DJzone DJ Magazine

Elation Control Systems has announced a software update that gives its Show Designer 1 and Show Designer 2CF intelligent DMX controllers the power to set an entire parade of light shows in motion, thanks to an exciting new feature called “Show Link.”

In the past, most, larger DMX consoles like the Show Designer models required you to manually call up shows. But with the latest Show Link upgrade, club and mobile lighting professionals can program light shows to trigger one after another automatically – no “human intervention” required!

“Previously, you had to trigger each show individually, which meant you had to have a person there to do it,” said John Lopez, national sales manager for Elation Control Systems. “But with the Show Link feature you can select a bunch of shows that you want to sequence, and they will run back-to-back in the order specified.

“This is obviously a big convenience for clubs and DJs. They can set all their light shows in motion at the beginning of the evening, then forget about it and concentrate on other things like playing music and emcee-ing.”

Capable of commanding an entire club’s lighting, the popular Show Designer 1 and Show Designer 2CF consoles come pre-programmed with a massive library of fixture settings from many leading manufacturers. Since their introduction, Elation has made continuous upgrades for these powerful intelligent lighting consoles available to the end-user at no charge.

Available as a free online download, the new software update is a prime example of how Elation is committed to bringing the latest technologies and features to Show Designer owners so that their consoles are never outmoded. To complete the download, users can simply go to the company’s website (www.elationlighting.com) Under Products, search for Show Designer 1 or 2CF. There you will find a software update link:

Version V3.11 for Show Designer 1

Version V1.16 for Show Designer 2CF

In addition to the new Show Link feature, the download also includes an update of the Show Designer 1 and Show Designer 2CF fixture libraries. When the new fixture settings are installed, Show Designer 1 and Show Designer 2CF consoles become capable of operating an even wider range of DMX intelligent lighting products.

Show Designer 1 can control up to 512 DMX channels, including 16 large moving fixtures (up to 32 channels each) or 16 groups of smaller fixtures. The MIDI-compatible controller can hold up to 1,024 scenes, 512 presets, 256 chases and 256 shows.

Other user-friendly features of the Show Designer 1 include a convenient pan/tilt joystick; 8 faders that allow direct control of channel settings for 32-channel fixtures; 1 encoder wheel for control of chase speed, crossfade times or data entry; and a 32-character backlit LCD display for easy programming.

The Show Designer 2CF features 2 universe outputs, allowing the unit to control a total of 1,024 DMX channels. The Show Designer 2CF’s built-in compact flash drive lets you store the controller’s entire memory on one 64MB compact flash card, giving users the ability to safely back up their scenes, chases and shows.

The two universe outputs of the Show Designer 2CF can function as a “splitter,” so the controller can operate light shows in two different rooms or areas of a club at the same time. The console can control 48 lighting fixtures (up to 32 channels) and hold up to 1,152 chases, 4,752 scenes and 1,152 shows.

The Show Designer 2CF benefits from other advanced features like an 80-character backlit LCD display for easy programming, a pan/tilt joystick, 48 multi-function quick-access buttons, 8 faders for scene master playbacks, scene preview with “Go” feature, RS-232 port for PC interfacing, RCA audio input for chase step triggering, and four encoder wheels for navigating through the menu options and accessing fixture attributes.