Gobo (DDF-Syntax) DMXC3

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Books.png Gobo (DDF-Syntax) DMXC3 Article describes
DMXControl 3.2.3
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Table of Contents
Part 1: Basics
Part 2: Functions
Part 3: Procedures
Part 4: Examples


The syntax elements of the Gobo sub-area are used to control a gobo wheel including its additional functions such as continuous rotation of individual gobos in various directions, positioning at a specific angle (gobo indexing), and using the gobo shake.


Gobo wheel

With the help of a gobo, a moving head or scanner projects various figures and motifs into space or onto the dance floor.

The number of gobos for a gobo wheel is effectively unlimited. However, due to technical limitations, only 255 different gobos plus open (no gobo) are possible. A DMX channel can only accept values between 0 and 255. In total, up to three gobo wheels can be created in a DDF.


Attention The following variations are not supported by DDFCreator and must be edited manually after insertion:
  • Activation of gobo indexing via a separate DMX channel
  • Activation and adjustment of the gobo rotation direction via a separate DMX channel, adjustment of rotation speed via the DMX channel for gobo speed
  • Activation and adjustment of the continuous rotation direction of the gobo wheel via a separate DMX channel, adjustment of rotation speed via the actual DMX channel for the gobo wheel

Basic functions

For the gobo wheel, the file name of the gobo icon is always stored in the val attribute. The icons then appear automatically with the icons in the gobo control as well as in the Device Control. The "clear name" of the gobo is entered in the caption attribute, which is also output in the device control. With the help of the gobo icons, the Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) of DMXControl 3 automatically selects the gobos from various devices that are most similar. If no gobo icons are stored in the DDF, the DDF can still be used, but automatic selection of the most similar gobos from different devices is not available in this case.


Important hint Due to the age of the DDFCreator, it does not recognize the directory introduced in the meantime "Custom DDFs" or "User Devices". As a result, the icons for the gobos must be inserted manually, for example using Notepad++[1] and the supporting plugin XML-Tools.
Important Hint It is permissible to enter the same values for the mindmx and maxdmx attributes. This is always necessary when the gobo wheel does not have a fixed position for a particular gobo and can be positioned arbitrarily.


Case Code example
Standard 
<gobowheel dmxchannel="0">
  <step type="open" mindmx="0" maxdmx="15" caption="Open" />
  <step type="gobo" val="congostar.png" mindmx="16" maxdmx="31" caption="Gobo 1" />
  <step type="gobo" val="sunburst.png" mindmx="32" maxdmx="47" caption="Gobo 2" />
  <step type="gobo" val="thinbars.png" mindmx="48" maxdmx="63" caption="Gobo 3" />
  ...
</gobowheel>

Gobo wheel on DMX channel 1:

  • No gobo (open) between DMX values 0 and 15.
  • Gobo 1 between DMX values 16 and 31, file name of the icon is congostar.png.
  • Gobo 2 between DMX values 32 and 47, file name of the icon is sunburst.png.
  • Gobo 3 between DMX values 48 and 63, file name of the icon is thinbars.png.
Activation of the selection of full gobos via a second DMX channel 
<gobowheel dmxchannel="0">
  <support dmxchannel="1" name="gobowheel" >
    <step mindmx="0" maxdmx="15" />
  </support>
  <step type="open" mindmx="0" maxdmx="15" caption="Open" />
  <step type="gobo" val="congostar.png" mindmx="16" maxdmx="31" caption="Gobo 1" />
  <step type="gobo" val="sunburst.png" mindmx="32" maxdmx="47" caption="Gobo 2" />
  <step type="gobo" val="thinbars.png" mindmx="48" maxdmx="63" caption="Gobo 3" />
  ...
</gobowheel>

Gobo wheel on DMX channel 1, if DMX value on DMX channel 2 is between 0 and 15:

  • No gobo (open) between DMX values 0 and 15.
  • Gobo 1 between DMX values 16 and 31, file name of the icon is congostar.png.
  • Gobo 2 between DMX values 32 and 47, file name of the icon is sunburst.png.
  • Gobo 3 between DMX values 48 and 63, file name of the icon is thinbars.png.
Attribute type val mindmx maxdmx caption
Description File name of the icon for the gobo Lower DMX value for the gobo Upper DMX value for the gobo Description of the gobo
Permissible attribute value open
gobo 		*.png-files 0 to 255 0 to 255 Text

