USB2DMX

USB2DMX (aka YADA)

The USB2DMX (which also goes by the name Yet Another DMX Adapter, or YADA), is a build-it-yourself project that provides connectivity between DMX controllers and the Vixen 2.1 lighting software. It was designed by Andrew Williams of Ottawa, Canada, in the spring and summer of 2010 and released to the community in September 2010.

Unlike other adapters, the USB2DMX is not plug compatible with the ENTTEC USB Pro – conversely, it costs almost 50 percent less than other adapters. This is achieved because of a one-chip design, where the main CPU handles both the USB input and the DMX output, simultaneously. Other designs, including the ENTTEC USB Pro, have one chipset handle the USB input and another chipset handle the DMX output.

In addition to not being ENTTEC Pro plug compatible, there are other compromises that must be made to achieve the USB2DMX's low cost: the device only works (as of its initial release) with the Vixen software; a special USB driver must be installed; the user is required to take a two-step process to burn the firmware into the microprocessor, and the user needs to make certain that three files are included in the Vixen plug-ins folder.

Board building instructions

Go here.