General notes General notes This user manual contains important information on safe operation of the device. Read and follow all safety notes and all instructions. Save this manual for future reference. Make sure that it is available to all persons using this device. If you sell the device, include the manual for the next owner.
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General notes Warning signs Type of danger Warning – danger zone. DJ-X 16...
Safety instructions Safety instructions Intended use This device is intended to be used to control spot lights, dimmers, light effects, moving heads or other DMX-controlled devices. Use the device only as described in this user manual. Any other use or use under other operating conditions is considered to be improper and may result in personal injury or property damage.
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Safety instructions Safety DANGER! Danger for children Ensure that plastic bags, packaging, etc. are disposed of properly and are not within reach of babies and young children. Choking hazard! Ensure that children do not detach any small parts (e.g. knobs or the like) from the unit.
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Safety instructions NOTICE! External power supply The device is powered by an external power supply. Before connecting the external power supply, ensure that the input voltage (AC outlet) matches the voltage rating of the device and that the AC outlet is protected by a residual cur‐ rent circuit breaker.
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Safety instructions NOTICE! Operating conditions This device has been designed for indoor use only. To prevent damage, never expose the device to any liquid or moisture. Avoid direct sunlight, heavy dirt, and strong vibrations. DJ-X 16...
Features Features This DMX controller offers a compact and easy to use light control for simple DMX configura‐ tions. It is characterised by the following features: 16 channel DMX control (DMX-512), thereof: – eight channels, each providing a fader and a flash switch –...
Installation Installation Unpack and carefully check that there is no transportation damage before using the unit. Keep the equipment packaging. To fully protect the device against vibration, dust and moisture during transportation or storage use the original packaging or your own packaging material suitable for transport or storage, respectively.
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Installation Foot switch connection You can connect an optional footswitch to the nine-pin D-sub connector. Drawing and table below show the pin assignment. Step up Pattern up Standby Full on Ground 6…9 Unused DMX-controller...
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Installation MIDI interface A five-pin DIN socket (180 °) is used as MIDI port. Drawing and table below show the pin assignment. Unused Ground, shielding Unused Current source Current sink RCA connectors for LINE input An RCA socket is used as LINE input for the sound-controlled mode. Drawing and table below show the pin assignment.
Starting up Starting up Establish all connections as long as the unit is switched off. Use the shortest possible high- quality cables for all connections. Connecting the power adapter Connect the supplied power adapter to the 12 V input of the device. Then insert the power plug into a wall outlet.
Basics Basics This chapter provides basic information about the data transmission using the DMX protocol. Signal transmission DMX signals are generated by a DMX controller. The signals are transferred over a DMX cable to the connected devices. Each connection can transmit up to 512 channels. For each channel, a value between 0 and 255 is being transmitted.
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Basics If the cable length exceeds 300 m (328 yds.) or the number of devices is greater than 32, the signal must be amplified using a DMX booster. DMX-controller...
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Basics Signal processing Each DMX devices operates on a specific number of channels to transfer the incoming control signals into movements, changing of light intensity or colour, and so on. Since all receivers that are part of a DMX daisy chain receive all signals, a start address must be assigned to each DMX device.
Connections and operating elements Connections and operating elements Front panel DMX-controller...
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Connections and operating elements 1 Channel LEDs 1…8 Indicate the set intensity of the respective channel. 2 Fader 1…8 to adjust the intensity of the respective channel in operating modes ‘Assign’ and ‘Manual’. 3 Button group [FLASH 1-8] In ‘Manual’ mode, these buttons switch the respective channel to maximum brightness (100 %, DMX value 255) as long as they are pressed.
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Connections and operating elements 7 LED M LED indicator for the overall brightness of channels 1 to 8. 8 LEDs A, B LED status indicators for two adjacent steps in ‘Cross’ mode. 9 Rotary control LEVEL This knob adjusts the overall brightness when playing chaser sequences in ‘Chase’ mode. 10 Rotary control SPEED In ‘Chase’...
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Connections and operating elements 14 [PATTERN] / [Button Setup] button Press this button to increase the left two digits in the display by one. If you hold down this button for more than one second, the display digits run quickly up starting from the current value to the maximum, to then restart from the minimum.