Additional functions

For individual functions of the channel for the gobo wheel, the following additional functions are possible:

  • goboindex: Alignment of the gobo at a specific angle, known as gobo indexing
  • goborotation: Continuous rotation of the gobo in various directions
  • goboshake: Gobo shake, i.e., moving the gobo back and forth at various speeds on the same DMX channel
  • wheelrotation: Continuous rotation of the gobo wheel

Except for the rotation of the entire gobo wheel, these additional functions can be called in three different ways:

  • For the control of the additional functions, one or more separate DMX channels are used.
  • The additional functions are on the same DMX channel as the gobo wheel itself.
  • Although the control of the functions is also on a separate DMX channel, they are activated depending on a certain value range on the gobo wheel. In this case, the available gobos in the overview are listed multiple times.

Gobo indexing

Gobo indexing is used to align the gobo at a specific angle or position. Limiting the maximum rotation angle for gobo indexing to 360° is sometimes not sensible in terms of possible effects, which is why the maximum permissible rotation angle is larger.


Case Code example
Separate DMX channel for gobo indexing 
<gobowheel dmxchannel="0">
  <goboindex dmxchannel="1">
    <range range="360" mindmx="0" maxdmx="127" minval="0" maxval="360" />
  </goboindex>
  <step type="open" mindmx="0" maxdmx="15" caption="Open" />
  <step type="gobo" mindmx="16" maxdmx="31" val="congostar.png" caption="Gobo 1" />
  ...
</gobowheel>

Gobo wheel on DMX channel 1, gobo indexing on DMX channel 2:

  • Positioning / Alignment of the gobo at an angle between 0° at DMX value 0 and 360° at DMX value 127.
Same DMX channel for gobo indexing 
<gobowheel dmxchannel="0">
  <goboindex />
  <step type="open" mindmx="0" maxdmx="15" caption="Open" />
  <step type="gobo" mindmx="16" maxdmx="31" val="congostar.png" caption="Gobo 1">
    <range range="360" handler="goboindex" mindmx="24" maxdmx="31" minval="0" maxval="360" />
  </step>
  <step type="gobo" val="sunburst.png" mindmx="32" maxdmx="47" caption="Gobo 2">
    <range range="360" handler="goboindex" mindmx="40" maxdmx="47" minval="0" maxval="360" />
  </step>
  ...
</gobowheel>

Gobo wheel and gobo indexing on DMX channel 1:

  • Positioning / Alignment of Gobo 1 at an angle between 0° at DMX value 24 and 360° at DMX value 31.
  • Positioning / Alignment of Gobo 2 at an angle between 0° at DMX value 40 and 360° at DMX value 47.
Activation of gobo indexing over specific value range 
<gobowheel dmxchannel="0">
  <goboindex dmxchannel="1">
    <range range="360" mindmx="0" maxdmx="127" minval="0" maxval="360" />
  </goboindex>
  <step type="open" mindmx="0" maxdmx="15" caption="Open" />
  <step type="gobo" mindmx="16" maxdmx="23" val="congostar.png" caption="Gobo 1">
    <step for="goboindex" mindmx="24" maxdmx="31" />
  </step>
  ...
</gobowheel>

Gobo wheel on DMX channel 1, gobo indexing on DMX channel 2:

  • Activation of gobo indexing at a DMX value on DMX channel 1 between 24 and 31. Positioning / Alignment of the gobo via DMX channel 2 at an angle between 0° at DMX value 0 and 360° at DMX value 127.
Activation of gobo indexing via a separate DMX channel 
<gobowheel dmxchannel="0">
  <goboindex dmxchannel="1">
    <support dmxchannel="2" name="goboindex" />
    <range range="360" mindmx="0" maxdmx="255" minval="0" maxval="360" >
      <step handler="support-goboindex" mindmx="0" maxdmx="15" />
    </range>
  </goboindex>
  <step type="open" mindmx="0" maxdmx="15" caption="Open" />
  <step type="gobo" mindmx="16" maxdmx="31" val="congostar.png" caption="Gobo 1" />
  <step type="gobo" val="sunburst.png" mindmx="32" maxdmx="47" caption="Gobo 2" />

