Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Designer Software
Table of Contents
Welcome 6
Vision.Net 7
Vision.Net Overview 8
Communications 9
Vision.Net Designer Software 10
Vision.Net Designer 11
Menus 12
File 12
Tools 14
Setup 15
Interface 16
Operating Style 18
Mode Maps 19
Real Time Clock 21
Maps: Display/Unlock All 22
Help 22
Tool Bars 23
Main Tool Bar 24
Status Bar 26
Status Bar 27
My Network Tree 28
Group/Rooms 29
Control Stations 30
Buttons 31
Slider Faders 33
Station ID 34
Saving and Loading Station Configurations 35
Saving to a Station 36
Loading from a Station 37
Custom Panels 38
Touch Screens 39
Touch Screen Tool Bar 41
Screen Design 43
Touch Screen Tabbed Views 44
Touch Screen Buttons 47
Touch Screen Slider 48
Touch Screen Slider Panels 50
Touch Screen Raise and Lower 51
Touch Screen Text 52
Touch Screen Clock 53
Loading Touchscreen 55
Output Devices 57
Adding Devices 58
Simulations 62
Palette OS 63
Real Time Clock 66
Timed Events 67
Vision.Net Component Connections 71
Page 3 © Philips 2009
Vision Net Designer
Button Stations 72
DMX Interface 73
Fader Stations 75
RS232 Station 76
Palette 78
Portable Stations and Screens 79
Appendix 80
Button and Event Actions 81
Smart Buttons 86
Touch Screen Maintenance 87
Trouble Shooting 88
Offices and Service Centres 89
For general help, use the Contents, Index or Search tab on the left.
For technical support, please refer to the Strand Lighting Offices and Service Centres
Vision.net
Overview.
The Vision.net System is designed to control architectural lighting by distributing both power and intelligence.
The system provides processing power and control at each respective Master or Remote Station, eliminating
the need for a central processor.
Master Stations provide individual control for up to 15 channels, 8 scenes plus “Off”, all with adjustable fade
times. Multiple Stations may be linked together for control of up to 127 Channels and 32 preset scenes.
By combining Vision.net Master Stations with Vision.net Preset Stations, the system provides remote access to
scenes, Master Raise/Lower control, Multi-room partition control, or Master Station Lockout.
In the basic configuration mode the room number can be set on Vision.net Master Stations using the front panel
buttons, without removing the Master Station from the wall, and without the need for a computer.
Vision.net Touch Screens allow fully customised displays that are easy to configure and may be programmed
over an ethernet link. Portable and Fixed screen options are available.
Vision.net Master Stations are compatible with Strand Lighting A21, R21, C21 and EC21 Dimming Cabinets and
the Vision.net DMX512 Output board.
Vision.net products are controlled by the Vision.net System protocol. All Vision.net control devices must be
connected to the Vision.net system and given a unique ID (or address) in order to interact properly. The ID
identifies the device on the network and allows the device to avoid network collisions when transmitting data
Vision.net Components
Components that make up a Vision.net work include, but are not limited to the following:
C21 and EC21 Dimmer Racks
A21 and R21 Dimmer Racks
Contact Relay Panel
Vision.net DMX512 Output Board
N21 Network Nodes
8 Push Button Control Panels
3 Slider Stations and Slider Master Stations
6 Slider Stations and Slider Master Stations
9 Slider Stations and Slider Master Stations
12 Slider Stations and Slider Master Stations
15 Slider Stations and Slider Master Stations
Vision.net Connection Stations
Palette and Light Palette Control Consoles
Rack Palette Architectural Control System
7", 10" and 15" Touch Screen Panels
Overview
A Vision.net system uses an RS485 multi drop cabling system for communications between the various devices
on the Vision.net network. This includes Buttons Stations, Fader Stations and Various other devices such as
touch screens and other output devices.
In addition to using RS485, certain devices can also use an Ethernet connection for communications. This for
example includes the latest Touch Screens and the Vision.net Designer software. Using Ethernet as the
communications medium for Touch Screens, allows you further enhanced control of the screens, allowing new
software and configurations to be uploaded directly from Vision.net Designer.
A gateway will be required to convert the Ethernet signals to the Vision.net RS485 data. Suitable gateways can
be provided and you should consult Strand Lighting for more details.
