GILDERFLUKE & CO .• 205 SOUTH FLOWER STREET • BURBANK , CALIFORNIA 91502 • 818/840-9484 • 800/776-5972 • FAX 818/840-9485
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Z-Brick
Printed April 25, 2002
0123
Fuse
s
Output
s
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
DMX Rec'd
0
1
F
26AE
3
D
5
B
97
8
0
1
F
26AE
3
D
5
B
97
8
Z-Brick
4C
4C
Z-Buss
Updat
e
MSB
x0h)
(
Addres
(0
s
LSB
xh)
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Safety Disclaimer: Any electronic or mechanical
system has the potential to fail. Certain applications using Gilderfluke & Company equipment may
involve potential risks of death, personal injury or
severe property or environmental damage
(“Critical Application”).
Gilderfluke & Company equipment is not designed, intended, authorized or warranted to be
suitable in life support applications, devices or
systems or other critical applications. Inclusion of
Gilderfluke & Company products in such applications is understood to be fully at the risk of the customer. In order to minimize risks associated with
the customer's applications, adequate design and
operating safeguards should be provided by the
customer to minimize inherent or procedural hazards.
Gilderfluke & Company assumes no liability for
applications assistance, customer produced design, software performance, or infringement of
patents or copyrights. Nor does Gilderfluke &
Company warrant or represent that any license, either express or implied, is granted under any
patent right, copyright, mask work right, or other intellectual property right of Gilderfluke & Company
covering or relating to any combination, machine,
or process in which Gilderfluke & Company products or services might be or are used.
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GILDERFLUKE & CO .• 205 SOUTH FLOWER STREET • BURBANK , CALIFORNIA 91502 • 818/840-9484 • 800/776-5972 • FAX 818/840-9485
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A note about this manual:
This manual covers the specifics of the ZBrick. To program the Z-Brick you will need to
also need the PC•MACs manual sections that
cover the PC•MACs software.
Gilderfluke Show Control Equipment is
sometimes programmed in ‘Software-only’ or
‘Hardwareless Realtime’ mode. Refer to the
‘Quick Start’ sections of the PC•MACs manual if
you are unfamiliar with their use. If you are
using the PC•MACs MACs-SMP or MACs-USB for
programming your Z-Brick through the DMX512 input, please refer to the PC•MACs
‘Unlimited’ mode.
The full PC•MACs manual can be downloaded from our web site at:
http:/ /www.gilderfluke.com
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Overview:
The Z-Brick is an output card which has thirty-two digital outputs. It is designed to be used as an output card for use in a
PC•MACs system, or as a digital output expansion card for BRANAs, BR-EFBs, BR-SmartMedia, or any other Gilderfluke &
Company card which provides a Z-Buss or DMX-512 output.
Each Z-Brick adds another thirty-two digital outputs. Up to sixtyfour Z-Bricks can be used for a total of 2048 digital outputs.
The Z-Brick can be used in two different ways:
1) Z-Brick with DMX-512 input: In this mode the Z-Brick receives up to 256 channels of DMX-512 data transmitted
by a PC•MACs Animation Control System, or any other
source of DMX-512 data, and uses four channels of this
data to update its outputs. The Z-Brick can be addressed to use any DMX-512 address from 0 to 255. The
DMX-512 input allows the Z-Brick to be used as a permanent output device for a PC•MACs or other Animation or
Lighting Control System. DMX-512 reception can be disabled by moving the ‘DMX-512 Disable’ jumper to the
‘disabled’ position.
2) Z-Brick as a Digital Output Expander: BR-ANAs, BREFBs, BR-SmartMedia, and some other Gilderfluke &
Company cards don’t themselves have digital outputs.
One or more Z-Bricks can be attached to these cards via
the twenty position IDS ‘Z-Buss’ connection on their front
panels.
In either of the modes, the Z-Brick’s thirty-two outputs are addressed as four consecutive eight bit channels. This means that
each Z-Brick needs four eight bit channels worth of data. The two
HEXadecimal switches on the front of the Z-Brick are used to set
the address. The address is set using HEXadecimal numbers (a
chart which shows both numbering systems is at the rear of this
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and all Gilderfluke manuals). The upper switch is used to set the
upper hex nibble’s address. The lower switch is used to set the
lower hex nibble’s address.
As an example, a typical address for a Z-Brick is right after the
sixteen eight bit resolution analog outputs on a BR-ANA. If the BRANA outputs are addressed at address 0, then the last analog
channel is in address 15. This translates to 0Fh, so the first address which is available to the Z-Brick is 16 (decimal), or 10h. To
set this address on a Z-Brick, the upper address switch would be
set to ‘1’, and the lower switch set to ‘0’.
