Elation Show Designer 1 Users Manual

SHOW DESIGNER 1™

user manual

manual user | ™1 DESIGNER SHOW | ELATION

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©2015 ELATION PROFESSIONAL all rights reserved. Information, specifications, diagrams, images, and instructions herein are subject to change without notice. ELATION PROFESSIONAL logo and identifying product names and numbers herein are trademarks of ELATION PROFESSIONAL. Copyright protection claimed includes all forms and matters of copyrightable materials and information now allowed by statutory or judicial law or hereinafter granted. Product names used in this document may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies and are hereby acknowledged. All non-ELATION brands and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

ELATION PROFESSIONAL and all affiliated companies hereby disclaim any and all liabilities for property, equipment, building, and electrical damages, injuries to any persons, and direct or indirect economic loss associated with the use or reliance of any information contained within this document, and/or as a result of the improper, unsafe, insufficient and negligent assembly, installation, rigging, and operation of this product.

Elation Professional USA | 6122 S. Eastern Ave. | Los Angeles, CA. 90040

323-582-3322 | 323-832-9142 fax | www.elationlighting.com | [e-mail]

Elation Professional B.V. | Junostraat 2 | 6468 EW Kerkrade, The Netherlands

[phone] | [phone] fax | www.elationlighting.eu | [e-mail]

D O C U M E N T V E R S I O N

Please check www.elationlighting.com for the latest revision/update of this manual.

	Date	Document	Software	Notes
		Version	Version
	07/20/16	1	3.19	Updated manual format.
	05/18/17	1	3.20	Software update includes updated fixture library.

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C O N T E N T S

GENERAL INFORMATION - 5

WARRENTY - 7

SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS - 8

OVERVIEW - 9

REAR PANEL CONNECTIONS - 9

FRONT PANEL - 9

MENU - 10

CHOOSE FIXTURES - 11

PATCH FIXTURES - 11

MULTI FIXTURE - 12

MODIFY FIXTURE - 13

COPY FIXTURE - 15

PAN AND TILT INVERT - 16

MOVE FACTORY CHASES - 16

SET SCENE FLASH - 16

SET MIDI CHANNEL - 16

VIEW MEMORY SIZE - 17

SAVE MEMORY FILE - 17

LOAD MEMORY FILE - 17

UPDATE SOFTWARE - 17

LOCK/UNLOCK MEMORY - 18

ERASE ALL MEMORY - 18

SWITCH AND CONTROL DESCRIPTIONS - 19

NUMBER SWITCHES 1-16 - 19

FIXTURE - 19

CHANNEL FADERS - 19

BANK SWITCH - 20

JOYSTICK - 20

FINE SWITCH - 20

TRACKBALL - 20

BLACK SWITCH - 21

SCENES - 22

RECORDING SCENES - 22

CROSSFADE TIME - 23

RECALLING SCENES (Default Solo Mode) - 23

RECALLING SCENES (Add Mode) - 24

ERASING SCENES - 24

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C O N T E N T S

PRESETS - 25

RECORDING PRESETS -26

RECALLING PRESETS - 27

ERASING PRESETS - 27

EDITING PRESETS - 28

COMBINING PRESETS - 28

CHASES - 29

RECORDING CHASES - 29

RECALLING CHASES - 32

ERASING CHASES - 32

EDITING CHASES - 33

FACTORY CHASES - 33

AUDIO SWITCH - 33

BEAT SWITCH - 33

SHOWS - 34

RECORDING SHOWS - 34

RECALLING SHOWS - 36

ERASING SHOWS - 36

EDITING SHOWS - 37

MIDI - 38

MEMORY BACKUP WITH MIDI - 39

MEMORY RESTORE WITH MIDI - 39

USING THE COM PORT - 40

MEMORY BACKUP - 40

MEMORY RESTORE - 40

UPDATING THE FIRMWARE - 41

FIXTURE LIST - 42

FACTORY COLOR PRESETS - 47

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS - 48

OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES - 49

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G E N E R A L I N F O R M A T I O N

INTRODUCTION

Congratulations, you have just purchased one of the most innovative and reliable DMX controllers on the market today! This device has been designed to perform reliably for years when the guidelines in this booklet are followed. Please read and understand the instructions in this manual carefully and thoroughly before attempting to operate this device. These instructions contain important information regarding safety during use and maintenance.

