ELEKTRALITE
division of group one
CP10xt Operator’s Manual
Revision 1.17 (issue 1c)
© GROUP ONE LTD.
70 Sea Lane • Farmingdale NY 11735
Elektralite
Group One Ltd.
70 Sea Lane • Farmingdale NY 11735
Phone 516.249.3662 • Fax 516.249.8870
www.myelektralite.com
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION |
|
Features...................................................................................... |
1 |
CHAPTER 2 - SYSTEM SETUP |
|
DMX512...................................................................................... |
2 |
AUDIO IN.................................................................................... |
3 |
MIDI IN/OUT ............................................................................... |
3 |
CHAPTER 3 - CUES |
|
Programming Cues..................................................................... |
4 |
Recalling Cues............................................................................ |
5 |
Editing Cues ............................................................................... |
5 |
Fine Pan and Tilt......................................................................... |
6 |
Pile-On……………………………………………………………..…6 |
|
CHAPTER 4 - CHASES |
|
Programming Chases ................................................................. |
9 |
Recalling Chases...................................................................... |
10 |
Audio Sync................................................................................ |
10 |
Editing Chases.......................................................................... |
10 |
Pile-On ……………………………………………………………...11 |
|
CHAPTER 5 - MACROS |
|
Programming Macros ............................................................... |
13 |
Recalling Macros ...................................................................... |
14 |
Editing Macros .......................................................................... |
14 |
Fast Hold Time ......................................................................... |
16 |
CHAPTER 6 - PERFORMANCE |
|
Direct Control of Fixtures .......................................................... |
17 |
Black ......................................................................................... |
17 |
Xfade Speed ............................................................................. |
17 |
Chase Speed ............................................................................ |
17 |
Audio......................................................................................... |
18 |
Auto Start.................................................................................. |
18 |
CHAPTER 7 - SYSTEM PROGRAMMING |
|
Audio On/Off............................................................................. |
19 |
Fixture Library........................................................................... |
19 |
Soft Patching ............................................................................ |
20 |
Xfade Mode .............................................................................. |
20 |
Pan Invert ................................................................................. |
21 |
Tilt Invert................................................................................... |
21 |
Audio Level............................................................................... |
21 |
MIDI Channel............................................................................ |
21 |
MIDI Memory Dump.................................................................. |
22 |
Memory Lock ............................................................................ |
22 |
Erase Memory .......................................................................... |
22 |
Control Lock ............................................................................. |
22 |
CHAPTER 8 - MIDI |
|
MIDI Channel............................................................................ |
23 |
Continuous Controllers ............................................................. |
23 |
Program Changes .................................................................... |
23 |
System Exclusive (Memory Backup) ........................................ |
23 |
MIDI Implementation Chart....................................................... |
24 |
CHAPTER 9 - TROUBLESHOOTING / SERVICE |
|
Cleaning and Maintenance....................................................... |
25 |
Power Supply............................................................................ |
25 |
Battery ...................................................................................... |
25 |
DMX512 ................................................................................... |
24 |
RADIO AND TV INTERFERENCE ...................................... |
25 |
ELEKTRALITE WARRANTY ................................................ |
26 |
FIXTURE LIBRARY ............................................ |
27-45 |
Chapter1
INTRODUCTION
The Elektralite CP10xt is a small but powerful moving light controller designed to control up to sixteen moving light fixtures. It is quick and easy to program and will do many of the things that up until now could only have been done with much more expensive lighting consoles.
Features
•19 inch rack mount, 2 rack space chassis.
•Battery backed RAM for 600 cues, 99 chases, and 50 macros.
•32 character LCD display for easy programming.
•Simple panel layout with dedicated switches for ease of use.
•High quality 60mm faders for fixture feature control.
•Separate faders for crossfade and chase speed control.
•High quality joystick for pan and tilt control.
•12 digit keypad for data entry.
•Audio input for chase speed control.
•Midi in and out for automation and memory backup.
•DMX512 output.
•Extensive library of fixture types.
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Chapter2
SYSTEM SETUP
After unpacking the CP10xt, plug in the external power supply and turn on the power switch on the front panel. The display should light up and display the product name along with the current software revision. If the display does not light up consult the troubleshooting chapter in this manual.