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Connections and operating elements 16 [STEP] / [Cross Setup] button Press this button to increase the right two digits in the display by one. If you hold down this button for more than one second, the display digits run quickly up starting from the current value to the maximum, to then restart from the minimum.
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Connections and operating elements 18 [Add/Kill] button Use this button to specify how the Flash buttons 1…16 should affect the chaser sequence playback. In ‘Add’ setting, the yellow LED lights up next to the button. If you now press one of the flash buttons during the course of a chaser sequence, the chaser sequence will no longer play, but only that channel is set to maximum brightness (100 %, DMX value 255), which is assigned to this button;...
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Connections and operating elements 20 [Assign] / [Delete Program] button Press and hold this button for more than one second to call up the ‘Assign’ mode. The adjacent LED lights up then. In ‘Assign’ mode, press [Assign] first, then press one of the FLASH buttons to assign the current level to this button. Press [Shift] and [Assign] / [Delete Program] simultaneously in ‘Program’...
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Connections and operating elements 25 [Chase] / [Audio] button Activates the ‘Chase’ mode for chaser sequence performance. The status LED Chase in the display lights up. In this mode, the processing speed is controlled via the SPEED control. Press [Shift] and [Chase] / [Audio] simultaneously to call up the ‘Audio Chase’ function for sound control during chaser performance.
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Connections and operating elements 27 [Stand By] / [Manual] button Press [Stand By / Manual] to call up the ‘Standby’ mode or exit it again. In ‘Standby’ mode, the yellow LED next to the button is flashing. The faders, the Latch buttons and the master level generated by the current pattern are turned off. The Flash buttons and the [Full On] button remain functioning.
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Connections and operating elements Rear panel DJ-X 16...
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Connections and operating elements 29 Main switch to turn the unit on or off. Your settings and the stored scenes and chaser sequences are retained, even when the unit is switched off. 30 Connection socket for the power supply adapter. 31 DMX polarity switch.
Operating Operating After switching the device on, it performs a short self-test. Subsequently, the unit switches automatically to ‘Standby' mode and is operational. DJ-X 16...
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Operating Operating modes The device supports the following operating modes: Operating mode Application Manual Channels 1 to 8 are controlled directly via faders 1…8 and Flash buttons 1…8. Chan‐ nels 9 to 16 can be controlled as pure switching channels via the Flash and Latch but‐ tons (9…16).
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Operating Operating mode Application Audio Chase Sound-controlled playback. Tap Sync Chase Playback with manually adjusted speed. Blind Fading out a DMX channel. Cross Assigning the ‘Cross fader’ function to the MASTER fader for a smooth transition between steps. Manual operation Press [Shift] and [Stand By] / [Manual] to change to ‘Manual’...
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Operating Saving scenes To change to the ‘Assign’ mode, press [Assign] / [Delete Program] until the red LED next to the button lights up. ð The display shows ‘AS:--’ . If the yellow LED is flashing next to the [Stand By] / [Manual] button, press [Stand By] / [Manual].
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Operating Calling up saved scenes Simultaneously press [Shift] and [Tap Sync] / [Manual Step]. ð The Manual Step LED lights up in the display. Select the saved scene via one of the Flash buttons 1…16 or the faders. When you press one of the Flash buttons, its programmed scene will be performed with full brightness as long as you press the button.
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Operating Saving a chaser sequence Press [Program] / [End Step] until the green LED lights up next to the button. ð The display shows ‘01:01’ . If the yellow LED is flashing next to the [Stand By] / [Manual] button, press [Stand By] / [Manual].
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Operating Press [Shift] and [Program] / [End Step] after the final step. That saves the chaser sequence and ends the ’Program’ mode. ð All LEDs of the device briefly light up. Calling up and playing chaser The programmed chaser sequences can be played in different ways. sequences Press [Chase] / [Audio].
