Chauvet 3 DMX Primer , Fixture Linking (Dai s y Chain ) , Data Cabling

DMX Primer 10

DMX Primer

There are 512 channels in a DMX c onnecti on. A fixture cap able of receiving DMX wil l require one

or a number of sequ ential channels. Th e user must assign a starting address on the fixture that

indicates the first c hannel reserved in the controller. T here are many diff erent types of DMX

controllable fixtur es and they all may vary in the total num ber of channels required. Ch oosing a

start address should be planned in advance. Channels should never overlap. If they do, this will

result in erratic operati on of the fixtures whose starting address is set incorrectly. You can

however, control multiple fixtures of t he same type using t he same starting address as long as th e

intended result is that of unis on movement or operation. I n other words, the fixtures will all

respond exactly the s ame.

DMX fixtures are designed to receive data t hrough a daisy chai n. A daisy chain c onnection is

where the DATA OUT of one fixture connects to the DATA IN of the next fixture. The order in

which the fixtures are conn ected is not important and has no ef fect on how a controller

communicates to eac h fixture. Use an order that provides f or the easiest and most direct cabling .

Connect fixtures us ing shielded two c onductor twisted p air DMX data cable with t hree pin XLR

male to female conn ectors. The shield c onnection is pin 1 , while pin 2 is Dat a Negative (S-) and

pin 3 is Data positi ve (S+).

Fixture Linking (Dai s y Chain )

You will need a daisy c hain to run light sh ows of one or more f ixtures using a D MX controller or to

run synchronized sh ows on two or mor e fixtures set to a m aster/slave operati ng mode. The

combined number of chann els required by all the fixtures on a daisy chain determines the number

of fixtures the data link can support.

To comply with the EIA-485 st andard, do not connect more than 32 fixtures on o ne daisy

chain. Connecting more than 32 fixtures on one dai sy chain without the use of a DMX

optically-isolated splitter may re sult in deterioration of the di gital DMX signal.

Maximum recommen ded cable distance: 500 m (1640 ft )

Maximum recommende d nu mb er of f ixtu r es on a daisy chain: 32

Data Cabling

To link fixtures tog ether you must obt ain data cables. You can purchase CHAUVET® certified

DMX cab les dir ectly f rom a deal er/distributor or c onstruct your own c able. If you choose t o create

your own cable pleas e use data-grade c ables that can carr y a high quality si gnal and are less

prone to electromag netic interferenc e.

applications. Stand ard microphone cables cannot t ransmit DMX data reliably ov er long distances.

The cable must have th e following charact eristics:

Type: shielded, 2-conductor twisted pair

Maximum capacitanc e between conductors : 30 pF/ft

Maximum capacitanc e between conductor and shield: 55 pF/ft

Maximum resistanc e: 20 ohms/1000 ft

Nominal impedance: 10 0 ~ 140 ohms