CP10xt Rear Panel
DMX512
The moving light fixtures are connected to the CP10xt via the DMX512 jacks on the rear panel. A standard 5 pin jack and a 3 pin jack is provided. The two jacks are wired in parallel with pin 1 to ground, pin 2 to data minus and pin 3 to data plus.
The CP10xt is designed to control a variety of fixture types, which accept up to 8 channels of control per fixture. Fixtures requiring more than 8 channels, can easily be controlled by using 2 or more consecutive fixture addresses. The CP10xt outputs 128 DMX512 channels. You can connect more than 16 fixtures but some will have to share channels and will operate in unison. The default starting addresses for the 16 fixtures are set at 8 channel intervals and are shown below, consult your particular fixture's instructions on how to set the starting channel address on the fixture. There is a soft patch feature in the CP10xt which also allows you to change these starting addresses.
Fixture |
Start Address |
Fixture |
Start Address |
1 |
1 |
9 |
65 |
2 |
9 |
10 |
73 |
3 |
17 |
11 |
81 |
4 |
25 |
12 |
89 |
5 |
33 |
13 |
97 |
6 |
41 |
14 |
105 |
7 |
49 |
15 |
113 |
8 |
57 |
16 |
121 |
After the fixtures are connected and the start addresses set you must next tell the CP10xt what type of fixture is connected at a particular address by making a selection from the fixture library. Consult the "System Programming" chapter of this manual for further instructions.
When using fixtures that require more than 8 channels you will have to control the fixture by using more than one fixture number. For example, a fixture that uses 12 channels will use fixture 1 on the
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CP10xt to control channels 1-8 and fixture 2 on the CP10xt to control channels 9-12. The fixture library in the CP10xt accommodates these large fixtures with selections for upper and lower channel blocks within the fixture.
Once selected you must then set the starting addresses of the CP10xt fixture numbers to align with the DMX512 channels that are controlling the fixture. For example, if you are using fixture 1 to control channels 1-6 on the moving light and fixture 2 to control channels 7-12, you must soft patch the starting addresses of fixtures 1 and 2 to be 6 channels apart. If this moving light’s start address is set to channel 1 then you would patch fixture 1 to channel 1 and fixture 2 to channel 7. Consult the "System Programming" chapter for more information on soft patching.
AUDIO IN
Connect the audio input to a line level output from a mixing console or an audio preamp. Do not connect this to a power amp or any speaker level source. Consult the chapter on chases as to how this input is used.
MIDI IN/OUT
If you are using MIDI with the CP10xt, connect the MIDI out on the CP10xt to the MIDI in on your computer interface, sequencer, or data storage device. Connect the MIDI out on the CP10xt to the MIDI in on the other device. Read the chapter on MIDI for more information.
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Chapter3
CUES
The CP10xt allows you to store up to 600 cues in memory. These cues can later be recalled directly, using the numbered keyswitches and Go switch, or recalled in automatic sequences using chases and macros.
CP10xt front panel
Programming Cues
To program a cue you must first create a "look" on stage. This is done by setting the control levels for each fixture. You can do this one fixture at a time or in any group combination. To select the fixture(s) you want to control, press "Fixture". The display will show the fixtures that are currently enabled
01 02 03 04 05
06 07 08
Use the numbered keyswitches to toggle fixtures on or off. You can enable any combination of fixtures. Use the arrow switches to switch between selecting fixtures 1-8 and 9-16. When selecting 9- 16, switch 0 selects fixture 10, switch one selects fixture 11, etc. When a fixture is disabled the faders and joystick will have no effect but the fixture will still be controlled by cues or chases. Once a fixture is enabled you can control its pan and tilt with the joystick or any of its other settings with the faders. The faders are used to address each non pan or tilt control channel within the fixture in ascending order. Consult the "CP10xt Fixture Library" chapter of this manual to see how the faders are assigned to different fixture types.
NOTE: Fixtures, which require less than 8 control channels, will only use some of the 6 faders and possibly the joystick. Color changers and dimmers, which don’t use pan or tilt, will not use the joystick.
When creating a new cue from scratch, always start by pressing "Black". This will zero all channels at the start of the programming process. Next select fixtures as described in the preceding paragraphs. Use the joystick and control faders to program the fixtures that are to be used in the cue. Once the look has been established, store the cue in memory by pressing "Enter", then "Cue", the following message will be displayed:
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ENTER CUE _
XFADE 00.0 SEC.
