Hi all,
I've been messing around with a DMX foot controller using Raspberry Pi and QLC+. Here is a video showing my work so far:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3Nx0_epcuc
Let me know your thoughts!
Scott
Demo of an Android/IOS controlled DMX Lighting Foot Controller using QLC+ and Raspberry Pi.
-
Massimo Callegari
Scott, that is simply amazing !
Thanks so much for sharing this. It definitely shows what one can do with a bit of creativity and technical skills.
Regarding iPad control: if you need totally different fixtures (e.g. different bands) what you've done is correct.
If you just need more scenes/chasers, you can assign the 2 rightmost pedals (page up/page down) to a multipage frame in QLC+.
Normally a Roland/Boss foot pedal (I've got a GT-8 here) has also a display so you don't get lost into pages/programs, but with a bit of memory you can have LOTS of pages, meaning lots of QLC+ functions right under your feet
By the way, I'm not suprised something like you've done is not on the market.
Can you name any other DMX software controller running on the Raspberry Pi ?
Congratulations again !
Thanks so much for sharing this. It definitely shows what one can do with a bit of creativity and technical skills.
Regarding iPad control: if you need totally different fixtures (e.g. different bands) what you've done is correct.
If you just need more scenes/chasers, you can assign the 2 rightmost pedals (page up/page down) to a multipage frame in QLC+.
Normally a Roland/Boss foot pedal (I've got a GT-8 here) has also a display so you don't get lost into pages/programs, but with a bit of memory you can have LOTS of pages, meaning lots of QLC+ functions right under your feet
By the way, I'm not suprised something like you've done is not on the market.
Can you name any other DMX software controller running on the Raspberry Pi ?
Congratulations again !
-
Massimo Callegari
Oh, I forgot to mention that today I've fixed the key bindings in multipage frames. So now you can do what I mentioned in my previous post.
I will provide an upgrade package soon to you Raspberry guys
Just for the record, can you tell us, more or less, what is the cost for a system like yours ?
I will provide an upgrade package soon to you Raspberry guys
Just for the record, can you tell us, more or less, what is the cost for a system like yours ?
-
Scott Wegner
Massimo, (and all)
Wow - Awesome! Thanks for the multipage key binding feature! I'll implement that into my pedal arrangement soon. Very Cool.
In terms of market... hehe - ya, I think "Raspberry Pi + DMX + foot controller" will turn up ZERO legitimate Google search results - outside of this discussion and my youtube videos. But I was speaking more broadly, in that *any* DMX foot controller out there I've seen is very 1) rare and 2) expensive and 3) has limited function. Add to that, if you wanted to accomplish even a MODEST amount of what mine already does (which is basic) - you'd have to string together a MIDI foot controller AND a DMX light control board, which is a mess, I've done it, and the results are still very limited because the DMX/MIDI "api" of most DMX boards is awful. That's what makes QLC+ on a Pi so incredibly cool! You are really only limited by your imagination, AND designing a show can be done in a VERY comfortable GUI - unlike most other hardware options out there. (Press button A... select channel... Press button B.... Select value.... Press 'save' button... AHHHHHHH!!! SHOOT ME NOW!!!)
I think part of the reason light shows for small bands have become so absent in the last few years is that even though basic lights are pretty affordable, working musicians have found that the process of programming even a simple show and setting up a simple DMX plot is such a mind numbing ordeal - they say "Aw heck with it" and just turn on a few LED PARs and are done with it. Which is a shame - a decent light show can add a lot I think.
Okay - on to costs. Because I've got a pretty deep "parts box" of junk and components I would say that the cost was probably around a hundred bucks. ($100) BUT - if I had to build the exact unit again - and had to buy all the parts, it would cost more like $265. (see list and links below) HOWEVER... I would not use the same parts and it would be less expensive. I would use a bare bones USB/DMX module which would save $100 right there. Here is an itemized list:
Raspberry Pi QLC DMX Foot Controller costs:
Foot pedal / enclosure - used off eaby $12.00
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R4 ... edal+parts
Raspberry Pi $40.00
http://www.element14.com/community/comm ... spberry-pi
Raspberry Pi case off ebay $7.00
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_sacat=0 ... ry+pi+case
NOTE - Actually I 3D printed my Pi case with a Makerbot - so you could say that
the case for my Raspberry Pi cost me about $2000 - but I don't look at it that way.
