# ETC Element - What is a parked channel? and gobo help...



## taylors (Jul 29, 2012)

I am a high school student and our school built a brand new performing arts center. All new lights. All new everything. Top of the line stuff. Fame will be our first show and I am the lighting designer. I have learned everything I know by my self. NO HELP! I have a starting grasp on things. What is a parked channel? And can anyone explain patching? If i plug a fixture in the outlet that says 32 and go to the patch menue and say address 32 @ channel 1, does that mean that channel 1 will controll what is pluged into 32? Also when using a Gobo, I know where to put it and use a donut at the end, and adjust barrel to focus. Is their any way to adjust the size of the projected image? Any help with ANYTHING, even if it is not what I asked about would be great! Thanks for any help!


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## cpf (Jul 29, 2012)

A parked channel is a channel of the board that remains at a constant value, no matter what cues or submasters (or the operator) say.

What you described for patching is a 1:1 patch - where each consecutive board channel corresponds to a single consecutive dimming circuit. Board Chn 1=DMX Chn1=Circuit 1, Board 2=...

There's a whole thread on the merits of a 1:1 patch, but all you need to know is that a 1:1 patch is not the only option, so if it isnt working for you, try something different. It is possible, often desirable, and in cases like automated/colour changing/fancy fixtures, even essential to deviate from a 1:1 patch. Search around and you'll find plenty of examples of people using custom patches to make their lives easier - arranging circuits into logical groups on the board, accommodating multi-DMX-channel automated fixtures and DMX toys, etc.


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## jglodeklights (Jul 29, 2012)

taylors said:


> I am a high school student and our school built a brand new performing arts center. All new lights. All new everything. Top of the line stuff. Fame will be our first show and I am the lighting designer. I have learned everything I know by my self. NO HELP! I have a starting grasp on things. What is a parked channel? And can anyone explain patching? If i plug a fixture in the outlet that says 32 and go to the patch menue and say address 32 @ channel 1, does that mean that channel 1 will controll what is pluged into 32? Also when using a Gobo, I know where to put it and use a donut at the end, and adjust barrel to focus. Is their any way to adjust the size of the projected image? Any help with ANYTHING, even if it is not what I asked about would be great! Thanks for any help!



1. Parking: this refers to what is a super control that supersedes any Live or Blind action. It allows you to keep channels or addresses at a certain level without recording that level into cues, submasters or other targets such as palettes. Example of how to use it- I park my house light channel at a certain level during tech so we have some global lighting, but I can still have it record at 00/Out in cues.

2. Patch: The Elements allows for a patch (properly a softpatch- it is a software and not a hardware function). This allows you to plug the lighting fixture into one circuit attached to a dimmer, such as 32, but call it up by another number that makes more sense. Example: your down stage front lights may be plugged into circuits 1, 9, and 21 from stage left to stage right; with patch you can make the light plugged into 1 be called up by channel 1, 9 called up by 2 and 21 called up by 3. This makes organizing how you call up channels easier than trying to remember 1, 9 and 21. 

Things get weird when you can also hardpatch, or also assign circuits to different dimmers. As such, a light may be plugged into circuit 32, and circuit 32 may be plugged into dimmer 50, and dimmer 50 can be soft patched in the Element to channel 1. Unlikely you have this set up, but good to know either way.

3. To alter the size of the projected image, you must use a fixture or a lens tube with a different throw/beam size/lens train. Instruments that can project a gobo belong to the ERS, or ellipsoidal reflector spotlight, family of lighting instruments. While several brands are and have been available through the years, all of them alter the size of the beam coming out of them by altering the lenses used to project the image. Older instruments use a set of Plano-convex lenses (one side flat, one sided rounded) to do this; many newer instruments use a compound lens. Either way, the further away the lenses are away from each other and the lens is from the focal point the small the projection. 

Older instrument designs are defined by an approximate lens diameter and the length of the lens train. Newer designs define them by field or beam throw degrees. So, an older instrument such as the Altman 360Q with a 6x9 lens projects an image about the same size as a ETC S4 36 degree (beam size) or Altman 40 degree (field size). 

Newer instruments can also be changed to different projection sizes by changing which lens assembly they have in them; such as taking a 19 degree Source four, removing the lens assembly (called a lens tube) and replacing it with a 5, 10, 14, 26, 36, 50, 70, or 90 degree assembly. Older instruments require changing the entire instrument as they are mated to that specific focal length/size of assembly.

If you have a gobo in a 6x9 you would need a 6x12, 6x16, 6x20 or 6x22 to make it smaller. A 4.5x6 would project wider. With newer instruments the larger the number the bigger the projection.

Finally, donuts can sharpen the projection, but they aren't always necessary. If you are softening the projection, not using a donut will result in a slightly greater intensity due to not removing normally unwanted flare from the lens. If you need the extra oomph and don't need super sharp projections, then you may not need the donut.


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## taylors (Jul 29, 2012)

I understand about the 1to1 patch and when you create a new show you can choose that option or not. Do you park a channel? How does a channel become parked? how do you unpark a channel? Thanks


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## jglodeklights (Jul 29, 2012)

You park a channel by entering in the command line: channel [_x_] [at] [_level_] [park], or by hitting [park] [park] to enter the PARK screen and then entering a level for a channel. You only park a channel when necessary to keep it at that level. To unpark you do channel [_x_] [at] [park] [enter], or go to the park screen and do channel [_x_] [at] [enter].


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## taylors (Jul 29, 2012)

Thanks so much first of all! Now I understand all about the parking. This actually happned to me: I was trying to record submasters while the school was entering into the auditorium and i would have to bring all the house lights down record and then try to bring them back up as soon as possible. Another question, when I create a new show and do NOT select the 1to1 patch, how will I know what the addresses of my house lights are? Will I have to patch those too? Sorry for all my questions. This is my first show and I have no help and just a little training, two hours with the installer. thats all.


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## taylors (Jul 29, 2012)

thanks so much!


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## cmckeeman (Jul 29, 2012)

if you want to control your house lights from the board then yes you will have to patch them in, and one way to figure out the dmx address's of the house lights is to check the addres's you know are not used by the dimmers for your electrics, most likely it will be a range, and you can patch all the house lights to one channel if you don't need different house lights at different intensities


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## zmb (Jul 30, 2012)

jglodeklights said:


> Finally, donuts can sharpen the projection, but they aren't always necessary. If you are softening the projection, not using a donut will result in a slightly greater intensity due to not removing normally unwanted flare from the lens. If you need the extra oomph and don't need super sharp projections, then you may not need the donut.



If you have Source 4s, you can order an Enhanced Definition Lens Tube (EDLT) from ETC which has different lenses to create a sharper image too. I'm not sure what it does to brightness however.


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## sk8rsdad (Jul 30, 2012)

Since nobody else has pointed it out, you may want to visit ETC's Element training website. They do a decent job of covering all the basics.


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