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[Jeff Lelko]

I thought this stuff was supposed to be fairly easy.

It's easy enough from a technical standpoint, but there's also the saying "you get what you pay for".  You certainly don't need to spend a premium to get into lighting, but at the same time a company that's too cheap/lazy to use properly programmed logic boards doesn't exactly scream high quality to me.  Many forum members have had good luck with ebay lights, but it's definitely a mixed bag. 

I'd also agree that this seems to be a cable or connector issue.  Despite the low quality, I find it hard to believe that all four lights are broken.  I'd also be surprised if this is a controller issue.  I agree with what Rick says though - try all four with your ADJ board and see what happens.  That'll at least rule out the Obey 10, or confirm why you were able to get the unit so cheaply, but I hope that isn't the case.

A spiltter probably won't help you, and even if it did, I'd vote to spend the same money on better lights.  Even if you did need a splitter, please get a decent one.  Though I'm not 100% anti-Chinese no-name equipment, the more low-end product you put into the system, the more weird things you can expect to deal with.

Really, the best way to troubleshoot a problem like this is label every cable and fixture, and start swapping things around until you notice a pattern, starting with one fixture and one cable and building up until you can identify the faulty piece.  Good luck!

[Neil Speers]

A few things to check:

Are you using DMX cable, is it plugged in all the way? Most problems like that can be traced to the cable or connections. You also have to daisy chain them, a mic splitter won't work.
Are you hot swapping in the lights or did you try powering everything down, then up again?
On the back of the controller there is a DMX polarity switch, did you try both positions?
Set the lights to d001 and try your 3 channel controller, I know you only get dimmer, red and green. If they work on that controller then you'll know its the obey10.

Hi Len, Jeff and Rick - thanks for all the ideas.

Here's the latest development - just tried the ADJ CH3 - and yup, they both lit and I got the red/green channels to work on both. Then I hooked up all four, reset all to d001 and again, all four lit up and let me adjust red/green channels.

I'm going to grab my other three lights (of a different wattage/make but also Chinese made) and see if they work on the obey10.

PS - yes, all brand new DMX cabling - and tested each to make sure they light at least one light. No, not using a mic splitter.  Yes, found the polarity switch but not difference in response. I try to power down each time, but occasionally hot swapped.

[Jeff Lelko]

Here's the latest development - just tried the ADJ CH3 - and yup, they both lit and I got the red/green channels to work on both. Then I hooked up all four, reset all to d001 and again, all four lit up and let me adjust red/green channels.

Well, that seems fairly indicative of an issue with the Obey 10.  Not what I would have expected, but let's see if we can make the best of it.  Just out of curiosity, have you reset the board to factory defaults?  If not, give that a try.  Doubt it'll make a difference, but at this point why not?  I don't think this board lets the user adjust the speed of the output itself to help with framing errors either.  Try some of your other lights and see what happens.   

[Neil Speers]

Should re-name this thread - The Rabbit Hole.

I brought back my other three (older) LED DMX 24 watt lights from practice, set them up on the Obey 10, and - once I figured out how to set the DIP switches again - get all three to work just fine, thank you.

So I added one of the newer 36 watt ones into the mix and it worked just fine as well - whether same channel or on a different channel/fixture, and whether first or last in the daisy chain.

Then I spotted something that made me hopeful - the power supply for the Obey 10 was a 9 volt but the input said 12 - so I swapped that out to a 12.

I added a second new 36 watt light into the mix, and both new lights went out. The older 24 watt ones all still worked.

SO my guess would be an incompatibility between the 36 watt lights and the Obey 10 that only shows up when 2 or more are hooked up. I haven't been able to find a description of how to adjust speed or frames (not that I know what those are) but I did find the reset to factory method. Didn't help though.

I don't have enough hair left on my head to be pulling any out, but I surely would if I could.

[Scott Holtzman]

Should re-name this thread - The Rabbit Hole.