Another common address is right after sixteen analog outputs
of a BR-ANA which are set to twelve bits of resolution. These sixteen
twelve bit resolution outputs occupy twenty-four channels worth
of data. If they are addressed at address 0, then the last analog
channel is in address 23. This translates to 17h, so the first address which is available to the Z-Brick is 24 (decimal), or 18h. The
upper address switch needs to be set to ‘1’, and the lower switch
set to ‘8’.
The Z-Brick can be mounted in one 1” wide slot in any of our
Brick Card cages. The Z-Brick can be used in conjunction with
any selection of Smart Bricks, Smart Brick Brains, Electronic
FeedBack (EFB) Smart Bricks and Z-Bricks in the same card cage.
Card cages with one, two or sixteen slots are available. The card
cages provide all of the connections for power supply, control
signals and outputs that any Brick card will need. Several different styles of output connectors are available on the one and two
slot card cages. The sixteen slot card cage mounts in seven
inches (4U) of standard 19” rack space (4-1/2“ of space behind
the panel). In some applications you may need to mount a single Smart Brick. This can be done by mounting the Brick on
standoffs, and connecting to the card's edge connector with a
mating connector. We usually recommend a sixty position insulation displacement connector for this type of installation.
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Power requirements for each Z-Brick are 9 to 24 VDC. The actual current requirements are determined by the loads attached
to the unit. The Z-Brick itself draws about 200 ma. of current.
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On the Front of the Z-Brick:
A) Output LEDs: These thirty-two LEDs show the current status of the
thirty-two digital outputs. If a LED is lit, then that output is ‘ON’.
Because the outputs of a Z-Brick are ‘Open Collector, Switch To
Ground’, you can ground out any output pin, and the appropri-
ate LED will light. This can be useful when diagnosing output
wiring problems. If you are commanding ‘on’ an output and you
don’t see a LED, then the output is probably drawing too much
current and the output is ‘self protecting’. Disconnect the load
and see if the LED now lights. If it does, then it definitely is an
overload problem. If it does not, then try turning ‘on’ some of the
other outputs. if they light OK, then the output driver might be
damaged. If they do not, then verify your addressing and retest.
B) Fuse LEDs: The thirty-two outputs of the Z-Brick are divided into
four, eight bit ‘channels’. Each of these channels is fused for ap-
proximately one Amp of continuous current. These four LEDs light
to show if the four fuses are OK. If any are out, then a short circuit
(or too heavy of a load) is dragging the outputs down and caus-
ing the fuse to open. The fuses are actually ‘PTC fuses’, which act
more like circuit breakers. Once the overload is removed, they
reset.
C) Update LED: This LED will flash on each update from DMX-512 or
the Z-Buss. It shows you the the Z-Brick is receiving data OK.
D) DMX-512 LED: This LED will be lit when the Z-Brick is receiving
DMX-512 data. DMX-512 reception can be disabled by moving
the ‘DMX-512 Disable’ jumper to the ‘disabled’ position.
E) Address Switches: The address for the Z-Brick is set using
Hexadecimal numbers. The first digit of the Hexadecimal address
is set on the upper of the two switches. The second digit of the
hexadecimal address is set on the lower of the two switches. If
you are not sure how these translate from decimal numbers, a
chart at the end of every Gilderfluke & Company manual will
show you the equivalent numbers..
F) Z-Buss: This twenty pin IDS connector is used to connect one or
more Z-Bricks to the ONE card that is sourcing data. This ‘sourcing’
card can be a BR-ANA, BR-EFB, BR-SmartMedia, or any other
Gilderfluke & Co. card with an appropriate Z-Buss output. The BR-
ANA, BR-EFB, or BR-SmartMedia outputs data from the DMX-512 or
serial input or onboard Flash Memory to this connector. The
pinouts of this connector is as follows:
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IDS pin #SIGNAL
1Data bit 0
2Data bit 1
3Data bit 2
4Data bit 3
5Data bit 4
6Data bit 5
7Data bit 6
8Data bit 7
9Address bit 0
10Address bit 1
11Address bit 2
12Address bit 3
13Address bit 4
14Address bit 5
15Address bit 6
16Address bit 7
17ground
18ground
19Strobe/
20Reset/
When the address and data lines are valid, the rising edge of
the Strobe line will latch the data into the addressed outputs.
If the Z-Buss input is not going to be used, you should insert a
two position jumper between pins #17 and #19. This will tie down
any spurious outputs that might otherwise happen if the DMX-512
data is not present. The Z-Bricks ship from Gilderfluke & Co. with a
jumper in just this position.
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On the Back of the Z-Brick:
In all animation systems made by Gilderfluke & Company all digital output cabling is through what we call ‘J-6’ standard output cables. These are
forty wire cables which are made up of four identical eight bit wide ‘channels’. A J-6 cable is often split up into four individual channels. As each
channel also includes a common power supply and ground wire, each ‘1/4
J-6’ cable is made up of ten wires, and can be used to control eight individual ‘digital’ (off/on) devices, or one eight bit wide ‘analog’ device.
