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Design Spot 575E™
©Elation Professional® 16
Design Spot 575E™
7. UNDERSTANDING DMX
DMX-512: DMX is short for Digital Multiplex. This is a universal protocol used by most
lighting and controller manufactures as a form of communication between intelligent fixtures
and controllers. A DMX controller sends DMX data instructions from the controller to the
fixture. DMX data is sent out as serial data that travels from fixture to fixture via the DATA
“IN” and DATA “OUT” XLR terminals located on all DMX fixtures (most controllers only have
a DATA “OUT” terminals). DMX Linking: DMX is a language allowing all makes and models
of different manufactures to be linked together and operate from a single controller, as long
as all fixtures and the controller are DMX compliant. To ensure proper DMX data
transmission, when using several DMX fixtures try to use the shortest cable path possible.
The order in which fixtures are connected in a DMX line does not influence the DMX
addressing. For example; a fixture assigned a DMX address of 1 may be placed anywhere in
a DMX line, at the beginning, at the end, or anywhere in the middle. Therefore, the first
fixture controlled by the controller could be the last fixture in the chain. When a fixture is
assigned a DMX address of 1, the DMX controller knows to send DATA assigned to address
1 to that fixture, no matter where it is located in the DMX chain.
Data Cable (DMX Cable) Requirements (For DMX and Master/Slave Operation): The
Design Spot 575E™ can be controlled via DMX-512 protocol. The Design Spot 575E™ is a
24 channel DMX fixture. The DMX address is set electronically using the controls on the
LCD menu. Your fixture and your DMX controller require a standard 3-pin or 5-pin XLR
connector for data input and data output (Figure below is of a 3-Pin XLR connector). If you
are making your own cables, be sure to use standard two conductor shielded cable (This
cable may be purchased from your Elation dealer or at most professional lighting retailers).
Your cables should be made with a male and female XLR connector on either end of the
cable. Also, remember that DMX cable must be daisy chained and cannot be split. unless you
are using an approved DMX splitter such as the Elation Opto Branch 4™ or DMX
Branch/4™.