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Cinetix RS-232 DMX Control Box
The RS-232 / DMX512 Control Box was developed with a view of expanding computer based multimedia projects by use of lighting techniques.
It can be operated as a DMX transmitter and as a DMX receiver simultaneously.
Merge feature: received DMX data are merged with user generated DMX levels to be retransmitted at DMX OUT.
In contrast to proprietary control equipment the RS-232 / DMX512 Control Box can be operated with any kind of software which is capable to transmit and receive via a serial COM port.
Primarily all commands are sent and all feedback is received in ASCII text format. As an alternative to ASCII syntax, the most essential features of the box can be operated with a compact binary data format, which provides a higher throughput and easier handling together with some kind of control application.
This way the DMX lighting bus is easily integrated into applications, which support serial ports together with a scripting language. Known examples are Macromedia Director and Visual Basic. Office-applications can be used, too when appropriate dynamic libraries are added.
In a most simple case - especially to set up or debug computer controlled lighting installations - manual interactive operation is possible with a simple terminal program.
The range of use is not restricted to Windows-, Linux- or Macintosh computers. Suitable serial ports are available at many handheld devices, industrial controls or special hardware based media controls. In addition to the default rate of 115.2 kilobaud, 57600, 38400, 19200 and 9600 baud are configurable.
Activity and mode of operation is monitored with a red/green dual colour LED.
RS-232 connector:
This interface is intentionally kept simple: only the lines RxD, TxD and signal ground are necessary - but a fully assembled cable works well, too. To simplify operation together with modems and some sort of software, the RTS and CTS lines are wired together inside at the RS-232 connector.