CE Controller - Club64
Contents Contents 1. THE ABSTRACT CE CONTROLLER 6 2. A QUICK GUIDE TO THE CONTROLLER 3.1 WHAT IS A HEAD, AND HOW DOES THE CONTROLLER TALK TO THEM? 3.2 HOW DO I MAKE THE HEADS WORK? 3.3 MANUAL OPERATION 3.4 USING SCENES - STATIC POSITIONS 3.5 USING CHASES - SEQUENCES OF SCENES 3.6 LIGHT SHOW 3.7 CUSTOMISING HOW THE CONTROLLER WORKS 8 8 8 9 9 9 10 10 3. SETTING UP 3.1 CONNECTING UP THE CONTROLLER 3.2 SETTING UP THE CONTROLLER 12 12 13 4. HEAD 4.1 HEAD SELECT 4.2 CONTROLLING SELECTED HEADS 4.
Contents 11.1 SAVING SCENES 11.2 SAVING CHASES 11.3 SYSTEM SETUP 12. BLACKOUT 52 13. SOUND 54 14. LIGHT SHOW 56 15. USING MIDI 15.1 RECALLING SCENES BY MIDI 15.2 RECALLING CHASES BY MIDI 15.3 SPECIAL FUNCTIONS BY MIDI 15.4 MIDI THRU MODES 15.5 SYSTEM EXCLUSIVE 58 58 59 59 60 61 A. DMX IMPLEMENTATION CHARTS 62 B. MIDI IMPLEMENTATION CHART 64 C. ERROR MESSAGES 66 D. SYSTEM OPTIONS 68 Abstract CE Controller manual: Issue 1.2 Jan 2000 (software v1.
The Abstract CE Controller Page 4
The Abstract CE Controller Page 5
The Abstract CE Controller 1. The Abstract CE controller The Abstract CE controller gives you total control over your lighting effects. It is a sophisticated and flexible unit designed to control all of the CE range, and also other similar units.
The Abstract CE Controller User configuration • • • • • • • Personality of each head can be set Automatic DMX re-patch for 2,3 or 4 channel heads DMX soft patch (up to 64 channels) Graphic display of dip switch settings for heads ‘Playback only’ lock mode to protect programs Remote reset of CE range heads Control of other brand 2, 3 or 4 channel heads possible External control • • • Page 7 Comprehensive MIDI control functions Memory save/reload via MIDI System Exclusive dump Assignable actions from foo
Quick Guide to the controller 2. A quick guide to the controller This section explains quickly how to access the main features of the controller. If you don’t know much about intelligent lighting, this section is for you. Each function is described in more detail later in the manual. If you are familiar with intelligent lighting or you want to know something specific, you can probably skip this section. 2.
Quick guide to the controller 2.3 Manual operation You can manually control any or all of the 16 heads by selecting the heads you want to use. Press the Head button, then the number corresponding to the head you want to control. You can do this for as many heads as you want. The green light above the head number will come on to indicate that the head is selected. If you press the button again it will go off and the head will be deselected.
Quick Guide to the controller A Chase is simply a sequence of scenes which are displayed one after the other. You can run through a chase automatically at a preset speed or in time with music. You can also jump between scenes in a chase or move slowly (crossfade) between them. You can save up to 64 chases and each chase can have up to 64 scenes in it. The controller has a further 64 pre-programmed chases.
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Setting up 3. Setting up This section explains how to get started with your new controller. 3.1 Connecting up the controller The controller has a reversible connector panel which allows you to have the connections on the rear (for table-top use) or on the base (for rack-mount use). WARNING! If you are going to turn the panel round, ensure that the unit is switched off and disconnected from the mains supply before removing any screws.
Setting up 3.2 Setting up the controller Before using the controller for the first time, you need to tell it what type of heads you are going to connect to it, and what DMX channels you have set them to. It is worth spending a little time to start with setting the controller up properly, as this will make it much easier to use and will allow you access to all the features of the unit. Enter Head Setup mode by holding down the Head button. Section 4.
Head 4. Head The Head button allows you to select which of the 16 heads you want to work with. It also allows you to enter Head Setup mode, by holding the button down for longer than 2 seconds. 4.1 Head Select In Head Select mode, the unit displays Select heads Active when lit Press the number key corresponding to the head you want to control. The green light above the key will come on (and stay on) to tell you which heads are currently being controlled.
