Working the Way the Live Event Sector Already Works — But Wireless

By Dr Dominik Ostrowski, MIET — Founder and embedded-systems engineer, Think Radio

How do I connect up the STATION-X / Z-RAY system

It's how we all start, what do I plug in and where?

What connectors does STATION-X have? It has 2 inputs, and 2 outputs (well, 3 outputs, if you consider the radio signal as an output).

What are they? The most important input - the USB-C - because it powers the STATION-X. No power, no radio signal (and the little amber-glow internal LEDs come on to remind you that it's powered).

That USB-C power source can be your laptop (and it can, but doesn't have to, deliver DMX over USB at the same time), or it can be a phone charger, or it can be a power bank (STATION-X can easily run on a power bank)

The other input is standard 5-pin DMX (please don't use 3-pin microphone cables - they have the wrong impedance) to add in anywhere directly to your DMX daisy-chain.

So 2 inputs - and rotary dial to select which one you want to send out as a radio signal to the Z-RAYs (plus 3 other positions for lamp test, blackout, and house lights).

And 2 outputs - what are those? We just covered one - it's a simple passive loop-through 5-pin DMX, so that you can add a STATION-X wherever is convenient for you (ideally, place it high - it's a radio transmitter).

The other output is also 5-pin DMX, but this is the USB-C source converted to standard DMX512.

So 2 inputs, 2 outputs, one being passive DMX loop-through, the other being DMX-over-USB being converted to standard DMX. They both run continuously, regardless of the rotary switch setting, passing on wired-DMX (so you can leave everything permanently connected if you want - no need to unplug anything).

And a rotary switch to decide which input gets sent out as a radio signal (or any of the 3 internal modes lamp test, blackout, house lights).

If you're using the USB-C input - then your setup is the equivalent of an ENTTEC USB-PRO. If it the DMX input, you've got just another (or possibly the only) device in the DMX daisy-chain.

(and also remember that all Z-RAYs have a 5-pin DMX output so can act as a wireless bridge)

What "the way the sector already works" actually means

What are you using? A traditional lighting desk? A laptop? What software?

No matter what you're using, STATION-X / Z-RAY aims to be plug-and-play.

If connected to a laptop, STATION-X will appear as a generic ENTTEC OPEN DMX USB (in fact it uses exactly the same FTDI interface chip - guaranteeing compatibility*).

The other input, standard 5-pin DMX512 - the traditional bedrock.

However, with either, you get the built-in advantage of radio - infinite fan-out.

In radio there's no such thing as a DMX-splitter, or overloading the daisy-chain connection with too many lights!

(* to your computer, STATION-X identifies itself as a generic ENTTEC OPEN DMX USB — the same USB Vendor/Product ID, which (unlike the Pro’s proprietary ID) is free for anyone to use, so any software with Open DMX USB support works immediately, no driver hunting required. Under the hood, though, STATION-X’s actual DMX handling matches the Pro’s architecture, not the Open DMX USB’s: an onboard microprocessor does the framing and buffering, so a laptop CPU spike or stutter never touches the output.)

What changes versus wired — and what deliberately doesn't

Put STATION-X in a good position.

"IN A CLEAR LINE OF SIGHT. ABOVE HEAD HEIGHT" - as its says on STATION-X. If your space is large - then ideally equidistant from the furthest-most Z-RAYs.

Well that's the ideal practice. At least don't stick it inside a metal box on the wrong side of a huge wall. Give those radio signals a chance!

And that's really it. That's all that changes.

Why this matters to the person actually running the show

Do I even need to explain why this all matters? You already know.

Every roadie, every team, rigs meticulously - knowing that everything must work, one-shot, first-time - on the night. No opportunities to give something else a try, if the first thing doesn't work. And virtually always, always time-pressure.

This is where Z-RAY really wins. Nearly all problems are data-cable, power-cable or problems with their connectors. Z-RAY is completely self-contained. The only critical dependency is that radio signal - and Think Radio has put the work into making that a very robust radio signal. And every Z-RAY is working independently of all the others - whilst a broken DMX daisy chain is every downstream device going down.

And we haven't even yet mentioned eliminating cable-trip hazards, and mains-power hazards, and that Z-RAY could, in-extremis, function as an emergency lighting system (just twist that rotary knob to HOUSE lights).