# ETC Nomad Accessories/Faders



## Patch29 (Feb 9, 2018)

Hello 

I bought the student discount version of ETC Nomad and I am wondering what fader wings or other accessorizes people use with the software. Please give me your recommendations.


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## SteveB (Feb 9, 2018)

As Nomad is free software from ETC, I'm puzzled as to what you purchased ?. A Gadget ?


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## egilson1 (Feb 9, 2018)

SteveB said:


> As Nomad is free software from ETC, I'm puzzled as to what you purchased ?. A Gadget ?


You get a Nomad lighting controller Key (dongle) and a Gadget II interface.


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## SteveB (Feb 9, 2018)

egilson1 said:


> You get a Nomad lighting controller Key (dongle) and a Gadget II interface.



Right, I forgot about the need to purchase the dongle. My Ion's old enough that they provided it free and the newer versions had dongles as part of the overall "package"

That said, some of the useful add-on's are X-Key devices - 8 key, 16 key or 58 ley units. The 8 and 16 can run macros that are your most common functions, I like recording stuff that's multiple and 2 handed button pushes such as Go To Cue Zero, etc.... The 58 key X-Key often gets made into a near perfect button box that replicates the original Ion facepanel. I believe ETC has an X-Key file on the website that loads the 58 key panel as an Ion facepanel so you don't have to re-invent the wheel. 

If need be you can add a fader wing, but those get pricey. I think a small 2x10 is near $800 or so, not sure that's in the budget for a student. As well and with clever use of snapshots, you can do virtual faders. And as part of that a touch screen is really, realy useful for virtual faders.


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## Patch29 (Feb 10, 2018)

Anyone know any specific fader wings? Can even be midi boards?


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## Swade White (Feb 10, 2018)

ETC makes an external programming wing that works with the offline software and can also output DMX. They are pretty hard to find though


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## danTt (Feb 11, 2018)

Two things you can look into:

1) A software called Luminosus that links to nomad via OSC and supports bidirectional communication with midi fader wings among other things.

2) ETC has a DIY kit called Lighthack that is built around an arduino that lets you built a little box with two encoders and a screen. Soldering and some technical background required, but from what I've seen it looks like it turns into a pretty cool functional little box.


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## danTt (Feb 11, 2018)

Swade White said:


> ETC makes an external programming wing that works with the offline software and can also output DMX. They are pretty hard to find though


They aren't hard to find, call up your friendly local dealer and ask for a price on an Eos programming wing/Model: Eos PGW and you'll get one, but they are also not cheap... somewhere in the 3500-5000 range last I checked.


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## boneshaker (Feb 14, 2018)

I use a nanokontrol2 as a fader wing:
https://www.amazon.de/nanoKONTROL2-USB-MIDI-Controller-Kanälen-Drehregler-Schwarz/dp/B004M8UZS8

and oscRFR as remote:
http://www.alienstagecraft.com/


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## DNT (Feb 15, 2018)

Patch29 said:


> Hello
> 
> I bought the student discount version of ETC Nomad and I am wondering what fader wings or other accessorizes people use with the software. Please give me your recommendations.




I have built up a system, originally with a 256 address Nomad which I subsequently upgraded (at a cost of an extra €400) to 512. I also got an LXKey USB keyboard to make entering data quicker. I would recommend that highly. I then acquired a touch screen which is great for Direct selects. However, in order to allow me to busk shows, I needed faders so I splashed out on a real ETC 2X20 fader wing. It was expensive but it has really brought the system alive. I still don't have encoders but I hope to investigate the arduino route for that.

My only gripe is that ETC decided to give customers free upgrades recently when they rearranged their address quotas. Unfortunately people like me were left out of that upgrade and got no advantage which leaves me feeling a little sore. I would love to get an upgrade to 2 universes but I am not happy to have to pay more for it at this stage. Apart from being a little slower to program than the real console, this setup works fine for me. 

DNT


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