user manual E L A TI ON | MIDICON-2™ | user manual MIDICON-2™
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CONTENTS General Information 4 Warranty 6 Safety Instructions 7 Overview 8 Playbacks 10 Page Controls 12 Matrix Buttons 13 Shortcut Buttons 14 Jog Wheels 15 Master 16 Rear Panel 17 USB Light 17 Rack Mounting Hardware 18 MIDI Messages 20 MIDI Messages Received 24 Custom MIDI Maps 25 Firmware Updates 26 Technical Specifications 26 3 www.elationlighting.
GENERAL INFORMATION INTRODUCTION This device has been designed to perform reliably for years when the guidelines in this booklet are followed. Please read and understand the instructions in this manual carefully and thoroughly before attempting to operate this device. These instructions contain important information regarding safety during use and maintenance. UNPACKING Every device has been thoroughly tested and has been shipped in perfect operating condition.
CUSTOMER SUPPORT Elation Professional® provides a customer support line, to provide set up help and to answer any question should you encounter problems during your set up or initial operation. You may also visit us on the web at www.elationlighting.com for any comments or suggestions. For service related issue please contact Elation Professional®. ELATION SERVICE USA - Monday - Friday 8:00am to 5:00pm PST Voice: 323-582-3322 Fax: 323-832-9142 E-mail: support@elationlighting.
LIMITED WARRANTY A. Elation Professional® hereby warrants, to the original purchaser, Elation Professional® products to be free of manufacturing defects in material and workmanship for a period of two years (730 days), and Elation Professional® product rechargeable batteries to be free of manufacturing defects in material and workmanship for a period of six months (180 days), from the original date of purchase. This warranty excludes discharge lamps and all product accessories.
SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS This device is an extremely sophisticated piece of electronic equipment. To guarantee a smooth operation, it is important to follow the guidelines in this manual. The manufacturer of this device will not accept responsibility for damages resulting from the misuse of this fixture due to the disregard of the information printed in this manual. I N D O O R S U S E O N L Y ! DO NOT EXPOSE DEVICE TO RAIN AND MOISTURE! 7 www.elationlighting.
OVERVIEW The MIDICON-2™ is a general-purpose MIDI controller designed to work alongside Elation Lighting software packages or any lighting software that accepts MIDI. The controller is USB powered and uses the USB class drivers so that no special driver needs to be installed on the host PC or MAC. When you connect the MIDICON-2™ controller for the first time, your PC will automatically assign the MIDI driver that is included with your operating system.
PLAYBACKS: 8 playback faders each with 1 rotary push-in style dial, 2 playback buttons with bi-color LEDs, up and down fader page select buttons, and an LED page number display MASTER FADER and BLACKOUT BUTTON: Located in the center of the controller. SHORTCUTS: 6 general purpose shortcut buttons labeled S1 through S6 are located above the playback buttons, and 8 general purpose shortcut buttons labeled A through H are located above the 4 jog wheels.
PLAYBACKS www.elationlighting.
The playback section was designed to take advantage of the playback features in most lighting software programs where a playback fader and some associated buttons are used. There are two buttons, a small rotary encoder and a red/blue bi-color LED above each fader. The function of each of these will vary depending on the software that you are using. A fader will typically send MIDI continuous controller messages to your software, giving each fader a resolution of 128 steps.
PAGE CONTROLS There are 2 separate sets of page control buttons, one for the Playback Faders and another for the Matrix buttons. Paging essentially gives you additional virtual sets of faders and matrix buttons to work with. Paging can be controlled by your lighting software or by the MIDICON-2™ controller via MIDI channel paging. If your software can control the paging you can have up to 99 pages to work with.
MATRIX BUTTONS These 32 buttons can be used to call lighting effects, scenes, colors, etc. If your lighting software does not support the MIDICON-2™ as plug and play, you will have to link each button to a function using the setup menu in your software. Refer to your software manual for instructions, as this will be different for each program. These buttons will typically send MIDI note on and note off messages but can be customized using the Elation MIDICON-2™ mapper software.
SHORTCUT BUTTONS These 14 buttons are intended for frequently used functions in your software. If your controller does not support the MIDICON-2™ as plug and play, you will have to link each button to a function using the setup menu in your software. Refer to your software instructions, as this will be different for each program. Please refer to the MIDI table at the end of this manual for each button’s default MIDI note message. www.elationlighting.
JOG WHEELS The jog wheels send MIDI messages for increment (turn right one step) and decrement (turn left one step). You can also press down on a wheel for an additional button press and release message. For some software programs that support the MIDICON-2™ as plug and play, the wheels are pre-programmed to match the context of the current programming screen. They can be used to adjust channel values, color mixing, fade times, etc.
