Hotkey trigger (Note) with diff. act. for key press/release

[Edi_28]

In our theatre we have a curtain which is controlled by a DMX relais decoder. A value greater 128 on DMX address 100 turns on relais 1 and the curtain opens. A value greater 128 on DMX address 101 turns on relais 2 and the curtain closes.
So what I need is a hotkey which sets a value greater 128 on DMX address 100 as long as I press the key and sets a value smaller 128 on DMX address 100 when I release the key. Another hot key could be set up in the same way for closing the curtain.

So it would be great if I could tell SCS when the activation is set to hotkey (note) if it should recognize a key press or a key release.
Then it should also be possible to assign the same hotkey to two different cues (each with its own action "press/release").

I could then have two different lighting cues activated with e.g. hotkey (note) "C" where the one is activated on "C pressed" and the other on "C released". One lighting cue closes the curtain relais on DMX address 100 and opens the curtain, the other on opens the same relais and the curtain stops.

Or are their any other suggestions how this could be managed in SCS 11.5.2?
I need a momentary switch which sends a DMX signal when I press it and sends another one when I release it.

Thanks,
Best regards,
Dieter

[Mike Daniell]

In an email from Dieter I have a bit more info on this request: "What I'm currently trying is to setup a hotkey cue which acts like a momentary switch for closing the curtain. So as long as I press it, it should close the curtain (send value greater 128 to DMX address 1) and when I release the key it should send value 0 to this DMX address so the curtain stops."

Initially I thought this was a very specific request and probably not useful for many users - ie DMX control of the curtain. However, on further consideration this feature could be of use for turning a lighting cue on and off. Note that devices like the ENTTEC DMX interfaces maintain sending the DMX values, so to start opening the curtain it is only necessary for the relevant DMX channel value to be sent once by SCS - the ENTTEC device will keep up the transmission until another value is sent by SCS. This makes it feasible, then to provide the facility using either a 'note hotkey' or a 'toggle hotkey'.

Any thoughts from other users?

[Edi_28]

Hi Mike,

You are absolutely right, that the DMX value has only to be sent once to the ENTTEC device as the interface holds the value as long as no new value is sent to a specific address.
Also in my case of the curtain this is sufficient. So it's only necessary to be able to send a DMX value on key pressed and another one (at least 0) to the same address on key released.

This feature would also be great as lighting flash keys (audience blinders, etc.)

Best regards,
Dieter

[BCGTech]

Note that devices like the ENTTEC DMX interfaces maintain sending the DMX values, so to start opening the curtain it is only necessary for the relevant DMX channel value to be sent once by SCS - the ENTTEC device will keep up the transmission until another value is sent by SCS. This makes it feasible, then to provide the facility using either a 'note hotkey' or a 'toggle hotkey'.

Any thoughts from other users?

If I recall correctly, the Open DMX USB device from ENTTEC does not have memory and thus requires the computer to constantly update the DMX values. For this reason, it is not a good choice as an interface as it places an undo burden on the controlling computer. So this proposed feature might need to be restricted to the DMX USB PRO and DMX USB PRO MK2 models. I don't know about the FTDI USB-RS485 Cable device.

Bruce

[Mike Daniell]

In SCS 11.5.2 RC4 (Release Candidate 4) I've added support for hotkey (note) and hotkey (toggle) actions on Lighting Cues. I'm not sure if the toggle option is particularly useful but included it to complete the implementation. With hotkey (note) lighting cues, when you press and hold the hotkey the lighting cue acts as normal, and when you release the hotkey the designated DMX channels fade or snap to 0 (depending on the cue's fade time(s)).

I haven't yet tried this with Open DMX USB - I'll check that in more detail when I get the LED fixtures back from the theatre.