Vision.net uses distributive processing techniques, whereby reliabilty is significantly increased over those of
centralised processing systems. Intelligence is distributed across the network with output devices storing only
the data that they need, reducing cost. As result of in the case of a failure, the fault is locally contained, rather
that compromising the entire system, as would be the case in a centralised system.
Overview
Vision.Net Designer is a software program allowing the configuration of a Vision.net system to be designed,
monitored and modified.
The configuration tool is a powerful Graphical application, allowing devices to be added, monitored or changed
in an easy to use "Point and Click" environment. Common features, such as Copy & Paste and other Windows
environmental tools make designing your system a fast and pleasurable experience.
Most items are selected from Tool bars, which are context sensitive to the area that you are working in.
Properties of these items are then set, either using the Properties Icon on the device or toolbar, or by using the
mouse and right clicking to expose a drop down list of actions for the device.
The main screen is divided into areas, Device Tree, Devices Window and Status Bar. In addition to these there
is the menu bar with options of File, Tools and Help.
Note: When you first open Vision.Net Designer, it will open in one of three Operating Styles. You
can change the current operating style from the Style Selection button on the toolbar. A
password may be required to change the style (see Tools - Setup in the Menu Bar).
File
File Menu
The File menu gives access to File actions, for example building a New configuration, Opening existing
configuration files, Saving Configuration files and setting the system to work off line.
Tip: When not connected to a Vision.net system, you should ensure that the “Work Off Line”
option is selected in the File menu
Save As Save a copy of your Vision.net Project as a new name or in a new folder.
Page Setup This opens up the Printer properties, which is used when printing Output
Device information. See Output Devices for more information
Tools
Tools Menu
The tools menu gives access to the system Setup screens and allows the configuration of the communication
settings for connection to the Vision.net network.
Setup
Setup
The Setup tool displays the setup dialog where you can select a different Operating Style, setup Mode Maps
and select settings for a Real Time Clock.
Interface
Serial Port
This allows the choice of the serial port that Vision.net Designer will use to communicate with components of
the system.
Ethernet Port
Selecting the Ethernet option, allows Vision.net Designer to connect to the Vision.net network over an Ethernet
link.
Note: When connecting to an Ethernet network, Vision.net Designer must be connected to the
same subnet as the Vision.net Gateway.
Operating Style
Operating Style
The Vision.net designer software runs in one of three different modes. You can configure the system to
automatically start in one of these modes. The default mode of operation will be Designer Style.
Monitor Style
In Monitor Style, Vision.net Designer allows the software to mimic the state of the Vision.net network, but not to
change the state of devices.
Mimic Style
In Mimic Style, Vision.net Designer allows the software to mimic the state of the Vision.net network, and to
change the state of devices.
Designer Style
In Designer Style, Vision.net Designer allows the software to change all aspects of the system.
Tip: You can force Vision.net designer to start up in Mimic or Monitor Style. You can also set
a password to protect the Designer Mode by selecting the “Password Required to Change
Style” and entering a numeric password.
Mode Maps
Mode Maps
Different Modes are used to mask features and facilities of a system to reflect the current state of operation.
You can define up to 8 different modes, each mode can be password protected if desired.
The different modes and their passwords are set in the setup in the Mode Maps section of the Setup.
Mode Name This is an area for text entry, allowing you to enter a name to easily identify
the mode.
Password This is a six number password required to change the system to the
requested mode.
Passwords
When a user selects a different mode from a touch screen, a numeric keypad will appear allowing a password
to be entered.
Example Keypad
For example you might configure two modes of operation, one for Daytime operation and one for Night Time
operation or one for Show Mode and one for Rehearsal Mode.
Note: A default "Admin Mode" with a password of 1234 is always set whenever you create a
new Vision.netDesigner file.
To enable this mode of operation, simply enable the Real Time Clock on the PC in the Setup. The default for
this setting is for the real time clock function to be Disabled. When disabled, a Real Time clock can be set to
run on a Touch Screen if required. See Real time Clock.
For more information on setting Real Time Clock Events, please refer to the Real Time Clock section.
Note: Modification of the Real Time clock is only possible when the system is running in the
Admin Map or All Map mode.
When show modes are shown, Enable All Modes will briefly display in the Status Section of the screen.