UNPACKING

Every unit has been thoroughly tested and has been shipped in perfect operating condition. Carefully check the shipping carton for damage that may have occurred during shipping. If the carton appears to be damaged, carefully inspect your unit for damage and be sure all accessories necessary to operate the unit have arrived intact. In the event damage has been found or parts are missing, please contact our customer support team for further instructions. Please do not return this unit to your dealer without first contacting customer support at the number listed below. Please do not discard the shipping carton in the trash. Please recycle whenever possible.

BOX CONTENTS

9-12VDC Power Supply

Manual & Warranty Card

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CUSTOMER SUPPORT

Elation Professional® provides a customer support line, to provide set up help and to answer any question should you encounter problems during your set up or initial operation. You may also visit us on the web at www.elationlighting.com for any comments or suggestions. For service related issue please contact Elation Professional®.

ELATION SERVICE USA - Monday - Friday 8:00am to 5:00pm PST

Voice: 323-582-3322 Fax: [phone]

E-mail: [e-mail]

ELATION SERVICE EUROPE - Monday - Friday 08:30 to 17:00 CET

Voice: [phone] Fax: [phone]

E-mail: [e-mail]

WARRANTY REGISTRATION

Please complete and mail in the enclosed warranty card or register online: http://www.elationlighting.com/Login.aspx to validate your purchase. All returned service items whether under warranty or not, must be freight pre-paid and accompany a return authorization (R.A.) number. The R.A. number must be clearly written on the outside of the return package. A brief description of the problem as well as the R.A. number must also be written down on a piece of paper and included in the shipping container. If the unit is under warranty, you must provide a copy of your proof of purchase invoice. Items returned without a R.A. number clearly marked on the outside of the package will be refused and returned at customer’s expense. You may obtain a R.A. number by contacting customer support.

I M P O R T A N T N O T I C E !

There are no user serviceable parts inside this unit. Do not attempt any repairs

yourself; doing so will void your manufactures warranty. Damages resulting from

modifications to this fixture and/or the disregard of safety and general user

instructions found in this user manual void the manufactures warranty and are

not subject to any warranty claims and/or repairs.

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L I M I T E D W A R R A N T Y

A.Elation Professional® hereby warrants, to the original purchaser, Elation Professional® products to be free of manufacturing defects in material and workmanship for a period of two years (730 days), and Elation Professional® product rechargeable batteries to be free of manufacturing defects in material and workmanship for a period of six months (180 days), from the original date of purchase. This warranty excludes discharge lamps and all product accessories. This warranty shall be valid only if the product is purchased within the United States of America, including possessions and territories. It is the owner’s responsibility to establish the date and place of purchase by acceptable evidence, at the time service is sought.

B.For warranty service, send the product only to the Elation Professional® factory. All shipping charges must be pre-paid. If the requested repairs or service (including parts replacement) are within the terms of this warranty, Elation Professional® will pay return shipping charges only to a designated point within the United States. If any product is sent, it must be shipped in its original package and packaging material. No accessories should be shipped with the product. If any accessories are shipped with the product, Elation Professional® shall have no liability what so ever for loss and/or or damage to any such accessories, nor for the safe return thereof.

C.This warranty is void if the product serial number and/or labels are altered or removed; if the product is modified in any manner which Elation Professional® concludes, after inspection, affects the reliability of the product; if the product has been repaired or serviced by anyone other than the Elation Professional® factory unless prior written authorization was issued to purchaser by Elation Professional®; if the product is damaged because not properly maintained as set forth in the product instructions, guidelines and/or user manual.

D.This is not a service contract, and this warranty does not include any maintenance, cleaning or periodic check-up. During the periods as specified above, Elation Professional® will replace defective parts at its expense, and will absorb all expenses for warranty service and repair labor by reason of defects in material or workmanship. The sole responsibility of Elation Professional® under this warranty shall be limited to the repair of the product, or replacement thereof, including parts, at the sole discretion of Elation Professional®. All products covered by this warranty were manufactured after January 1, 1990, and bare identifying marks to that effect.

E.Elation Professional® reserves the right to make changes in design and/or performance improvements upon its products without any obligation to include these changes in any products theretofore manufactured.