Next use the "Xfade Speed" fader to set the crossfade time for this cue. This will establish the speed at which the fixtures will crossfade to this new cue when called. Set this to 0 for the fastest possible movement. Next use the numbered keyswitches to select a cue number from 1 - 600 to store this cue to. It is not necessary to enter 3 digits. If for example you are saving cue 1, you only need to press keyswitch 1. Finally press "Enter" to store the cue. If a cue has already been saved at this location you will be prompted with the following display:
CUE 001 EXISTS,
ENTER OR CHANGE
Press "Enter" to write over the old cue or you can select a new number and then press "Enter" to save it at a different location. Once the cue has been saved the display will read:
CUE 001 SAVED
Recalling Cues
Once cues have been stored in memory they can be directly recalled by pressing "Cue". The display will read:
NEXT CUE _
Select the desired cue number (1 - 600) using the keyswitches. Press "Go" to call the cue. A bar graph will appear in the lower half of the display if there is a crossfade and will show the progress of the fade. Also the next consecutive cue number will automatically be displayed. This will allow you to press "Go" again without having to select the next cue number in sequence. You can also use the "+" or "-" key to increment or decrement the next cue number.
NOTE: When a cue crossfades, only pan, tilt, and possibly dimming will actually crossfade as these are continuous type controls. All other non-continuous type settings in other words; color, gobos, etc. snap to position at the end of the crossfade. You can reprogram each channel to crossfade, snap before or snap after fade to suit your application. Consult the "System Programming" chapter in this manual on how to do this.
Editing Cues
To edit an existing cue, first recall the cue as described in the previous paragraphs. Make any changes as needed using the control faders or joystick. Press "Enter", "Cue", then adjust the "Xfade" if desired. Select a cue number to store the edited cue to using the keyswitches. You can write over the original cue number or you can select a different one if you are copying this cue to another location.
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Finally press "Enter" to store the edited cue. If you are writing over the original cue, press "Enter" again to overwrite.
Fine Pan and Tilt
The joystick has a "fine" mode for pan and tilt control. To enable fine mode, press "Fixture". When the "Select Fixture" menu is active, pressing "Fixture" again will toggle fine mode on and off. The display will read:
01 |
02 |
03 |
04 |
05 |
06 |
07 |
08 |
|
FINE |
With the joystick in fine mode, the pan and tilt will move in small increments making it easier for exact positioning. Use fine mode only after you first get the focus close to position with the joystick in normal mode. In normal mode the joystick controls the focus with absolute position, when the joystick is full left the pan is full left, and so forth. In fine mode the joystick control is relative. Moving the joystick will increment or decrement the focus from the current position. If in fine mode you run out of joystick when trying to position a focus, you can disengage the joystick by disabling the fixture you are using, then move the joystick to center, then enable the fixture. From that point the joystick control will continue where it left off.
Pile-On
From software version 1.16 of the CP-10XT operating system there is now the ability to “PILE ON”. This feature gives the user the ability to create cleared or “transparent” channels within specific cues thus enabling you to recall two or more cues at the same time to pile on top of each other.
With PILE ON enabled the lighting programmer may designate cues that contain ONLY certain channel’s information. For instance, cues can be created with only Pan & Tilt information for preset positions on a stage while other cues contain the actual color and gobo look that will be “piled on” to that existing position.
Pressing the BLACK button clears all of the channels to start fresh. The actual DMX output of the controller sets all of the channels to 0%. However, the console “sees” that all of the DMX channels are transparent until an actual change is made.
Holding DELETE while moving a fader or recalling a cue will allow the channels to visibly change but will not include them into the new cue. This is particularly useful for creating a starting cue of an open white beam of light positioned in an area that is visible to the user.
Some may ask why a programmer would use this. The use of transparent channels is very handy for several different applications such as:
-on-the-fly changes of looks to other positions on a stage
-nightclub or rave style programming where the console is used in a different venue each week with the same programs (you only need to update your position cues instead of reprogramming the whole show).
-Industrial or corporate shows where presenters or products need to be highlighted manually
-“flyaway” cues that take your existing stage looks and fly them out into the audience
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-Creating preset focus cues.
This programming tool can be extremely powerful but is very often confusing to initially understand. We highly recommend trying the programming examples that follow:
EXAMPLES OF “PILE ON” PROGRAMMING:
1)First you must specify whether the PILE ON function will be enabled.
