X-laser SKYWRITER HPX MF-20 Product Manual And User Manual
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X-laser SKYWRITER HPX MF-20 Product Manual And User Manual

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Product Manual and User Guide
For Professional Use Only - FDA Variance Required in the United States
X-Laser strongly recommends keeping this manual with your laser projector at all times as a
field reference.

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  • Page 1 Product Manual and User Guide For Professional Use Only - FDA Variance Required in the United States X-Laser strongly recommends keeping this manual with your laser projector at all times as a field reference.
  • Page 2 If you have any questions about any of the content of this manual or the safe operation of your new laser projector, please do not hesitate to contact your dealer or X-Laser directly. 301-543-1981 866-702-7768 Sales – Dial 1 Support –...

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    first quality check remains consistent. With this level of attention to detail, you can be sure that your new X-Laser has left our factory in absolutely perfect working order. Please check your laser immediately upon receipt to...

  • Page 4: A Note On Mercury-Equipped Projectors

    flexibility of DMX control. With the power of X-Laser fixtures also comes a responsibility for safety so we strongly encourage you to read and follow all of the notices throughout this manual.

  • Page 5: Product Labeling

    Product Labeling Several labels are a6ached to your laser system. Each of these labels is required for compliance with US Federal RegulaAon and internaAonal standards. If at any point any label becomes illegible, contact X- Laser for a replacement. Black- or White- Pa6ern CerAficaAon Label, usually located on the top of the laser. Contains important cerAficaAon, serializaAon, and safety informaAon.

  • Page 6: Safety Notices

    Safety NoAces Failure to follow the above precauAons and other precauAons contained in this user manual, parAcularly with regard to human exposure to laser radiaAon and electrical safety, may result in serious injury, loss of vision, electric shock, skin damage, and death. Please refer to the secAon on safe laser projector usage later in this manual for more detailed operaAon guidelines.

  • Page 7: Legal Notice

    Unpacking Your Laser Projector Your new X-Laser Skywriter HPX MF-20 laser projector box should contain the following items: 1. X-Laser Skywriter HPX MF-20 laser projector 2. A grounded PowerCon True1 cable 3.

  • Page 8: Projector Layout And Functions

    Projector Layout and FuncAons Please note that the exact layout on the back panel of your projector may not be an exact match to this diagram. 1. etherStop indicators 2. etherStop ports 3. Mercury interface 4. Key Switch 5. Power switch 6.

  • Page 9: Mercury Interface Layout And Functions

    Mercury Interface layout and funcAons 1. LCD Screen 2. USB Port for firmware and content updates 3. Signal status indicators 4. Laser emission indicator 5. Keypad DirecAonal bu6ons Back bu6on Enter bu6on Menu bu6on Laser bu6on...

  • Page 10: General Guidelines For Safe Laser Use

    US Federal requirements for laser demonstraAon equipment. In case of any malfuncAon, contact X-Laser or your dealer for an RMA number and we will repair the unit to bring it back into working operaAon and US Federal compliance.
  • Page 11 The safety procedures outlined in this manual should be easy to successfully implement in your shows and provide you with years of safe and profitable laser displays. Please contact us if you have any quesAons about how to safely and effecAvely use X-Laser products.