USB DMX Adaptor - I happend to use the DMXKing UltraDMX RDM Pro
which is quite expensive but I think you can use a MUCH less expensive unit.
Enttec sells an "DMX USB Open Assembled Widget" for $50 that would be ideal.
I might try one and let you know how it goes. $130.00 (but could be $50)
https://www.enttec.com/?main_menu=Products&pn=70302
Powered usb hub $9.00
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R4 ... ed+usb+hub
Wifi for Raspberry Pi - off ebay $9.00
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?&_nkw=ra ... 0pi%20wifi
Extra foot switches - needed 6 - bought 10 - ebay $28.00
http://www.ebay.com/itm/111063938999
Apple keyboard - used for controller - ebay $20.00
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?&_nkw=apple+a1048+used
Power adaptors / misc - off ebay $10.00
Total $265.00
I'd like to hear anyone's thoughts on this. (or even someone disagrees with me!)
Thanks!
Scott
Wow - Awesome! Thanks for the multipage key binding feature! I'll implement that into my pedal arrangement soon. Very Cool.
In terms of market... hehe - ya, I think "Raspberry Pi + DMX + foot controller" will turn up ZERO legitimate Google search results - outside of this discussion and my youtube videos.
But I was speaking more broadly, in that *any* DMX foot controller out there I've seen is very 1) rare and 2) expensive and 3) has limited function. Add to that, if you wanted to accomplish even a MODEST amount of what mine already does (which is basic) - you'd have to string together a MIDI foot controller AND a DMX light control board, which is a mess, I've done it, and the results are still very limited because the DMX/MIDI "api" of most DMX boards is awful. That's what makes QLC+ on a Pi so incredibly cool! You are really only limited by your imagination, AND designing a show can be done in a VERY comfortable GUI - unlike most other hardware options out there. (Press button A... select channel... Press button B.... Select value.... Press 'save' button... AHHHHHHH!!! SHOOT ME NOW!!!) I think part of the reason light shows for small bands have become so absent in the last few years is that even though basic lights are pretty affordable, working musicians have found that the process of programming even a simple show and setting up a simple DMX plot is such a mind numbing ordeal - they say "Aw heck with it" and just turn on a few LED PARs and are done with it. Which is a shame - a decent light show can add a lot I think.
Okay - on to costs. Because I've got a pretty deep "parts box" of junk and components I would say that the cost was probably around a hundred bucks. ($100) BUT - if I had to build the exact unit again - and had to buy all the parts, it would cost more like $265. (see list and links below) HOWEVER... I would not use the same parts and it would be less expensive. I would use a bare bones USB/DMX module which would save $100 right there. Here is an itemized list:
Raspberry Pi QLC DMX Foot Controller costs:
Foot pedal / enclosure - used off eaby $12.00
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R4 ... edal+parts
Raspberry Pi $40.00
http://www.element14.com/community/comm ... spberry-pi
Raspberry Pi case off ebay $7.00
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_sacat=0 ... ry+pi+case
NOTE - Actually I 3D printed my Pi case with a Makerbot - so you could say that
the case for my Raspberry Pi cost me about $2000 - but I don't look at it that way.
USB DMX Adaptor - I happend to use the DMXKing UltraDMX RDM Pro
which is quite expensive but I think you can use a MUCH less expensive unit.
Enttec sells an "DMX USB Open Assembled Widget" for $50 that would be ideal.
I might try one and let you know how it goes. $130.00 (but could be $50)
https://www.enttec.com/?main_menu=Products&pn=70302
Powered usb hub $9.00
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R4 ... ed+usb+hub
Wifi for Raspberry Pi - off ebay $9.00
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?&_nkw=ra ... 0pi%20wifi
Extra foot switches - needed 6 - bought 10 - ebay $28.00
http://www.ebay.com/itm/111063938999
Apple keyboard - used for controller - ebay $20.00
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?&_nkw=apple+a1048+used
Power adaptors / misc - off ebay $10.00
Total $265.00
I'd like to hear anyone's thoughts on this. (or even someone disagrees with me!)
Thanks!
Scott
-
Jimmy T.
Hi Scott, That demo is exactly what I"m trying to achieve. I bought my Rpi maybe a month ago so working out kinks and learning about it still.
