Introduction
 What's in the box
 What's not in the box
 New versions & support

Getting started
 Macintosh network setup
 PC/Mac Serial setup
 MIDI setup
 The LanBox
 Software to use
 About fixtures & DMX

What's under the hood
 LCII firmware operation
 LC+ firmware operation

Using MIDI or Serial
 MIDI communications
 Serial communications
 Contact/button trggers

FAQ and Specs
 LanBox FAQ
 DMX FAQ
 CE & FCC specs

Hardware setup using a Macintosh with Ethernet.

The picture illustrates an example of a lighting control setup with the iMac for semi-permanent shows and interactive applications.

Connect through the RJ11 (telephone) network connectors of a LanBox up to 8 LanBoxes using the Farallon iPrint-LT adapter to the Ethernet of a Mac.
 
 

Hardware setup using a Macintosh with built-in Localtalk/Printer Port

With an older Powerbook (or Macintosh), a LanBox and a MIDI adapter you have a small, but powerful setup. For space saving and portable shows, this is a very nice solution.

With this setup you can work with up to 250 DMX-512 channels (about 15 to 20 fixtures) per LanBox-LC. Triggers from the Mac (for example using the bundled LCedit software) and/or from MIDI through an optional MIDI interface. Set it up in no time, run the show and get out fast, without any hassle.

Hardware Ingredients...

* Any 64 MB Pentium PC with Windows 98 or
* Mac with System 7.6 or later and a serial port.
* LanBox-LC II, CDS
* DMX lighting equipment, see links
* LanBox <-> Mac cable (8 pin mini Din) or
* LanBox <-> PC cable, CDS 

Using a PC notebook's serial port, a LanBox and our LanBox <-> PC serial cable you have a cheap, but less advanced setup. (and only for the "Plus" software package)

Note: This setup can also be used with a Mac or PC with USB and an USB to serial adapter.

Hardware Ingredients...

* Any MIDI output device.
* LanBox-LC II, CDS
* DMX lighting equipment, see links
* LanBox - MIDI adapter cable, CDS

With a MIDI keyboard or MIDI sequencer and a LanBox-LC with the optional MIDI adapter you can create instant DMX lighting just by playing notes and using your sustain pedal!

Note: This setup can also be used for advanced MIDI control and/or MIDI synchronizing of lights. It can also be combined with AppleTalk network control.

On the front of the sturdy black box you'll find (from left to right) two power supply inputs, a green power LED, an orange DMX output LED, a serial connector (for MIDI or serial communication), two RJ11 (telephone) network connectors and the DMX (3-pole XLR) connector.

Before powering the LanBox, it should be connected to a personal computer or MIDI adapter via the appropriate connector(s). A preprogrammed LanBox can however also run a lighting program completely standalone.

* Connecting the LanBox-LC to a power adapter *
The LanBox-LC needs a 12V AC or DC adapter or 11 to 18V DC power source. The LanBox-LC is shipped with a 230V AC power adapter. If your main voltage is different you need to obtain an adapter. Any universal 12V 300mA (5W) DC power adapter will do.

When you plug the power in, the LanBox-LC will start running (green power led should be on). After about 10 seconds the yellow (DMX activity) led should start blinking rapidly.

* Connecting the DMX cable *
One cable to go, the DMX cable. Every DMX device is usually supplied with a DMX cable, so you'll probably have one. Every DMX controller should be shipped with a DMX terminator, so the LanBox-LC comes with one. Connect the DMX cable to your light equipment and the terminator to the last DMX device. If you have DMX equipment that uses 5-pole or 3-pole non Martin cable, you'll need an adapter cable. Refer to the "About Fixtures and DMX" for the correct pinning of the LanBox-LC DMX connector.

* Power up your light equipment *
Time to power up your light equipment. It's best to power up light equipment after the cables are in place and the controller is on. This is true for all DMX controllers.

At the moment of this writing there are two software packages available for the LanBox-LC (well actually three if you count the DMX grabber as well).

* The LanBox-LCII software package *
This is the oldest software, very stable, field proven and simple to use, but it's a bit limited and the lighting editor (LCedit II) can only be used on Macintosh systems with networking. This package is advised for starters and it's firmware is pre-installed in the LanBox when delivered. Installation and use of this package can be found in the LCedit II manual. MIDI and serial usage can be found in this manual at the "Using MIDI and Serial" chapter.

* The LanBox-LC+ software package *
This very new software extends the use of the box dramatically, but it's much more complex. The lighting editor LCedit+ run on Macintosh as well on Windows 98 systems and is capable to communicate via network, serial and MIDI (on PCs serial only). If you wish to use this software you need to install the "Plus" firmware into the LanBox with the LCedit+ software. Instructions and usage of the "Plus" software can be found in the LCedit+ manual and LC+ reference manual. MIDI and serial usage and commands can be found in the LC+ reference manual and at the "Using MIDI and Serial" chapter.

DMX is a protocol for light equipment. You can compare it with RS-232, a protocol for computers, or MIDI a protocol for music instruments. With DMX you can control light equipment remotely.

Do all lights use DMX? Well, almost all professional light equipment uses it, and for light equipment that only has a power plug there are DMX dimmers. DMX dimmers provide DMX control for more simple, non DMX lights. CDS advanced technology bv has developed its own digital DMX dimmer, the 788-LD, read all about on the product page of our web site.

With DMX you can control all aspects of a light source remotely. For instance, intensity and on more professional lights, color, prism, direction, beam angle and so on.

Every DMX device has two XLR connectors, a DMX address and a DMX range. The two connectors are for the DMX cable. The DMX cable from the LanBox-LC goes into the DMX input of the light device. The other DMX connector (DMX output) is used to connect the next light device in the chain.

Every DMX device has a DMX address. The LanBox-LC support up to 250 addresses (or channels). Each DMX device must have it's own address. However most DMX devices use more than one address. For instance a Martin RoboScan Pro 518 uses 9 addresses. When you select DMX address 1 on the RoboScan it will use addresses 1 to 9. The next DMX device should start at address 10.

The LanBox-LC supports up to 250 DMX channels. This means that you can hook up to 27 Martin RoboScan 518s to a LanBox-LC. More simple lights, like a Par, use only one DMX channel.

The LanBox-LCII and LC+ supports DMX patching. In the editor you'll use light channels (in stead of DMX channels), a DMX patcher will assign a light channel to one or more DMX channels. This can be very convenient when you're working with different lighting setups often. You can read more about the DMX patcher and its uses in the LCedit manuals.

DMX is a standard protocol for lighting equipment. Unfortunately three different kind of cables and connector are used to carry the protocol. All these types of cables can be used in a mixed fashion, but it's very hard to find out what's wrong when it's not working. There are two kinds of connectors in use; 3-pole and 5-pole. The LanBox-LC uses the 3-pole connector. Below are descriptions on how to make an adapter cable. If you're using all 3-pole cable and it doesn't work, you'll probably need to swap pin 2 and 3. It's a drag, we know, but there's not a lot we can do about it.

Note: Some fixtures (or dimmers) are not DMX compatible, but use a different protocol, this will not work with the LanBox-LC. Be sure your lighting equipment conforms to the DMX-512 USITT 1990 protocol, else you need a convertor/translator.