Lightronics FC816 - Manual (Page 5)

Page 5 of 7
FC - 816 CONTROL CONSOLE
Version 1.1
OWNERS MANUAL
02/20/2005
www.lightronics.com
Lightronics Inc. 509 Central Drive Virginia Beach, VA 23454 Tel 757 486 3588
RECORDING TO A MIDI SEQUENCER
1. Disconnect any cable connected to the MIDI INPUT connector.
2. Set the THRU/TRANSMIT switch (on rear of unit) to "TRANSMIT".
3.
Operate the FC-816 normally. The appropriate commands will be sent to the MIDI sequencer. The FC-816
uses "Control Change" commands to select the scene number, chase number, fade rate, and chase rate.
These control changes may be edited by most MIDI sequencers. See "FC-816 MIDI COMMANDS" for
specific syntax and structure.
PLAYING BACK A MIDI SEQUENCER RECORDING
1. Connect the MIDI sequencer output signal to the MIDI IN connector of the FC-816.
2. The FC-816 will respond to "Control Change" commands issued from the sequencer. The current scene,
current chase, scene fade rate, and chase rate may be altered by the sequencer. See "FC-816 MIDI
COMMANDS" for specific command syntax and structure.
FC - 816 MIDI COMMANDS
The FC-816 responds to MIDI "Control Change" messages. A control change message is one of the MIDI
channel voice message types. The message consists of 3 bytes which are interpreted by the FC-816 as
MIDICMD, CONTROL NUMBER, and CONTROL DATA.
The MIDICMD byte is Bx hex where x = the MIDI channel number (1 - 16). For example MIDI channel 1 is B0
hex, channel 2 is B1 hex, and channel 16 is BF hex. The high 4 bits (B) identify the message as a control change
message. The low 4 bits contain the channel number.
The CONTROL NUMBER byte tells the FC-816 which function is to be changed. Valid control numbers are
defined as follows:
01 = fade rate 50 = scene number
02 - chase rate 60 = chase number
All other control number values are ignored.
The CONTROL DATA byte is a number between 0 and 127 which provides a value for changing the function
identified by the control number above. For example, if the control number is 01 (fade rate) then the data byte will
contain the actual fade rate value. The CONTROL DATA values for each CONTROL NUMBER are as follows:
•
FADE RATE (01) The value is given in 4/10th second increments. 0 = instant, 1 = .4 sec, 5 = 2.0 sec, etc. up
to a maximum of 127 which equates to 50.8 sec. In formula form: chase rate = .4 sec. x value.
•
CHASE RATE (02) The value is given in steps per minute and is set by the formula: 1200/value. There is a
minimum of aprox. 10 steps per minute.
•
SCENE NUMBER (50) The value is the scene number to activate. 0 = blackout, 1 thru 8 = scene number, 9
= manual scene. Values of 10 and greater are ignored.
•
CHASE NUMBER (60) The value is the chase number to activate. 0 = chase off, 1 thru 4 = chase number.
Values of 5 and greater are ignored.
LINKING FC - 816 UNITS USING MIDI
Linking the MIDI OUT from an FC-816 to the MIDI IN of another FC-816 will cause the units to act together as a
32 channel, 8 scene, 4 chase unit. Seperate control cables for each FC-816 are still necessary. Two sets of 16
dimmer channels are utilized.