  • Page 12: General Guidelines For Proper Usage

    Care for it as you would a video projector. 2. Mercury-equipped X-Laser systems including the Skywriter HPX M-series are designed to work well with professional producAon lighAng control systems. More basic control systems may not be able to present the capabiliAes of the Mercury control system in an intuiAve or easy to use manner leading to a frustraAng experience.
  • Page 13 InstallaAon You may hang or otherwise mount your new X-Laser product in any suitable orientaAon provided the requirements of this guide and all other applicable rules and regulaAons are observed. Before every show, verify that the programming and hard beam blocks are suitable for the applicaAon, especially if you have changed the orientaAon of the laser or if you are operaAng it in a new environment.
  • Page 14 Physical beam blocks A]er your projecAon area has been set up in your laser controller, make sure to block off the laser aperture to make sure the projecAon area remains safe, even in the event of a laser or controller malfuncAon.
  • Page 15 Laser Startup To provide safe and reliable operaAon and meet the requirements of US Federal regulaAons and internaAonal standards, X-laser projectors generally require a mulA-step startup procedure: 1. A]er power on, the laser starts in the “Startup” state. 2. If any key switches are not in the enabled posiAon or any remote interlocks are open, the laser will enter the “Not Ready”...
  • Page 16 The etherStop system X-Laser’s etherStop control interface combines network-based control (such as Art-net) and a remote E- stop interface into a single cable. The interface includes 10/100Mb Ethernet, a remote interlock loop, an emission signal, and a reset signal, all in a single CAT5 or CAT6 network cable. We recommend etherCON connectors and rugged CAT5 or be6er cables for best durability, but standard networking cables can be used for less demanding setups.
  • Page 17 itself and the Remote connector and the data injected from the Network connector. If the laser is being controlled through DMX or ILDA only and not using network data for laser control this will only carry the emergency stop and reset signals Remote –...
  • Page 18 6. At the end of the Emission Delay period, if all interlocks remain saAsfied, the emission indicator will illuminate solidly, and the system will be ready to emit when an appropriate control signal is provided. The etherStop system can control up to 10 lasers “daisy chained” together. For larger systems or systems where chaining is not desirable, please contact us for more informaAon on our Nexus line of etherStop hubs.
  • Page 19 While the etherStop interface has been designed with reasonable protecAons against miswiring, damage to the laser through improper use of the etherStop interface may be possible and is not covered under the warranty. X-Laser is unable to provide support for external E-stop systems implemented by others.

  • Page 20: The Mercury Menu System

    The Mercury Menu system Lasers equipped with our Mercury laser control system have a large, full color LCD menu system to navigate all the available sesngs and opAons. This menu system is navigated using the 8 keypad bu6ons. DirecAonal bu6ons Back bu6on Enter bu6on Menu bu6on...
  • Page 21 Laser Status: This indicates the status of the laser’s internal safety systems. Statuses include: Enabled - The projector is capable of emisng laser when an appropriate control signal is sent Turn Key – The key switch is in the disarmed posiAon Interlock Open –...
  • Page 22 Control Source Sets the control source to Manual, DMX or Art-Net DMX Timeout (ms) The DMX Ameout sesng in milliseconds. Default is 100 Art-Net Ameout (ms) The Art-Net Ameout sesng in milliseconds. Default is 2000 Load Defaults Resets the system to the factory defined default sesngs About Important informaAon about your system such as the model of laser, serial number of the Mercury interface and MAC address of the system The DMX and Art-Net Ameouts should be set to the minimum value that provides reliable operaAon.
  • Page 23 X/Y Menu Zoning your laser is one of the most important setup steps and this menu is essenAal to accurate and safe zoning. While many may choose to do all their zoning from the Master fixture via DMX or Art-Net, it’s sAll essenAal to learn this menu.
  • Page 24 Colors Menu The colors menu allows you to do basic color balancing across your projectors. Red Min The minimum level of the Red laser source when there is any red laser commanded to be on Red Max The maximum level of the Red laser source when there is any red laser commanded to be on Green Min The minimum level of the Green laser source when there is any Green laser commanded to be on...
  • Page 25 The projector can store 2 separate content packs. To install a new content pack, insert a USB drive into the USB port on the laser that has an X-Laser content file (*.XLC) on it, select content pack 1 or 2, then select Install and follow the on screen prompts.
  • Page 26 Install update from USB This allows you to update the firmware on your laser projector. Insert a USB drive into the USB port with the X-Laser firmware (*.XLB file) on it. Select this sesng and follow the on screen prompts. Detailed instrucAons are included with all so]ware update files.

  • Page 27: Remote Management (Rdm) And Configuration

    5-pin DMX port, or via Art-Net. AddiAonal configuraAon opAons are available that require custom, X-Laser-specific RDM parameters, which can be accessed using XLERATE, X-Laser’s free companion so]ware. XLERATE can connect to Mercury-equipped laser systems via a local network and configure all of the Laser’s RDM-enabled properAes, including all of their custom parameters.

  • Page 28: Controlling Your Laser Projector With Mercury

    Controlling your laser projector with Mercury Master and builders The Mercury laser control system built into your Skywriter HPX M-5 was developed from the ground up as a new and uniquely powerful way to control laser projectors with DMX or Art-Net. With this novel design, there’s a new concept of how to set up the laser.
  • Page 29 Advanced builder is 85 channels and contains many more parameters for color, size, waves and moAon effects. The advanced builder is extremely powerful but has a much steeper learning curve. When starAng out with the advanced builders, we highly encourage you to check out our tutorial videos on youtube.
  • Page 30 d. Priority Time (ms) determines how long the system will wait before looking for a lower- priority source if the current source stops transmisng By default, the system will respond to the highest priority source transmisng on the assigned universe. If that source stops transmisng, the system will switch to the next highest priority source a]er Priority Time.
  • Page 31 Most control systems will fall back to transmisng Art-Net DMX packets only once every one or two seconds unless universe data is acAvely changing, in which case the Art-Net Timeout must be set for 1000-2500ms. Improved safety can be achieved by enabling conAnuous Art-net output. Some control systems support this as a toggle opAon in their output configuraAon.
  • Page 32 For more informaAon on the different color effects possible with advanced builders, please visit www.x-laser.com/mercurycolorgroup Intensity Effect group is not yet acAve but will be pre6y damn cool when it is.
  • Page 33 You can learn more about how this works and why it ma6ers by visiAng www.x-laser.com/mercury-advanced MoAon Macro group provide access to a number of pre built moAon effects in Basic Builder modes.
  • Page 34 DMX Parameters The Master channel block controls overall fixture function and final size and position of the projection area. The Master Mode channel is used to enable or disable the fixture, and to switch the fixture between external input and builder modes. In Fixture Disabled mode, the fixture is active but will not project any content.
  • Page 35 Basic Builder - 28 channels used Master must be patched to enable the basic Builder Builder Main Group Channel 8/16 Function Values 8 bit Output 8-255 Routing Zones 1-8 Reserved 8 bit Gobo 0-14 15-253 Page Gobo pages Reserved Optimized test Non- patterns optimized...
  • Page 36 8 bit Green 2 0-255 0-100% 8 bit Blue 2 0-255 0-100% Intensity Effect Group (not yet active) Channel 8/16 Function Values 8 bit Reserved 0-255 Reserved Prism control group Channel 8/16 Function Values 8 bit Prism 0-51 52-255 selection Prism Selection Reserved 8 bit...
  • Page 37 Geometric Post group (applied after prism) Channel 8/16 Function Values 8 bit X Scale 0-127 129-255 100% - 0% 0 - 100% Inverted 8 bit Y Scale 0-127 129-255 100% - 0% 0 - 100% Inverted 20/21 0-127 129-255 Position Left Center Right...
  • Page 38 Advanced Builder - 85 channels used Master must be patched to enable the Advanced Builder Builder Main Group Channel 8/16 Function Values 8 bit Output 8-255 Routing Zones 1-8 Reserved 8 bit Gobo Page 0-14 15-253 Gobo pages Reserved Optimized test Non- patterns optimized...
  • Page 39 Color Group Channel 8/16 Function Values 8 bit Color 4-31 Function - No color override Overall Color H/S/I Pointwise Reserved Base Override Manipulation gradient Color Function - No color override Linear Angular Gradient Radial Linear Angular Radial Linear Linear Rainbow Angular Rainbow Angular Pre 1...