Help
Help Menu
Index Displays the Index tab of this help file where you can search by a keyword
Reset Warnings
About Displays the splash screen showing the Product name and current version
Save Save the configuration for archive purposes. Vision.net Designer files are xml
based, making them future proof.
Add to
Network
Use this to add Main items to your Network Tree, these for example are
Rooms/Groups, Custom Panels, Touch Screens, Output Devices or Real Time
Clocks.
Simulate Use the Simulations buttons to create simulations of Dimmer Racks, or DMX
Control Devices.
This will help you get an idea of how your system will work when you install it. The
simulation tools make understanding your system very easy and it is a very quick
way to communicate ideas.
Design Style
Use the Operation Style button, to choose the mode that Vision.net Designer runs
in.
Status Bar
A status bar is shown at the bottom of the screen. The status section also shows a progress bar, when
uploading or downloading to the Vision.net network.
The small icon on the status bar, allows you to display upto the last 20 commands that were seen on the
Vision.net network. This is useful for testing and fault finding purposes.
Note: The communications port is enabled or disabled through the File menu and the Work Off
Line setting. When working Off Line, the status bar will show as being OFFLINE flashing
Red.
Concepts
A Group or Room is a collection of circuits and Control Panels, all dedicated to adjusting the lighting in a
particular zone of the building.
When the room is added it will appear in the directory tree under Group (Room) with the ID number and Name
that you gave it.
Tip: You can simulate the output of a dimmer rack or input of a DMX device by using the Rack
or DMX simulation buttons. See the Simulations section for more details.
Control Stations
Concepts
To control the lighting in a Zone or Room, Control Station are used. These stations can be either push button
stations, slider fader stations or slider and button stations. Touch Screens may also added to the system, but
they are added separately.
Panels are added to the room by using the Control Station Toolbar and then configured by changing the various
properties of Buttons and Slider Faders on the panel.
You can then set a physical station to this configuration, first by setting the Physical Station ID. Configurations
may then be either transferred to and from Vision.net Designer and the designated Station (see Saving and
Loading Station Configurations)
Buttons
For each Push Button on a push button station you can configure what action the button performs.
For each button on the station you can then set the following properties:
Button Label A descriptive name for the button or what its purpose is.
Note: When you change the Button Type the Label will
automatically be set to reflect the button type.
Button Type The Button type gives a drop down list of all the button actions you can set.
The list contains various button types for example:
Console Button
Genlyte Scene (for use with other Genlyte products)
Lower
Preset
Preset On/Off
Raise
Room Link
Select Mode
Share Button
Smart
Smart Mimic
Toggle Channel
Depending on the button type, other options will appear see Button Actions
for more details
Tip: Use the “all buttons on this station have the same
style” option to quickly change all the buttons to the
same type.
Press and Hold Vision.net provides a very easy feature for recording Presets in the
Learn system. By default, preset selection buttons also allow the current scene
to be recorded by pressing and holding the required preset button for 3
seconds.
Mode Map Using the Mode Map button, you can define if that button is operational
when the system is set in different modes. By default the button will be
available in all modes.
Slider Faders
Different fader types can be set depending on the panel type chosen the faders can be either:
Channel Faders.
Extensions to another Channel Fader board
Submaster faders
Slider Room Here you set the Room that the faders reside in and the number of faders
that are on the panel.
Number of Select the number of faders from the drop down list.
Sliders
Mode Map Using the Mode Map button, you can define if the faders are operational
when the system is set in different modes. By default the button will be
available in all modes
Station ID
Configurations
Once you have designed your configuration for a particular control station, you can upload the configuration to
the station(see Saving to a Station for more details).
If you have already uploaded a configuration to a Station and want to see what it is, you can also download the
configuration from the Station into Vision.net Designer (see Loading from a Station for more details).
Saving to a Station
Note: If the upload process fails, a warning will appear advising that the communications to the
panel are unreliable. If this occurs, check that you have a good connection to the Vision.
net network and that there is a panel with the ID that you are trying to download the
information to. See Trouble Shooting..
Once the information has been downloaded the current configuration of the station will be displayed
Note: If the upload process fails, a warning will appear advising that the communications to the
panel are unreliable. If this occurs, check that you have a good connection to the Vision.
net network and that there is a panel with the ID that you are trying to download the
information to. See Trouble Shooting
Custom Panels
Concepts
A Custom Panel selection is a collection of Control Stations that are generally grouped together in a location
and which may control one or more Groups or Zones. An example of this, could be a central Control Room
controlling several Rooms or Zones, or a Stage Managers Panel, where control is available for House Lighting,
Working Lights and other show state lighting.