F.No warranty, whether expressed or implied, is given or made with respect to any accessory supplied with the products described above. Except to the extent prohibited by applicable law, all implied warranties made by Elation Professional® in connection with this product, including warranties of merchantability or fitness, are limited in duration to the warranty periods set forth above. And no warranties, whether expressed or implied, including warranties of merchantability or fitness, shall apply to this product after said periods have expired. The consumer’s and/or dealer’s sole remedy shall be such repair or replacement as is expressly provided above; and under no circumstances shall Elation Professional® be liable for any loss and/or damage, direct and/or consequential, arising out of the use of, and/or the inability to use, this product.

G.This warranty is the only written warranty applicable to Elation Professional® products and supersedes all prior warranties and written descriptions of warranty terms and conditions heretofore published.

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S A F E T Y I N S T R U C T I O N S

This device is an extremely sophisticated piece of electronic equipment. To guarantee a smooth operation, it is important to follow the guidelines in this manual. The manufacturer of this device will not accept responsibility for damages resulting from the misuse of this fixture due to the disregard of the information printed in this manual.

This device falls under PROTECTION CLASS 1. It’s essential this device be grounded properly. Only qualified personnel should perform all electrical connections.

I N D O O R S U S E O N L Y !

DO NOT EXPOSE DEVICE TO RAIN AND MOISTURE!

DO NOT PLUG DEVICE INTO A DIMMER PACK!

For proper operation, follow the Installation guidelines described in this manual. Only qualified and certified personnel should perform installation of this device. Any modifications will void the original manufactures warranty and increase the risk of damage and/or personal injury.

Do not operate this device if the power cord has become frayed, crimped and/or damaged. If the power cord is damaged, replace it immediately with a new one of similar power rating.

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O V E R V I E W

The Show Designer 1 is a stage lighting controller for DMX 512 lighting fixtures. It’s designed to simplify the programming process as much as possible while still offering lots of power at a low cost. You can control 16 lighting fixtures of up to 32 channels each from the single DMX 512 universe. If you are controlling smaller lighting fixtures that use fewer than 32 channels each, you will be able to control more than just 16 fixtures. You can control as many fixtures as will fit within a single DMX 512 universe. Support for Elation and American DJ intelligent lighting fixtures as well as other popular brands is included in the setup menu.

REAR PANEL CONNECTIONS

Power input - for an external 9V power supply. This requires a transformer with a 9VDC output at 500ma. The plug polarity is + center with an inside diameter of 2.1 mm.

DMX 512 output - uses a 3 pin XLR connector. There is also a polarity switch that swaps pins 2 and 3. Some older lighting fixtures require this. The more commonly used and correct DMX 512 polarity is data minus on pin 2 (switch is to the right as you’re looking at the back of the unit).

MIDI in and out - used for calling scenes in an automated installation.

9 pin RS-232 connector - used for connection to a PC to update the software or backup the memory. It can also be used to connect to a mouse or trackball.

Audio input - used for syncing chases to an external audio source. This is a line level input for connecting to the output of a mixing console. Do not connect speaker level signals to this.

FRONT PANEL

The front panel includes assorted switches for programming, eight 60mm faders for direct control of lighting fixture channels, a data entry wheel, a joystick for pan and tilt control and a backlit display for programming.

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M E N U

The menu switch is used to configure the Show Designer 1 for your particular lighting setup. The left and right cursor switches, the + and - switches, and the data wheel allow you to select settings for the various menus that appear on the display. Pressing the menu switch displays the message “Press Enter To” on the top line of the display. You will be given a choice of menu items on the bottom line of the display. You can cycle through the choices using the + and - switches or the data wheel. Press “ENTER” to select the desired menu item. After selecting the menu item, the cursor switches will allow you to select a field on the display to edit and the + and - switches or the data wheel will allow you to change the value in that field. An underline cursor shows the selected field. The “ENTER” switch must always be pressed following any change to make it permanent. This allows you to look at all of the possible choices first.

Several of the menu items are hidden to prevent unauthorized or accidental changes to the memory. The “Memory Lock/Unlock” function is hidden as well as the “Erase All Memory” function. These choices can only be reached by pressing and holding down the “Add” switch while selecting from the menu list. This is a safety feature for the benefit of installers who wish to protect the memory from unauthorized tampering.