All Gilderfluke & Co. digital outputs are open collector switches to
ground, and all inputs are opto isolated. Flyback diodes are included in the
outputs for driving inductive loads:
fuse
flybac
supplysupply
diode
typical output
typical input
To simplify wiring to any MACs animation system, the connectors
used on the J-6 cables are what are called ‘insulation displacement connectors’. These simply snap on to an entire cable, automatically ‘displacing’
the wire insulation and making contact with the wires within. This means
that an entire 40 wire cable can be terminated in seconds. All connectors
are polarized, to keep them from being plugged in backwards. Although
there are tools made specifically for installing these connectors, the tool we
find works best is a small bench vise.
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d
d
d
d
d
d
-
-
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#1 ground (brown)--
#2 bit 7 (red)--
#3 bit 6 (orange)--
#4 bit 5 (yellow)--
#5 bit 4 (green)--
#6 bit 3 (blue)--
#7 bit 2 (violet)--
#8 bit 1 (grey)--
#9 bit 0 (white)--
#10 supply (black)--
loa
loa
loa
loa
load
load
loa
loa
LED
#1 ground (brown)--
2.2 K ohm
1/4 watt resistor
#10 supply (black)-
#2 bit 7 (red)--
#3 bit 6 (orange)--
#4 bit 5 (yellow)--
#5 bit 4 (green)--
#6 bit 3 (blue)--
#7 bit 2 (violet)-
#8 bit 1 (grey)-
#9 bit 0 (white)--
The supply line for each 1/4 J-6 is PTC fused for 1 amp. You should treat
each 1/4 J-6 as an individual, and not cross the outputs or supply lines from
one channel to the lines from any other channel. Doing this won’t cause
any damage, but can reduce the protection for the outputs that the fuses
normally provide.
Each J-6 cable is arranged in the following order:
wire numbercolorwire function
1browncircuit ground
2redchannel 0 data bit 7
3orangechannel 0 data bit 6
4yellowchannel 0 data bit 5
5greenchannel 0 data bit 4
6bluechannel 0 data bit 3
7violetchannel 0 data bit 2
8graychannel 0 data bit 1
9whitechannel 0 data bit 0
10blackunregulated power supply (PTC fused for 1 amp)
11browncircuit ground
12redchannel 1 data bit 7
13orangechannel 1 data bit 6
14yellowchannel 1 data bit 5
15greenchannel 1 data bit 4
16bluechannel 1 data bit 3
17violetchannel 1 data bit 2
18graychannel 1 data bit 1
19whitechannel 1 data bit 0
20blackunregulated power supply (PTC fused for 1 amp)
21browncircuit ground
22redchannel 2 data bit 7
23orangechannel 2 data bit 6
any
eight bit
analog
device
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Page 12
400
300
100
5
y Cy
%
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24yellowchannel 2 data bit 5
25greenchannel 2 data bit 4
26bluechannel 2 data bit 3
27violetchannel 2 data bit 2
28graychannel 2 data bit 1
29whitechannel 2 data bit 0
30blackunregulated power supply (PTC fused for 1 amp)
31browncircuit ground
32redchannel 3 data bit 7
33orangechannel 3 data bit 6
34yellowchannel 3 data bit 5
35greenchannel 3 data bit 4
36bluechannel 3 data bit 3
37violetchannel 3 data bit 2
38graychannel 3 data bit 1
39whitechannel 3 data bit 0
40blackunregulated power supply (PTC fused for 1 amp)
Any eight digital devices or one eight bit analog device can be con-
nected to any 1/4 J-6 cable as shown. The LED between the ground (pin
#1 brown) wire and supply (pin #10 black) wire acts as an indicator which
is lit if the fuse for that channel is OK:
The current Output Capacity of a each output is as shown in the follow-
ing chart:
Peak Collector Current as a function
600ma.
of Output Duty Cycle
500ma.
2
ma.
3
4
6
100
200ma.
Allowable Peak Collector Current @ 70ºC
ma.
ma.
7
8
Number of outputs
conducting
simultaneousl
10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%
Output Dut
cle
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Since it is unusual to have more than 50% of the outputs on at any one
time, you can usually assume the system has a 250 ma output current capacity. If you are going to be turning on lots of heavy loads at the same
time, you should derate this to 150 ma.. This is sufficient to drive the majority of loads which will be directly connected to the outputs of the animation
system. If additional current capacity is needed, or if you need to drive
higher voltage loads, you can connect relays as needed to the outputs of
the animation system. Coincidentally, boards for doing this are available
from Gilderfluke & Company. These include:
DPDT relay board: A set of eight electromechanical relays with dou-
ble pole/double throw contacts rated at 5 amps each.