MASTER FADER AND BLACKOUT BUTTON The master fader is generally used to control the overall level of the stage lights but can also be used to control other things like speed or be used as another playback fader. This fader is not tied to the page controls. Above the master fader is the blackout button. If your software supports the MIDICON-2™ as plug and play, its function will be handled for you otherwise you will need to link its MIDI message to your software’s blackout function. www.elationlighting.
REAR PANEL On the back of the MIDICON-2™ you will find the power ON/OFF switch, a Kensington slot for attaching a security cable, and a USB type B connector. USB LIGHT USB Type A connector on the upper right area above the matrix buttons can be used to plug in a USB LED gooseneck light (not included). Only use a small low USB powered LED light (maximum current = 100ma) 17 www.elationlighting.
RACK MOUNTING HARDWARE The MIDICON-2™ comes with replacement sides so that you can rack mount it in a standard 19” rack enclosure or case. To install the rack mount hardware you must remove the plastic end caps then reuse the mounting screws to attach the metal rack-mountable sides. Each side requires that you remove a total of (7) screws, (3) on the top, (3) on the bottom, and (1) on the back.
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MIDI MESSAGES The following is a list of MIDI messages sent by controls using the default MIDI map. These are sent to your software from the MIDICON-2™ for each button press, wheel or fader movement. A “NOTE ON” message is sent for a button press and a “NOTE OFF” message for a button release. All messages are sent on MIDI channel 1.
Playback Rotaries Rotary 1 turn right 1 click – Note 86 Rotary 1 turn left 1 click – Note 87 Rotary 1 push in – Note 68 Rotary 2 turn right 1 click – Note 88 Rotary 2 turn left 1 click – Note 89 Rotary 2 push in – Note 69 Rotary 3 turn right 1 click – Note 90 Rotary 3 turn left 1 click – Note 91 Rotary 3 push in – Note 70 Rotary 4 turn right 1 click – Note 92 Rotary 4 turn left 1 click – Note 93 Rotary 4 push in – Note 71 Rotary 5 turn right 1 click – Note 94 Rotary 5 turn left 1 click – Note 95 Rotary 5 pu
Wheels Wheel 1 turn right 1 click – Note 78 Wheel 1 turn left 1 click – Note 79 Wheel 1 Press in – Note 102 Wheel 2 turn right 1 click – Note 80 Wheel 2 turn left 1 click – Note 81 Wheel 2 Press in – Note 103 Wheel 3 turn right 1 click – Note 82 Wheel 3 turn left 1 click – Note 83 Wheel 3 Press in – Note 104 Wheel 4 turn right 1 click – Note 84 Wheel 4 turn left 1 click – Note 85 Wheel 4 Press in – Note 105 Matrix Buttons Button 1 – Note 1 Button 2 – Note 2 Button 3 – Note 3 Button 4 – Note 4 Button 5 – Not
Matrix Page Buttons Page up – Note 65 Page down – Note 66 Playback Page Display – continuous controller 10 This MIDI message is sent when the playback page is changed. The controller value will be the page number (1-99). Matrix Page Display – continuous controller 11 This MIDI message is sent when the matrix page is changed. The controller value will be the page number (1-99). 23 www.elationlighting.
MIDI MESSAGES RECEIVED LED Control – There are 9 bi-color LEDs, one above each playback and an additional LED above the blackout button. Software programs can control the LEDs by sending MIDI note messages when using the default MIDI map. “NOTE ON” will turn the LED on and “NOTE OFF” will turn it off.
CUSTOM MIDI MAPS The MIDICON-2™ comes ready to use with a default MIDI map as described in the previous section. This will work for most applications. If you need to make your own custom MIDI map, you can use the Elation MIDICON-2™ mapper software. After you install the software consult the help file on how to create and upload your custom MIDI map. There is enough memory in the MIDIcon 2 to store two maps, one custom user MIDI map and the default map.
FIRMWARE UPDATES The firmware that runs the MIDICON-2™ may need to be updated from time to time as more features are added. You can download the latest firmware updates as well as the MIDICON-2™ boot loader software that’s used to perform the update from www.elationlighting.com. The MIDICON-2™ firmware revision is displayed for 2 seconds in the fader page display on power up. To perform a firmware update you will have to first install the boot loader program on your Windows PC.
DIMENSIONAL DRAWINGS - Plastic Sides DIMENSIONAL DRAWINGS - Rack Mount Sides 27 www.elationlighting.