The concept is perfect. My dream setup would be:
- Foot controller would be 5 or 6 over 6 using the right two for pages selections
- standalone controller just needs power & DMX cable but can be customized with the QLC+ software.
- Rpi Display to show page your on and maybe other information (Queue name).
I too, and in a rock band and to everything the bass player does (Lights, Sounds, play and sing). Our set list changes from show to show so I don't have a preset list to do off of.
I'm testing out using queues in the qlc to change the lights between segments in the song (Solos, breaks, stops and finally).
Even better would be to have a queue list where I could load the set list songs and then select the next song and baasic controls are ready.
Could you post your script that you run on the tablet to load the QLC?
I will keep you updated with my project and would love to see the next step on yours.
Thanks
The concept is perfect. My dream setup would be:
- Foot controller would be 5 or 6 over 6 using the right two for pages selections
- standalone controller just needs power & DMX cable but can be customized with the QLC+ software.
- Rpi Display to show page your on and maybe other information (Queue name).
I too, and in a rock band and to everything the bass player does (Lights, Sounds, play and sing). Our set list changes from show to show so I don't have a preset list to do off of.
I'm testing out using queues in the qlc to change the lights between segments in the song (Solos, breaks, stops and finally).
Even better would be to have a queue list where I could load the set list songs and then select the next song and baasic controls are ready.
Could you post your script that you run on the tablet to load the QLC?
I will keep you updated with my project and would love to see the next step on yours.
Thanks
-
Scott Wegner
Hey JT -
Pardon the delay in my response.
Yes, awesome! Your situation is very similar to mine. The QLC+/rPi approach seems like a pretty natural thing for what we are looking for.
I'll post that cgi info below... but... I warn you, the method I used is so un-elegant and embarrassing that I'm worried I might actually hear laughter from the real coders in this forum if they happen to read it. I think it is safe to say that it might be the single most un-secure, "kludgy" bit of code you are likely to see anywhere. BUT - even though it is horribly un-secure, I really don't care much. It's a light controller, not my bank account.
Okay, on to what I did, which is basically restart QLCplus via a web cgi to have it load a specific config file. The work was done by two scripts. The first being the CGI itself - which is stored in the /var/www/cgi-bin/ dir - I called it with this bit in the index.html:
~~~~~~
~~~~~~
This is set1.cgi:
~~~~~~
#!/bin/bash
echo "Content-type: text/html"
echo ""
echo "qlc-plus-run"
echo ""
echo "starting scene 1"
echo "starting... $(sudo su root /var/www/cgi-bin/set1-qlcplus.sh &> /dev/null 2>&1)"
echo "Home"
echo ""
~~~~~~
I don't know where I found it... somewhere on the web... so there is lots of stuff in it that is not necessary. But the most important thing is the bit:
~~~~~~
sudo su root /var/www/cgi-bin/set1-qlcplus.sh &> /dev/null 2>&1
~~~~~~
Which calls the bash script that does the deed.
Also - on my image of raspbian and qlcplus - there is no such thing as "sudo" - so you'll have to install it:
apt-get install sudo
and then edit the /etc/sudoers file to have this in it:
~~~~~~
# User privilege specification
root ALL=(ALL:ALL) ALL
www-data ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL
~~~~~~
(again - did I mention that this a very insecure practice!?)
Then - for some reason - I don't remember why - I had the CGI call a BASH script that runs the command - This is "set1-qlcplus.sh":
~~~~~~
#!/bin/bash
killall -15 qlcplus
sleep 5
/usr/bin/qlcplus --web --operate --overscan --open /root/set1.qxw &
~~~~~~
So the above just kills any existing instance of qlcplus running and then re-lanunches it with the config file that I want.
That's pretty much it.
Of course now that Massimo has altered QLCPlus so that key bindings are local to a given page - I no longer need to open and close configs to extend the button functionality to more events - we can just simply use a couple of buttons to switch pages.
However, I still think I'll be using some sort of web control, because as I mentioned, there are times I'm playing with other people and the lighting setups are VERY different.. in those cases I still just want to be able to simply load up another config from a web page. And I'm thinking there will be more buttons/cgi options I'll be putting on that page.
I used lighttpd as the web server - which worked right away with no errors.
That's it. Go be dangerous.
Scott
Pardon the delay in my response.