Once a Custom Panel is added to the network, individual Panels are then added to this location in the same
was as adding Panels to a Group or Room using this Custom Panel Add Toolbar. See Control Stations for
more details.
Touch Screens
Concepts
Touch screens are top level control components that provide a highly customisable interface to the Vision.net
network. They are very flexible and provide a highly intuitive and easy to use way of working with the Vision.net
system.
Screen Styles
Once you have chosen the screen size, you need to define the overall layout template that will be used for the
screen. The four templates that are available are as follows:
Full Screen
Split Screen
ID Number
As well as a system name, which you entered into the dialog box, you will also need to give the screen an
address for the system to work with. This you enter into the ID Number box. This number auto increment's
each time you add a new screen to the system for your convenience.
Tip: If you wish to use Vision.net Designer running in Monitor or Mimic mode, you can design
a screen specifically for this purpose. If you do so, set the Virtual Screen option in the
dialogue box.
Note: Smart button commands are only sent from the Vision.net Designer PC if the software is
running in the Design style or it is a virtual Touch Screen when running in the Mimic
Style.
Once the screen settings have been decided, pressing OK will add the new screen to the system.
The Touch Screen Tool Bar gives you access to the following
Export Exports the screen definition so that it can be loaded into the
touchscreen (see Loading Touchscreen)
Screen Design
Designing Screens
With the screen added, it will appear in the Network Tree on the left hand side of the Vision.net Designer
software and a blank version of the screen will appear in the Station pane on the right, together with a set of tool
icons. You use these components and drag them onto the screen area.
Component Toolbar
Items are placed on the screen by dragging them into place. Right clicking on any item allows you to set it's
properties, copy, paste or delete it
Tip: Buttons, Sliders and Text automatically align to a grid on the screen.
You can enable/disable this alignment grid using the Grid Button on the Touch Screen
Tool Bar
Tabbed Views
Tabbed views give you a display, where you may have a different Vision.net configuration behind each table.
Adding a tabbed view to the screen automatically provides you with two tabs.
These tab buttons can be customised see bellow fro more details.
Note: Placing a Tabbed View onto an area of the screen where there is already information will
remove them and replace them with the tab view.
Right Clicking in the main body of the tabbed window then gives you options to change
the properties of that particular tab or to delete it or add an additional tab.
For each Tab Page you can choose one of three different overall styles. These are:
Buttons and Sliders (the default format)
Palette Monitor
Web Page
Tip: The properties of the screen or items placed on the screen may be set by Right Clicking
with a mouse.
Background Images
By adding Backround images to a touch screen, you can either add logos or generate a geographic look to your
screen design.
Bitmap, Jpeg or GIF images can be used as background image, however keep the image file size as small as
possible. Images that are oversized will be scaled to fit the display, but trying to use the native screen
resolution is more efficient.
Tip: If you are adding graphics to the screen, try to make sure the image is the same
resolution as the touch screen that you are working with. The native resolutions are as
follows:
QVGA (320 x 240), WVGA (800 x 480), VGA (640 x 480), SVGA (800 x 600) & XVGA
(1024 x 768)
Buttons
Buttons can be added to the touch screen and their properties set. From the properties you can set parameters
such as the text to display, the font, colour, style etc, as well as the buttons action.
As well as saying what the button does, it is also possible to control when it is displayed, locked or in the case of
preset buttons, when it is able to used to record or learn presets.
Copying Buttons
Having set the properties of a button, by right clicking and selecting copy and then pasting, copies of that same
button will be added to the screen. If it is a preset or Toggle action button, each time that you paste it, it will
automatically increase the number the button refers to.
Alternatively, by holding down Control and Left Clicking the icon, a button can be also be quickly copied.
Fader
Individual Faders can also be added to the touch screen. In the properties of the slider fader you can select it's
room channel number etc.
Faders can either be set as a Channel Fader controlling the level of a dedicated circuit or as a Rate Fader,
controlling the time of a Preset Fade for the selected room.
Rate Fader
Rate faders are asigned to a Room Number and any preset button, that has the rate setting set as "Slider" will
use the time set on the rate fader for the fade time.
