Enttec DMX USB PRO and LED question.....
Posted: 12 Jul 2007, 21:25
This is from the old forum
Stevet
I'm using Weidamark DMX PAR 64 LED lights.
I'm also using Chauvet LED BAR Colorbar panel ( 4 section panel).
When using FreeStyler with Enttec DMX USB PRO, any LED setting, (unless set to full brightness) flickers. The dimmer the setting, the worst the flicker.
I am using a terminator.
I have terminated and verified the load resistance using a meter.
Now, if I connect the DMX line to my old AMDJ Operator 192 controller, there is some flicker, but not bad.
This appears to be an issue with the Enttec DMX USB PRO.
I see in the documentation the the refresh rate is user adjustable, but I see NOTHING anywhere on how to do this?
I've tried only using the Weidamarks and the Chauvet LED by themselves and it still has the same problem when using FreeStyler and Enttec DMX USB PRO.
I've tried different cables.
Any help on this? I'm going nuts here...
This appears to be an issue with the DMX USB PRO. Whn using my American DJ controller, I do not see much flicker. There is some, but not much. As soon as I use the FreeStyler>USB PRO combination the flicker is bad. It does not flicker if I turn the LED's RGB channels and its dimmer channel all the way up.
How can I adjust the frame rate on the USB PRO? I do not see a software option using FreeStyler.
Thanks, Steve
===[ Product Details ]===
ENTTEC USB PRO
Software/Firmware Version: v1.43
DJ Support
try checking the entec website that should help you if no one can answer here then contact them there a pretty friendly bunch! http://www.enttec.com
and i get flicker on some smaller led lights when dimming them at yates this I assume is not my entec open dmx but the lights themselves as the LED Strips they have there work fine its only the 3 led RGB lights (like halogens) mounted behind the bar
Dj Support
try checking the entec website that should help you if no one can answer here then contact them there a pretty friendly bunch! http://www.enttec.com
and i get flicker on some smaller led lights when dimming them at yates this I assume is not my entec open dmx but the lights themselves as the LED Strips they have there work fine its only the 3 led RGB lights (like halogens) mounted behind the bar
stevet
If I use my American DJ DMX Operator controller the lights barley flicker at all. The LED lights work fine with this controller.
If I use the computer / Enttec DMX USB PRO they flicker when set to anything but FULL on. I've tried other DMX software programs with the Enttec USB PRO. They all flicker when the LED's controller RGB or dimmer value is not set to 100%.
Since the problem only happens with the Enttec DMX USB PRO, it's probably the issue. This is the only widget I own. I wish I had another to compare.
My regular lights that use MSD lamps all work fine.
This is a real problem. This only leaves me with 4 color options.
1. full RED
2. full BLUE
3. full Green
4. All RGB on full (white)
I can not dim any channel without horrible flickering.... this is very annoying.
I have sent an email to Enttec.
Steve
Stevet
Well,
I've done a lot of testing.
Here's what I've discovered:
If I set an LED PAR to channel 69
And limit the amount of transmit channels to 73 (4 channel
light), it flickers about once every 2 seconds. Annoying
Now, if I leave the light set to channel 69 and set the amount
of channels to transmit to 510,it blinks rapidly about every
250ms. Very annoying (This is how it has been setup with my
other fixtures)
Now, check this out:
If I set the LED PAR to receive on channel 1 and set the amount
of channels to transmit to 510, there is some small level of
flickering, but is is better. Hmmm, lower channel assignment
the LEDs have less flicker.
Now, if I leave the LED PAR set to channel 1 and set the amount
of channels to transmit to 5, there is NO flicker! At least none
that I could see.
So, it appears for my LED fixtures (both the Weidamark and
Chauvet) the best situation is to have very low DMX channel
assignements AND to transmit only the amount of channels needed.
It also appears the less channels transmited, the
less flicker.
