diff --git a/blog/index.html b/blog/index.html index 852186c..75a231a 100644 --- a/blog/index.html +++ b/blog/index.html @@ -17,8 +17,29 @@ Photography -

Not much here. Moreso notes for myself than an actual blog post. Perhaps I will actually write it up later and add formatting, but for now here you go.

+

Unpolished not-drafts

+ - Installing arch. +

Drafts

+

+ Not much here. Some are moreso notes for myself than an actual blog posts. + Perhaps I will actually write those up later and add formatting, but for + now here you go. +

+ + diff --git a/blog/posts/2025-11-06-wrangling-the-FUTD01-dmx-transmitter.md b/blog/posts/2025-11-06-wrangling-the-FUTD01-dmx-transmitter.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9557633 --- /dev/null +++ b/blog/posts/2025-11-06-wrangling-the-FUTD01-dmx-transmitter.md @@ -0,0 +1,92 @@ +# Wrangling the FUTD01 DMX Transmitter + +2025-11-06 + +(Note: no AI of any kind was used in the writing of this post.) + +Recently, for a musical that we're putting on, my school bought several wireless +DMX lightbulbs (MiBoxer FUT105). To connect them to the lightboard, we also got +a MiBoxer FUTD01 wireless DMX transmitter. We had a lot of trouble figuring out +how to use the transmitter, since the [official manual] did not fully explain +all the terms they used; and in one spot it borders on actively misleading. +Hopefully this will help someone else out with the same problem :] + +[official manual]: https://miboxer.com/light/m_n/pdf/FUTD01/FUTD01_EN_V1.0.pdf + +The two main terms to know are *zones*/*channels* and *address*. + +## Zones + +The transmitter can control up to 16 *zones*[^1] of lights at a time. A zone +is a set of one or more lights that are controlled as if they were one. The +trasmitter uses the prefix `CH` when displaying a zone number. + +[^1]: The term *channel* is also used, although I will stick to zone to prevent +confusion with an Eos channel. + +**If you want to control a light individually, it must have its own zone.** + +### Linking a light to a zone + +1. Using the `+` or `-` buttons, select the correct zone number (from 1-16). +2. Turn the light on. Pause very briefly to allow the light to reach full + brightness. +3. Within 3 seconds of turning the light on, press the `set` button 3 times. The + light will **flash** green three times. +4. Your light is linked! + +If the light stays white (the color when it turns on) and does not flash, just +try again. You probably missed the 3sec window. If the light is a solid green, +it is already linked. You'll need to unlink it and then relink. + +### Unlinking a light from a zone + +1. Turn the light on. Pause very briefly to allow the light to reach full + brightness. +2. Within 3 seconds of turning the light on, press the `set` button 5 times. The + light will flash red ten times. +3. The light is unlinked. + +## Address + +The transmitter does not allow individually assigning DMX addresses to +the lights; the transmitter itself gets a base address, and each zone gets +incremented on top of that. + +The transmitter uses the prefix `d` when displaying an address. + +### Finding the address of a zone + +**If the base address of the transmitter is `d`, and the zone number is `c`, then +the address of the zone starts at `d + 5*(c-1)`.** + +For example, if the base address is `450`, then the address range for zone `3` +will be `450 + 5*2`, or `460`. This is because the first zone (zone `1`) starts +at address `450`; since each light uses 5 addresses, the second (zone `2`) will +be at `455`; the third at `460`; the fourth at `465`; and so on. + +### Setting the base address + +1. Hold the `set` button until the text on the display (it should be `dXXX`, + where XXX is a number) is flashing. +2. Using the `+` or `-` buttons, select the correct base address. +3. Hold `set` until it stops blinking. + +## Patching + +Each light takes 5 DMX addresses: the first is red, followed by green, blue, +(cool) white, and warm white.[^2] If you're using ETC Eos, you'll need to create a +[custom fixture]. + +[^2]: This was very helpfully listed on the side of the box for the light. It + was the most straightforward part of the entire process. + +[custom fixture]: https://www.etcconnect.com/webdocs/Controls/IonOnlineHelp/en-us/Content/05_Patch/07_Fixture_Editor/About_the_Fixture_Editor.htm + +If you're using ETC Eos, there's a neat trick you can use to make patching +easier. First, go to the patch tab and select the range of channels you'll +be using for your lights. Then, change their type to the custom fixture you +created. Now, with all the channels still selected, set the address to be the +base address. Since Eos knows how many addresses to give each channel, it'll +automatically chunk the addresses up into 5s and assign them to the proper +channels. This saved me quite a bit of time :D