# par 196 question



## debbie5 (Mar 2, 2007)

So, I had all these par 196's to use at the Ween dance, and frankly I didn't like them.
They were set up to change colors, but I wanted them to only change R/B/G..instead they cycled thru ALL the colors, which included a lot where the white LEDs activated and made the light too white,bright & pastel-y for a Ween event. In the manual, it explained how to set the DMX tabs, but it may just as well have been written in Sanskrit.
Is there a way to program it (without an external, added-on controller) so they just cycle thru R/G/B??
Cuz if not, I will just use regular flood lights for a more saturated color....


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## Palmdale Haunter (Mar 3, 2012)

DMX is a communication protocol. 
That said the lights expect a DMX signal to come from somewhere.
Many of these lights cycle through colors with no signal as a test pattern.
The DMX address needs to be set to the matching channel the control source is sending (think of it like a phone number if you don't call the right number you are not going to get who you desire)
There are options that are not too expensive.
You can buy (or possibly rent) stand alone controllers.
Or, you can use a PC with software and a USB to DMX interface (often called a dongle) to control your lights.
The DMX interface can be had for as little as $20 and run into the $500 range depending on how many options the interface has. 
Most haunters use the Enttec Open that runs $60
Software can be as cheap as free (Vixen) or run several hundred dollars most haunters use VSA from brookshire it runs $80
The advantage of this is you can use DMX to do more like control animations.
You can also add more software (like Helmsman from Monkey Basic) and a trigger to USB interface (around $60) and create a fully interactive Halloween show eliminating the need for a pile of prop controllers...


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## stagehand1975 (Feb 22, 2010)

I have a dmx light board that I am not using right now. I may be able to make it available to you for this years event. However if you have never worked with dmx before. It's just like setting up a computer network where addresses have to be properly set on each fixture in order to see what the controller is telling them.


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