ETC Unison Mosaic Designer v1.11.0 - Manual (Page 54)

Unison Mosaic Designer User Manual
DALI
This window need only be used if there are DALI ballasts in the project and one or more RIO D s or DALI-M Expan-
sion Modules are being used.
Overview
The Digital Addressable Lighting Interface (DALI) is a digital serial control protocol for architectural lighting.
Developed by Philips Lighting it has become a standard: IEC 60929. DALI differs from DMX in a number of import-
ant ways:
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Only 64 ballasts per DALI bus (interface)
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Only 16 groups per interface
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Only 16 scenes per interface
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Ballast configuration (including address), groups and scenes is uploaded to and stored in the ballasts them-
selves
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Topology-free DALI bus operates at very low data rates
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Command-based protocol, ballasts perform fades and maintain levels
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Only certain discrete fade values are permitted
As a result the DALI protocol is not suitable for rendering effects and media, programming is restricted purely to
recalling lighting levels via the Set Level and DALI Scene presets, see
DALI presets .
DALI interfaces
Each RIO D, TPC with TPC-RIO or DALI-M Expansion Module added to the system supports one DALI bus (up
to 64 ballasts) and is assigned to a DALI interface within Designer. Due to the nature of the DALI protocol, these
DALI interfaces are insular affairs with each having its own unique set of ballasts and groups. Each interface
must be configured and uploaded to individually.
When you add a RIO D , TPC with TPC-RIO or DALI-M Expansion Module you select which DALI interface it
should be assigned to. Only one device can be assigned to each interface. Use the Add Interface button on the
DALI toolbar to add another. Use Remove Interface to remove an unwanted one.
Up to 100 DALI interfaces can be added to a project, but the following restrictions apply:
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A TPC or an MSC 1 can support up to 16 RIO Ds.
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An MSC 2 can support up to 32 RIO Ds.
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An MSC 4 can support up to 64 RIO Ds.
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An MSC X can support up to 100 RIO Ds.
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An AVC cannot support any RIO Ds.
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The original MSC 1/2 hardware each support up to two DALI-M Expansion Modules.
DALI addressing & grouping
Each DALI interface is configured separately, use the pull-down on the DALI toolbar to select an interface for con-
figuration:
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