Press: MENU , use the +/- keys to toggle to the “PILE ON” menu & hit ENTER. Use the +/- keys to enable the PILE ON feature.
2)Press BLACK to bring all DMX channels to 0%. This now also clears out all of the channel information thus making it “transparent”.
3)Press the FIXTURE button and call up some fixtures to work with.
4)While holding the DELETE key open up the fixture’s dimmer and shutters where applicable and move the pan & tilt to a position that is easily seen.
5)Now create a color without touching the dimmer, shutter, pan or tilt channels and store it as a CUE.
6)Create a different color and store it as another CUE.
7)Press BLACK again to clear out all of the information and repeat step 4.
8)Now create a gobo look and store it as a CUE.
9)And create another gobo look for another CUE.
What you have now are two cues that contain ONLY color information and another two cues that contain ONLY gobo information.
10)Now press BLACK and open up the dimmers and shutters WITHOUT holding the DELETE key.
11)Move the light beams all the way to the left and store this as a CUE with a 3 second XFADE time.
12)Move the light beams all the way to the right and store this as another CUE with a 3 second XFADE time.
13)Move the light beams to the center and store this as yet another CUE with a 3 second XFADE time.
You now have three cues that contain only position information. It is now time to recall some of these cues and see how transparent channels operate.
14)Press BLACK to turn all of the channels off.
15)Call up one of your position CUEs
16)Call up one of your gobo CUEs
17)Call up one of your color CUEs
You should be seeing your light beam staying in one position and piling on the other information.
18)Now call up another position CUE to see this newly created “look” move slowly to another position.
19)Repeat steps 15 through 18 to get a good feel for how this style of programming works.
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With the PILE ON function engaged you must ALWAYS be mindful as to which channels you are and are not altering at any given moment. Your programming needs to be calculated & precise. Lack of attention, when using this programming method, often results in a telephone call for technical support that could have easily been avoided.
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Chapter4
CHASES
The CP10xt can store up to 99 chases each with up to 99 steps. A chase is a series of cues which are called one at a time in order. Each cue in the chase is referred to as a step. The chase will loop continuously as it steps through each cue at a pre-programmed speed. In addition you can set the crossfade speed that the chase will use from one step to the next. If there is an audio signal at the audio input on the CP10xt, you can sync the chase to the beat by enabling audio.
Programming Chases
The cues in the chase are accessed from the cue memory so you must first create and store some cues as described in the previous chapter. Once you have done so you can then program a chase. To begin, press "Enter" then "Chase". The display will read:
CHASE _ |
BPM 120 |
STEP 01 |
CUE |
Use the cursor keyswitches "-Å" and "Æ+" to move the underline cursor on the display to the lower right corner of the display next to the word "CUE". Select the number for the first cue of the chase using the number keyswitches. Press "Enter". The display will automatically increment to the next step and the number next to "CUE" will go blank allowing you to enter the cue for the next step of the chase. Repeat this process until you have entered all of the cues for this chase.
After entering the cues, adjust the "Chase Speed" fader until the display shows the desired BPM (beats per minute). There are 128 different BPMs available from 0 (stopped) up to 999. Next adjust the "Xfade Speed" fader to the desired crossfade time. The display will switch from "BPM" to "XF" and show the selected crossfade as a percentage. There is only one crossfade speed for the entire chase, the crossfades that are stored with the cues are not used.
Crossfades are presented as a percentage for chases rather than in seconds as in cues. Setting the crossfade rate to 100% gives a smooth glide from step to step and 0% gives a quick snap from step to step. Only the channels, which are programmed to crossfade, are affected. The crossfade time will automatically adjust itself to the chase speed and will always be a percentage of the time between chase steps. Crossfade will always revert to 0% when a chase is controlled by audio.
After the chase is programmed, move the underline cursor back to the top line of the display next to the word "Chase" by pressing "Enter" once more or by using the cursor keyswitches. Select a number to assign the chase from 1-99 using the keyswitches. Press "Enter" again to store the chase at that location. As when storing a cue, if there is already a chase at that location the display will read:
CHASE 01 EXISTS,
ENTER OR CHANGE
Press "Enter" to write over that location or select a new location and press "Enter".
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Recalling Chases
Once a chase has been stored in memory it can be recalled by pressing "Chase". The display will read:
SELECT CHASE _
Select the desired chase number with the keyswitches then press "Go". The display will read:
CHASE 01 BPM 120
STEP 01 CUE 001
As the chase runs, the display will increment with each step of the chase showing the current step and cue number. You can adjust the speed and crossfade rate while the chase is running. Pressing "Go" while the chase is running will advance the chase one step.