The various menu items are explained in the following paragraphs.

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M E N U [ c o n t i n u e d ]

CHOOSE FIXTURES

To configure the SD1 for your particular set of lighting fixtures, you must select from a list of fixtures in the fixture library and assign them to a fixture number from 1 to 16. Use the + or - switch or the data wheel to first select a fixture number (1 to 16). Next, select the type of fixture to assign to this number by moving the cursor to the fixture type (press the right arrow switch) then use the + or – switch or the data wheel to make a selection. You must press, “ENTER” to record the choice. You can also press, “ERASE” to select “No Fixture”. If auto patch is enabled, a warning will appear telling you that some DMX start addresses may be changed. Press “YES” to confirm. After pressing “YES” the message “DONE” will appear for 1 second. If auto patch is enabled, the start addresses of all fixtures may be adjusted to accommodate the new fixture. Auto patch is the default setting and automatically sets each fixture’s DMX start address for you in ascending order.

There is a list of all of the included fixtures in the back of this manual. If a particular fixture is not included in the list, you can select one that is similar to the one you want and then use the “Modify Fixture” feature to createit.

PATCH FIXTURES

This allows you to manually turn auto patch on or off and also allows you to set the DMX starting address for each fixture. Auto patch must be turned off to manually change any start addresses. To turn auto patch on or off, place the cursor under the word “ON” or “OFF” next to “AUTO PATCH”, then use the + or - switch or the data wheel to change it. You must press, “ENTER” for the change to take effect. If you are turning auto patch on, a warning will appear telling you that some DMX starting addresses may change. Press “YES” to proceed or “NO” to quit without saving. Auto patch will assign an address to each fixture in ascending order with each DMX address immediately following the last channel of the previous fixture.

You can select from fixtures 1-16 and see the starting address for each fixture. If auto patch is off, you can then move the cursor under any of the three digits of the channel number to select a new starting address. If auto patch is on you will not be able to change the address. You must press, “enter” to record any change. The message “DONE” will appear for 1 second to confirm.

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M E N U [ c o n t i n u e d ]

MULTI FIXTURE

Show Designer 1 can support lighting fixtures that use as many as 32 DMX channels. Since most fixtures use fewer than 32 channels, Show Designer 1 lets you configure a group of smaller fixtures that are of the same type, under a single fixture number. For example if you have selected a 4-channel LED for fixture number 1, you can set “Multi” to 8. When fixture 1 is selected you will be able to use all 32 of the channels available for fixture 1 to control 8 of these 4 channel LEDs.

NOTE: This feature is for controlling large numbers of small fixtures so that a fixture number is not wasted on just one small fixture.

You will be able to control the individual channels of each fixture separately using the 4 banks of 8 faders. When using the joystick, all of the multi fixtures within that fixture number will respond if they have a pan and tilt feature. To control individual pan and tilt levels separately you will have to use the faders.

To use the multi fixture mode, move the cursor to the fixture number and use the + and - switches or data wheel to select a fixture number. Move the cursor to the multi number (to the right of “X”) to increment or decrement this value. You can only choose numbers between 1 and the maximum number of fixtures that will fit into 32 channels. If it is a 4 channel fixture the multi value can be no higher than 8. You must press, “ENTER” to record the change. If auto patch is enabled you will be given the warning that some addresses may change. Press “YES” to continue or “NO” to quit without saving.

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M E N U [ c o n t i n u e d ]

MODIFY FIXTURE

This allows you modify the channel attributes of a fixture that is already assigned to a fixture number. You can also use this to create a new fixture that isn’t in the library. To create a new fixture you must first select an existing fixture as described above in the “Choose Fixture” section. Try to choose something that is similar to the one you are trying to create or start with the “Generic Dimmer” which is the first choice from the list. You can later use the “Copy Fixture” feature as described in the next section to duplicate the new fixture.

There are nine fixture attributes that can be modified. The attributes are: fixture name, number of channels, black channel, black value, pan channel, pan fine channel, tilt channel, tilt fine channel and crossfade mode. From the “Modify Fixture” menu, use the cursor switches to move the underline cursor to the fixture number to select the fixture you want to modify. Next move the cursor to the “attribute” which is displayed immediately to the right of the fixture number to select from the nine fixture attributes. Next move the cursor to the bottom line of the display to select the value for the attribute you are changing. You must always press “ENTER” to record any changes you make to an attribute. The message “DONE” will appear in the display when the change has been recorded. The fixture attributes are described in the following paragraphs.