Head Note: If you have configured one or more heads as a switch pack (type 16), you will find you can only select those heads on their own. The controller will display a warning if you try to select a switch pack with other heads. If you select a range of heads including a switch pack, it will automatically be omitted from the range. 4.
Head 4.3 Head setup You use this function to tell the controller what type of lighting effects you have connected, and what DMX channels it has to use to control them. You can also set other options about how the heads behave. You enter Head Setup mode by holding down the Head button for about 2 seconds Note: You won’t be able to select this option if the controller is in ‘Playback Only’ mode. Head Setup 1-Reset Head(s) There are 8 possible actions which are displayed one after the other. You can: 1.
Head procedure, which may carry on after the controller has gone back to the menu. The other heads may be affected momentarily while the reset command is sent. 2: Set head type This option allows you to tell the controller what type of head you have connected as head 1, head 2 and so on. The controller uses this information to decide which controls on the front panel are used to control the head, and to display the correct colour and gobo names for the particular type of head you have selected.
Head can do this with option 3 (see below). Unless told otherwise, the controller will assume that all DMX channels remain the same. You can get the controller to display the dip switch settings needed for each head using option 4. 3: Set DMX channels The controller permits any of the 16 heads to be located at any DMX channel, up to its maximum of 64. This allows you to connect a mixture of 2-channel and 4-channel lighting effects and still use the auto-numbering system.
Head Note: Never set two heads to have the same or an overlapping DMX output address; this will result in the controller sending two sets of values to the same address which may have unpredictable effects. If you press Cancel the changes will be abandoned. Some non-CE range effects can only be set to a group of DMX channels, unlike the CE range which can be set to any individual channel. If the head you are setting is one of these, make sure you set a DMX channel that is possible for the head.
Head If you press 1 (pan invert), 2 (tilt invert) or 3 (pan/tilt swap) then a star will appear next to the option, telling you that the option is active (the control is inverted). If you have previously set the option, then a star will already be displayed. Press the key again to turn the option off. Press Save or Cancel when you have finished (any changes you make will be saved whichever you press). If you want to set another head, select the option again.
Head Auto Light-up 1.Off 2*On The asterisk shows you the current state of the option. The default setting is ‘On’. If you take ‘live’ control of the heads while performing a light show, you probably won’t want them to automatically turn on, so you can turn the function off if you don’t want it. 8: Head cancel mode Cancel heads when sc/ch sel 1*Yes 2.No If set to Yes (default), the controller will automatically cancel any selected heads when a scene or chase is run.
Colour 5. Colour You enter Colour Set mode by pressing the Colour button. You can then directly enter any of 16 colours by pressing the number buttons. If you press two adjacent buttons together, you will get a split colour (half of two adjacent colours). You have got to select one or more heads before you can set the colour. For CE range lighting effects, the controller will tell you what colour you have selected. For other units the controller will display a colour number.
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Gobo 6. Gobo You enter Gobo Set mode by pressing the Gobo button. You can then directly enter any of 16 gobos (patterns) by pressing the number buttons. You have got to select one or more heads before you can set the gobo. For CE range lighting effects, the controller will tell you what gobo you have selected. For other units the controller will display a gobo number. If you are using an effect which has less than 16 gobos, you will find that some of them are repeated.
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Scene 7. Scene When you have positioned all the heads to give an effect you want to keep, you can save it as a Scene. You can then recall the scene at any time, or make it part of a sequence (a Chase). The controller can store up to 384 scenes, as 24 banks of 16 scenes. The memory has a backup battery so that it will remember the scene indefinitely, even while turned off. The controller has another 128 scenes which are pre-programmed, which you can also use in your chases. 7.
Scene You can clear a scene (put it back to ‘unprogrammed’) or a whole bank or scenes using the Scene Setup option (see section 7.3). If you want to start programming with a completely blank scene, hold down Cancel. This will set all the outputs to zero. If you are changing an existing scene (you’ve recalled a scene then used the controls to change it), the controller will tell you which scene you started with, in case you want to update the original scene with the changed version.
Scene 7.2 Recalling Scenes Press Scene to go into Scene recall mode. The unit will display Select scene Bank:01 Scene:-- The lights above the number keys will light up to tell you which scenes in the current bank have been programmed. Press the number key of the scene you want to recall. The output will change to the new scene. If you try to recall a scene which has not been programmed, the unit will tell you that the scene is not programmed. The output will not change.
