Support Forum

Here's a programing challenge. Fade the motor control like pan and tilt.

Create a one step position sequence that accelerates the mirror or head into place.

Or,

Create a one step position sequence that decelerates the mirror or head into place.

Then, tell me how to do it. I'm perplexed.

I can imagine some nice motion effects if the motor speeds could be varied in a one step sequence. Accelerating or decelerating into position? I have a use for that.

Anyone? Is this even possible?

oke so you want to make a position But you don't want to use the overridebuttons because you can not controll the speed.
just to be sure.

Here's the way I do it:

I'll create a one step sequence, a position so to speak for my Trackspots. The pan and tilt are set to "snap". Then I'll save it as "Position 1". Next I change the pan and tilt to "fade" and save it as "to Postion 1".

Then I'll create a bunch more "Position" pairs, one with snap and one with fade.

Loaded into submasters, I can either "snap" the lights to a position or smoothly transit them.

What I'd like to be able to do is create an "Accelerate to Position" or "Decelerate to Position" one step sequence. For instance, if a sequence is created that has fade on and intensity at 100%, it will fade in the lights via the speed in the step settings or in the cuelist playback.

I'd like that same function for motor speed. I've tried every combination of snap and fade for pan, tilt, motor speed and motor speed intensity possible. The speed of the transits were always uniform from start to end.

I think it's impossible, but it would be a useful feature.

However, a multi-step sequence with varying step times could be built, but it wouldn't be a pretty solution.

isnt Issue 0000102 on the bug tracker, the solution you are looking for?

with this idea you can set you speed at the speed you like en press Run, ToggleSm, Intensitie slider (Fader start/stopcontrol, on) without the speed going back to 100% it stays on the speed you have left it this way you only need to make 1position seq en you can set it to the desire speed you whant without the speed going back to 100% all the time.

Nope. I want the speed to change during movement.

For instance, set up three different single step sequences (positions), left, center and right. Set the pan and tilt to fade, all other parameters set to off, leave fade time and step time at the default (1000?). Switch between them. It takes about a second for them transit to any other position. Far left to far right and the lights move faster. Left or right to center, they're slower. The fade settings are the total transit time from where the lights were. It's a nice look to have the lights converge on one spot at varying speeds depending on distance.

What I'm looking for is to have the speed vary during transit. Starting slowly moving toward a location and moving faster as it gets closer, accelerating all the way. The inverse would be handy as well, quickly moving toward a spot and slowing down as it approached, gently coming to rest. Either one, combined with a properly timed intensity change... pretty.

I don't think that it's possible. I'd like to be proven wrong.

ahhh yes now i understand what you whant never tried it but i think its not possible.

maby it's possible if your fixture have a pan/tilt speed channel.

I have TrackSpots, GLP Mighty Scans and GLP Max. All have motor speed control. The sequence creator controls speed when set to fade. As near as I can figure out, Motor speed doesn't have any effect.

a yes, stil not able to help because i don't have any fixtures with a speed channel so i can't test it.

but tomorrow i have a Gig (happy hardcore) and the building i'm going to haves 4 extra moving heads (Explorer 250 pro) and they have a X/y speed i will take a look at it maby i can figure out how it works.

I have never done that before, but here is a guess:

If a sequence is set to fade, FS calculates values between the old and new position. This is why the motor speed is not used - FS simply sends out a loot of positions, one realy near to an other.
Try to set the sequence to snap. FS will send out the direct change, no values between. Then try to use the motor speed channel to adjust the speed, your fixture actualy moves.

Mavi: I originally tried that. Gave it another go, just now. The DMX output window shows the pan and tilt snapping directly to position while the MSpeed fades to the new setting. Magic3D verifies it. My rig isn't set up right now, so I can't confirm this in the real world. Setting pan and tilt to off and the lights don't budge.

Is this a bug or a feature request? The more I think about it, the more uses I could find for it.

oke i tried some things but 3dview doesn't show the Pan/tilt speed channel or X/Y speed channel, it doesn't work.

it works great if you have a real fixture, and mavi is allmost right.

If a sequence is set to fade, FS calculates values between the old and new position. This is why the motor speed is not used - FS simply sends out a loot of positions, one realy near to an other.

"motor speed is not used" this is wrong, motor speed channel will allways win.

so it doesnt matter if you use Fade or Snap but Snap will work better.

I'm glad that I'm going to the club at noon to set up for a midnight start. I can see what happens in the real world.

I still have my doubts that the lights will accelerate into position. Magic3d accurately shows fade applied to position changes and the DMX output indicates the position is sent to the fixtures. I so hope I'm wrong.

Spirit wrote:"motor speed is not used" this is wrong, motor speed channel will allways win.

Jeah, my guess was almost right Happy you solved the problem! And again it shows - things may work different in the real world then in 3D View

Haven't solved it yet. I'm still betting it doesn't, due to what I'm seeing in the DMX output window.

I set up a TrackSpot.

Created position sequence with snap on for pan, tilt & MSpeed.
Set MSpeed to maximum.

Created second position some distance away.
Set sync on, fade and scene time set to 3 seconds.
Set pan and tilt to fade.
Set MSpeed to fade and half (127).

Then I switched between them. The light transited at normal speed (3 second total time) until the MSpeed had ramped down to 127. The light then moved at that speed until it came to rest 10 seconds later. In other words, it moved quickly to a certain point, then abruptly slowed to a crawl. Not the smooth speed change I was looking for.

Setting the MSpeed setting higher or lower affected where the speed change occured, earlier or later in the transit. The original position also had to have the MSpeed set to snap and max or returning the light to position depended on where it was set for the fade position.

Reversing the situation is impossible, I think. The MSpeed must be set to "0 and snap" for a position so that a fade to maximum will accelerate them. Set that way, they won't move into position. A work around would require 2 positions, one with maximum speed and one with minimum, or a 2-step one-shot sequence. An MSpeed ramp up would quickly take the lights to position as there would be no previous "motion speed" for it to work from. Plus, that's one more cue in a set up that is already full.

There's nothing in the effects generator that would work either. Like I said, I don't think it can be done.

A work around would require 2 positions, one with maximum speed and one with minimum

this is the way i'm thinking about all the time. but this doesn't work for you.

this will also mean if you use the trackspot for positions and movement you need to program the Mspeed on the positions and movement.
because if you make a postion with a Mspeed that ends with a Value of "0", and start a movement the mspeed needs to return to value"255" so you can controll the speed again with Fs otherwise the fixtures don't move.

but at the end it's a tricky idea you have.

I fooled around with variable m-speed settings in every way that I could think of. in the end, pan and tilt speeds were always controlled by the fade times set in the shape generator. There's no way around it.