This leaves me with the following questions:
1. This appears to be DMX refresh rate issue with the Enttec USB
Pro widget. How can I adjust this rate with the Enttec USB PRO?
2. Does the refresh rate need to be higher for LEDs opposed to
regular lamps?
3. How do I overcome this issue, especially when using a lot of
fixtures and channels?
Please help a brother out.
Stevet
It turns out that both my Chuauvet ColorBar LED panels and the Wiedamark LED PAR 64, don't work well with high speed DMX.
Even the AMDJ DMX Operator controlle shows this issue, just not as bad due to the AMDJ DMX Operator is only transmitting 192 channels. If it transmitted 512, the flickering would be worse with these LED lights.
Well,
Enttec sent me a firmware change to accomadate the LED flicker problem.
The good news is, the firmware change I uploaded for the Enttec DMX USB PRO works as a "band-aid" for the flicker problem with these "cheaper" LED units. He gave me a "special" firmware update to slow down the DMX by increasing the interslot time. By default the USB PRO sends DMX at the maximum speed.
I have not really noticed a performance hit.
Enntec mentioned "they get a number of similar problems on a regular basis and up to now it has always been non compliant DMX512 lights ...
Each non compliant light reacts in it's own strange way."
I'm real happy to see these lights dim without driving me freaking nuts flickering!
Too bad it's a band-aid approach, but I can live with that.
I'd like to get my hands on some of the expensive LED pars and panels to see if they have this issue.
I heard they do not.
DJ Support
i have 1 LED Parcan a 64 from showtec http://www.showtec.co.uk it doesnt flicker and strobes fast too told you anyways enttec are a friendly bunch lol
good luck with fixing your problems
Mattotone
I have four cheap StairVile led Cans from Thomann im using an Enttec Open Device.
These work fine, however dimming is not always so smooth, smooth Dimming can be quite troublesome even with High end consoles and Lighting fixture, due to the high reaction times of the fixtures, this is not usually seen in the slower reaction times of incandescent lamps.
Have a good read at this, i visit this forum quite regular they have quite a good knowledge base. http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/show ... php?t=4966
Stevet
I'm using Weidamark DMX PAR 64 LED lights.
I'm also using Chauvet LED BAR Colorbar panel ( 4 section panel).
When using FreeStyler with Enttec DMX USB PRO, any LED setting, (unless set to full brightness) flickers. The dimmer the setting, the worst the flicker.
I am using a terminator.
I have terminated and verified the load resistance using a meter.
Now, if I connect the DMX line to my old AMDJ Operator 192 controller, there is some flicker, but not bad.
This appears to be an issue with the Enttec DMX USB PRO.
I see in the documentation the the refresh rate is user adjustable, but I see NOTHING anywhere on how to do this?
I've tried only using the Weidamarks and the Chauvet LED by themselves and it still has the same problem when using FreeStyler and Enttec DMX USB PRO.
I've tried different cables.
Any help on this? I'm going nuts here...
This appears to be an issue with the DMX USB PRO. Whn using my American DJ controller, I do not see much flicker. There is some, but not much. As soon as I use the FreeStyler>USB PRO combination the flicker is bad. It does not flicker if I turn the LED's RGB channels and its dimmer channel all the way up.
How can I adjust the frame rate on the USB PRO? I do not see a software option using FreeStyler.
Thanks, Steve
===[ Product Details ]===
ENTTEC USB PRO
Software/Firmware Version: v1.43
DJ Support
try checking the entec website that should help you if no one can answer here then contact them there a pretty friendly bunch! http://www.enttec.com
and i get flicker on some smaller led lights when dimming them at yates this I assume is not my entec open dmx but the lights themselves as the LED Strips they have there work fine its only the 3 led RGB lights (like halogens) mounted behind the bar
Dj Support
try checking the entec website that should help you if no one can answer here then contact them there a pretty friendly bunch! http://www.enttec.com
and i get flicker on some smaller led lights when dimming them at yates this I assume is not my entec open dmx but the lights themselves as the LED Strips they have there work fine its only the 3 led RGB lights (like halogens) mounted behind the bar
stevet
If I use my American DJ DMX Operator controller the lights barley flicker at all. The LED lights work fine with this controller.
