Fog / Smoke Panel [SOLVED]

[debtman3535]

Hello.

My Fog / Smoke Panel does not work. I can control the hazer using the right-side sliders without issue, but the panel does nothing.

Does the haze machine need to be set to a specific address for the panel to work?

The fixture has been set up as a fogger-hazer using the fixture creator - not as par, light, etc, but created as a true fogger-hazer.

Thanks for your help.

Gerry

[Nathanrs93]

Nope, I don't believe it should be on a specific address. Interesting

[debtman3535]

OK, thanks. Submitting this as a potential bug.

[Jan_K]

If you open the output monitor then you are able to see what FreeStyler sends on the dmx channels to the fog machine.

I just made a fast test and it seems to work.

/Jan

[debtman3535]

Thanks, did that. The output monitor shows nothing is happening using the panel. The only time there is activity is when I use the right-side sliders.

[Jan_K]

What fixture are you using and what address is it on.
I will try the same setup here.

[debtman3535]

Oh, cool... thanks!

It's a Chauvet Hurricane 2D. The start address is 80. Fan is ch1, haze ch2.

[debtman3535]

Here is the fixture file I created for the Hurricane.

[Spirit]

hi i tested the fixture and if i look at the Show output window it seems this fixture file works perfect..

/spirit

[debtman3535]

ugh... ok, thanks.

So if it's not the fixture, what am I missing here?

[Kings]

Ok...I own a hurricane and this is what I've found:

It's a one channel fixture. Owners manual suggests increasing the DMX value on the single channel will increase the output. My hurricane only ever seems to be off or fully on (and it goes off like a bomb!). I'm keen to know if anyone else can get a graduated response via DMX.

Don't forget to engage the 10 pin on the dip switch panel.

With FS, it doesn't seem to matter what address your smoke machine has. The smoke control pane seems to recognise it in the list of fixtures...but only if it's an existing smoke machine fixture in the library. Try using the Antari smoke machine fixture (z-100 i think) instead of your own profile.

I might experiment again with my hurricane (with FS) and see if I have any similar problems.

[Kings]

Also as a side note... I also have Martin Magnum 1800 that responds to DMX when I use an Enttec pro dongle (and Velleman)...but not an Enttec open USB dongle!? What interface are you using?

[debtman3535]

Hey Kings,

My fixture is def two channel. No dip switches- there's an LED interface. I can control the fan and volume independently.

I'll try an existing fixture and give that a shot. Maybe I can find a two-channel. Or, possibly edit an existing to suit my needs if necessary. Thanks for the input.

[Kings]

Sorry...mine is the Hurricane (not 2D) with the head that swivels 180 degrees. Try one of the Jem smoke machine fixtures to see if they have two channels.

[Jan_K]

The same here

When I press "Fog" then both channels goes to 255

fog.jpg

I am not sure what is happening if it works with the slider in right side of FS and fail with the fog panel.

/Jan

[Kings]

I wonder if having the channels reversed (ie blower first and output level second) is causing the problem?

[Nathanrs93]

What about using a 2 channel generic fixture? That might work?

[debtman3535]

So I created a New Location on FS. Added a few existing hazers that came with FS (Radiance, Magnum, Minihazer) one at a time, deleting the previous and still no dice. I then tried creating a new one with the level on ch1 and fan on 2. Still no luck.

So I installed FS on my bootcamped MacBook pro and installed the drives for my USB-DMX512 dongle. Tried again and no luck still.

The only thing the two laptops have in common is my USB-DMX512 dongle. Think that's it?

[Kings]

No if it were the dongle even the right hand sliders wouldn't work. It sounds like the smoke panel isn't working properly for you. Am I correct in thinking that when you adjust the sliders, the FS DMX output window responds with an increase in DMX values (just like the image above) but when you use the smoke panel sliders you get no DMX output response from the window?

[debtman3535]

Correct, Kings. Thats exactly what is happening. Installing it on another pc with only a hazer as a fixture gives me the same result.. The only thing in common between the two is having USB-DMX512 in the setup. Thats why im thinking that may be the issue.

[Nathanrs93]

It sounds like that you need to try a different interface?! Then if that's the problem, the USB-DMX512 interface, I'd use a different interface and then submit a bug report for the USB-DMX512. Then it will be fixed in a future version.

[Kings]

It sounds to me like the smoke panel isn't working properly. It should recognise any smoke machines in the fixture list and generate a DMX signal (on the appropriate Chanel) when the smoke panel sliders are moved. Ok...next experiments are:

Look for a DMX value change on any of the other channels when using the smoke window. Maybe FS thinks one of the other fixture profiles is a smoke machine.

Remove your dongle and select the virtual DMX output device from the set up menu. Experiment with the smoke pane and see if the same behaviour continues.

Try downloading a fresh version of FS (maybe the old install package was corrupt in some way). You may have already done this.

Let us know how you go.

[Nathanrs93]

Yeah..try a different number of things like kings and myself have said. Then if it still doesn't work then submit a bug report about it, so it can be fixed

[debtman3535]

Thanks for the input guys.

I changed the output device on the dedicated laptop for FS to virtual. Still a no-go.

Here's what I then did, step by step.... Installed FS on a PC that never ran FS before. Selected the virtual device in the setup, and I added a Radiance Hazer (the one that comes canned with FS) to the Location. The fog panel didn't work. Then I created a new haze fixture specific for my Hurricane, and the panel still does not want to work for me. And I verified this by showing the output. Again, right-side sliders work fine.

What am I missing here? Do I need to set up macros or something for this to work?

I've read the wiki and stuff 10x trying to see if there's some sort of step I missed, but I can't seem to figure this out. If three computers are doing the same thing, it must be a user error, no?

I submitted a ticket a few days ago anyway. It looks like I'll need to resort to the remote controller that came with the fixture. Kinda bummed about that.

[Kings]

Hey Debt...search the forum for 'strobe timer'. It's a little plugin that Matt created for activating a strobe after a specified period of time. He also graciously made a modified version with an extended period of time between 'bursts' (max of 5 minutes). I think you could easily use this to control your hazer as you have to tell it what channels are being used. Definitely worth a try.