I brought back my other three (older) LED DMX 24 watt lights from practice, set them up on the Obey 10, and - once I figured out how to set the DIP switches again - get all three to work just fine, thank you.

So I added one of the newer 36 watt ones into the mix and it worked just fine as well - whether same channel or on a different channel/fixture, and whether first or last in the daisy chain.

Then I spotted something that made me hopeful - the power supply for the Obey 10 was a 9 volt but the input said 12 - so I swapped that out to a 12.

I added a second new 36 watt light into the mix, and both new lights went out. The older 24 watt ones all still worked.

SO my guess would be an incompatibility between the 36 watt lights and the Obey 10 that only shows up when 2 or more are hooked up. I haven't been able to find a description of how to adjust speed or frames (not that I know what those are) but I did find the reset to factory method. Didn't help though.

I don't have enough hair left on my head to be pulling any out, but I surely would if I could.

Fascinating.  Do you have a decent voltmeter or a scope? 


Take a DMX cable apart to expose the pins.  Measure DC volts between the + and - pins.  If you have scope what is the swing?


You are on the right track with the power supply.  Sounds like you may not have a good signal.  One other thing to think about it cheap lights may bot properly regenerate the signal and simply tap and pass.  That would create a slight load so downstream fixtures would be more effected by the degraded signal.

[Neil Speers]

Fascinating.  Do you have a decent voltmeter or a scope? 


Take a DMX cable apart to expose the pins.  Measure DC volts between the + and - pins.  If you have scope what is the swing?

I do have a meter, but no scope - will have to try measuring this weekend.

You are on the right track with the power supply.  Sounds like you may not have a good signal.  One other thing to think about it cheap lights may bot properly regenerate the signal and simply tap and pass.  That would create a slight load so downstream fixtures would be more effected by the degraded signal.

What I thought interesting was that the other lights worked fine, even after putting the 36 watt first in the daisy chain, and the other 36 watt last - the other two lights still worked fine.

So yes, the two 36 watts would stop working when both in the daisychain - but the two 24 watts continued to work fine in the middle of the daisy chain. But only with the Obey10.

[Neil Speers]

So - some success today. I was up near Long & McQuade so I popped in and asked what they might know about the issues I'm having with DMX. All the usual answers - but they rent out the Orion ORControl - which is a handles 12 lights with 16 channels each, all the usual scene's, chases, etc, as well as midi and a joystick for fixtures that work with that.

So I rented one for the weekend to see if it's better than the Chauvet - and sure enough got all 7 of my lights lit up at once (in a quick test, mostly ganged on channel one but this was the best light show I've had with DMX.)

I can't find any information beyond the basic on the Orion - here's the model that someone's selling on eBay: http://www.ebay.ca/itm/ORION-ORCONTROL-UNIVERSAL-DMX512-JOYSTICK-MIDI-LIGHT-CONTROLLER-15-INSTANT-OFF-/322376771208

I can get it for about $40 CAN less than the eBay price with shipping etc.

Anyone know anything about Orion products?

[Jeff Lelko]

So yes, the two 36 watts would stop working when both in the daisychain - but the two 24 watts continued to work fine in the middle of the daisy chain. But only with the Obey10.

What happens if you alternate the fixtures - 36/24/36/24?  If the last 24 responds but the second 36 doesn't, you can probably deduce that there's something weird going on with the 36s.  It might be that they have less tolerance for "barely in spec" DMX signals, and using the wrong AC adapter on the controller probably isn't helping.  If my memory serves me correctly, the voltage on both data pins (2 and 3) should be between +12 volts and -7 volts when measured to ground (pin 1).  If your multimeter supports it, set it to "max" and "min" voltage and take a reading with each so that you can get a proper range since the voltage on these pins will change very quickly. 

Updating to fit your most recent reply - glad to hear you had some success!  Your problem is probably a combination of poor signal from the Obey 10 (which is surprising, and may be due to the wrong AC adapter) and the 36s not having a high tolerance less than perfect signal.  If you get some time and feel adventurous, pop open the 36s and your cables to check the wiring.  Even a single strand of wire (usually the ground) touching a place that it shouldn't can also cause this type of weird behavior. 

