Photon 2 DMX Light Controller Training Part 1 Quick SetUp But Limited MIDI Control of LED RGB Device

The advantage of this is smooth fades for your own custom sequences and easy presets for LED RGB fixtures

[@photonios5449]

Thank you for this intuitive tutorial, step by step for using Photon. This QuickStart will be very helpful for many users who want learn Photon basics. Good job !

[@VoortVlugtend]

Great work John, looking into this app. Thanks for the video!

[@livingdevotion1944]

Hi John, I appreciate the video as it has gotten me up to speed on setting up my actual lights. However, as yet, I have no light control. I have walked through the steps in the quick start guide a dozen times and re-set everything in between. I still can't get my iPad to talk to the AN2. Could you write a step by step tutorial about all the set up that happens before you get to the place where this video starts or has anyone already done this? Any help will be appreciated. Thank you

[@CaliforniaCreedence]

Most definitely! The AN2 is not that easy to set up. Sometimes I have to walk people through it over the phone. It takes learning something about IP addresses. The AN2 IP address has to be configured before it will work with your setup. Your network IP is likely 192.168.1.1 and the AN2 is 2.0.0.1 and these will not work together. So, the AN2's IP address has to be changed to the network IP. Steps are to log into your router, set the router IP to 2.0.0.4 (leave subnet mask the same, and leave DHCP enabled). Once that is done, navigate to 2.0.0.1 by typing it into the URL address in a browser. Username is Admin and password is Admin. AN2 control panel will be revealed. Change the IP address of the AN2 to 192.168.1.33 and switch from ArtNet to sacn and hit save. You will no longer see the AN2 on the network. So, log into your router by typing the new address you gave it a few steps ago (2.0.0.4). Change the IP address back to 192.168.1.1 (when you hit save, it will restart). Log into your router with your ipad, connect the AN2 to the router if it wasn't already from when you were configuring it. Your DMX lights will now work from Photon2. If this still doesn't work for you, email me at johnobrien@californiacreedence and I will give my phone number to walk you through it.

[@Riffman42]

Hey John! Very interesting using an ipad for lights. Have you done a video (or could point me to) about how you're actually connecting this to your lights?

[@CaliforniaCreedence]

Friday it will be up. I guess I should have done the hardware set up first!

[@marcbernuy5961]

I just picked up a 32ch dmx512 decoder and a pknight wifi dmx connection and I can’t find a way to set it up. Plans to program the lights for my drummer to follow them via a click track. Any advice…..

[@CaliforniaCreedence]

Hi Marc, sorry the long delay. I have been busy and I have shows today and tomorrow, but I thought I would get back to you really quickly. I would say that the pknight will work in the system, if it is a DMX node. That is, Photon2 will be able to see it. The RGB can easily be programmed in Photon 2 if you have a look at Part 2 of my training. It will tell you how to build your controller (very easy). If you do not plan to use MIDI to trigger the decoder, the the quick setup in this video would be the way to go. If you plan to use MIDI and need control over colors, you will want to check out Part 2 on how to control your device/lights. Of course, the light array follows the same rules of channel distribution (1 to 6 = 1 to 6, 7 to 12 = 1 to 6, 13 to 18 = 1 to 6 etc.). The BIG question is if the pknight can hold up since it is wirelessly connected to the router as opposed to wired (and whether Photon considers it a dmx node). Or look over the 32 control functions and Part 2 will tell you how o customize Photon to suit the decoder.

[@marcbernuy5961]

@@CaliforniaCreedence John no worries on the delay, I totally appreciate your time and response. I’m kinda pulling my hair with this as I haven’t really messed around with dmx, addressing etc ever. But nevertheless I’m going to keep at it and check out your other tutorials and see if they help. I know The pknights communicating with the iPad and the decoder but now my issue is addressing (iPad + pknight + 32ch DMX Decider) . When I make the connection it only works with white lights, rgb’s are not responding (dmx decoder address to 001). So I’m not sure if I have to change the LCD address in the decoder to the RGB address 513,514,515 or ……. This whole things new to me. Also once I figure that out I have to figure out how to get multitrack to send midi click/backing track signals to Photon ( but that’s once I figure out the first part)

[@iablackops]

I apologize if this was in one of your other vidoes, couldn't track it down, but what network connected DMX Controller are you using?

[@CaliforniaCreedence]

No need to apologize! I am more than happy to help. The app Photon is the controller and sends commands via WiFi to a non internet router with the Chauvet DMX-AN2 node connected with a CAT5 cable to the router. The AN2 has a DMX port on one end and an Ethernet jack on the other to convert the WiFi commands sent from Photon on the iPad to DMX cables to the lights.

[@iablackops]

@@CaliforniaCreedence DMX-AN2 was what I was looking for, thank you!

[@CaliforniaCreedence]

@@iablackops The DMX King node is what I also have. Same as the DMX-AN2. DMX King Pro Max 1 is more expensive, and flexible. I still only use the DMXAN2. The main complaint about the AN2 is the IP configuration for the router because it is on ip 2.0.0.1 and folks don’t know how to change that. Just get an old router, make the router local static address as IP 2.0.0.0, Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0, and enable DHCP. Restart the router with these settings. Connect to the router via WiFi and connect the AN2 with an Ethernet cable. Put 2.0.0.1 into your internet browser and change the IP settings on the AN2 to something easy like 192.168.1.100, Subnet 255.255.255.0 and Gateway 192.168.1.1. Power off the AN2, reset your router (it usually defaults to 192.168.1.1). Connect to the router, power on the AN2 and connected it to the router, put 192.168.1.100 in your browser, and there it will be. Visible and ready for action. If you need help setting it up let me know, because if you don’t get the IP’s correct, it won’t work. DMX King is $100 more, is fantastic, easy to set up, but I keep it as my backup to the AN2.