When you are using the fader to control the rate of the fade of a preset on the touch screen, the Preset button's
Rate setting needs to be set to Slider.
If you set the button's rate setting to "Rec Slider" each time the preset is recorded, it will use the time set on the
rate fader, recording it as the fade time for that preset.
Note: In order to use this feature, both the Rate Slider and the Preset Button needs to be on the
same tab and portion of the touch screen.
Fader Panels
Raise and Lower Buttons can also be added to the touch screen, allowing individual channels to be raised or
lowered using button presses rather than faders. They have the advantage over faders since it allows you a
larger number of circuits that can be paged up or down.
Proportional Raise and Lower buttons, ramp the circuit up and down and is ideal for use where you are using
portable touch screens.
Absolute Raise and Lower buttons, have the added advantage of providing a level display, however are not a
good choice for portable displays, since the it may loose synchronisation with the system and may not display
the level correctly.
Text
As well as adding interactive components to the touch screen, text labels may be added as well. In common
with the main components, the text labels can be set to be hidden or shown depending on the currently selected
Mode Map.
Clocks
Options available for the clock are to show the Second Hand and any Pending Real Time clock events.
Note: The use of the secondhand on the screen demands more processor time and as such it is
really only recommended for testing purposes.
Touch Screen Standard Clock Touch Screen Clock with Second Hand and Pending Events
By clicking on "List Events" the events are displayed on the screen, colours are used to denote the status of the
events.
Red: Disabled
Note: You can add a Suspend Clock button to a touch screen to enable or disable any events
that are pending on that screen. By using an RTC Group button, you can just disable
certain groups of events, rather than disabling the entire clock.
Manual Update
Step 1. Select Export from the Touch Screen Toolbar
Step 2. Select "File for touch screen" and select OK
Step 3. Save the “ActiveScreen” into a Folder called "UPDATE" in the root of a USB Memory Stick
Step 4. Place the USB stick with the file into the Touch Screens USB interface and power cycle
the Touch Screen, following the on screen instructions
Note: If you do not create the UPDATE folder and place the ActiveScreen file in this folder it will
NOT be loaded into the screen
Ethernet Export (Old touch Screens running code prior to v2.0.0 code)
Step 1. Connect Vision.net designer to the same ethernet network as the touchscreen
Step 2. Select Export from the Touch Screen Toolbar
Step 3. Select "Ethernet (Legacy)" and select OK
Output Devices
Concepts
Output devices are devices that connect to the Vision.net Network and drive lights or other controllable
elements.
These are typically the Strand Lighting C21, EC21, R21, S21 and A21 dimmer racks. DMX only devices, such
as LED fittings, Moving Lights etc. may also be controlled using the Vision.net DMX interface card.
Adding Devices
As with adding other devices, a dialog box will appear, prompting your for the Devices' ID number, Name, Type
and number of devices.
In the Output Device form, you can select several rows or outputs at once, by clicking and dragging to select
multiple items. Using the Enter Key will duplicate the current value to the selected range and will move down to
the next cell. Pressing Tab will duplicate and move to the next column if more than one column is selected.
When you select a Range of Channels or zones, entering a value and pressing Enter, will result in a Quick Tool
option, allowing you to automatically increment the channel/zone number for that selected range.
Channel/Zone The Channel in the Room that that dimmer or DMX address will
respond to.
Non Dim/Dimmer Selects if this is a switching circuit, or one that dims from 0 to
100%.
Warn This option determines if this circuit will give a warning flash
when the room it belongs to is swept. See the Sweep Room
Button Action
Tip: You can use Vision.net designer in Design mode, working off line to prepare some
presets. You can do this by using the Rack and DMX simulation tools (see Simulations).
Once you have recorded your desired states, you can connect your computer to the
Vision.net system using a Vision.net RS232 interface (Part Number 63025). By selecting
the Synchronise tool from the Output Decice toolbar, the settings can be downloaded or
uploaded to/from the real output device.
Note:
Simulations
Concepts
When designing a Vision.net system, there are times when you would like to visualise what the outputs might
look like. To this end there are two simulation tools provided within Vision.net Designer.
Rack
By selecting the Rack simulation tool, a window mimicking the output levels of the selected output device will be
shown. The Rack simulation can be switched on and off at any time
Note: You must setup an Output device if you wish to use the Rack Simulation tool.
