Related Manuals for Fright Ideas ServoDMX
Summary of Contents for Fright Ideas ServoDMX
- Page 1 ServoDMX OPERATING MANUAL Check your firmware version. This manual will always refer to the most recent version. www.frightideas.com...
- Page 2 Contents Getting Familiar with your ServoDMX .........................3 Connections and Controls ..............................3 Checking your Current Firmware Version ......................... 4 Upgrading your Firmware ..............................4 Connections ................................5 Power Supply Inputs ................................. 5 DMX Connections ................................7 Servo Outputs ................................. 10 NeoPixel Output ................................11 Audio Input (AutoTalk)..............................
- Page 3 Controls Connect to an accessory board to provide indication via lights, servos, more. Status LED The Status LED indicates the current state of the ServoDMX. The possible states during normal operation are shown above. Servo Outputs 16 servo outputs. Some outputs may be disabled, depending how many were paid for at the time of purchase.
- Page 4 To know if a firmware update is required you need to know the current version running in your unit. You can determine that by watching the LEDs at boot or using the ServoDMX 421 Utility in Director. Watching the LEDs is the fastest way if the device is easily accessible.
- Page 5 This input is reverse-polarity protected, but not over-voltage protected. If you are having issues with the ServoDMX resetting, it may be wise to have a separate 9 or 12 volt power supply connected to this input.
- Page 6 Wiring Diagram Showing a Shared Power Supply Wiring Diagram Showing Separate Power Supplies www.frightideas.com ServoDMX Manual...
- Page 7 The diagrams below illustrate a typical programming setup using our Director software and Director Connect. Once the prop or scene has been programmed the animation is loaded into the controller and the computer and Director Connect can be removed. Typical Real-Time setup using a Flex 2 with RJ45 DMX Jacks www.frightideas.com ServoDMX Manual...
- Page 8 Typical Real-Time setup using a FlexMax 2 with RJ45 DMX Jacks www.frightideas.com ServoDMX Manual...
- Page 9 Typical Real-Time setup using an older Flex/FlexMax with DMX Terminal Blocks www.frightideas.com ServoDMX Manual...
- Page 10 Servo Outputs Servos plug into the servo headers at the top of the ServoDMX. Make sure the negative wire, which is usually black or brown, is on the bottom. If you purchased an 8 or 12 output model, only that number of servos will be enabled. If your ServoDMX was included with a prop, like a talking skull, it may only have 5 servos enabled.
- Page 11 If you want to control each NeoPixel you can wire them in series. Then each successive set of 3 DMX channels will control the next NeoPixel. The diagram below shows NeoPixel LEDs. For more information on how NeoPixels are addressed on the DMX bus see DMX Channel Layout. NeoPixels in Series NeoPixels in Parallel www.frightideas.com ServoDMX Manual...
- Page 12 Audio Notes Make sure the audio signal you feed into the ServoDMX only has a vocal track. Normalize the signal so that it’s rail to rail in your audio editor. Not to the point of distortion, but just before. If you also have sound effects or music, that must be present only in the other channel that’s not connected to the ServoDMX.
- Page 13 Servo Startup After the ServoDMX boots up it will start to enable the servo outputs one by one. It does this to make sure the power supply isn’t overloaded by turning them all on at once. If you know certain servos will always sag into a certain position when they are powered off, set that position as the Startup Position.
- Page 14 Normal Operation After start-up is complete the ServoDMX will move the servos to the positions in the DMX signal. If there is no DMX signal the status light will turn solid red and the servos will stay where they are.
- Page 15 Hold UP and SET for 5 seconds to turn on all servos and move them to their true mechanical center. The ServoDMX will output a 1.5ms pulse on all outputs in this mode. This is the servo’s true center position regardless of whatever limits you have set.
- Page 16 Use the knob to adjust the servo’s center point. This will not change your Low or High limits. Instead, the ServoDMX will use scaling to make sure DMX value 128 lands in this position. Note that NO adjustment at all, is represented by lights 8 and 9 being on.
- Page 17 Limiting the acceleration of servos also has a dramatic smoothing effect on the movement. If you can limit the acceleration even a little bit, it will make the servo movements much less jerky. Max Speed Rotate the knob to adjust the maximum speed of the selected servo. www.frightideas.com ServoDMX Manual...
- Page 18 ServoDMX Setup Menu The setup menu is where you’ll set the DMX Address, how many servos you’ll be using, servo start-up positions, and more. The menu is up to three levels deep. When you enter the menu, you’ll start at the top left which is one blue blink. If you press UP/DN you’ll move up or down to the next blue colored menu option.
- Page 19 AutoTalk The ServoDMX can automatically move a mouth servo based on a line-level audio signal connected to the AUX connector. This is often used in combination with the Random Movement option below to bring a character to life with just a simple audio track. It can also be used in combination with DMX if you’d like audio to control the mouth and DMX to control the rest.
- Page 20 Select 16 if you’d like the RGB eyes to maintain your selected color and brightness the entire time Random Movement is enabled. Return Press SET here to return to the previous menu or hold SET for 2 seconds to Save and Exit. www.frightideas.com ServoDMX Manual...
- Page 21 This is useful if you’d like to ensure the servos will be able to rest if the DMX controller or audio player is powered off but the ServoDMX is not. Once the DMX / Audio signal is detected again the ServoDMX will soft-start the servos one by one as it does at boot-up.
- Page 22 Note that this mode is only supported for the Standard control profile. It is not supported with the 3-axis profile. 8-Bit (Default) 1 2 3 4 5 6 16-Bit 1 2 3 4 5 6 Return Press SET here to return to the previous menu or hold SET for 2 seconds to Save and Exit. www.frightideas.com ServoDMX Manual...
- Page 23 When the ServoDMX starts the servos, it sends a pulse that will send them to their virtual center position. If the servo is not already in this position because it moved when the ServoDMX was off, it will race to this position at top speed.
- Page 24 Rotate the knob to change the position. This should be the position the servo will move to when power to the ServoDMX is removed. Press UP to select another servo, or DN to go to the Return menu.
- Page 25 The Installer lock is used if you are installing the ServoDMX in a prop you are creating and then selling that prop to someone else.
- Page 26 8 Bit Mode (Default) The ServoDMX will occupy 1 DMX channel per enabled servo, and 3 DMX channels per enabled NeoPixel. For a fully provisioned ServoDMX with all 16 outputs and NeoPixels enabled, the channels would be assigned as follows…...
- Page 27 Voltage Width (default) 1.002ms – 2.016ms Width (min / max) 0.553ms – 2.461ms Resolution (default pulse width) About 13 bits 8048 steps at 126ns/step Resolution (max pulse width) Above 13 bits 10370 steps at 184ns/step Jitter None www.frightideas.com ServoDMX Manual...
- Page 28 Dimensions www.frightideas.com ServoDMX Manual...
- Page 29 Troubleshooting Status LED Error Codes The ServoDMX does some checks at start-up. If it finds any errors, it will blink the Status LED red in different patterns. Please see the table below to determine the reason for the error code.
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