Skip to main content

Quasar Science - Help Center

Wired Control: DMX

DMX_Screen_with_Status_LEDs.jpg

RR and R2 lights have RJ45 ports for wired control using DMX512A or Ethernet protocols.  When DMX input is desired, 5-pin XLR-to-RJ45 adapters can be used for wired DMX input. (see the note below about RJ45 adapters)

To set Wired DMX Input:

  1. Go to [Config Menu] → [DMX Channel] and set the desired DMX Address

  2. [Right Arrow] → [# of Pixels] and set the desired Pixel Count

  3. [Right Arrow] → [DMX Profile] and select the desired DMX Profile

  4. [Right Arrow] → [Wired Mode] and select DMX512

To set Lamps to Wired DMX Control in older firmware:

  1. Go to Config → Wired Settings, set the Wired Mode to “DMX512”

  2. Go to Config → Wireless Settings, set the Wireless Mode to “Off” (default)

  3. Wonder why you haven't upgraded to FW 0.9 yet.

Wired Priority

When the fixture has been set to Wired Input (DMX or Ethernet) the hard line will take priority over any active Wireless connection and will also ignore changes from Manual control.

When lights are controlled with Wired DMX, the screen displays the DMX start address, the number of Pixels, Profile, total number of channels and Output Mode. If the lights lose wired data they will hold last look until either data is restored or a manual change is implemented.

Each light has a DMX IN port and DMX OUT port, which allows for daisy chaining.

Data Loss Behavior

Deprecated behavior FW 0.8B and earlier: If the light is in multi-pixel mode the and it loses wired data subsequent manual changes will take the state of pixel one and apply it to the entire light.

FW 0.9 behavior: Upon data loss the fixtures will Hold Last Look until A.) Data is resumed, B.) Fixture is rebooted, C.) Manual settings are changed, in which the fixture will follow the Manual settings.

Note

When the light is set to DMX mode, the DMX signal is always passed to the Output port so you can daisy chain other dmx devices.

About RJ45-to-XLR DMX adapters

When you use RJ45-DMX connections they must comply with the ANSI/EIA-568 wiring scheme T568B:

RJ45-to-DMX_Pins.jpg

  • RJ45 Pin 1 white/orange [DMX data+] = DMX XLR Pin 3

  • RJ45 Pin 2: orange [DMX –]  = DMX XLR Pin 2

  • RJ45 Pin 7 (white/brown) and Pin 8 (brown) [Ground] = DMX XLR Pin 1

Important

When using XLR-to-RJ45 adapters for DMX input please be aware that some cheap adapters (i.e. found on Amazon) are not wired correctly and will not work with Quasar Science fixtures.

To avoid any problems you can obtain the correct RJ45 adaptors directly from the Quasar Science online store

In this section: