Thread: DMXorcist update available

Tweet

major changes
-compatible with VSA 4.032
-processor performance improved by 50%

http://cid-b68381e4f413d9cc.office.l...%5E_1%5E_7.zip

DMXorcist is only compatible with XP and 32bit versions of vista, though it may work with other OS in compatibility mode

Wow, what a wonderful Halloween suprise! Thanks so much Phoenix I've already written my huge routine. Will the new program take the routine fine?

Hopefully you should have no problems, the biggest issue I was getting was with the newer VSA version, and while in there I found a better way of controlling the processing rate of the DMX communication thread which has significantly reduced processor load.

Of course, let me know if you have any issues.

Ok, another final question. I have the older version of VSA (4.0). Should I bother to upgrade to that or leave it be (working fine for me). Also will this new version of DMXocist work fine with the older version of VSA?

Sorry for all the questions but don't want to take something working so far and possibly mess things up. But the better processor utilization really sounds appealing

Nice! I got DMXorcist some months back and installed it and everything worked fine. Then a few weeks ago I was going to do some experimenting with it to see if it would run 2 VSA routines simultaneously. DMXorcist kept telling me it was in the Demo mode. I went back to my emails and found the DMXorcist "key" and entered it but it still kept saying Demo mode. Is there something I'm doing wrong maybe?

As it turned out, I don't need DMXorcist this year, but I probably will next year. I noticed in VSA that there is a checkbox that says something like "enable simultaneous play" or something like that. I'm wondering if DMXorcist will play two VSA routines at the same time. If it will, I'm hoping that a second Enttec Pro box at a different address would allow me to set routines in another VSA file to run DMX devices. I'm thinking that if it did, it would give me another 128 channels I could use on that Enttec Pro box. I was also wondering if it would be possible to get VSA to essentially do the same thing with a second SSC-32 board.

@Terra newer versions of VSA have direct support for the Enttec Pro box, otherwise there is no huge benefit.

@Buckaneerdude do you have the exorcist box connected?, with the box and the code you should not see the demo mode message, and you should only have to enter the code once

YES DMXorcist can play up to 16 routines at the same time (but watch that processor load!!!).... and you don't need a second Enttec box, just use one Enttec box and network all your props, Each VSA routine can then write to whichever prop you wish that routine to address so you can have two completely separate sets working idependantly, or you can have them interacting... you can even use separate channels on the same output board for completely separate routine.

You cant mix DMX and serial devices with DMXorcist, Exorcist will allow this, but you will lose the ability to play multiple routines down the same DMX pipe.

Hey Terra, Just a suggestion but I'd probably wait until after Halloween to try out anything "new"....If your like me, you've got a ton of stuff left to do yet and messing up a perfectly working system will only add stress...I learned this the hard way recording music one time, I decided to "upgrade" the software right before a recording session and there were many unforseen issues that made the session much more stressful than it otherwise would have been had I just waited.....That's my experience anyway....ZR

Normally I agree, but few of my customers bother with any testing until a couple of weeks before Halloween, and seldom after, so I'm stuck with having to do fixes and releases immediately before showtime.... fortunately for those concerned I'm usually pretty good at such under the gun fixes.... besides, we still have over 4 weeks before Halloween, normally I consider myself lucky to have 4 days to fix these issues.....

Its probably better to think of this as an alert to those who have not bothered to look at their system for the past 11 month, to get their asses in gear, and by making sure that all these people have the latest version it makes my life easier by not getting bothered by bugs I fixed 2/3 years ago.

So... Here's the latest version.... get it, install it and test it NOW, alert me to problems and THEY WILL GET FIXED.... telephone me on Oct 31st with a problem that you only just discovered and I may be of no help at all!

You both make great points. Well....I'll just stand in front of the computer, take a big swig of wine and make the call right there and then. So, I guess it will depend on my mood. The wine always helps with the courage

By the way, I've got 7 routines running on DMXorcist using 2 floor mat triggers, 1 push button and a new Rf (radio frequency) remote. All are working great. Thanks so much for this program Phoenix. Every time I mess with it I'm astonished at how sophisticated yet easy it is to program. You are 'Da Bomb!

Originally Posted by Phoenix_AU_was_UK

@Buckaneerdude do you have the exorcist box connected?, with the box and the code you should not see the demo mode message, and you should only have to enter the code once

YES DMXorcist can play up to 16 routines at the same time (but watch that processor load!!!).... and you don't need a second Enttec box, just use one Enttec box and network all your props, Each VSA routine can then write to whichever prop you wish that routine to address so you can have two completely separate sets working idependantly, or you can have them interacting... you can even use separate channels on the same output board for completely separate routine.

You cant mix DMX and serial devices with DMXorcist, Exorcist will allow this, but you will lose the ability to play multiple routines down the same DMX pipe.

Yes I did have the Exorcist box connected and windows did its little beep when I plugged it in. I tried restarting and stuff like that but I just couldn't get it to work. Maybe reinstall DMXorcist?

So if I use the same Enttec box and say I have a device on DMX channel 101 in one VSA routine, how would I get another VSA routine running simultaneously to address a different device on the 101 channel? I don't understand how the DMX chain would know which device is supposed to respond to the signal coming down the line.

And if I am interpreting you correctly, I can't use DMXorcist to run serial devices like the SSC-32 board? So where I am today is that I'm using all 32 outputs on the SSC-32 board for servos and nearly all of the remaining channels available in VSA for DMX lights and dimmer/relays. If I wanted to expand beyond where I am today and add more DMX lights and servos I'm not sure how I would do that. Would I have to ditch the SSC-32 and go to several DMX servo controller boards?