Scene 7.3 Scene setup This function allows you to perform certain special operations on scenes, such as erasing and copying. It also allows you to set up the scene crossfade mode. You select the Scene Setup mode by holding down Scene for about 2 seconds. Note: You won’t be able to select this option if the controller is in ‘Playback Only’ mode. Scene Setup 1-Erase scene There are 6 possible actions which are displayed one after the other. You can: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Scene Scene Bank Copy Copy from [1-16]? Press a number key from 1-16 to select the bank to copy from. You can swap between banks 1-16 and 17-32 by pressing the Bank button (you can copy a bank of the pre-programmed scenes to a user-programmable bank if you want to edit them). The display will change to Copy from bank 5 Copy to [1-16]? Press a number key from 1-16 to select the bank to copy to. Again, you can swap between banks as before. You cannot copy to the pre-programmed banks (25-32).
Scene Note: This function only affects how the scene is saved, not how it is recalled. You can turn the exclude options off once you have saved the scenes that you want. Exclude 1.Pan/Rot 2.Tilt 3*Col 4*Gobo The channels currently excluded have stars by them. Press a button from 1 to 4 to include/exclude channels from Scene Save. Channels which are excluded will be set to zero. For Galactic Moons, either 3 or 4 will cause the colour/gobo channel to be set to zero.
Bank 8. Bank The function of the Bank button varies depending on what the controller is doing when you press it. If you are saving or recalling Chases, then the button allows you to change the Chase Bank. If you are saving or recalling Scenes, then it allows you to change the Scene Bank Otherwise the button will display a warning message and do nothing. 8.
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Chase 9. Chase A chase is a sequence of scenes played back automatically, one after the other. The timing can be controlled by the Speed slider, by the beat of the music, by MIDI or by manually stepping through using a footswitch. You can store up to 64 chases, each with up to 64 steps. The controller has a further 64 pre-programmed chases which you can select. The chases are stored as 8 banks of 16 chases; banks 1-4 are user programmable and banks 5-8 are pre-programmed.
Chase Storing a new chase The unit will display Step 01:Select scene Scene bank 01 The unit is now in Scene Recall mode, and you can use the normal Scene recall procedure. Press Bank to change the scene bank. When you choose a scene, the controller will output the scene and store it as a step in the chase. For a short period, the unit will display Step 01 stored Press [Chase] to end and then go back to the scene select display.
Chase If you don’t want to set a default value, press Cancel. When the chase is recalled, the controller will use the current setting of the controls at that time. Editing a chase If you choose to program a chase which has already been used, the controller will display Chase already used Edit existing chase? If you press Cancel (No) the unit will ask you if you want to overwrite the chase. Press Save (Yes) to overwrite the chase (see previous section). Press Cancel (No) to choose another chase.
Chase 9.2 Recalling a Chase You play back a chase by pressing Chase. You can select either Chase A or Chase B by pressing Chase again. The unit will display Select Chase A Cbank:01 Chase:-- The lights above the buttons will light up to show you which chases in the current bank are programmed; if the light is lit then the chase is programmed. Recall the chase you want by pressing one of the number buttons. The chase will start to run.
Chase Changing speed and crossfade You can always change the speed of the chase using the Speed slider and the Crossfade time of the chase (time to crossfade between steps) using the Value slider. A crossfade of 0% gives instant switching between steps, a crossfade of 100% gives constant movement. Chase A and Chase B have independent speed and crossfade times; if you’ve currently got Chase A selected, then the changes will be applied to chase A, and similarly for Chase B.
Chase Automatic chase selection You can tell the controller to automatically run through all the chases you have programmed, either in sequence or selecting them at random. You might want to do this if you don’t have anyone to operate the controller, and you don’t want it to sit there running the same chase all night. See Chase Setup mode, option 4 (see next section). Manual chase mode Using the Chase Setup option, you can select manual chase mode for chase A or B (or both).
Chase 9.3 Chase Setup mode This function allows you to erase chases, and to set up the chase run and chase autoselect modes. You get into chase setup mode by holding down the Chase button for 2 seconds. Note: You won’t be able to select this option if the controller is in ‘Playback Only’ mode. Chase Setup 1-Erase chase There are 6 possible actions which are displayed one after the other. You can: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Chase The controller asks you which chase you want to copy from. You can select the chase bank by pressing Bank as usual, and you select the chase number simply by pressing 1-16. The controller then asks you where you want to put the chase you’ve copied. You can’t copy to the pre-programmed banks 5-8. 4: Copy bank of chases This option allows you to copy a complete bank of 16 chases to another bank.
