Design Spot 1200C™
©Elation Professional® 20 Design Spot 1200C™
DMX-512 connection with DMX terminator
A DMX terminator should be used in all DMX lines especially in longer runs. The use of a
terminator may avoid erratic behavior in your DMX line. A terminator is a 120 ohm 1/4 watt
resistor that is connected between pins 2 and 3 of a male XLR connector (DATA + and DATA
-). The terminator is inserted in the female XLR connector of the last fixture in your daisy
chain to terminate the line. Using a line terminator (Elation part: DMX T PACK) will decrease
the possibilities of erratic behavior.
5-Pin XLR DMX Connectors. Some fixtures use 5-pin XLR connectors for DATA
transmission in place of 3-pin. 5-pin XLR fixtures may be implemented in a 3-pin XLR DMX
line. When inserting standard 5-pin XLR connectors in to a 3-pin line a cable adaptor must
be used, these adaptors are readily available at most electric stores. The following chart
details a proper cable conversion.
Fixture DMX addressing;
All fixtures should be given a DMX starting address when using a DMX controller, so the
correct fixture responds to the correct control signal coming from the controller. This “starting