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Operating ‘Audio Chase’ function If the chaser sequence should run sound-controlled, press [Shift] and [Chase] / [Audio]. The status LED Audio lights up in the display. Adjust the sensitivity for sound-controlled operation with the rotary control AUDIO. ‘Tap Sync Chase’ function Turn the rotary control SPEED to minimum position if you want to specify the speed for the chaser sequence to be performed.
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Operating The chaser sequence runs in an endless loop until you press [Shift] and [Stand By] / [Manual] simultaneously. The number of the chaser sequence is indicated in the left half of the display, the right half shows the numbers of the respectively indicated step in suc‐ cession.
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Operating ‘Cross’ function The ‘Cross fader’ function lets you use the MASTER fader for the playback of chaser sequences and thereby cross-fading steplessly between the steps. Press [Chase] / [Audio]. ð The status LED Chase lights up in the display. If the yellow LED is flashing next to the [Stand By] / [Manual] button, press [Stand By] / [Manual].
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Operating Now you can play the individual steps of the chaser sequence in succession. Move the MASTER fader slowly down from position 10 to 0 and then back again. The number of the chaser sequence is indicated in the left half of the display, the right half shows the numbers of the respectively indicated step in succession.
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Operating Loop playback of chaser Using this function, you can connect multiple self-programmed or preprogrammed chaser sequences (‘Loop Chase’ func‐ sequences to each other and run them in a contiguous loop through. tion) Press [Chase] / [Audio]. ð The status LED Chase lights up in the display. If the yellow LED is flashing next to the [Stand By] / [Manual] button, press [Stand By] / [Manual].
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Operating Deleting a chaser sequence Press [Program] / [End Step] until the green LED lights up next to the button. ð The display shows ‘01:01’ . Use the [PATTERN] / [Button Setup] or [PATTERN] / [Fade Time Setup] button, to select the number of the chaser sequence you want to delete.
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Operating Swapping channel assignment In ‘Patch’ mode, you can reassign individual DMX channels, to e.g. assign one of the channels 9…16 to a fader. Press [Patch] / [MIDI Channel] until the red LED lights up next to the button. ð The display shows ‘01:01’ . Press [STEP] / [Cross Setup] or [STEP] / [Blind] repeatedly until the original channel...
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Operating Resetting to factory defaults Press [Shift] and keep the button pressed. Press the eight Latch buttons in succession in the following order: 9, 13, 10, 14, 11, 15, 12, 16. Release the [Shift] button. ð The display shows a running reset. After a few seconds, the unit is operational again. All settings and saved data have been reset.
MIDI settings MIDI settings MIDI note assignment The device analyses note-on and note-off signals according to the table below. Note number Velocity Function 22…81 Overall brightness Chaser selection (1…60). 82…97 Brightness per channel Corresponds to flash buttons 1…16. ‘Full On’ function: brings channels 1…16 to full brightness (100 %, DMX value 255).
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MIDI settings MIDI control The MIDI Signal LED indicates incoming MIDI signals. If no activity was detected on the MIDI interface for ten minutes, the LED turns off. All chasers triggered via MIDI are processed synchronously and are not affected by the LEVEL control.
Technical specifications Technical specifications Operating supply voltage DC 9…12 V Control protocol DMX 512 Audio input 100 mV … 1 V Dimensions (W × D × H) 482 mm × 178 mm × 73 mm Weight 2.3 kg DMX-controller...
Troubleshooting Troubleshooting NOTICE! Possible data transmission errors For error-free operation make use of dedicated DMX cables and do not use ordi‐ nary microphone cables. Never connect the DMX input or output to audio devices such as mixers or ampli‐ fiers. In the following we list a few common problems that may occur during operation.
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4. Check to see if the DMX cables run near or alongside to high voltage cables that may cause damage or interference to DMX interface circuits. If the procedures recommended above do not succeed, please contact our Service Center. You can find the contact information at www.thomann.de. DMX-controller...
Protecting the environment Protecting the environment Disposal of the packaging mate‐ rial For the transport and protective packaging, environmentally friendly materials have been chosen that can be supplied to normal recycling. Ensure that plastic bags, packaging, etc. are properly disposed of. Do not just dispose of these materials with your normal household waste, but make sure that they are collected for recycling.
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