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[Chris Jewett]

Has anyone ever run into trouble using NSI 2408 CD/CR dimmers with DMX? My church recently switched from Microplex to DMX and the dimmers aren't responding correctly unless I power cycle them before each use. The dimmers were installed about 9 years ago and have been working happily on Microplex the whole time. I'm pretty sure the lighting desk (Pathway Cognito 2) isn't at fault- it works great with our other new LED lights.

Many thanks!

[duane massey]

Used these quite a bit in years gone by, never saw this problem. Maybe call NSI, their tech dept used to be very helpful.

[Cailen Waddell]

So to be clear,  you power everything up, it works.  You shut down console, leaving dimmers on, come back, turn console on and it doesn't work?


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[Scott Hofmann]

I've also worked with these dimmers quite a bit in the past and haven't had any problems using DMX. Surely someone changed the input connections to the 2408CD power supply card from Microplex to DMX when the new console was installed? The other thing you could try is a deep clear/reset of the two driver cards:
NSI 2408CD DRIVER CARD DEEP CLEAR/RESET INSTRUCTIONS

Follow steps in strict order..
1.   With power ON, set DIP switch #8 to ON.
2.   Remove MEMORY ENABLE jumper.
3.   Turn off main power.
4.   Turn on main power.
5.   Replace MEMORY ENABLE jumper.
6.   Set DIP switch #8 to OFF.

[Chris Jewett]

Thanks for the replies.

I've called and emailed tech support several times; no luck. It always works when I get off the phone, but if I come back in a few days it goes back to not working.

Cailen, yes that's correct.

Scott, yes new wiring for DMX. I left the MPX wire in place though not plugged into a console.

I like the idea of a deep reset. I do have four remote wall panels, would that clear memories from them as well?

[Scott Hofmann]

Chris-
From reading the remote panel instructions, it looks like they store their own parameters, so a deep reset of the 2408CD should not affect them. However, I've never actually used remote panels, so proceed at your own risk or make another call to NSI for verification.

[Chris Jewett]

Alright, thanks I will give that a try.

The other option I was going to go with is to get a DMX to MPX converter.  Since the dimmers seem to do well on microplex, I figure it's just as well to convert to that.

[Scott Hofmann]

You should not have to convert to Multiplex to make the dimmers work properly.
The 2408CD design is pretty old. It might be a problem with DMX speed. I believe there have been a few firmware upgrades to the processor chip. You might look at the sticker on the chip and compare with NSI's latest version number.
Does the Cognito have a way to decrease the DMX rate? The tech support people at Pathway are excellent and very accessible.  It would be worth your time to contact them, explain the issue, and see what they have to say as well.
They just might have run into the same problem before.

You could test the theory by using a different (older perhaps) DMX console and see how the dimmers respond.

[Chris Jewett]

I don't know about the version number, I will check. I did recently have to replace one of the firing cards (the power wire got caught in the chassis and shorted during troubleshooting), and the new card still has the issue. I can compare the numbers on the original cards with the new one.

I've tried switching the rate, didn't seem to do anything. I also thought the console might be a problem, so I got an Enttec OpenDMX USB with Martin M-PC to test and it showed the same problem. I agree Pathway does have great support!

I didn't want to muddy the original post, but just to be clear: The configuration of the dimmers is three dimmer packs; one CD and two CR. The second pack is split so that the first four channels are dimming and the other four are relay. Thus, channels 1-12 in this system are dimmers and 13-24 are relay. 99% of the time it's the relay channels (florescent house lights) that don't respond to control, or if I can turn them on, they won't go back off.

[ProSoundWeb Community]