Members KProuty Posted July 4, 2009 Members Share Posted July 4, 2009 OK, just got the 4 Bar, set them up at home, and they worked just fine in the master/slave mode. Got them to a gig Thursday night, and we can't get them to work in master/slave at all since then using the foot switch. I assume we were just lucky when we first set them up at home that both bars had the same programming in the menu that was needed. Now, we don't know what that was and the manual isn't explicit enough for newbies to try and figure out. We have tried both on Auto, we have tried both on sound, we have tried both on A 512, S 51......... nothing is working. We have good DMX cable because Bill who frequents this forum sold it to us. Obviously, we are newbies, but it would help Chauvet if they would be REAL explicit in their manuals on this part. Can anyone help? MENU OPTION DESCRIPTIONA*** You can choose the desired DMX address via the or buttons*512The fixture is in DMX mode. To switch to sound controlled mode, press the or buttons*SND.The device is in sound controlled mode. To switch to DMX mode, press the or buttonsS*** You can choose the desired speed of the internal programs. Default is 51 Best, Katherine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BillESC Posted July 4, 2009 Members Share Posted July 4, 2009 Katherine, Although I haven't actually played with one yet, I would think you need to address both of your 4Bars to DMX 1. Give it a try and let us know what happens. You're right, the manual sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KProuty Posted July 4, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 4, 2009 Hi, Bill! Just tried both at d512 and, when that didn't seem to work, both at d500 (this is what you see on the LEDs on the back of the four bar, which I think it means that they are in DMX mode on the same channel which is what you need for both of them to work in unison)... and they still aren't working in master/slave mode. We have tried unplugging and plugging them in, etc. but we haven't been able to replicate the flawless functionality that we had in our living room. We have swapped out cables, footswitches (we only plug one footswitch in the master unit) flipping the 4bars so a different one tries to be master, etc. Best, Katherine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members itsvegas Posted July 4, 2009 Members Share Posted July 4, 2009 I was wondering how to do this to sound activate without the foot control myself. The manual is useless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KProuty Posted July 9, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 9, 2009 its vegas... you can activate for sound without the foot pedal. The problem with the menus is that they don't seem to be consistent. (In other words, if you push the menu button three times or the same amount of times, you won't get the same thing...) You just have to keep PUSHING the menu button and up and down (and then the up and down buttons) to finally kind of get what you want. If you see it say SND on the back, then that will get you sound without the foot pedal. Hope this helps! Katherine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KProuty Posted July 10, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 10, 2009 OK, it seems that the menu is inconsistent because the menu behaves differently whether or not you push the up and down button within 3 seconds. There isn't an "enter" button on the back so if you wait three seconds then it automatically moves to the submenu (ie, the choices within that group) rather than moving through the top menu options. They are also coming out with a rev 2 of the instructions that should be available in pdf form at some point in the near future that should help. Chauvet told us to try to set both at d501, unplug them both, wait a bit, and then plug them back in and see if that works with master/slave. I'll report back if that works. Best, Katherine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members B Money Posted July 10, 2009 Members Share Posted July 10, 2009 other than the current trouble you'r experiencing, how do you like thse 4-bars? Are they bright enough to light a small stage sufficiently? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Daddy-O Posted July 12, 2009 Members Share Posted July 12, 2009 other than the current trouble you'r experiencing, how do you like thse 4-bars?Are they bright enough to light a small stage sufficiently? +1 We've been considering grabbing one of these for our band, too, and I'm always looking for more reviews. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members itsvegas Posted July 16, 2009 Members Share Posted July 16, 2009 Does anyone know if its possibly to master/slave them without the use of a foot switch/controller? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BillESC Posted July 16, 2009 Members Share Posted July 16, 2009 Yes, just use a DMX controller and address them the same. It would be a shame however IMHO because you'd lose the ability to have contrasting colors from each side of the stage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hage1 Posted September 12, 2009 Members Share Posted September 12, 2009 Hi. I found that the slave bar must be in DMX mode, and addressed to channel 1. You should see a flashing dot and d1 on the display of the slave unit. The unit with the footswitch should be in snd mode. The dmx cable goes from the dmx out of the unit with the switch to the dmx in on the slave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kazak Posted September 12, 2009 Members Share Posted September 12, 2009 I have 2 4-Bars and have found that the menus act differently if the fixtures detect DMX is present, which of course is not mentioned in the manual. Nearly drove me crazy figuring this out. But I don't believe there is any way to reverse the left to right built in shows. They are bright enough on a small bar stage situation but you will need more than just a couple of these to do anything larger. I was doing some video shooting at a fairly large club this week, about 700 capacity, and they had a boatload of old school (incandescent) lighting set up (about 10 Kilowatts total) and while it was cool to see that much all in one place the real advantages of the LED lighting became incredibly clear in a few minutes. You would need a real lot of par cans to do what a couple of 4-Bars can do. Also interesting that no one at the club knew how to work the lighting other that to turn some static lights on. Ten very large old scanners used as fixed white spotlights, along with some pars. I think there might be an opportunity for me in this someway. Anyway, I am very glad I made the investment in the 4-Bars, I think they are very good value for money, and this was certainly reinforced by my experience at the shoot this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KProuty Posted November 30, 2009 Author Members Share Posted November 30, 2009 OK, folks, I bought these things because they could work out of the box but they could also expand. I'll let you know, with some embarrassment, that we dragged these things around New England playing on big stages, small stages, in the woods, etc., and used them on sound mode the whole time and didn't even master slave them because we couldn't figure out how to do it. Hage1, if this is right... well... you are the best! Now that it is winter, I have the time to try and figure this out, including trying to figure out how to use freestyler, etc. But, I have one more question, a person who knows a lot more about theater lights than I do suggested DMXControl as the software and Enttec's open DMX USB as the hardware interface. Does anyone have any experience with a good beginning (but expandable) setup for the 4bar? Thanks so much! Katherine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members srspud Posted December 6, 2009 Members Share Posted December 6, 2009 I have a dickens of a time getting the 4 bars to sync some times too. What I did was set the master to sound (snd) on the menu on the unit. According to Chauvet it doesn't matter what the master is set to. This just happens to be the default when I plug mine in. I then come out of the master with a DMX cable (not microphone) and then into the slave. The slave needs to be set to 512 - D1. Then it will be the slave unit. Some times the units will talk to each other just fine and other times I have to power them on and off and unplug then re-plug the DMX cable from the slave unit. Something happens and they will finally get in sync and then I'm good for the night. I just read about someone having a hard time getting their 200Bs to sync as well. I wonder if Chauvet isn't having a little quality control issue with this. I hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Remedy Posted December 15, 2009 Members Share Posted December 15, 2009 But I don't believe there is any way to reverse the left to right built in shows. dam. that wouldve been a good feature for master/slave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Plan-B Posted December 16, 2009 Members Share Posted December 16, 2009 dam. that wouldve been a good feature for master/slave You could just spin the light yokes 180 degrees and flip the whole system around. Use some black tape to cover the display led. This would give you the mirror image and once in use I don't think anyone would notice it is set up backwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Remedy Posted December 21, 2009 Members Share Posted December 21, 2009 sweet. good thinking! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vernon Posted February 9, 2010 Members Share Posted February 9, 2010 Katherine & anybody else with troubles setting slave and master slave settings Hey guys, I had one heck of a time trying to figure out the settings to run my new lights together... After playing with the menu button and the up and down button, I know how to get between DMX, Auto and Snd... so here it is - set master to Snd and set the Slave to DMX (b001).. hook up the dmx line and power both up! (must be on the same power supply) (you'll know why in a bit).. if the slave light goes on and stays on when you turn both on,,, unplug the power supply from its source (this is the cord that plugs into wall)... plug it in again and look at both lights as power goes to them... they should both blink once and go off... If that happens you're rockin!.. if it does'nt,,, unplug from the wall again,,, wait a few seconds and plug it in again... For some reason, the lights need to see each other as you power both up at the same time... Go figure that out?.. Aside from the syncing thing,,, these lights are great for my karaoke and stage hypnosis shows... the packaging is great... hope this thread helped...good luck!Vern Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members srspud Posted February 9, 2010 Members Share Posted February 9, 2010 VernI found out the same thing. For some reason when they power up at the same time everything works fine. If they get powered up on different circuits they wont talk to each other. It's strange I know but still easy to put them both on the same power strip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chony Posted November 24, 2010 Members Share Posted November 24, 2010 VernI found out the same thing. For some reason when they power up at the same time everything works fine. If they get powered up on different circuits they wont talk to each other. It's strange I know but still easy to put them both on the same power strip. Not if they're on opposite sides of the stage. What a freakin' pain in the neck. I spent hours trying to sync mine up until I found this thread. Powered them up together and bingo... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members smokinsec Posted December 1, 2010 Members Share Posted December 1, 2010 Went through this thread and I still can't get these things to sync together. Master is set to SND and slave is set to d001. I turn off the strip they're both connected to then turn it back on and the slave blinks on white light approx every 7 seconds or so. The foot pedal will control the master, but has no effect on the slave. Maybe there's something I'm missing... possibly I did something wrong on the menu or sub-menu on one of them?? Thanks a lot, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jwlussow Posted December 1, 2010 Members Share Posted December 1, 2010 other than the current trouble you'r experiencing, how do you like thse 4-bars?Are they bright enough to light a small stage sufficiently? In a word no. They are probably OK for a very small stage but they really do not throw off a lot of light. Also, the stands are only 7' so the actual lights are around 5-1/2' to 6' off the ground. Might work for a band of kids or midgets but not very good if you are 5'-6" tall or taller. I've seen a bunch of these in the wild and all of them actually blocked the view of the players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members srspud Posted December 1, 2010 Members Share Posted December 1, 2010 In a word no. They are probably OK for a very small stage but they really do not throw off a lot of light. Also, the stands are only 7' so the actual lights are around 5-1/2' to 6' off the ground. Might work for a band of kids or midgets but not very good if you are 5'-6" tall or taller. I've seen a bunch of these in the wild and all of them actually blocked the view of the players. Run the center pole of the stand so that the leg bracing goes UP from the leg to the center pole. You can get 2 more feet of height that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BillESC Posted December 1, 2010 Members Share Posted December 1, 2010 And a very unstabile lighting tripod is a bonus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jwlussow Posted December 2, 2010 Members Share Posted December 2, 2010 And a very unstabile lighting tripod is a bonus. At least they aren't heavy. Probably wouldn't kill anyone... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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