ac97 [at] aol.com> Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 16:01:11 EST Subject: 'shop made' sculpt or coat Neesa Hart writes: Has anyone got a recipe for 'shop made' sculpt or coat, or a similar mix that will coat the foam, give us a hard, paintable surface and smooth out the remaining rough parts? An inexpensive and user friendly foam encasement material can be found at: Mon-Eco Industries, Inc. 5 Joanna Court East Brunswick, NJ 08816 USA tel: 800-899-6326 tel: 732-257-7942 fax: 732-257-6525 They manufacture a roofing product Mono-mastic that works similar to Jaxsan but at a lower cost per sq.ft. Michael Smanko B'way Prop Guy 732-382-9727 ------------------------------ In-Reply-To: References: Message-Id: <895F9875-2B87-11D9-A66F-000D936BFA94 [at] dejazzd.com> From: Greg Bierly Subject: Re: Febreeze scentstories Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 16:55:10 -0500 > It sounds like they are cueing scent. If we could get 10 of these in a > theater and coordinate their output......hmmm As a teenager Baltimore Inner Harbor had an indoor "Theme" park called "The Powerplant" or "Power Station" Guess what the building was originally? I remember as you walked around each level you ran into the four smokestacks. I was just on the verge of learning about tech and knew vaguely what I was seeing. I recall a leprechaun holographic tour guide, my first audio snake multipin connector, lasers in a themed club, and some other pretty cool goodies in the early 80's Anyhow, to the topic.... They had a 4D theatre with the first polarized lens system I had ever seen. It was a vaudeville style show with a song and dance routine. Built into the seat standards was a vent that shot out various smells. As the song continued I distinctly recall a skunk being "thrust in our face" (3D style) and then the song continued just kidding. I was always surprised that I hadn't seen that more often in theatres. Greg Bierly Technical Director Hempfield HS ------------------------------ In-Reply-To: References: Message-Id: <7B3026EC-2B88-11D9-A66F-000D936BFA94 [at] dejazzd.com> From: Greg Bierly Subject: Re: DIY DMX? Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 17:01:56 -0500 > I have been thinking about tinkering with DMX and was wondering if any > of > you have any web/book/etc resources on getting started in DIY DMX... The place I found useful was http://www.dmx512-online.com/ ------------------------------ Message-ID: <4185635F.40503 [at] earthlink.net> Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 16:12:47 -0600 From: Kyle Dugger Subject: Re: ETC Unison References: > > >Kyle, > >Have you given the ER4 a hard reset? If not turn off the power wait a couple >of minutes and then turn it back on. > > I have also tried a hard reset with no luck. I am going to try and get in touch with an ETC dealer next week to see what they can do for me. kyle dugger ------------------------------ From: "Jason Cowperthwaite" Subject: RE: Febreeze scentstories Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 17:31:57 -0500 Message-ID: <00c401c4bf99$6f111af0$0300a8c0 [at] randland> In-Reply-To: These may not be as cool as you think. According to an extended commercial I was only half paying attention to, the "CD" is just a disk with different scent packets inside. It's apparently set up to rotate to a different package every 5 or 10 minutes or so. Not sure how much control you have over it other than "stop" and "play". Would be very cool, in an Artaud(sp?) kind of way, to dig deeper into total sensory immersion in theatre. Jason Cowperthwaite -----Original Message----- From: Stagecraft [mailto:stagecraft [at] theatrical.net] On Behalf Of Herrick Goldman Sent: Sunday, October 31, 2004 1:16 PM To: Stagecraft Subject: Febreeze scentstories For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see --------------------------------------------------- So I know we've talked about smell-a-theater before but febreeze is advertising "scentstories" some scent generator that uses a CD to generate a different household fresh scent each half hour. It sounds like they are cueing scent. If we could get 10 of these in a theater and coordinate their output......hmmm http://www.scentstories.com/welcome/faq.php?flash Kinda cool dontcha think? -- Herrick Goldman Lighting Designer, NYC www.HGLightingDesign.com "To the scores of silent alchemists who wreak their joy in darkness and in light bringing magic to life, we bow most humbly. "-CDS ------------------------------ From: "Jason Cowperthwaite" Subject: RE: DIY DMX? Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 17:31:57 -0500 Message-ID: <00c501c4bf99$6f931c30$0300a8c0 [at] randland> In-Reply-To: Thanks everyone for the resources! This should get me started. Are there any books out there though on DMX and/or RS-232? Thanks again,=20 Jason -----Original Message----- From: Stagecraft [mailto:stagecraft [at] theatrical.net] On Behalf Of K=E5re Olai Lindbach Sent: Sunday, October 31, 2004 1:26 PM To: Stagecraft Subject: Re: DIY DMX? For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see --------------------------------------------------- On Sun, 31 Oct 2004 11:19:07 -0600, you ("Kelly Kohls" ) wrote: [Jason:] >>I have been thinking about tinkering with DMX and was wondering if any of >>you have any web/book/etc resources on getting started in DIY DMX... > >Have a look at my homepage (http://www.qsl.net/n5tle/). I've posted the >source code and schematics to my DMX projects. Let me know if you have any >questions. I just did some googling, and was