Gobo wheel on DMX channel 1, gobo indexing on DMX channel 2, selection of gobo indexing mode via DMX channel 3:

  • Activation of gobo indexing at a DMX value on DMX channel 3 between 0 and 15. Positioning / Alignment of the gobo via DMX channel 2 at an angle between 0° at DMX value 0 and 360° at DMX value 255.
Attribute range mindmx maxdmx minval maxval
Description Maximum rotation angle for gobo indexing DMX value for the start position DMX value for the end position Start position of gobo indexing End position of gobo indexing
Permissible attribute value 0° to 720° 0 to 255 0 to 255 0° to 720° 0° to 720°

Gobo rotation

With gobo rotation, the gobos of a gobo wheel can be continuously rotated in various directions at different speeds.


Case Code example
Separate DMX channel for gobo rotation 
<gobowheel dmxchannel="0">
  <goborotation dmxchannel="1">
    <step type="stop" mindmx="192" maxdmx="192" />
    <range type="cw" mindmx="191" maxdmx="128" minval="0.5" maxval="5" />
    <range type="ccw" mindmx="193" maxdmx="255" minval="0.5" maxval="5" />
  </goborotation>
  <step type="open" mindmx="0" maxdmx="15" caption="Open" />
  <step type="gobo" mindmx="16" maxdmx="31" val="congostar.png" caption="Gobo 1" />
  ...
</gobowheel>

Gobo wheel on DMX channel 1, gobo rotation on DMX channel 2:

  • No gobo rotation at DMX value 192.
  • Clockwise gobo rotation at 0.5 1/s at DMX value 191, increasing to 5 1/s at DMX value 128.
  • Counterclockwise gobo rotation at 0.5 1/s at DMX value 193, increasing to 5 1/s at DMX value 255.
Activation of gobo rotation over specific value range 
<gobowheel dmxchannel="0">
  <goborotation dmxchannel="1">
    <step type="stop" mindmx="192" maxdmx="192" />
    <range type="cw" mindmx="191" maxdmx="128" minval="0.5" maxval="5" />
    <range type="ccw" mindmx="193" maxdmx="255" minval="0.5" maxval="5" />
  </goborotation>
  <step type="open" mindmx="0" maxdmx="15" caption="Open" />
  <step type="gobo" mindmx="16" maxdmx="23" val="congostar.png" caption="Gobo 1">
    <step for="goborotation" mindmx="24" maxdmx="31" />
  </step>
  ...
</gobowheel>

Gobo wheel on DMX channel 1, gobo rotation on DMX channel 2:

  • Static gobo at a DMX value between 16 and 23 on DMX channel 1.
  • Activation of gobo rotation at a DMX value between 24 and 31 on DMX channel 2.
  • No gobo rotation at DMX value 192 on DMX channel 2.
  • Clockwise gobo rotation at 0.5 1/s at DMX value 191, increasing to 5 1/s at DMX value 128 on DMX channel 2.
  • Counterclockwise gobo rotation at 0.5 1/s at DMX value 193, increasing to 5 1/s at DMX value 255 on DMX channel 2.
Same DMX channel for gobo rotation 
<gobowheel dmxchannel="0">
  <goborotation />
  <step type="open" mindmx="0" maxdmx="3" caption="Open" />
  <step type="gobo" mindmx="4" maxdmx="7" val="congostar.png" caption="Gobo 1">
    <range handler="goborotation" type="ccw" mindmx="8" maxdmx="15" minval="0.5" maxval="5" />
    <step handler="goborotation" type="stop" mindmx="16" maxdmx="19" />
    <range handler="goborotation" type="cw" mindmx="20" maxdmx="27" minval="0.5" maxval="5" />
  </step>
  <step type="gobo" val="sunburst.png" mindmx="28" maxdmx="31" caption="Gobo 2">
    <range handler="goborotation" type="ccw" mindmx="32" maxdmx="39" minval="0.5" maxval="5" />
    <step handler="goborotation" type="stop" mindmx="40" maxdmx="43" />
    <range handler="goborotation" type="cw" mindmx="44" maxdmx="51" minval="0.5" maxval="5" />
  </step>
  ...
</gobowheel>

Gobo wheel and gobo rotation on DMX channel 1:

  • Static gobo at a DMX value between 4 and 7 on DMX channel 1.
  • No gobo rotation of Gobo 1 at a DMX value between 16 and 19 on DMX channel 1.
  • Counterclockwise gobo rotation of Gobo 1 at a DMX value between 8 for 0.5 1/s to 15 for 5 1/s.
  • Clockwise gobo rotation of Gobo 1 at a DMX value between 44 for 0.5 1/s to 51 for 5 1/s.
Activation and setting of the rotation direction of gobo rotation via a separate DMX channel, setting of the rotation speed via the DMX channel for gobo speed 
<gobowheel dmxchannel="0">
  <goborotation dmxchannel="1">
    <support dmxchannel="2" name="goborotation" />
    <step type="stop" mindmx="0" maxdmx="7" >
      <step handler="support-goborotation" mindmx="16" maxdmx="31" />
    </step>
    <range type="cw" mindmx="8" maxdmx="255" minval="0.2" maxval="5" >
      <step handler="support-goborotation" mindmx="16" maxdmx="31" />
    </range>
    <range type="ccw" mindmx="8" maxdmx="255" minval="0.2" maxval="5" >
      <step handler="support-goborotation" mindmx="32" maxdmx="47" />
    </range>
  <step type="open" mindmx="0" maxdmx="15" caption="Open" />
  <step type="gobo" mindmx="16" maxdmx="23" val="congostar.png" caption="Gobo 1" />
  ...
</gobowheel>

Gobo wheel on DMX channel 1, speed of gobo rotation on DMX channel 2, selection of rotation direction via DMX channel 3:

  • Static gobo at a DMX value between 16 and 23 on DMX channel 1 and DMX channel 2 between 0 and 7.
  • Clockwise gobo rotation at a DMX value between 16 and 31 on DMX channel 3, and a DMX value between 8 for 0.5 1/s to 255 for 5 1/s on DMX channel 2.
  • No gobo rotation at a DMX value between 0 and 7 on DMX channel 2.
  • Counterclockwise gobo rotation at a DMX value between 32 and 47 on DMX channel 3, and a DMX value between 8 for 0.5 1/s to 255 for 5 1/s on DMX channel 2.
Attribute type mindmx maxdmx minval maxval
Description DMX value for minimum rotation speed DMX value for maximum rotation speed Minimum speed of the gobo Maximum speed of the gobo
Permissible attribute value stop
cw
ccw 		0 to 255 0 to 255 0.01 1/s to 10 1/s 0.01 1/s to 10 1/s

Gobo shake

Gobo shake must be set up individually for each gobo. This means that first, it must be defined at which DMX values the gobo shake is deactivated. These values usually correspond to the DMX values where the gobo is selected. Second, it must be defined at which DMX values the gobo shake is active. Speeds must also be specified here. The third entry to be added is the element <goboshake /> itself, which is listed directly as the first subelement for the gobowheel element. This indicates that the gobo shake function lies on the same DMX channel as the actual base function.


Case Code example
Separate DMX channel for gobo shake 
<gobowheel dmxchannel="0">
  <goboshake dmxchannel="1">
    <range minval="0.1" maxval="10" mindmx="16" maxdmx="127" />
  </goboshake>
  <step type="open" mindmx="0" maxdmx="15" caption="Open" />
  <step type="gobo" mindmx="16" maxdmx="31" val="congostar.png" caption="Gobo 1" />
  ...
</gobowheel>

Gobo wheel on DMX channel 1, gobo shake on DMX channel 2:

  • No movement of the gobo at DMX values between 0 and 15 on DMX channel 2.
  • Increasing frequency of gobo shake from 0.1 Hz at DMX value 16 to a maximum of 10 Hz at DMX value 128 on DMX channel 2.
Same DMX channel for gobo shake 
<gobowheel dmxchannel="0">
  <goboshake />
  <step type="open" mindmx="0" maxdmx="15" caption="Open" />
  <step type="gobo" val="congostar.png" mindmx="16" maxdmx="31" caption="Gobo 1">
    <range handler="goboshake" mindmx="128" maxdmx="135" minval="0.4" maxval="5" />
  </step>
  <step type="gobo" val="sunburst.png" mindmx="32" maxdmx="47" caption="Gobo 2">
    <range handler="goboshake" mindmx="136" maxdmx="143" minval="0.4" maxval="5" />
  </step>
</gobowheel>

Gobo wheel with gobo shake on DMX channel 1:

  • No gobo (open) at DMX values between 0 and 15.
  • Gobo 1 at DMX values between 16 and 31. Activation of gobo shake at DMX value 128 with frequency 0.4 Hz, increasing to 5 Hz at DMX value 135.
  • Gobo 2 at DMX values between 32 and 47. Activation of gobo shake at DMX value 136 with frequency 0.4 Hz, increasing to 5 Hz at DMX value 143.
Attribute handler mindmx maxdmx minval maxval
Description DMX value for minimum gobo shake speed DMX value for maximum gobo shake speed Minimum gobo shake speed Maximum gobo shake speed
Permissible attribute value goboshake 0 to 255 0 to 255 0 Hz to 20 Hz 0 Hz to 20 Hz

Wheelrotation

Case Code example
Gobowheel rotation on the same DMX channel 
<gobowheel dmxchannel="0">
  <step type="open" mindmx="0" maxdmx="15" caption="Open" />
  <step type="gobo" val="congostar.png" mindmx="16" maxdmx="31" caption="Gobo 1" />
  ...
  <wheelrotation>
    <range type="cw" mindmx="223" maxdmx="192" minval="0.1" maxval="8" />
    <range type="ccw" mindmx="224" maxdmx="255" minval="0.1" maxval="8" />
  </wheelrotation>
</gobowheel>

Continuous rotation of the gobo wheel between DMX values 192 and 255 on DMX channel 1:

  • Rotation of the gobo wheel clockwise at 8 1/s at DMX value 192, decreasing to 0.1 1/s at DMX value 223.
  • Rotation of the gobo wheel counterclockwise at 0.1 1/s at DMX value 224, increasing to 8 1/s at DMX value 255.
Activation and setting of the rotation direction of the continuous rotation of the gobo wheel via a separate DMX channel, setting of the rotation speed via the actual DMX channel for the gobo wheel 
<gobowheel dmxchannel="0">
  <step type="open" mindmx="0" maxdmx="15" caption="Open" />
  <step type="gobo" val="congostar.png" mindmx="16" maxdmx="31" caption="Gobo 1" />
  ...
  <wheelrotation>
    <support dmxchannel="1" name="gobowheelrotation" />
    <range type="cw" mindmx="0" maxdmx="255" minval="0.1" maxval="8" >
      <step handler="support-gobowheelrotation" mindmx="32" maxdmx="47" />
    </range>
    <range type="ccw" mindmx="0" maxdmx="255" minval="0.1" maxval="8" >
      <step handler="support-gobowheelrotation" mindmx="48" maxdmx="63" />
    </range>
  </wheelrotation>
</gobowheel>

Continuous rotation of the gobo wheel:

  • Rotation of the gobo wheel clockwise at 8 1/s at DMX value 0, decreasing to 0.1 1/s at DMX value 255, when DMX value is between 32 and 47 on DMX channel 2.
  • Rotation of the gobo wheel counterclockwise at 0.1 1/s at DMX value 0, increasing to 8 1/s at DMX value 255, when DMX value is between 48 and 63 on DMX channel 2.
Attribute type mindmx maxdmx minval maxval
Description DMX value for minimum rotation speed DMX value for maximum rotation speed Minimum speed of the gobo wheel Maximum speed of the gobo wheel
Permissible attribute value cw
ccw 		0 to 255 0 to 255 0.01 1/s to 15 1/s 0.01 1/s to 15 1/s

Links and References

  1. ↑ Official Website of the free text editor Notepad++
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