  • Page 40 Radial Rainbow Radial Reserved The Post position applies color effects after all other geometric, wave and motion effects. This allows your color effect to act Rainbow as an overlay that you can move your beams through to change their color based on their position reverse Color mode examples Linear Gradient...
  • Page 41 Intensity Effect Group (not yet active) Channel 8/16 Function Values 8 bit Reserved 0-255 Reserved 8 bit Reserved 0-255 Reserved 8 bit Reserved 0-255 Reserved 8 bit Reserved 0-255 Reserved 8 bit Reserved 0-255 Reserved 8 bit Reserved 0-255 Reserved 8 bit Reserved 0-255...
  • Page 42 Prism control group Channel 8/16 Function Values 8 bit Prism 0-51 52-255 selection Prism Selection Reserved 8 bit X Spacing 0-127 129-255 100% - 0% 0 - 100% Inverted 8 bit Y Spacing 0-127 129-255 100% - 0% 0 - 100% Inverted 8 bit Facet 0-255...
  • Page 43 8 bit Wave Effect 6-10 - Pre No effect Linear Sine Linear Ramp Linear Linear Linear Reserved Radial Sine Radial Ramp Radial Ramp Radial position Ramp Triangle Square Reverse Triangle Reverse Wave 16-31 Radial Square Reserved Wave Effect 38-42 - Mid No effect Linear Sine Linear Ramp...
  • Page 44 No effect Linear Sine Linear Ramp Linear Linear Linear Reserved Radial Sine Radial Ramp Radial Ramp Radial Ramp Triangle Square Reverse Triangle Wave Effect Reverse Wave - Pre 16-31 position Radial Square Reserved Wave Effect 38-42 - Mid No effect Linear Sine Linear Ramp Linear...
  • Page 45 No effect Elliptical Orbit Elliptical Orbit Linear Linear Ping Triangle Square Reserved Motion and Rotate Scroll Pong Orbit Orbit Effect - Pre position Motion 39-63 Effect - Mid No effect Elliptical Orbit Elliptical Orbit Linear Linear Ping Triangle Square Reserved position and Rotate Scroll...
  • Page 46 No effect Elliptical Orbit Elliptical Orbit Linear Linear Ping Triangle Square Reserved Motion and Rotate Scroll Pong Orbit Orbit Effect - Pre position Motion 39-63 Effect - Mid No effect Elliptical Orbit Elliptical Orbit Linear Linear Ping Triangle Square Reserved position and Rotate Scroll...
  • Page 47 8 bit Top Left X 0-127 129-255 Left Center Right 8 bit Top Left Y 0-127 129-255 Center Bottom 8 bit Top Right X 0-127 129-255 Right Center Left 8 bit Top Right Y 0-127 129-255 Center Bottom 8 bit Bottom Left 0-127 129-255...
  • Page 48 Gobo Guide Your laser projector has over 400 digital gobos already loaded, with more to come in future firmware updates. Here’s a quick guide to how they are organized: Page 1 – Circles Page 2 - Lines Page 3 – Dangerous Curves Gobo Gobo Name Gobo...
  • Page 49 Page 4 – Triangles Page 5 - Squares Page 6 – Other Polygons Gobo Gobo Name Gobo Gobo Name Gobo Gobo Name triangle square 4 point star big triangle 4 spine square 8 spine star 1 point in triangle 8 spine square 5 point star concave triangle fading quadrant square...
  • Page 50 (Page 7 – Points (Page 8 – Abstract (Page 9 – Mixed continued) building blocks continued) point hexagon continued) circle and triangles 3 point septagon big wave Circle and a squiggle point octagon starting to unravel circle and squiggles point nonagon infinitely broken bisected circle point decagon...
  • Page 51 ALPHA LASERS sunflower ALPHA PROM Remulak HAPPY BIRTHDAY CONGRATUALTIONS ALPHA 2018 ALPHA 2019 ALPHA 2020 ALPHA X-LASER ALPHA SPACE *Note that DMX values begin at 0, so a DMX value of 0 will select gobo 1 on a page, DMX1:Gobo2, etc...
  • Page 52 Prism Modes Your Mercury equipped laser comes with 12 digital prisms. You can also adjust the X and Y spacing on these prisms and rotate the segments for an even wider range of looks. DMX Channel Value Prism type Example None 8-11 12-15...
  • Page 53 Basic builder color presets For ease of operation there are many color presets built for use with the basic builder modes. Please note that these are presets for the color effects, to use these presets you still need to select RGB1 and RGB2 colors.
  • Page 54 Basic builder motion presets For ease of operation there are many motion presets built for use with the basic builder modes. These motion effects all have a default size and speed, but you can override these defaults using the Motion Macro speed and size controls on channels 27 and 28.

