New user here and Im really liking so many of the features. Previously I used DPRO and Ableton together, but your software really has streamlined and improved upon what I was able to do before. Super excited to dive deeper.
Is there a way to monitor the DMX numerical output?
Im having an issue with some, but not all, of my lights that when adding an LFO to control a colorwheel for example, I turn the freq to 0 and depth to 0 and it doesnt seem to be outputting a 0-1 DMX value and then I have to play with the min max numbers but even that doesnt seem to have a consistent setting dependent on what Im controlling. This is with HTP set for each as well.
I feel it would be convenient to see and send an actual dmx value when using HTP.
Thanks for getting in touch, great to hear Beam fits your workflow!
Beam’s Monitor (Window → Monitor or CMD+3) currently only shows the DMX output visually. However, we agree being able to see the exact DMX values is important and is something we would like to support in the future.
A way you could currently monitor the exact DMX values would be to use a utility like ArtNetView and send Art-Net to it. Although that prevents you from simultaneously sending DMX to your USB interface or Art-Net node.
I am not completely sure I understood your issue correctly, but it sounds like you would like to manually control or automate a parameter other than dim, e.g. colorwheel between 0. and 1. (or 0 and 255 in DMX values). To do this you can:
Use the LFO device, set both Min and Max to 1, then you can use Depth to multiply that by values between 0 and 1 (displayed as 0-100%).
Please note that the Depth parameter is a multiplier of Min and Max values. So if you set Depth to 0%, the resulting LFO value will always be 0, regardless of the Min and Max values, and will either add 0 to the previous value or multiply it by 0, depending on the selected mode.
Use the Scale device, link Out Low and Out Hi, then you can use Out Hi to control the selected parameter between 0 and 1.
If knowing the exact DMX values you are sending is indeed important, you could use this custom version of the Scale device, which device displays values between 0 and 255, instead of 0 and 1: Scale (raw DMX values).amxd (265.6 KB)
When working with slot-based parameters you can also make your life a bit easier by making a custom device that maps specific slots of your fixture to the corresponding DMX values - this allows you to e.g. automate slots, rather than DMX values. It does require making a dedicated device for every specific fixture’s channel functions, but is simple to do. Here are Effect and Instrument device examples for controlling an arbitrary parameter “colorwheel” - you can see the necessary steps if you open the devices in Patching Mode: Slot Effect.amxd (217.6 KB) Slot Instrument.amxd (246.5 KB)
Let me know if this helps you achieve the desired results.
Got it! I actually discovered user error was at fault for my unexpected results using the LFO device just as you have now recommended. I had another LFO device hidden and tucked away. The rogue device has been eliminated and all is back to normal.
Scale I had not used yet and wow! Super cool. I appreciate the RAW dmx scale device you have sent here as well, it’s precisely what I was looking for.
That being said the slot effect and slot instrument you have sent is something I didn’t know was even possible, but is a truly elegant solution and one I’ve already begun to implement. Thank you!!