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[David J. Bingham]

I have (5) RGBW fixtures that are being told to run a static color, but will randomly flash red, green, blue, white.  Lighting is being controlled by ESA PRO software on a STICK 1 controller.  I've arranged scenes within the stick to show only static light on all fixtures, however, the random flashing of other colors persists on these (5) fixtures.  All my other fixtures show color as programmed through ESA PRO.  I am looking for advice as to the next step in troubleshooting these lights, the goal being to only show a static color on all of the fixtures in question.  My thoughts are:
-Loose wiring at junction boxes
-daisy chain incomplete
-faulty RGBW LEDS
-faulty drivers
-firmware out dated on STICK 1
I am a commercial HVAC Technician by trade, doing some volunteer work for my Parish.  Any advice, guidance, or suggestions would be appreciated.  Also any input on the professional validity of the ESA PRO software would be beneficial.  I am not a professional lighting tech, but I know my way around the business end of multimeters and BAS systems for HVAC.   Thanks in advance for the help.  Insults and jokes are welcome!  

[Paul G. OBrien]

All fixtures must be set and locked into slave mode, is that possible with these? Some cheaper things automatically switch back to master and this makes them unusable in a larger deployment.

If that is done but the problem persists..
- Are the interconnect cables DMX or just mic cable?
- Is there a DMX terminator on the last fixture?

You could try breaking the system up into sub sections with an optical splitter, that electrically isolates the branches so they cannot interfere with one another.

[duane massey]

+1 on the splitter. I've had real good luck with these:  http://www.usledsupply.com/shop/dmx-splitter-1-8.html

[Paul Johnson]

Random flashes - and odd moves in moving lights are usually unterminated runs. Is the last one in the chain terminated properly. If they are not, they can work fine for ages, then suddenly do bizarre things. Lots of people do not terminate, because they've never had grief, but then suddenly they become unstable. I'd check this before anything else.

[David J. Bingham]

Outstanding, gentlemen!  I appreciate all the responses.  I will definitely look into Master/Slave relationships and termination.  The splitter may be a little beyond my technical expertise, but I will do some research and look into that idea as well.  Improper termination or poor connections will be my next step, I suspected this might be part if not all of the issue.  I will keep everyone posted as to the final resolution.  Thanks again! 

[Dave Garoutte]

Outstanding, gentlemen!  I appreciate all the responses.  I will definitely look into Master/Slave relationships and termination.  The splitter may be a little beyond my technical expertise, but I will do some research and look into that idea as well.  Improper termination or poor connections will be my next step, I suspected this might be part if not all of the issue.  I will keep everyone posted as to the final resolution.  Thanks again!

I have also seen one wonky fixture or cable cause random problems throughout the chain.  Remove one fixture at a time from the chain and see if the problem goes away.

[duane massey]

Outstanding, gentlemen!  I appreciate all the responses.  I will definitely look into Master/Slave relationships and termination.  The splitter may be a little beyond my technical expertise, but I will do some research and look into that idea as well.  Improper termination or poor connections will be my next step, I suspected this might be part if not all of the issue.  I will keep everyone posted as to the final resolution.  Thanks again!

Splitter is pretty straight-forward. Just run the DMX signal in to it, and then run separate cables to each group of fixtures. It makes cabling much easier, and can make troubleshooting a breeze.

[ProSoundWeb Community]