Wired Control: sACN
sACN is an network based ethernet protocol used to control lighting fixtures.
Most control systems that support sACN can usually send either Multicast or Unicast data.
Multicast sACN is our preferred control protocol. Multicast does not require IP address assignments on the fixtures. As far the lights are concerned you can ignore IP settings altogether which makes Multicast plug & play for end users. All that is required is that you set the Input Universe and DMX address as per your controller's dmx patch list.
Unicast sACN requires each fixture's IP address to be deliberately set to a unique address, as well as to the Subnet Mask of your network (i.e. 255.255.0.0). These settings are required since the lighting controller (i.e. Console/Desk) is sending that fixture's dmx data directly to its IP address.
Lighting networks with more than one sACN source can use sACN Priorities as a method to ensure that the fixtures can listen to the correct controller. Quasar Science Fixtures will listen to the higher priority controller and ignore lower priority traffic. This feature is in FW 0.7b or later.
Note
The default sACN setting for Quasar Science fixtures is Multicast
Go to Config → Wired Settings → Wired Mode
and set the light to sACN.
Go to Config→Ethernet Settings
View IP Addr should say Multicast, if not, do step 3
Scroll → to Multicast and select Enable.
Go to Config → Ethernet Settings → Universe
Set the fixture to the universe it is patched to
Optional Config → Ethernet Settings → IP Add Mode → Static
The user will can now set the IP and subnet mask of the fixture in the ethernet settings menu. Detailed instructions can be found here
Go to Config → Ethernet Settings → DMX Channel
Set the DMX Address the fixture is patched to
Connect the fixture to the lighting control network
Profit!!!
Go to Config → Wired Settings → Wired Mode
and set the light to sACN.
Go to Config → Ethernet Settings → Multicast → disabled
The fixture is now in Unicast mode and the controller needs to know the IP address for the fixture
Config → Ethernet Settings → IP Add Mode → Static
The user will can now set the IP and subnet mask of the fixture in the ethernet settings menu. Detailed instructions can be found here
Scroll → to Multicast and select Disabled
Go to Config → Ethernet Settings → Universe
Set the fixture to the universe it is patched to
Go to Config → Ethernet Settings → DMX Channel
Set the DMX Address the fixture is patched to
Connect the fixture to the lighting control network
Profit!!!
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sACN Priorities
As of Firmware 0.7B there is now the detection of sACN priorities in the RR and R2 fixtures. When there are two controllers on the same network sending out sACN packets, the lights will now honor the higher-priority packet. Priority is Per-Universe for RR-R2 fixtures.
For example: If one console is set to a priority of 110 and the other console is set to a priority of 100, the lights will listen to the console's output with priority 110.
Node mode
An additional option for Quasar Science fixtures receiving sACN is Node Mode which allows the LAN 2 port of the fixture to output DMX.
Note
When the light is set to sACN, it will not respond to DMX.
sACN uses Universe 1 as the first Universe of DMX that it transmits. This should be noted when using sACN.
The Universe field on the display will flash if the fixture is set to a universe not being transmitted.
The wired network substatus screen will become enabled when the fixture is set to receive data via network.
Only the listening sACN Universe is output as DMX as of FW 0.8B. A future releases will add the ability to output a different dmx Universe than the one the fixture is set to. The is feature is available with Art-Net.
Notice
The LAN 2 port on Quasar Science Double Rainbows can act as a network switch and re-transmit network traffic that the fixture receives
The LAN 2 port on Quasar Science Rainbow 2's do not act as a network switch and will NOT re-transmit network traffic.