DMX
As well as simulating the output of the system, you can also simulate a DMX control signal coming form a DMX
console. This DMX signal is one that will be used to set the levels on one of your output devices, depending on
the Priority setting of the Output device the simulated DMX level will show on the Rack simulation.
Palette OS
Overview
A control console running the Strand Lighting Palette OS may be controlled from a Strand Lighting Vision.net
System, allowing sophisticated integration between an Architectural Lighting system and the control console.
To enable this function, the Vision.net interface on Palette OS needs to be enabled. This is done in the
Hardware Setup for the console and by assigning a Variable page to receive information from Vision.net.
Note: This is a global setting and only needs to be set once, since it is stored
separate from the show file
Open the Variables Display (Display - Vaiables) and Right Click to add a new Variable Page, by selecting "Add
Variable Page"
Having added the variable page, you can give it an easy to remember name by double clicking on it.
The finalk stage is the Patch Column entry. This is in the form of Bx, where "x" refers to the Vision.net Room
for the Panel. So for example, if the button that we needed to interface to was in Room 5, we would enter B5 in
the patch.
In the above example, the Variable Page has been assigned the to Room 1. Having created that link, we need
to add a separate variable for each button.
Adding a new Variable is done using the {Add Variable} softkey displayed at the bottom of the screen.
By adding a variable to the page, it is automatically assigned an "Order" and a "Name". In the case of
Vision.net, the Order number is the button number that you want to link to. The name is a name that you can
use within Macros Scripts, to find out the the current value.
When you add variables to a page, they will automatically start at One and increment. You can modify the
"Order" value, just by double clicking. In the above example the Order has been changed to 8 to correspond to
button Number 8 in the patched Room (Room 1 (B1) from this example). It has also been give the name of "VN
Button8" so that we can use this variable inside macros.
The following script example would allow you to findout the current value:
Testing
Press the Vision.net button and notice the "value" for the corresponding variable goes from zero to one
Concepts
The Real Time Clock section of the software allows events to be cued based on the time of day. Event
scheduling may be done on a daily basis, either at an absolute time, or relative to Sunset and Sunrise.
In order for events to be scheduled, a real time clock has to be present on the Vision.net Network. Vision.net
designer itself can serve as a real time clock, or alternatively a Touch Screen or Contact Relay panel may be
used.
Note: Modification of the Real Time clock is only possible when the system is running in the
Admin Map or All Map mode.
ID Number
You start by giving the Real Time Clock an ID number to identify it form others that might also be part of your
system. Vision.net Designer will automatically prompt you with the next free ID number.
Note: If you are going to run an Real Time clock on an Output Device or Touch Screen, set the
ID number of the Real Time Clock to the same ID of the Device you wish to use to run it
on.
Timed Events
Timed Events
You Add, Delete or Edit timed events using the Timed Events Toolbar.
Add
The add button opens up the event dialogue box for configuring and scheduling events. Events can be
scheduled on a daily basis at an absolute time or a time relative to Sunrise and Sunset.
Each event can be assigned a group number. Groups on the real time clock can then be Enabled or Disabled
by Smart buttons or Clock Actions.
Events are added and tested using the Edit Action List and Test Action List Buttons
Edit
This button allows you to edit the selected event.
Delete
Deletes the selected event.
Location
The location dialogue box, set the Latitude and Longitude of the site, thereby calculating Sunrise and Sunset
timing. A location can be looked up using the Lookup button.
Icon View
Switches the display between an Event Schedule list or an Icon display of Events.
Export
Available on Touch Screens and Output Devices. This button downloads the event settings to the Touch
Screen or Output Device with the same ID as the Real Time Clock setting.
The export operation can take place over Vision.net Network in the case of an Output Devices or an Ethernet
Network Connection or Configuration File in the case of a Touch Screen.
