Show Cue System

I am having some troubles getting all my MIDI stuff to talk to each other.

Here is the setup that I am working with...

SCS to M Audio Firewire 410 to ETC Express 24/48 light board.

I am generating MIDI signals with SCS and sending them to the 410 and then to light board.

Currently I have the firewire coming out of the laptop and going into the 410. Then I have MIDI out from the 410 going to the MIDI in on the ETC. Is this wiring setup correct ?

Which I think is right but then I think I need to set up the ETC to receive signals. When I go to the setup menu for that and select MIDI Transmitter it asks me for a code #0-126. Any clues on this code # ?!?!?!?! Is it generated by the SCS or by the 410 or is it a ETC specific thing.

We use SCS and the ETC Express 48/98 at our small (110 seat) community theatre. This is how we set it up and it works great. We use the Express to control the lighting and sound cues by programming all the cues in the Express. We use the onboard sound in the computer, not an external sound card, but the setup should be the same.

1. MIDI Out on the Express to MIDI In in the computer.
2. Go to the setup menu on the Express choose '6 Options'.
3. Choose '1 ETC MIDI Channel' choose a channel, we use 3.
4. Open SCS Choose 'View|Options'.
5. Select the 'MIDI Devices & Control tab'.
6. Choose your MIDI device in the 'MIDI In" drop down box.
7. Check the box 'Control cues by MIDI input messages'.
8. Select 'Program / Controller Change'.
9. Select 'ETC CD' in the 'Control Method' drop down box.
10. Select the same channel you used in step 3 in the 'MIDI Channel' drop down box.
11. You can click 'Test MIDI input', then when you hit the C/D go button on the Express you will see the cue number from the Express displayed.

That's it! It works great! We now use one Tech to run the show. All the cues are programed in the Express 48/96. If it is a sound cue with no lighting change we just copy the previous cue so there is no lighting change. There are just two quirks, when the MIDI is enabled the 'Back' button on the Express is disabled and, all sound cues must be whole numbers (1 not 1.1).

Some hints; go to the 'View|Options' screen in SCS and add 'MIDI Cue#' to the selected columns so you can see what the MIDI cue number is. This number must match the cue programed in the Express. If you haven't already, download the Express Offline Editor from the ECT website. With it you can edit the show on a computer, save it to a floppy and load it into the Express. When you edit the show on a computer you can label the cues so the label shows up on the display! We usual put the page number in the script where the cue is so if our Tech gets lost (we are all volunteer) they can look on the screen to find out where the cues are in the show.

Hope this helps!