Yes, awesome! Your situation is very similar to mine. The QLC+/rPi approach seems like a pretty natural thing for what we are looking for.
I'll post that cgi info below... but... I warn you, the method I used is so un-elegant and embarrassing that I'm worried I might actually hear laughter from the real coders in this forum if they happen to read it.
I think it is safe to say that it might be the single most un-secure, "kludgy" bit of code you are likely to see anywhere. BUT - even though it is horribly un-secure, I really don't care much. It's a light controller, not my bank account. Okay, on to what I did, which is basically restart QLCplus via a web cgi to have it load a specific config file. The work was done by two scripts. The first being the CGI itself - which is stored in the /var/www/cgi-bin/ dir - I called it with this bit in the index.html:
~~~~~~
~~~~~~
This is set1.cgi:
~~~~~~
#!/bin/bash
echo "Content-type: text/html"
echo ""
echo "qlc-plus-run"
echo ""
echo "starting scene 1"
echo "starting... $(sudo su root /var/www/cgi-bin/set1-qlcplus.sh &> /dev/null 2>&1)"
echo "Home"
echo ""
~~~~~~
I don't know where I found it... somewhere on the web... so there is lots of stuff in it that is not necessary. But the most important thing is the bit:
~~~~~~
sudo su root /var/www/cgi-bin/set1-qlcplus.sh &> /dev/null 2>&1
~~~~~~
Which calls the bash script that does the deed.
Also - on my image of raspbian and qlcplus - there is no such thing as "sudo" - so you'll have to install it:
apt-get install sudo
and then edit the /etc/sudoers file to have this in it:
~~~~~~
# User privilege specification
root ALL=(ALL:ALL) ALL
www-data ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL
~~~~~~
(again - did I mention that this a very insecure practice!?)
Then - for some reason - I don't remember why - I had the CGI call a BASH script that runs the command - This is "set1-qlcplus.sh":
~~~~~~
#!/bin/bash
killall -15 qlcplus
sleep 5
/usr/bin/qlcplus --web --operate --overscan --open /root/set1.qxw &
~~~~~~
So the above just kills any existing instance of qlcplus running and then re-lanunches it with the config file that I want.
That's pretty much it.
Of course now that Massimo has altered QLCPlus so that key bindings are local to a given page - I no longer need to open and close configs to extend the button functionality to more events - we can just simply use a couple of buttons to switch pages.
However, I still think I'll be using some sort of web control, because as I mentioned, there are times I'm playing with other people and the lighting setups are VERY different.. in those cases I still just want to be able to simply load up another config from a web page. And I'm thinking there will be more buttons/cgi options I'll be putting on that page.
I used lighttpd as the web server - which worked right away with no errors.
That's it. Go be dangerous.
Scott
-
Jimmy T.
Thanks for the information and how-to. I'm moderately dangerous in UNIX, I know enough of what NOT to-do to keep things running. Then there is the fall back of "Start Again".
Picked me up a cheap $4 keyboard last night so hoping to strip it down tonight and have that part out of the way.
I will be looking at my Behringer 1010 to see how easy it would be to use it as the ground control pedal I have has no room for components so would have to modify the case a lot.
Picked me up a cheap $4 keyboard last night so hoping to strip it down tonight and have that part out of the way.
I will be looking at my Behringer 1010 to see how easy it would be to use it as the ground control pedal I have has no room for components so would have to modify the case a lot.
-
Ben Farmer
Looks good Scott.
What did you do to get the Presets to solo?
I have a configuration with wizard created presets in a solo frame and it solos on the regular version of QLC+ but not on the Pi (either web interface or direct).
It looks like the wizard made buttons do not solo on the Pi.
Can't seem to get any LTP action now.
What did you do to get the Presets to solo?
I have a configuration with wizard created presets in a solo frame and it solos on the regular version of QLC+ but not on the Pi (either web interface or direct).
It looks like the wizard made buttons do not solo on the Pi.
Can't seem to get any LTP action now.
-
Scott Wegner
Ben,
Hey - I'm beta testing some the code that fixes that Raspberry Pi solo frame issue - I believe that the fix will be in the next rPi image release coming out very soon.
Scott
Hey - I'm beta testing some the code that fixes that Raspberry Pi solo frame issue - I believe that the fix will be in the next rPi image release coming out very soon.
Scott