Event Export Dialogue Box for a Output Event Export Dialogue Box for a Touch
Device Screen
J1 – Vision.net
1 Data + White/Orange
2 Data - Orange
3 SCREEN
4 +24v White/Green
5 GND Green
6 +24v White/Blue
7 GND Blue
8 +24v White/Brown
9 GND Brown
J5 + J6 Vision.net
1 Data + White/Orange
2 Data - Orange
3 SCREEN
4 +24v White/Green
5 GND Green
6 +24v White/Blue
7 GND Blue
8 +24v White/Brown
9 GND Brown
J1 – DMX In
1 Screen
2 Data -
3 Data +
4 NC
5 NC
J2 – DMX Out
1 Screen
2 Data -
3 Data +
4 NC
5 NC
Pin +V
Hole
Barrel GND
Fader Stations
PCB 70-1700 Rev B
J3 - Vision.net
1 Data + White/Orange
2 Data - Orange
3 SCREEN
4 +24v White/Green
5 GND Green
6 +24v White/Blue
7 GND Blue
8 +24v White/Brown
9 GND Brown
RS232 Station
Vision.net
1 Data + White/Orange
2 Data - Orange
3 SCREEN
4 +24v White/Green
5 GND Green
6 +24v White/Blue
7 GND Blue
8 +24v White/Brown
9 GND Brown
Serial Port
Serial Ports Female 9 pin D-type
Pin Description
Pin 5 Ground
Palette
2 Receive data
3 Transmit data
5 Ground
7 Request to send
8 Clear to send
9 Ring indicator
3 Data - Orange
4 Data + White/Orange
5 TS VCommon
6 TS V+
Portable Station
1 Ground
2 +24V
3 Data -
4 Data +
5 TS VCommon
6 TS V+
Preset If the action is set as a Preset it will allow you to set which room and which
preset the button selects. It will also allow you to set a fade time for the
preset. A preset selection button also has the option to disable the Press
and Hold Learn feature for the button
Preset On/Off If the action is set as a Preset On/Off the Button becomes a latching
button, switching the selected preset on and off.
Toggle The toggle action will allow you to switch a channel belonging to a group
on and off with each press. You specify the ID of the Group the channel
belongs to and the number of the channel.
Smart As a Smart Button, you can fully customise the action of the button and the
Edit button allows you to set the button action. Smart buttons can be
either latching momentary action switches, with actions assigned to either
the “Button Down” action (when the button is pressed) or the “Button Up”
action (when the button is released).
Lock Button The Lock button action allows you select the a button on a particular panel
to be lock thereby preventing it from being pressed by a user. This can be
handy for buttons in public areas, allowing them to only to be available at
certain times of day.
With the Button selection, you can select either all buttons or a just a
single button. Under Panel ID you enter the Number of the Panel you want
the button(s) to be locked.
Unlock Button Unlocking buttons allows you to select the button and the panel that you
wish to allow to unlock.
With the Button selection, you can select either all buttons or a just a
single button.
Under Panel ID you enter the Number of the Panel you want the button(s)
to be unlocked.
Wait This function is a program flow control and allows you considerable control
over what the button does.
A wait allows you to put a pause in the actions of the smart button. Handy
for example if you want a button to Switch On a circuit and then a few
moments later to switch on another.
Loop This function is a program flow control and allows you considerable control
over what the button does.
The Loop action allows you to loop to a specific action. A count allows you
to specify the number of time that it will go through that loop.
Smart On This function allows you control other smart buttons on panels and switch
them on remotely.
Smart Off This function allows you control other smart buttons on panels and switch
them off remotely.
Genlyte Scene This function allows you control a Genlyte Controls ILS station connected
on the same network and select one of its presets.
Console Button This function allows you to trigger events on a Strand Lighting Palette,
Light Palette or Rack Palette lighting control console.
Smart Mimic This allows this button to mimic the state of a button on a Touch Screen in
the network.
Room Link This allows the button to act a Room Combine function, joining two Groups
or Rooms together.
No Button On a button station, this option removes the button for configuration
purposes.
Select Mode This allows the button to select one of the 9 differnt modes of system
operation.
Share Button This allows a shared Shared Button on a Touch screen to be remotely
pressed.
Buttons that can be shared are PSSLS, Room Link, Smart Buttons, Tabs
and Toggle Master buttons on a Touch Screen. Buttons on a Touch
Screen as shared and given a name to identify it.
RTC Group Used in Smart buttons to enable or disable Real Time Clock Group Events
Toggle Master Toggle Masters allow Toggle Buttons Groups to be learned. This can be
very useful when using Toggle Buttons for Non-Dims on a Stage Lighting
system.