NAME is the fixture name that appears whenever you select or deselect a fixture. You may want to modify this attribute for each of your fixtures to show fixture purpose or location. You must place the underline cursor on the character you want to edit then use the + or – switch or the data wheel to select a character.

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M E N U [ c o n t i n u e d ]

CHANNELS are the total number of DMX channels used by the fixture. This can be any number from 1 to 32. When you change the number of channels be aware that other things such as fixture addresses and number of multi fixtures can be automatically changed when you change the number of channels for an existing fixture. Fixture attributes such as black channel, pan or tilt will be automatically disabled if you select a number that is smaller than the channel numbers that are already assigned to those attributes. For example if you have already assigned pan to channel 8 and you reduce the total number of channels for the fixture to 4, pan will automatically be set to “None”. Likewise if you increase the number of channels from 8 to 9 and you had previously set up 4 multi fixtures using all 32 channels, the multi fixture setting will automatically be reset back to 1.

BLACK CHANNEL is the channel that will be affected when the “BLACK” switch is pressed. You can choose any available fixture channel as well as “ALL” which will force all channels to the selected black value.

BLACK VALUE is the DMX channel level that will be used for the selected black channel(s). This will accommodate fixtures that use the gobo wheel for blackout and use a value other than 0 to set the gobo wheel to black. You may also want to blackout all channels to a value other than 0 since this is used as a reset by some fixtures. For some fixtures a value of 1 achieves the same result as a value of 0 for blackout.

PAN CHANNEL is the channel used by the fixture for pan motion. This can also be set to “None” if the fixture does not have a pan feature. This is also the pan coarse channel or pan high byte channel for those fixtures that use two channels to control pan. This directs the joystick output as well as other pan functions.

PAN FINE is for fixtures that use two channels to control pan. This is also referred to sometimes as the pan “Low Byte” channel. Set this to “None” if the fixture uses only one channel for pan. The joystick will control this channel with “Fine” mode turned on.

TILT CHANNEL is the same as described above for pan channel except that it controls tilt motion.

TILT FINE is the same as described above for pan fine except that it controls tilt.

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M E N U [ c o n t i n u e d ]

FADE MODE is used to set the crossfade method for each of the fixture’s channels. Use the + and - switches or data wheel to select the desired channel, then move the cursor to the value to select the crossfade mode. The choices are “Crossfade”, “Snap Before Fade” and “Snap After Fade”. You must press “ENTER” after each channel has been programmed.

Selecting “Crossfade” will cause a channel to smoothly fade from one setting to another when changing scenes. The crossfade time will vary from scene to scene depending on how that scene was programmed. Use this setting for channels that control functions like pan and tilt or dimming to achieve a smooth transition from scene to scene. If you use this setting for gobo or color wheel channels, this will cause the wheels to step through all positions between the start and end positions of a long fade. This is usually the default setting for pan, tilt and dimmer channels.

Selecting “Snap Before Fade” will cause the channel to jump immediately to the next scene level as soon as the new scene is called. Use this setting for channels that control motor speed so that pan and tilt will move at the correct speed during the fade. You can also use this setting for wheel channels that you want to change at the start of a long crossfade. This is usually the default setting for speed and mode channels.

Selecting “Snap after fade” will cause the channel to jump immediately to the next scene level at the end of a crossfade. Use this setting for wheels and effects that you want to take effect after a long crossfade is complete. This is usually the default setting for color and effects wheels.

COPY FIXTURE

This is used to copy the fixture type from one fixture number to another. This feature saves time by letting you copy the fixture selection rather than searching through the list when setting up a group of fixtures that are all the same. Select a fixture number to copy from and to. Press, “ENTER” to complete the copy process. If auto patch is enabled you will be given the warning that some addresses may change. Press “YES” to continue or “NO” to quit without saving. If a fixture is already set up at the “Copy To” location, you will be asked if you want to copy over the existing fixture, press “YES” to copy over it or “NO” to exit.

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