Audio Sync
If there is an audio signal present at the audio input jack on the rear panel, you can sync any currently running chase to it by enabling audio. The chase will try to derive a beat from the bass frequencies and trigger the steps from it. When the chase is using the audio signal for its speed, the display will show the message "AUD" next to BPM instead of a number.
Consult the chapter "System Programming" for information on how to enable audio and how to adjust the audio input level.
Editing Chases
Once a chase is programmed and stored in memory it can be edited and re-stored at any time. You can change the cue number at a step, you can remove steps, you can add or insert steps, you can change the speed and you can change the crossfade rate. You can also modify a chase and copy it to a different location while keeping the original.
NOTE: Whenever you edit a chase you must always store it again, either at the same location or at a new one.
To edit a chase, press "Enter" then "Chase". The display will read:
CHASE _ |
BPM 120 |
STEP 01 |
CUE |
Use the keyswitches to select the number of the chase you want to edit. That chase will be copied into an edit buffer where you can make changes to it without affecting the original which is stored in battery backed memory.
After the chase has been selected, use the cursor keys to move the underline cursor until it is underneath the step number. Select the step that you want to edit using the keyswitches. After a step is selected the display will show the cue that is stored at that step. If you want to change the cue
10
number at that step, move the cursor until it is underneath the cue number then use the keyswitches to enter a new cue. Press "Enter". The step number will automatically increment to the next step. If you don't need to edit that step press "Enter" again and the cursor will return to the chase number on the top line. To store the edited chase at the same location press "Enter" again. If you are copying the chase to another location, select a different chase number before pressing "Enter". If you are storing to the same location the display will read:
CHASE 01 EXISTS,
ENTER OR CHANGE
Press "Enter" to store the new edited chase over the old one.
To add more cues to the end of a chase, first load the chase into the edit buffer as explained earlier. Move the cursor to the step number on the display and select the step number that is one higher than the last step in the chase. The cue number will be blank for that step. Move the cursor to the blank cue field and select a cue number. Press "Enter". The display will automatically increment allowing you to enter more steps to the end of the chase. When you are finished press "Enter" and the cursor will return to the chase number. Press "Enter" again to overwrite the old chase or select a new location then press "Enter".
To delete steps from a chase, load the chase into the edit buffer as explained earlier. Select the step number that you want to delete by moving the cursor under the step number in the display and selecting it. Press "Delete". That step will be deleted from the chase and any steps above that one will move down to the next lower step number. The display will show that the cue that was at the next step has now moved down to the step that you just deleted. If the step you deleted was the last step of the chase, the cue field will go blank showing that there is now no cue at this step. Finally you must store the chase after you have edited it.
To insert a chase step into the middle of an existing chase, first load the chase into the edit buffer as explained earlier. Call the step number where you want to insert the new step by moving the cursor under the step number and selecting it. Press "Insert". A blank step will be inserted at this step number and any steps above this one will be moved up one step number. Move the cursor over to the cue number (which will be blank). Select the cue number to insert at this location then press "Enter". The step number will automatically increment and you can insert another step by moving the cursor back to the step number and repeating the previous operation. Finally you must store the chase once you are finished editing.
To erase an entire chase from memory press "Enter" then "Chase". Select the chase number then press "Delete". The display will read:
ERASE CHASE 01? + = YES, - = NO
Press the "+" key to confirm the erase or press "-" to escape.
Programming & Operation of chases with “Pile On” enabled. First, enable the Pile On function via the Menu display. Press the button marked “Black” to clear all output. Create cues using the fixtures you want. Be VERY sure NOT to access channels of fixtures that you do not want in the cue, because the CP-10xt will record those values into the cue. Once completed place those cues in a
11
chase. Repeat the above with fixtures OTHER THAN THE ONES previously used. Press “Chase # Go” to start the first chase. Press “Chase # Go” to start the second chase. If programmed correctly the result will be both chases running together at their programmed chase speed and Xfade time. Altering the chase speed and the Xfade time will affect only the most recently activated chase. To stop the chases press “Black”. Up to 3 chases maybe run together. Trying to run a fourth chase will display the message “3 chases running” in the LCD display.
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