Chase 4.Preprogram - When selected, the controller will use the preprogrammed chases as well as the user-programmed ones. When not selected it will only use userprogrammed chases (this option is On by default - if you turn it off, make sure you’ve programmed some chases or the controller may lock up). The controller will enter automatic chase selection mode after you have selected the first chase. If it is set to Sequence mode, the sequence will start from the chase you choose.
Chase 9: Run chase after save Run chase after save 1*Off 2.On Normally after you have finished saving a chase and set the speed, the controller will stop the chase automatically. If you set this to “ On” , the controller will run the chase you have just saved when you finish saving it.
Cancel 10. Cancel The function of the Cancel button depends on what the controller is doing when you press it. Most of the time it will abort the last command that you have started, or go back a step in the procedure you are carrying out. If the controller asks you a “ YesNo” question on the display, the Cancel button functions as “ No” . This will happen provided you press the button for a short time. If you hold the button down, there are some special functions as follows.
Cancel Do not use this option unless you absolutely have to, because it will erase all the scenes, all the chases and all the configuration information. If you just want to reset the option settings without affecting the scenes or chases you have programmed, you can do this using System Setup option 6 (see page 51). Note: This is the only way of unlocking the controller if you lock it into playback only mode and forget the code - so choose a code you will be able to remember easily.
Save 11. Save The Save button has three main functions; it allows you to save scenes, save chases and alter the system setup options. Note: Save Scene and Save Chase functions are not accessible when the controller is locked in playback only mode. 11.1 Saving Scenes Press Save, then Scene to save a scene. Section 7.1 on page 26 gives you all the information on saving scenes. 11.2 Saving Chases Press Save, then Chase to record a chase. Section 9.1 on page 34 gives you instructions on saving chases.
Save 1: Playback only mode This option allows you to lock the controller to prevent unauthorised changes. All the playback functions remain accessible but none of the programming functions will work. MIDI System Exclusive data is also ignored in playback only mode. You might want to use this mode if you think operators will accidentally (or intentionally) erase, change or generally vandalise your programming.
Save 2: Set Control action This option allows you to set the function of the Control socket. You will see Control: 1*Blackout 2.Step 3.Chs 4.Hold The star indicates which option is currently selected. The options are 1. Blackout (on alternate presses of switch) 2. Next step in current chase (if you have set Chase Run mode to Manual for one or both chases) 3. Next programmed chase in current bank 4. ‘Hold’ the current chase(s); then run again (on alternate presses of switch).
Save 4: Set Light Show options You can tell the controller not to use strobing in the automatic light show using this option. You can also set Enhanced light show mode, where the controller produces more dramatic effects to add further interest to the light show. LS Strobe 1:Off 2:On Enhanced 3:Off 4:On The default settings are Strobe On, Enhanced mode Off.
Save 5.2 Thru/Out mode This option allows you to determine how the MIDI Thru/Out connector is used. MIDI mode 1*Thru 2.Data Out There are 2 settings; the currently selected one has a star by it: 1. Thru mode: MIDI is passed straight through, no changes are made 2. Data Out mode: Unit will transmit MIDI code when any Scene or Chase is selected, cancelled, or when Scene or Chase bank is changed (used for recording light shows, and slaving controllers).
Save 5.4 MIDI crossfade mode When you recall a scene or chase, the controller will set the crossfade time using the MIDI key velocity; if you hit the key hard you will get a fast crossfade time, and if you hit the key gently you will get a slow crossfade time. You can turn this option off if you don’t like it, in which case the default settings will be used. 5.5 Output test The numeric keys on the controller turn into a piano to allow you to check your MIDI output connections.
Blackout 12. Blackout The Blackout button is a ‘system’ button, which means that you can press it at any time, whatever the controller is doing, and it will always work. When you press Blackout, the controller changes all its outputs to zero*. The light comes on above the button to show that Blackout mode is active. When you press Blackout again, the controller restores all its outputs to how they were before.
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Sound 13. Sound The Sound button allows you to turn on and off the unit’s sound activation. Normally the Sound mode is inactive, and the light above the button is off. However, if you want to sound-trigger chases or the automatic light show (so that they step on the beat of the music), press the Sound button. The light above the button will come on.
