DMX2-24 - Hanson electronics

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juddge

Member
Trying to get more advanced with my older DC fairy lights,
im using the 2 wire fair lights, that come in curtains, strands, icicles, etc,
they normally have the 2 wires out only and can normally have 7-8 diffirent settings ,

the controller has 24 outputs, which equals 12 total sets of lights
when outputting to DMX channel 1 and 2
if i select red for colour, the lights do half the lights, if i select green, the other halk of the lights work, if i select White, both sets activate


i struggled to set it up and use it in Xlights,
so i have downloaded vixem, which from research is better for older type lights, like AC strings etc.


what type model would i set each 2 wire set up as ?
 
further, currently i just use the controller as one big 7 sequence controller for anything plugged into it, as i have struggled to get it working from any sequencer correctly as of yet,
lucky it worked well to just ensure all lights plugged into it, operated in perfect unison timing, which made the display look better , but i would love to work out how to do things like, turn each row on seperatly and cascade them, like normal ws2811 props in rows
 
Before last year, I only knew AC control with Vixen 2. Starting in January, I did a crash course on xLights. It was totally different. It technically had a grid like Vixen 2 but there was no timing. Turns out there is but I didn’t know until this year. I watched a ton of video’s on YouTube, some were old and didn’t apply to the current version.

Last year, I only used RGB strings and because it’s the current technology, it was easy to set up and sequence. This year, I want to include the older incandescent AC lights and DC LED’s. I was running into the same issue you’re seeing. The software is geared toward RGB strings but sequencing “RED”, “GREEN” and “BLUE”, when controlling three separate strings didn’t make sense and was ridiculously hard to do, manipulating a single color.

xLights does have single string functions that you can specify a single channel output. But you can also create a single string where every light is a separate output. The biggest power that xLights has is sub models. This is where you can make separate identities to change the way a string or entire prop functions. And as far as I can tell, you can have unlimited sub models.

xLights also has AC light effects which makes it easier to provide the older effects. If your models are set up and mapped correctly and you specify the string color, you can also apply the xLights effects to your AC lights. Such as when an xLights effect sweeps a red color across your display, the red strings will also light up at the appropriate time.

To get help with xLights, start with the official xLights website, which offers a manual, FAQs, and a community forum. You can also find tutorials and resources on YouTube and other online platforms. For more interactive support, join the official xLights Facebook group. The xLights Zoom room is another place to get real-time support.
 
Ernie is right about xLights support, but if you need Vixen3 support, I would suggest posting your questions in the
Vixen3 section and get the attention of the developers and they can try to guide you along.
 
I know there's going to be some people who hate this suggestion but have you thought about using Vixen 2? At least until you get things working and are able to figure out exactly how the lights are responding to channels?
If you're not planning on using RGB in your display (or not yet) it might be easier to set up and get running.
 
I'm probably partial to Vixen 1 & 2 and xLights because they are what I know and they make sense to me. I've seen several shows created by all the different lighting softwares and in the end, it mostly has to do with the creativity of the user. If the software you choose make the lights dance the way you want them to, that's all that matters.

This is a short video that quickly touches on the initial differences between Vixen 3, xLights and Light-O-Rama and may help with your direction.

 
ok so tried it with xlights again, and got them working,
but tried to use vixen,
how do i output to the DMX ?
i have added the dmx and the single light set
it is patched to the output,
i added a test sequence to just turn the output on
? how do i tell vixen to send this to the devices ?
xlights has a output to lights button i need to turn on to test - how do i do this with vixen ?
 
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