If I use the computer / Enttec DMX USB PRO they flicker when set to anything but FULL on. I've tried other DMX software programs with the Enttec USB PRO. They all flicker when the LED's controller RGB or dimmer value is not set to 100%.
Since the problem only happens with the Enttec DMX USB PRO, it's probably the issue. This is the only widget I own. I wish I had another to compare.
My regular lights that use MSD lamps all work fine.
This is a real problem. This only leaves me with 4 color options.
1. full RED
2. full BLUE
3. full Green
4. All RGB on full (white)
I can not dim any channel without horrible flickering.... this is very annoying.
I have sent an email to Enttec.
Steve
Stevet
Well,
I've done a lot of testing.
Here's what I've discovered:
If I set an LED PAR to channel 69
And limit the amount of transmit channels to 73 (4 channel
light), it flickers about once every 2 seconds. Annoying
Now, if I leave the light set to channel 69 and set the amount
of channels to transmit to 510,it blinks rapidly about every
250ms. Very annoying (This is how it has been setup with my
other fixtures)
Now, check this out:
If I set the LED PAR to receive on channel 1 and set the amount
of channels to transmit to 510, there is some small level of
flickering, but is is better. Hmmm, lower channel assignment
the LEDs have less flicker.
Now, if I leave the LED PAR set to channel 1 and set the amount
of channels to transmit to 5, there is NO flicker! At least none
that I could see.
So, it appears for my LED fixtures (both the Weidamark and
Chauvet) the best situation is to have very low DMX channel
assignements AND to transmit only the amount of channels needed.
It also appears the less channels transmited, the
less flicker.
This leaves me with the following questions:
1. This appears to be DMX refresh rate issue with the Enttec USB
Pro widget. How can I adjust this rate with the Enttec USB PRO?
2. Does the refresh rate need to be higher for LEDs opposed to
regular lamps?
3. How do I overcome this issue, especially when using a lot of
fixtures and channels?
Please help a brother out.
Stevet
It turns out that both my Chuauvet ColorBar LED panels and the Wiedamark LED PAR 64, don't work well with high speed DMX.
Even the AMDJ DMX Operator controlle shows this issue, just not as bad due to the AMDJ DMX Operator is only transmitting 192 channels. If it transmitted 512, the flickering would be worse with these LED lights.
Well,
Enttec sent me a firmware change to accomadate the LED flicker problem.
The good news is, the firmware change I uploaded for the Enttec DMX USB PRO works as a "band-aid" for the flicker problem with these "cheaper" LED units. He gave me a "special" firmware update to slow down the DMX by increasing the interslot time. By default the USB PRO sends DMX at the maximum speed.
I have not really noticed a performance hit.
Enntec mentioned "they get a number of similar problems on a regular basis and up to now it has always been non compliant DMX512 lights ...
Each non compliant light reacts in it's own strange way."
I'm real happy to see these lights dim without driving me freaking nuts flickering!
Too bad it's a band-aid approach, but I can live with that.
I'd like to get my hands on some of the expensive LED pars and panels to see if they have this issue.
I heard they do not.
DJ Support
i have 1 LED Parcan a 64 from showtec http://www.showtec.co.uk it doesnt flicker and strobes fast too told you anyways enttec are a friendly bunch lol
good luck with fixing your problems
Mattotone
I have four cheap StairVile led Cans from Thomann im using an Enttec Open Device.
These work fine, however dimming is not always so smooth, smooth Dimming can be quite troublesome even with High end consoles and Lighting fixture, due to the high reaction times of the fixtures, this is not usually seen in the slower reaction times of incandescent lamps.
Have a good read at this, i visit this forum quite regular they have quite a good knowledge base. http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/show ... php?t=4966