almost going to suggest links like Kelly Kohls' ;-). Lots of goodies there. If you like more: I suggest a google on terms like: dmx+pic or dmx+avr=20 just to mention the two most used 8bit microcontrollers. Other sources are Elektor Electronics (www.elektor-electronics.co.uk) and maybe Velleman, then maybe more as soldering kits. Elektor does not show schematics on Internet, you need to buy/loan elder magazines. But sourcecode and pcb are available. Firms like http://www.dil.nl/ also sells kits of several of those products. (I have built DMX-tester, 8 ch DMX-to-analog from Elektor) www.dmx4all.de is also an interesting site for those who like to use somewhat premade stuff. The site is only in German, though, yet. --=20 mvh/Regards K=E5re Olai Lindbach (News: Remove '_delete_' and '.invalid') (HTML-written email from unknown will be discarded) ------------------------------ In-Reply-To: References:

Message-Id: Cc: marko [at] email.arizona.edu (Mark O'Brien) From: Mark O'Brien Subject: Re: Febreeze scentstories Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 16:30:06 -0700 Mark O'Brien Opera Technical Director University of Arizona, School of Music Tucson, AZ 520/621-7025 520/591-1803 Mobile On Oct 31, 2004, at 2:55 PM, Greg Bierly wrote: > > As a teenager Baltimore Inner Harbor had an indoor "Theme" park called > "The Powerplant" or "Power Station" Guess what the building was > originally? I remember as you walked around each level you ran into > the four smokestacks. I was just on the verge of learning about tech > and knew vaguely what I was seeing. I recall a leprechaun holographic > tour guide, my first audio snake multipin connector, lasers in a > themed club, and some other pretty cool goodies in the early 80's > > Anyhow, to the topic.... They had a 4D theatre with the first > polarized lens system I had ever seen. It was a vaudeville style > show with a song and dance routine. Built into the seat standards was > a vent that shot out various smells. As the song continued I > distinctly recall a skunk being "thrust in our face" (3D style) and > then the song continued just kidding. I was always surprised that I > hadn't seen that more often in theatres. > > Ewwwwww! I worked on the installation of the Power Plant. My first experience working on a very unionized job site. The steelworkers thought our block & falls looked like rigging gear, and would tie them in knots overnight. The stank O'rama theatre used compressed air to force out smells from what looked like urinal mints, mounted to the back of the seats. They had to cut back on the number of smells because the chocolate, and say, green grass would mix into essence of cow s***. As I recall, they had to rework the HVAC several times to get a acceptable air turnaround. Most of my memories of the project involved having a boss tell me to do things I was not comfortable with, I finally grew tired of saying no, and I left. My good memories of the plant are having a BBQ on the roof ( 8 stories ) and watching the Inner Harbor fireworks at eye level. Another guy and I even climbed the smokestacks that night. ( about another 4 stories ) Oddly, I remember having presence of mind to wear a harness . That's enough... ------------------------------ In-Reply-To: References: Message-Id: <5A40A258-2B97-11D9-B50A-000A958ABBF8 [at] theprices.net> From: Noah Price Subject: Re: DIY DMX? Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 15:48:23 -0800 On Oct 31, 2004, at 2:31 PM, Jason Cowperthwaite wrote: > Thanks everyone for the resources! This should get me started. Are > there any books out there though on DMX and/or RS-232? DMX-512 is actually EIA-485 (historically called RS-485), which defines the physical electrical interface. The protocol run over that physical connection is defined by the DMX-512 specification. You can get the spec from USITT: That page has a link to the USITT store where you can purchase the spec. Or in the UK, from PLASA: Noah -- | Noah Price | http://stagecraft.theprices.net/ | | Stagecraft Mailing List | stagecraft-web [at] theprices.net | ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 Nov 2004 00:07:24 +0000 (GMT) From: Charlie Richmond Subject: Re: DIY DMX? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: References: On Sun, 31 Oct 2004, Jason Cowperthwaite wrote: > Thanks everyone for the resources! This should get me started. Are > there any books out there though on DMX and/or RS-232? Check out our show control bibliography: http://www.richmondsounddesign.com/txt/scbib.txt And join the show-control list to talk with 700+ show control proessionals about their hands on experiences with these protocols in show environments (see my sig...) Good luck! Charlie + Charlie Richmond - Richmond Sound Design Ltd - Aura Show Control Ltd + + http://www.RichmondSoundDesign.com -- http://www.AuraShowControl.com + +---- "Performance for the Long Run" ----- "Creativity in Control" ----+ +------ To get info or join the Show Control Mailing List go to: ------+ +----------- http://www.RichmondSoundDesign.com/sclist.html -----------+ ------------------------------ Message-Id: <6.1.2.0.0.20041031165641.051a5348 [at] localhost> Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 16:58:52 -0800 From: Jerry Durand Subject: Re: DIY DMX? In-Reply-To: References:

At 04:07 PM 10/31/2004, you wrote: >And join the show-control list to talk with 700+ show control proessionals >about their hands on experiences with these protocols in show environments >(see my sig...) We're supposed to be professionals and know what's going on? I think I'm missing that page of my script. :) Actually, as a shock to anyone who knows me, I just bought a Mac (used iBook from our web designer) to start testing the Mac drivers for our box. If I can make it work on a Mac, I'll know that anyone can. :) ---------- Jerry Durand Durand Interstellar, Inc. 219 Oak Wood Way Los Gatos, California 95032-2523 USA tel: +1 408 356-3886 fax: +1 408 356-4659 web: www.interstellar.com ------------------------------ Message-ID: <41858ED1.4070608 [at] fuse.net> Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 20:18:09 -0500 From: Stuart Wheaton Subject: Re: LED birds for Into the Woods References: In-Reply-To: FrankWood95 [at] aol.com wrote: > For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see >>Source for LEDs that work on 9v dc? > > > LEDs are current operated devices. They have a forward voltage drop of 1.5 to > 2V, depending on colour, and always need a series resistor to limit the > current. So you select a resistor that will drop, say, 7V at the design current if > you're on a 9V supply. You can also put the LEDs in series to add up to the supply voltage and get by with no resistor. Stuart ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 20:29:16 -0500 From: Stephen Litterst Subject: Re: ETC Unison Message-id: <4185916C.C16DA58C [at] ithaca.edu> Organization: IC-Dept. of Theatre Arts References:

Kyle Dugger wrote: > --------------------------------------------------- > I have also tried a hard reset with no luck. I am going to try and get > in touch with an ETC dealer next week to see what they can do for me. Skip the dealer and go straight to tech support. I've been having problems with my DR-6 rack and David and Stephen have been amazingly helpful (and patient, since I can't use my cell phone in the mechanical room) -- Stephen C. Litterst Technical Supervisor Ithaca College Dept. of Theatre Arts 607/274-3947 slitterst [at] ithaca.edu ------------------------------ From: StevevETTrn [at] aol.com Message-ID: <1f0.2e857492.2eb6f647 [at] aol.com> Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 21:15:35 EST Subject: Re: cold water ground Chris writes: >Ground is a tricky thing, but I dunno if I'd go with the 'superimposition' >theory. Ground is the reference to which all signal relates. when there >are two different grounds, there are two different references. It is tricky but it comes down to Ohm's Law. Since current must have a complete circuit path from a source back to the source, "Ground" can be a misleading term. When we refer to a ground loop, we usually mean that more than one return path has been established. One of these will have more resistance (or in the context of audio more properly expressed as impedance) than the other. This sets up the differential voltage in the "signal" that is interpreted as hum or buzz. I'm oversimplifying here. Read what Bill Whitlock has to say, or better yet, attend one of his seminars. He has a real talent for cutting through the fog and demystifying the issue. He also has some simple tests that anyone can do to pinpoint exactly where in a system the second path originates so that it can be isolated and the noise eliminated. SteveV Orl, FL ------------------------------ Message-Id: <6.1.0.6.2.20041031220315.01f35190 [at] mail.DesignRelief.com> Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 22:28:31 -0600 From: Mitch Hefter Subject: Re: DMX512 Back Channel In-Reply-To: References: On 10/29/2004, Jerry Durand wrote: >Even if the new version spells out what is on that second pair, I'm not >convinced I should provide any support for it in future equipment. Since I >have NO control over what our boxes have to co-exist with there's no way I >could know in advance if I need to supply power, use power, supply or >monitor data transmissions (and what format the data is in). > >For example, with something as "simple" as a DMX isolator box the first >channel is easy (RS-485 to opto-isolator to RS-485). How would you propose >to support the second channel? In non-active use, the new standard does not require the use of or even connection of the secondary data link in some cases. It does require passive (loop-thru) connectivity when the device contains two DMX512 ports, one for receive and one for transmit. If more than two ports, you can "link" just two. Active use of the secondary data link is addressed in Annex B of the new standard. This annex addresses 4 topologies for the enhanced functionality DMX512 port - unidirectional or bi-directional data links, half or full duplex ports (e.g., draft RDM uses bi-directional communication on the primary data link only - topology EF1, but wouldn't be supported on an EF2 system). There are marking and declaration requirements. You will have to get the standard when it becomes available (soon). I cannot address the market decisions as to what level of secondary data link implementation you provide. Feel free to contact me off-list. . . . ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mitch Hefter mitch.hefter [at] DesignRelief.com Office: Entertainment Technology / a Division of the Genlyte Group mhefter [at] genlyte.com +1-214/ 647-7880 x 7967 (Direct Line 214/ 647-7967) +1-214/ 647-4738 Fax http://www.etdimming.com http://www.lolcontrols.com http://www.vari-lite.com http://www.genlyte.com ------------------------------ From: Subject: RE: Febreeze scentstories Date: Mon, 1 Nov 2004 02:24:39 -0500 Message-ID: In-Reply-To: "... and the Tony award for Ooutstanding Scent Design Goes to..." I am deeply disturbed. ;)