Data Links; Dmx And Rdm - Harman Martin ERA 800 Performance Safety And Installation Manual

Data links

Important! Shut down power to the fixture before connecting to or disconnecting from data.

DMX and RDM

The ERA 800 Performance has 5-pin locking XLR sockets for DMX and RDM input and output (see A in
Figure 8). The default pin-out on both sockets is:
• pin 1 to shield
• pin 2 to data 1 cold (-)
• pin 3 to data 1 hot (+).
Pins 4 and 5 are not used by the fixture but are bridged between input and output sockets. These pins can
therefore be used as a pass-through connection for an additional data signal if required.
Tips for reliable data transmission
• Use shielded twisted-pair cable designed for RS-485 devices: standard microphone cable cannot transmit
control data reliably over long runs. 24 AWG cable is suitable for runs up to 300 meters (1000 ft). Heavier
gauge cable and/or an amplifier is recommended for longer runs.
• To split the data link into branches, use a Martin RDM 5.5 Splitter optically isolated splitter-amplifier (see
"Related Items" on page 29).
• Do not overload the DMX data link. You can connect up to a maximum of 32 devices on a serial DMX link.
• Install a DMX termination plug on the last fixture on the link.
Connecting to data via DMX cable
To connect the ERA 800 Performance to DMX and/or RDM data carried over DMX cable:
1. Shut down power to the fixture.
2. Connect the DMX data output from the controller to the ERA 800 Performance's data input (male XLR)
socket using good-quality DMX cable.
3. Run DMX cable from the ERA 800 Performance's data output (female XLR) socket to the data input of
the next fixture and continue until the link is complete.
4. Terminate the data link by connecting a 120 Ohm, 0.25 Watt resistor between the data 1 hot (+) and cold
(-) conductors at the data output of the last fixture on the link. If the link is divided into branches using a
DMX splitter, terminate each branch of the link.
5. You can now apply power.
A
Figure 8: Data connections
Data links
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