Reed relay board: A set of eight small electromechanical relays with
normally open contacts rated at 150 ma each.
I/O module: A set of eight small solid state relays with normally open
contacts rated at 3.5 amps each (AC and DC relays available).
Solid State Relay Fanning Strip: For connecting up to eight popular
‘hockey puck’ style relays to a 1/4 J-6 output cable. These are
available with capacities of up to 75 amps each.
DMX-512 Data In/Out: Ten pin Male header connector. The Z-Brick will
stop listening to the Z-Buss whenever there is a DMX-512 signal present on
this input. DMX-512 reception can be disabled by moving the ‘DMX-512
Disable’ jumper to the ‘disabled’ position. You will want to disable the DMX512 reception if your installation will normally feed the Z-Bricks from the ZBuss, and is only temporarily using DMX-512 during programming.
The DMX-512 standard was developed by the United States Institute for
Theatrical Technology (USITT) for a high speed (250 KBaud) asynchronous
serial data link. Although it was originally designed for controlling light dimmers, it is now supported by hundreds of suppliers throughout the world for
controlling all kinds of theatrical equipment.
Even though the DMX-512 standard calls for 512 channels of data, the
DMX transmission from PC•MACs is limited to 256 eight bit wide channels.
You can address your DMX-512 compatible output devices to respond to
any address between 00 and 255. Addresses above the 256th are used in
PC•MACs for transmitting a checksum. The BR-ANA can use this to verify
that the data received from PC•MACs has no transmission errors in it. If you
address a light dimmer or other DMX-512 device to addresses 256 or 257,
you will see this verification data displayed as a flickering pattern. Note that
at frame rates higher than sixty FPS, not all 256 channels can be transmit-
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ted through the DMX-512 output.
The DMX-512 standard calls out a 5 pin XLR connector or screw termi-
nals for all connections. All card cages will provide either screw terminals or
other appropriate connection for attaching the DMX-512 input and output.
Edge Connector: All of the connections to and from Z-Brick Cards are
available on the 60 position edge connector. You can use an Insulation
Displacement Edge (IDE) connector if you aren’t going to be using one of
our card cages:
output wire #Edge pin #colorwire function
n/a1brownnot used
n/a2rednot used
n/a3orangenot used
n/a4yellownot used
n/a5greennot used
n/a6bluenot used
n/a7violetnot used
n/a8graynot used
n/a9whitenot used
n/a10blacknot used
#111brownJ6 out channel 0 Ground
#212redJ6 out channel 0 bit 7
#313orangeJ6 out channel 0 bit 6
#414yellowJ6 out channel 0 bit 5
#515greenJ6 out channel 0 bit 4
#616blueJ6 out channel 0 bit 3
#717violetJ6 out channel 0 bit 2
#818grayJ6 out channel 0 bit 1
#919whiteJ6 out channel 0 bit 0
#1020blackJ6 out channel 0 + Supply
#1121brownJ6 out channel 1 Ground
#1222redJ6 out channel 1 bit 7
#1323orangeJ6 out channel 1 bit 6
#1424yellowJ6 out channel 1 bit 5
#1525greenJ6 out channel 1 bit 4
#1626blueJ6 out channel 1 bit 3
#1727violetJ6 out channel 1 bit 2
#1828grayJ6 out channel 1 bit 1
#1929whiteJ6 out channel 1 bit 0
#2030blackJ6 out channel 1 + Supply
#2131brownJ6 out channel 2 Ground
#2232redJ6 out channel 2 bit 7
#2333orangeJ6 out channel 2 bit 6
#2434yellowJ6 out channel 2 bit 5
#2535greenJ6 out channel 2 bit 4
#2636blueJ6 out channel 2 bit 3
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#2737violetJ6 out channel 2 bit 2
#2838grayJ6 out channel 2 bit 1
#2939whiteJ6 out channel 2 bit 0
#3040blackJ6 out channel 2 + Supply
#3141brownJ6 out channel 3 Ground
#3242redJ6 out channel 3 bit 7
#3343orangeJ6 out channel 3 bit 6
#3444yellowJ6 out channel 3 bit 5
#3545greenJ6 out channel 3 bit 4
#3646blueJ6 out channel 3 bit 3
#3747violetJ6 out channel 3 bit 2
#3848grayJ6 out channel 3 bit 1
#3949whiteJ6 out channel 3 bit 0
#4050blackJ6 out channel 3 + Supply
red56blue+ power supply input
red57violet+ power supply input
red58gray+ power supply input
red59white+ power supply input
red60black+ power supply input
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- HEXadecimal to Decimal to Percentage -
This chart shows decimal, HEXadecimal, and a few percentage equiva-
lents to aid you when you need to convert between numbering bases: