Feature by Feature

Subject Bookmarks on this page
256 DMX Channels | 512Kb Internal memory | Alpha-numeric keyboard | Analogue inputs | Audio | Build Standards | DBO | Fixtures | Flexi-lite | Generic Lighting | Grand Master Fader | Hi-resolution | Input Extender | Intelligent Lighting | LCD Display | MIDI | Naming | Pallets | Password security | PCMCIA card | Personalities | Playback keys & Buttons | RS232 | Trackball |

• Drives Intelligent and Generic Lighting
  A library of intelligent fixture personalities is pre-installed in the QCommander. This encompasses models from most major brands. Other fixtures may be available (please enquire). The QCommander will drive any DMX dimmer, switchpack, demultiplexer, smoke machine, strobe etc.

• Hi-Res Fixture Personalities
  Fixtures usually have one DMX channel per attribute (e.g. pan, tilt, etc.). This allows 8-bit control, i.e. 256 steps. Some more recent fixtures use two channels for some features, which allows for 16-bit adjustment - up to 65,000 steps. The QCommander seamlessly supports this level of control.

• Multi Level Passcode Security
  Separate passcodes may be set for each of the four principal menus, thus allowing selective access, with a master passcode applied to the set-up menu.

• 256 DMX Output Channels
  All the QCommander’s 256 output channels are freely configurable. You can use them all for intelligent lights or keep some (or all of them) back for dimmers and other DMX devices.

• Analogue Control Inputs
  16 0-10v DC analogue input ports are provided to allow the QCommander to be connected to all manner of external control systems - for example, Custom made wall plates with switches and or faders for environmental lighting control, Fire or security alarm systems, Movement or presence detectors, Other control desks, Show control systems, in fact almost anything.
  The QCommander Input Extender is available as an optional extra to the standard Q Commander. It has 16 faders and flash buttons and is constructed in the same style as the QCommander. It allows the patching of channels, scenes, chases, keys or groups to any of the faders, increasing the number of output controls available, as well as giving the user the option of using faders where that feels more natural.

• 512kB Internal Memory
  The generous internal memory capacity allows for the storing of 512 scenes, 64 chases, etc. (see specification on the QCommander Home Page). In tests we have found this to be more than you could ever use with 16 fixtures. In addition you may store eight complete shows of up to five hundred separate button presses. All programming may be stored to the PCMCIA memory card. Conversely, complete shows may be uploaded from a card to the QCommander.

• Playback Keys and Buttons.
  The sixteen numbered push buttons and touchkeys are used during both programming and playback. Both the pushbuttons and touchkeys are arranged over two pages selectable, giving a total of 64 "virtual" keys. These are further split left and right on each page giving a total of eight groups. Each group is programmable to function latch or flash, add or swap within the group. A group may also be set to function as solos affecting all groups globally. Programmed effects - scenes, chases, looks and channels in combination may be assigned to any output key with very little restriction. Shows must be assigned to the eight pushbuttons set aside for the purpose.

• Alpha-numeric Keypad
  The data entry keypad has several functions. During the programming of moving lights the various channel functions are assigned to these keys.
  The personality of the fixtures was recorded during the initial set-up procedures and the personality channels are routed to corresponding attributes buttons. So now, when you press, for example, the mirror attribute button, the QCommander knows which DMX channels you are looking to control and they come live on the trackball. The same procedure gives you access to the other channels for that/those fixtures selected.
  
  Your fixtures can also be controlled 'live' during your show in a similar fashion.
  
  You can enter DMX levels using the trackball but you also have the option to enter the value via this keypad. All the effects you program are formed into lists for later reference. You can scroll down these lists using the trackball but if, for example, you wanted to access scene no. 512, you can simply enter 512 on the keypad.

• Naming
  Anything you can program, you can give a name to and, given that so many things can be held in the QCommander’s memory, the naming feature is extremely useful. Use the alpha-numeric keypad, much as you would a mobile phone keypad, to enter names for the effects you program.

• Grand Master Fader and DBO switch
  For an instant blackout, just flip the DBO (Desk Black-Out) switch. The slider is the Grand Master; it controls the overall output of the desk and can be the simplest way to fade your entire rig to black. By default both the Master and DBO control only shutter and dimmer channels, regardless of HTP and LTP settings. Should you wish to change either setting to suit your particular application, you can.

• Trackball
  You would be right to think that the trackball is used to program mirror movements and because people prefer a trackball to a mouse or joystick, we make maximum use of this device. Any attribute requiring the setting of a level goes through the trackball but leaves you the option to input the level numerically, should you wish to do so.
  
  For mirror movement the trackball works in both horizontal and vertical axes and with sixteen bit resolution where the fixture supports it; for colours, dimming levels etc. it works only in the vertical axis. During playback it can be used as the control for the manipulation of any fixture attribute being used 'live' or to adjust the run speed of a zone or chase.

• The LCD Display
  Central to the programming interface and the philosophy behind the QCommander is the backlit LCD graphic display and the surrounding softkeys. We call them softkeys because their functions change as you proceed through the menu structure. To either side of the display there is a STORE/YES button and an ESCAPE/NO button. These functions are constant and their purpose obvious. The buttons above and below the display change their functions at each level in the menu structure. To make it clear what is happening, prompts appear alongside each button in the display at each step. Apart from the clarity aspect it is both reassuring and helpful to have all the valid options set out before you. Because you don’t have to think of them yourself, programming runs quickly and without stress.
  So, just make your selection from the prompts available and press STORE to confirm. If, by chance, you do take a wrong turn, press ESCAPE and go back a level and have another try.
  
  During playback the display gives general status information and allows you to make adjustments to chase speeds, etc. Various utility functions are provided to allow you to identify the contents of each touchkey or push button or to find the whereabouts of that special effect that you know you stored somewhere.

• Fixtures (that's Moving Lights, Intelligent Lights, Robots, Scans etc.) and Fixture Personalities
  The QCommander can drive up to 16 intelligent lights within the limitation of its 256 output channels. Where the fixtures support it, 16-bit mirror fades are available. The QCommander can handle multiple fixture types simultaneously.
  The QCommander has a library of intelligent light fixture personalities pre-installed. When you set up fixtures, you are effectively telling the QCommander what the fixtures are, what their starting DMX addresses are and what function each channel of the fixture performs. The QCommander automatically sets certain other channel attributes, such as LTP and HTP, whether the channel is subject to the grand master and blackout switch, and whether the channel switches, snaps or fades.
  
  When programming, a fixture is specifically selected by pressing one of the sixteen fixture buttons. Its attributes are then available for selection on the alpha-numeric pad and may be adjusted using the trackball. An OVERLAY facility exists allowing the programming of scenes with transparent channels (LTP). This facility is useful when it is desired to switch a range of colours or gobos in and out of a single basic chase effect.
  
  If your fixture(s) are not listed, please let us know, via email, using the form on the fixtures page. In most cases we will be happy to add to the existing library.

• Pallets
  The SAVEPALET facility allows the speedy recall of a set of previously-saved values, e.g. all colour wheels set to red.
  During playback fixture attributes may be adjusted, using the live feature, handy for turning a moving light into a follow spot.

• Optional Flexi-light
  Removing the cap in the top right hand corner of the QCommander, will reveal the socket for an operating light.
  Lightprocessor recommend the use of a 12" G-Series Littlite® with type 1815 lamp. These are available from your distributor. The operating light does not need an additional power supply, as it runs directly from the QCommander external power supply.

• PCMCIA Card
  The PCMCIA slot allows the use of a type 1, 512Kb SRAM card, to perform backup and update operations.
  The card is inserted into the rear of the QCommander, and all your programming can be saved to the card for safe keeping.
  Saved programs can simply then be simply uploaded back into a QCommander.
  Lightprocessor also can also use a PCMCIA card to update your QCommander operating system and the fixture library.

• MIDI Interface
  The communications hardware within the QCommander may be configured for either MIDI or RS232 communication.
  The QCommander can receive MIDI note on/note off on all 16 channels but transmits only on MIDI channel 0.
  Each of the QCommander’s 64 output keys represents a MIDI note. Sending, for example, middle C to another QCommander will activate the same key on the receiving QCommander, thus enabling multiple units to be used in a larger installation.
  
  The implementation of MIDI time code is envisaged for the future.

• Audio
  The QCommander has several audio features.
  Firstly, there's an internal microphone. Where there is no audio line in available, this microphone allows access to the features described below. If required, this microphone can be disabled by inserting a ¼" Jack plug into the audio input socket. A line level music input is provided through this socket. All processing of the audio signal is done using software rather than the traditional hardware filters. This allows for greater levels of subtlety of control, enabling the QCommander to give you excellent audio control features.
  
  Zones can chase to a bass beat. Chases steps can synchronise to a bass beat. Scenes may be set up as sound-to-light.
  
  With sound-to-light selected the channels in the scene will now respond to four audio frequency bands - bass, tenor, alto and treble, rather than DMX levels. The frequency response of each channel is adjustable - just scroll to that channel and use the trackball.

• RS232 Communications Port
  This feature is currently not yet implemented. It is planned for use in uploading new software and fixture personalities via standard PC's - allowing distribution on floppy disk and from this web site.

• Built to Exacting Standards
  All electrical products have to conform to the relevant European legislation and to attest to their compliance they must carry the CE logo.
  Appropriate to LightProcessor’s products are the Low Voltage Directive relating to electrical safety and the EMC Directive which deals with a product’s susceptibility to electrical interference and its ability to generate such interference.
  The law says that all products sold in the European Union must carry the CE mark. In this case the CE mark implies that the manufacturer (or original importer into the European Union) believes that the product conforms to the provisions of the Low Voltage and EMC Directives. Prudent manufacturers or original importers will hold a technical records, detailing the test data and procedures carried out to establish the belief in the product’s conformity.
  
  CE regulations exist for your protection. They are being flouted by unscrupulous manufacturers and importers to the detriment of unsuspecting purchasers and users. Insist on CE-marked product and demand a certificate of conformity, if you are in any doubt. Any reputable supplier will be happy to assist.

• Input Extender
  The Input Extender is an optional upgrade to the QCommander which may be fitted to existing systems.
  Control inputs to the QCommander may be patched from the Input Extender, a bank of 16 faders and flash buttons. To any fader you may assign a scene, a chase, key channel or group.
  Accessing an effect via a fader means that you have direct control of the overall level of that effect. You can choose to include all channels in the patch or just the HTP channels, thus allowing you to fade in intelligent lighting sequences without affecting mirrors and other normally-LTP channels.

copyright
This page was last edited on 21/03/03
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