Okay, so I've tried really really hard to solve this outside of the forums, but I'm really at a loss. I have a few different problems with our Road Hog that I really can't trace and either can our faithful and awesome local, certified HES support place:
The way I have our show file setup is so that volunteers can come in and simply go through the cues for the event without much lighting experience. To increase our flexibility "on the fly" I have the "master" cue list working our 8 color pro HXs, 2 studio beams, and a total of 5 Altman halogen cyc fixtures. I then have our stage lights (roughly 30 ellipsoidals) and house lights (roughly 50 fixtures) on two other cue lists. I then use Macro commands to use the "get list" functions. This way it makes it easier for someone to just simply hit "Go" for the service; I also think it cleans up the programming. ((I've attached our show file)).
Well I have two major problems:
1. Desktop and DP8K crashes at seemingly random times and events
2. Random issues with our external monitor (via the supported adapter)
Let's start with number #2, because this is the most consistent problem we have: What happens is that upon restart, many times the screen will mirror the right touch screen (above the programming section of the board) even though it was shut down with external monitors enabled. Another issue that this causes is that the internal touch screens will lose calibration - also not something I should have to deal with. We are on v.3.0.5 with xpe image 1.3.0 - and I've installed them in literally every different order to try and solve some problems (yes, including the methods in the manual. :-) So I did: XPE Full Restore -> 3.0.5 Update -> Plug in monitor while shut off, then restart -> Then restore show file from a backup file. The monitor is plugged in the programming-side USB port, which put the monitor on that side of the console (which is what we want), and the keyboard is on the left or playback side of the board. My screen resolution is 1280 x 1024, 75Hz, 16bit. I display the Master Cue list and the sometimes the programmer on this screen. Any ideas on problem #2?? UPDATE: I also just switched our resolution and now the screen is "left" of the board instead of right.
As far as the random crashes of the desktop and DP8K, I really don't know. We've had the board into the shop and those great guys really put it through tests, using all the universes (we only use the first on a regular basis - sometimes the second universe). They, of course, couldn't get it to crash. I'm wondering if the board ever could get mixed up because of some problem fixtures in the chain?? I don't know if the board receives any signal or feedback from the fixtures down the line, but we do have a DMX to MPX converter that I have suspicions about. Also, though our building is new (5 years), and I'm pretty sure the juice is stable here - it has been when I've metered it - I wonder if bad power could be causing these random crashes?? These are the only two options that I can think of, but other than that, I'm at a loss. This of course, REALLY messes up the event when we lose DMX or need to take the painstaking 3 minutes to re-boot. We just don't know what to do. BTW - I do an integrity check and strip unused palettes every week after backing up the weekly show file.
Right now, we would like to have a board that is stable enough so that someone with less than 1000 hours on the board could come and operate it enough to get the job done. I don't think this is too big of a request.
I've attached my show file; I'm open to hearing feedback or critiques on our setup, but there is a reason we set it up the way we do. I'm also open to re-building our show file if it is somehow corrupt. I just want stability and the plug and play functionality that should be a simple expectation.
Thanks in advance for your help everyone!
Jeff
SHOW FILE LINK
