Fallback Console (Computer with QLC+ in our case)

[offtools]

Hello,

I have a show this weekend, so the backup device/fallback issue comes in my mind again. QLC+ is stable, but sometimes pigs can fly or some idot thinks the FOH is a common place to park his bottle of cola. You can invent your own most stupid worst case scenario
Anyway it's always a good idea to have a fallback lighting control device, which runs in a slave mode and takes over, if the main lighting controller is crashing.

I think this could be easy achieved as a first step with a kind of Artnet pass through on the slave notebook without using any external dmx merging hardware, but I'm not sure about that. With conventional light only this would be fairly ok, but with a bunch of moving lights and chasers running it doesnt help a lot. What do you think.

offtools

[Massimo Callegari]

What about a wall of flames around the FOH ? just kidding...

Well, synchronizing two light controllers is not so easy. It all depends on how you control the main desk.
If you have an external MIDI controller, I would say it would be sufficient to use the MIDI thru channel and go into the MIDI-IN port of the fallback desk.
When the idiot hits the first desk, you just switch the main DMX cable to the fallback desk and that's it.

If you use Shows or manual controls, then it might be more complicated, since every action you do on the first desk has to be sent to the fallback desk.
I wouldn't say ArtNet could be much of help since (usually) there is only one ArtNet controller node in an ArtNet network.

I guess the best thing would be to read the actual DMX values from the fallback desk in Design mode. When you need to, just switch to Operate mode and continue the light show from the exact status you left it.