[ANSWERED] Fog machine with DMX control

[Enjoytheride]

Hello,

I have seen multiple posts about controlling lighting with Isadora through a DMX-USB connection (eg Enttec DMX pro). We are looking to do the same with a fog machine that has a DMX input and output. I trust the approach would be largely the same? Any links or tips are most welcome.

Thanks

[Juriaan]

@enjoytheride

Welcome to the Isadora Community forum!

Basically you will need the following

1. An USB to DMX (Enttec DMX Pro, etc) or an Artnet Node (Uses Ethernet cables)
2. DMX cable (Either 3 or 5 pin. Depends on the input DMX plug of your Fog machine)
3. An converter plug from 5 pin to 3 pin, see above.
4. The fogmachine

If the Fogmachine is DMX enabled is has something to set the DMX address. You can simply set the Address by either an onscreen menu or by using the Dip switches on the back. Please see the product manual for how to do this for your product / and how many channels it need.
Please be aware that some machines require an restart (Plug it out of the power and plug it back in) to set the DMX address.

We made an lovely KB article about how to do the Isadora side of things;

https://support.troikatronix.c...

Let us know if you need any further assist :)

[Juriaan]

@juriaan

Oh and one thing. There is an difference between XLR and DMX Cable. DMX cable has an higher impedance (110 ohms) than XLR (75 ohms). For short distances you wont see the difference, but especially for longer runs it is a pain in the but. (Will cause flickering / lost of signal / etc)

[Enjoytheride]

@juriaan such an incredibly speedy reply, this is just great :) I have ordered the necessary hardware and will let you know in a few days how it turned out 

[Enjoytheride]

Hi, @Juriaan I have been trying to achieve the following using Isadora: to trigger the fog machine at a certain time point in the movie Player. The movie in total takes 5 minutes and at 4:30, the fog machine should give off a few blasts of smoke with the final one lasting for a good 8 seconds. I have connected the smoke machine through the Enttec interface to the computer, but could you give me a few quick pointers as to next steps, what actors and/or plugins to use? After that I'm sure I'll figure it out

Cheers!

[dbini]

@enjoytheride

Comparator is a good one (or one of the related Compare or Range actors) - connected to the position of your Movie Player. Connect this to a Trigger Value that feeds your DMX sender. If you want it to ramp up or down, try Envelope.

[JJHP3]

@enjoytheride Hi - I used Izzy with 3 Chauvet fog machines. I used QLC thru a DMX pro box with Isadora providing midi notes to QLC. Timed puffs for 3 weeks running without problems.  Here's link to see stills. Had to see from the photos, but towards the back. The smokestacks had the Chauvet's inside... fun! Isadora did 2 video projectors and 4 speakers.

http://terragizmo.net/page-3/p...