  • Page 55: Fb4 Control Information

    Beyond or QuickShow via Ethernet. This opAon gives the most control over the laser and the content that is projected, but requires the use of an external computer. ILDA Input • o This mode is not funcAonal on Skywriter HPX MF-20 projectors...
  • Page 56 For further details, consult with the X-Laser sales or technical representaAve for your project. ArtNET • o This mode is not funcAonal via FB4 on Skywriter HPX MF-20 systems Auto Start • o This mode allows pre-loaded content to be played back automaAcally a]er the projector powers on.
  • Page 57 BEYOND/QS A]er sesng the OperaAon Mode to “BEYOND/QS”, connect the laser projector to a computer via Ethernet. ConnecAon can be made directly, or via a switch or router. Note that some older computers may require a crossover cable when connected directly to the FB4 without a switch or router in between, but this is rare.
  • Page 58 Verify the funcAon of the AC circuit that powers the laser. Replacement fuses conAnue to break Contact X-Laser to return the unit for service. No output..in FB4 Mode Check that the laser funcAons in Art-Net mode. If not, refer to the "No output in any mode"...
  • Page 59 Problem SoluAons Check the refresh rate sesngs on your control system. By default, this system must receive an ArtDMX packet at least once every 2000ms to maintain output Check the Art-Net system for intermi6ent failures or marginal condiAons that may be resulAng in DMX packet loss.
  • Page 60 Laser makes a ra6ling or "growling" sound that This is usually a sign of a failing cooling fan. If the persists even when not outpusng. sound does not stop within one minute of power on contact X-Laser to return the unit for service.
  • Page 61 If these problems occur in DMX or auto modes, or conAnue to occur in ILDA mode, contact X-Laser to return the unit for service. Note that a faint high pitched whine is not unusual with complex content and is not a cause for concern as long as the output is not distorted.

  • Page 62: Repair And Return Information

    USA for warranty or DOA repairs only. Out of warranty work shipping is paid by user in both direcAons. Shipping costs for parts, if approved by X-Laser, are paid by client. Faster shipping will incur an extra shipping fee.

  • Page 63: Manufacturer's Limited Warranty

    Return Policy We want you to love using your X-Laser. If you don’t love it, for whatever reason, please contact us so that we may help resolve whatever the issue may be. Factory sealed products may be returned to your dealer in accordance with their return policies. Used products may be returned for any reason within 14 days of purchase, assuming that they are in excellent condiAon, with a restocking fee of 15%.

  • Page 64: Sample Laser Operator Show Checklist

    This checklist was designed for US compliance, for other countries please consult local laws. For a copy of the template so you can place your own logo, please contact support@x-laser.com. Laser Operator Show Checklist Operator Name: _____________________________...

  • Page 65: Sample Laser Signage

    Signage is not typically required, but is never a bad idea. Here’s a sample laser noAficaAon sign you can use, just fill out the power level of your laser. Be aware that this is not accurate for audience scanning shows. For a copy of the template to put your own logo on, contact support@x-laser.com.

  • Page 66: Document History

    If you have any quesAons about any of the content of this manual or the safe operaAon of your new laser projector or would like to give us some feedback on our products or documentaAon, please do not hesitate to contact your dealer or X-Laser directly. 301-543-1981 866-702-7768 Sales –...

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