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Light Show 14. Light Show The controller has a complex automatic light show system. When you press the Light show button, the controller will begin to generate its light show. The light above the button will come on to indicate that this is happening. Note: You can’t select Light show while you are in the middle of recording scenes or chases. If the controller is idle, in other words you haven’t selected any heads, scenes or chases, then it will produce a full light show using all the connected effects.
Light Show For example: if you’ve got 4 Futurescan 3’s, 4 Gladiators and 4 Galactic Moons, you will get good results if you have the left-hand Futurescans on Group 1 and the righthand ones on Group 2, the top 2 Gladiators and the bottom 2 Galactic Moons on Group 3 and the rest on Group 4. But experiment! You can change the group settings while the light show is running. How Light Show works The controller produces the light show as Chase B, but working as a ‘background’.
Using MIDI 15. Using MIDI The controller is designed to be fully controllable by MIDI, either from a keyboard or a sequencer. You would typically use a keyboard to allow dynamic ‘real-time’ playback of scenes, and a sequencer if you need to match the lightshow to pre-recorded MIDI or sound. The controller can be set to either receive on a specific MIDI channel, or to receive on all MIDI channels (OMNI mode). If set to a specific channel, it will ignore MIDI on any other channel.
Using MIDI 15.2 Recalling Chases by MIDI You can recall any chase using the black keys on a standard keyboard. The bottom 16 black keys recall the 16 scenes in the current bank. If the chase does not have a speed or crossfade time programmed with it, the key velocity (how hard you press the key) sets the crossfade time and the speed can be set by the velocity of the top black note (Bb6). You can select any of the 8 chase banks using the next 8 black keys.
Using MIDI The controller also understands MIDI commands outside the range of a normal keyboard; it uses these for special functions. You may be able to access them from a keyboard using its “ transpose” function. The other MIDI commands that the controller uses are given in the following table.
Using MIDI You can also use this mode to slave two controllers together; however, there is no MIDI command transmitted for a chase step, so chases run on two controllers may not be synchronised. When the unit is sending its own MIDI information, it transmits on the same channel on which it is set to receive. If the Receive setting is OMNI then it transmits on channel 1. 15.5 System Exclusive You can save and reload the controller’s memory from MIDI using a ‘System Exclusive’ dump.
DMX Implementation Charts A. DMX implementation charts This section lists the DMX values that the controller generates. You might need this information to work out if the controller will be compatible with a non-Abstract lighting unit. If you are using CE range lighting effects you can probably ignore this section.
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MIDI implementation chart B.
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Error Messages C. Error Messages This section lists the error messages that the controller might produce and tells you what to do. There are two types of message - information and fault. The information messages are normally just to help you out. The fault messages indicate that there is a problem with the controller and you will need to take some action.
Error Messages Fault messages Message Explanation Solution Backup battery low -WARNING- Memory backup battery is getting low - memory may be lost in a few weeks Contact dealer for replacement Backup battery flat Memory will be lost Memory backup battery is flat - memory will be lost when unit is turned off Contact dealer for replacement RAM ERROR AT 0000 Fatal system fault Error detected in RAM - fault in system (only tested when RAM is initialised) Contact dealer - unit requires repair.
System Options D. System options This section lists the options that you can set on the system, where you find them and what effect they have. All the options listed below are remembered when the unit is turned off.
System Options Option Location Function Playback only mode Set Control action System Setup option 1 Sets the unit to ‘locked’ mode (protected by code) System Setup option 2 Sets the action to perform when Control socket is activated Set startup mode System Setup option 3 Sets what the controller does when first turned on Light show options Midi options System Setup option 4 Sets Light show strobe enable and enhanced mode System Setup option 5 Sets midi options (see midi chapter for details)
Index all off function, 44, 59 audio line in socket, 12, 54 auto light up mode, 14, 20 automatic chase selection, 39 backup battery, 6, 26, 67 bank selecting by MIDI, 59 selecting chase bank, 34 selecting scene bank, 27, 28 Bank button, 32 Blackout button, 52 Cancel button, 44 changing a scene, 27 chase abandoning program, 35 auto/manual mode, 41 automatic selection, 39, 41 changing speed and crossfade, 38 display when running, 37 editing, 36 erase, 40 link mode, 38, 42 programming, 34 quick guide, 10 reca
Index output test, 51 recalling chases, 59 recalling scenes, 58 receive channel, 49, 58 selecting bank, 59 signal buffering, 12 special functions, 59 System Exclusive, 61 System Exclusive dump, 50 Thru modes, 60 Thru/Out mode, 50 MIDI commands (table), 60 options.
