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[Jozsef keresi]

I'm looking to getting into dmx light control. More as a hobbyist to do some amazing light shows for my friends and myself.  I'm currently looking at the obey line mostly the obey 10, 40, and 70. Now i understand all the basics cause I've watched every video imaginable. Anyway here's what I need to know, can multiple fixtures have the same channel  ( Such as 4 pars on #1)? Also lets say I made a chase like with as many scenes as I could, how long would that chase last?

[Gordon Brinton]

Yes, indeed. You can set every light fixture to the same starting channel if you want and they will all do the same thing. (As long as the fixtures are all similar as far as what each channel controls.)

Most controllers can repeat/cycle a chase over and over until you stop it. The overall length probably depends on the controller's limitations.

Welcome and good luck with your new hobby. It's a lot of fun.

[William Schnake]

Welcome and good luck with your new hobby. It's a lot of fun.

Right up to the point you start pulling your hair out....maybe that is just me...

Bill

[Jeff Lelko]

Right up to the point you start pulling your hair out....maybe that is just me...

I enjoy it, but if you want to "do some amazing light shows for my friends" it won't be with an Obey series product unless you want to pull your hair out as Bill mentioned.  The Obey boards and similar are really meant for the very basic program-once-and-forget applications.  Think along the lines of bars, bowling centers, roller rinks - venues that need something simple, generic, and easy for anyone to operate. 

My opinion is that if you're truly looking to learn how to program you should be directing your attention to a software + interface line of product, unless you're able to drop a few thousand on a true hardware console.  Even going the software route you'll have a tremendous amount of flexibility for programming and synchronization - much more than an Obey can give you, despite a similar price.  There are lots of threads here about this if you want to read up on the comparisons.  Hope this helps!

[Kevin Olson]

I agree with Jeff in that you will be happier with a software based controller in the long run. For just $100-$200 more than an Obey 40 you can get a DMX interface with software (assuming you already own a laptop). Not sure if you're up to it? You can download most of the software packages for free and play around with them to see if you like it and if it will work for your application. DMXIS is a good entry level software controller. It's free to download. You just need to purchase the hardware interface if you want to control your lights.

I use Chauvet Show Xpress software with a Show Xpress 100 USB interface. It will only handle 100 DMX channels but that's all that I need (especially if fixtures are sharing the same channels). It's a step up from DMXIS as far as capabilities but still fairly easy to use.

Search around on YouTube for tutorials on how to use these products. Once you get the hang of it they're much easier to use than a traditional hardware controller.

[ProSoundWeb Community]