As far as the Orion board - never heard of them.  It looks to be similar to the Obey 70, which despite not liking, would choose over this since you'd get a warranty and return policy on if it doesn't work.  Also, buy new...please...from a reputable dealer and not ebay.  If cost is really that big of a concern then I'd suggest pursuing a software option, but buying used budget-level equipment usually brings along more trouble than it's worth.  Just my two cents though! 

[Neil Speers]

What happens if you alternate the fixtures - 36/24/36/24?  If the last 24 responds but the second 36 doesn't, you can probably deduce that there's something weird going on with the 36s.  It might be that they have less tolerance for "barely in spec" DMX signals, and using the wrong AC adapter on the controller probably isn't helping.  If my memory serves me correctly, the voltage on both data pins (2 and 3) should be between +12 volts and -7 volts when measured to ground (pin 1).  If your multimeter supports it, set it to "max" and "min" voltage and take a reading with each so that you can get a proper range since the voltage on these pins will change very quickly. 

Did one last test and yes, the first position 36 and third position 36 watters did not work, but the 24watters in 2nd and 4th position (daisy chain wise) did work.

I'll try measuring the voltage later this weekend when I have some time just to see if there's something funky with this board. But, I got it from a guy who'd bought it for his church but the person in charge of sound and light at the church felt it wasn't big enough for their use, which is why - according to the guy I bought it from - they were selling it after using it 3 times. So hypothetically it should be in proper shape. It did come with the original box, but no instructions.

Updating to fit your most recent reply - glad to hear you had some success!  Your problem is probably a combination of poor signal from the Obey 10 (which is surprising, and may be due to the wrong AC adapter) and the 36s not having a high tolerance less than perfect signal.  If you get some time and feel adventurous, pop open the 36s and your cables to check the wiring.  Even a single strand of wire (usually the ground) touching a place that it shouldn't can also cause this type of weird behavior. 

Btw - I did find and use a properly configured 12 volt adapter and no change in behaviours. I would agree with your assessment.

And I had actually popped one open to see what was inside and there were no loose or misplaced wires, that I could see. And it would have to be on all four as I had tried all the combinations to see if any two would work together.

As far as the Orion board - never heard of them.  It looks to be similar to the Obey 70, which despite not liking, would choose over this since you'd get a warranty and return policy on if it doesn't work.  Also, buy new...please...from a reputable dealer and not ebay.  If cost is really that big of a concern then I'd suggest pursuing a software option, but buying used budget-level equipment usually brings along more trouble than it's worth.  Just my two cents though!

The Orion board is available new in box at the Long & McQuade I rented it from at the price I mentioned was well below the eBay cost of one I found. So yes it would have a return policy and full factory warranty plus I'd probably get the extended warranty which would allow an in store replacement if things go wrong.

One thing I like about L&M is they are not on commission - and they've been very happy to always tell me when gear is garbage. But the Orion boards seem to have worked well for their clients and considering these are in the rental pool (we know how that gear is treated) and they haven't had problems, at least speaks well for the quality of the boards.

Honestly I'd be reluctant to try another Chauvet board without renting it first to make sure it works, but non are for rent that I can find locally. I have considered going the software route, but I'm the guitarist in our band and while I could easily reach over and hit a button to call up a scene a chase between songs, I wouldn't be sitting down at the computer to call them up.

A big thank you to everyone who chimed in with great answers and suggestions.

I'll have some more questions about the finer points of all this, but I'll let what we've got so far sink in for a bit.

[Neil Speers]

Just looking at the Orion site http://orion-fxlights.com/ and noticed that associated companies include Yorkville and Traynor amps (as well as a few others) which makes me think they are in the same corporate group, not to mention association with Long & McQuade. Yorkville and Traynor both build very decent products, so I would hope the Orion products would be decent quality.

[ProSoundWeb Community]