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Electronic Theatre Controls Inc

Dimmer Setup

To locate Dimmer circuit setup by pressing the Setup button and navigating to [Dimmers] and press Enter.

Dimmer setup will appear as a scrollable window as shown below.

Navigating the Dimmer setup page:

  • The top three lines of the "dimmer setup" provide physical rack location of the circuit and logical number (UDN) assigned to the physical location. Often the UDN matches a label placed at the outlet(s) in installation systems.
  • To select a dimmer or range of dimmers you can:
    • Scroll through dimmers to find the appropriate dimmer number and press Enter.
    • Use the number pad to select the dimmer you would like to adjust and press Enter.
    • Once you press the number, press And or Thru to choose the intended selection of dimmers. Press enter.
  • The logical address and physical location information remains at the top of the screen as you scroll down through available circuit parameters.

Many systems do not require circuit by circuit setup for correct dimming operation. For simple systems, touring racks and portable packs, refer to first time setup WIKI article for basic setup instructions of racks that have a single module type. 

Setup instructions for individual circuits:

  • Basic setup:
    • Setting module type:
      A default module type is automatically loaded in initial rack setup based on rack type and voltage. If only a single module or a couple modules need their type updated, you can perform this change in the Dimmer setup screen.  Large ranges of change can also be modified in this screen by using the And/thru buttons for multiples selection.  In more complicated setups where module density changes from one module to the next, also consider using the circuit assignments screen which shows a range of modules on the screen together and the mapping of the circuits in the module to a logical number called the UDN (User Defined Number). Note, if change of module type causes decreased circuit density, then dimmer 0 is assigned to the non-addressable positions.  The Dimmer setup screen will no longer be able to access these locations.   Later modification of module type back to a dual circuit module would result in no access to the location which was assigned 0 until you manually provide a valid UDN address through the circuit assignment screen.  See also the /Support/Articles/Dimming-Switching/Sensor3-Power-Control/ article for modifying these settings there.
    • Setting Firing Mode:
      Firing mode sets the dimming technique to be used when control is set to dimmable. 
      Valid settings:
      • Fluorescent
      • SineWave
      • Reverse phase
      • Dimmer doubled
      • Forward phase
        Within these settings, most modules have limitations for just a few of the options, so if an invalid option is chosen, the controller will reject the change.
    • Control
      • Off
      • Dimmer doubled
      • Latch-Lock Control setup (Similar to the strike/douse command in a moving light)
      • Switched (relay style on/off contol)
      • Always on
  • Dimming Control Curve
    • Advanced curve setup
      Advanced curve setup options allow you to fine the chosen curve to achieve the specific result required.  In most cases, there is no need to adjust these advanced curve settings. For further understanding of the below settings, see also Dimmer property definitions. 
      These advanced settings include:   
      • Threashold
      • Min Scale Voltage
      • Max Scale Voltage
      • Scaled load
      • Regulation
      • Preheat
      • DC output prevent
      • Inrush Protect
      • Patching
        Data input addresses can be edited on a per port basis directly in the setup of the dimmer.  Note that multiple selection editing of addresses assigns the same address to all selected UDN's.
  • Advanced features setup
    ​​​​​​​Turn on and off advanced features reporting on a select set of dimmers.  If Advanced reporting is active, then granularity of reporting can be adjusted including whether presence of load or loads change errors should be reported. If load changes are to be reported, then you can also adjust the system's sensitivity to changes in attached loads as well as the reaction time measured in seconds.
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