Very simple console with faders?

[cadcoke5]

Sorry if I am posting about something that I am ignorant of as a new user. My search on the forum, wiki, and help file,s did not turn anything up.

I have the uDMX interface, which came with the Freestyler software. However, for a new user, this is not an easy piece of software to get started on for basic tasks.

What I was hoping to find was a very simple console with a set of faders (i.e. sliders). In its most basic form, it would simply be a set of perhaps 16 channels, starting at #1. A bit more sophistication would allow you to choose the starting address, and perhaps even set the address for each of the sliders.

Does such a thing exist in Freestyler? I tried searching for other software, and tried the Mini Stage Console by Chromakinetics. But, it did not support the uDMX interface that I have.

This sort of feature is useful for when you have an off-brand fixture and just want to play with it as you try to decipher what the features in the fixture are, and are faced with the typical minimalist instruction manual written by the manufacturer in China.

-Joe

[spud1511]

You mean kinda like the faders on the top right (you can lock them permanently visible) that appear when you select a fixture and hover over them?

[cadcoke5]

Yes that is pretty much what I mean. But, preferably with a more traditional console layout with vertical faders. Though, if there were some sort of generic fixture that exists only for the sake of showing a series of faders,that would be a good substitute.

-joe

[spud1511]

That's not really the best way to use freestyler - but if that's your preference then I guess you could consider a basic cheap hardware midi controller? Or one of the cheap/free midi controller apps that you can layout buttons and faders the way you wish.
You can also use the fixture creator to make a fixture with as many or few channels as you like and use the faders in top right I mentioned before.

[cadcoke5]

Since my only DMX fixture was one that was not on the existing list, I had to start somewhere. And apparently the only way to control a DMX channel in Freestyler is to insert a fixture. The other issue is that I only have the uDMX interface, and the list of compatible software for it is very short.

I wish there were a sort of standard driver system for DMX dongle, in a way similar to the way Windows uses printer drivers. That way a USB to DMX interface manufacturer could just make one driver, and then it would be compatible with all the DMX software.

Before Windows, each piece of software had to have its own drivers. So, you often would hear of a particular printer being "Epson Compatible" or a dial-up modem being "Hayes Compatible" This was a reference to an existing product line, who pretty much established a standard. Then competitors could make use of that driver, as long as they were compatible.

-Joe