1) Alternate Action where the Button alternately turns On and Off the
selected Toggle Buttons
3) Toggle Off where the Button turns Off the selected Toggle Buttons
Suspend Clock Having a Toggle Action, when active, this button suspends any pending
Real Time Clock events on the designated clock controller.
Set Clock This button opens up the Clock dialog option of a touch screen.
CK Show This button type will trigger a Philips ColorKinetics Show state. The
connection for the Philips ColorKinetics Show is configured in the Touch
Screen Properties Dialogue
Sweep Room This Action will "Sweep Up" the lights in a room, placing the room in
darkness. The sweep action has two parameters, Warn and Shutoff
times.
When the Sweep action takes place, the lights in the designated room will
briefly flash to warn you that they will change, provided the "warn" option is
selected for that circuit on the Ouput Device.
After the warn time, Preset 0 for that room will be selected.
If a new preset is selected after the warning, that preset will remain active
for the Shutoff time.
Example:
Warn is 5
Shutoff is 60
11:00 pm Warning
11:05 PM Off
12:30 AM Warning
12:35 AM Off
The sweep will remain active until an End Sweep Room event is activated.
Note: A Sweep Action will not clear any toggle buttons that
are currently on but will switch off those circuits.
Consequentially you should not have any toggle
controllers in a room that will be swept.
End Sweep Room The End Sweep Room event cancels the Sweep Room Action.
Smart Buttons
Smart Buttons
Smart buttons are one of the most powerful features of VisionNet, allowing a number of actions to be combined
on the press of a single button.
These buttons have two actions, one while the button is held down and the other when the button is released.
Additionally, smart buttons can be configured t have either a momentary or toggle action.
Note: Since Button Down actions only take place when the button is held down, it is often best
practice; when using a momentary action on a smart button, to put all the actions in the
Button Up list. By doing this, it removes the need for the user to hold the button down
until all the events have processed.
Conversely, this can also be used to your advantage. If by introducing a Wait action on a
key, you can ensure that an action on it takes place, only if a user "Holds" the button
down for the duration of the Wait time.
Example
Using the Smart Button Dialog boxes, you can create sophisticated events. The above example shows a
example of a button which will perform as follows:
2. When the button is released, it will run Preset 1 in Room/Group 1, wait for an hour and then Run
Preset 2 in Room/Group 1 continually cycling round 5 presets. This for example could be used to
change colours on a set of LED devices cycling round a sequence of colours.
Maintenance Mode
A special Maintenance Mode is provided for Touch Screens. In this mode, you can bring up settings on the
touchscreen, allowing them to be changed.
To enable the Maintenance Mode, hold down the Control key and select the desired touch screen from the My
Network Tree. If you are currently viwing the touchscreen you wish to maintain, then first select another item
from the Network Tree. A password prompt will appear. Enter the Password and a new toolbar option will be
available.
Trouble Shooting
In order to determine if a Vision.net Network device is communicating, a network test signal can be sent to
devices on the network, using the Vision.net Designer software . To do this, the Flash Station signal is sent to
the station in order to verify communications.
Station Identification:
Step 1. Connect the PC running the Vision.net Designer software to the Vision.net Network via
the Vision.netRS232 station, using an RS232 lead. Alternatively you can connect to the
Vision.net network using a Bluetooth interface. Please contact your local Strand Lighting
Office for more details on this interface.
Step 2: Set Vision.net Designer to work “On Line”.
Step 3: Select the required panel from the Network Tree and press the Station ID button.
Step 4: Select Flash Station and the LED Indicators of the selected station will flash.
The material in this manual is for information purposes only and is subject to change without notice. Strand
Lighting assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions which may appear in this manual. For comments
and suggestions regarding corrections and/or updates to this manual, please contact your nearest Strand
Lighting office.
El contenido de este manual es solamente para información y está sujeto a cambios sin previo aviso. Strand
Lighting no asume responsabilidad por errores o omisiones que puedan aparecer. Cualquier comentario,
sugerencia o corrección con respecto a este manual, favor de dirijirlo a la oficina de Strand Lighting más
cercana.
Der Inhalt dieses Handbuches ist nur für Informationszwecke gedacht, Aenderungen sind vorbehalten. Strand
Lighting uebernimmt keine Verantwortung für Fehler oder Irrtuemer, die in diesem Handbuch auftreten. Für
Bemerkungen und Verbesserungsvorschlaege oder Vorschlaege in Bezug auf Korrekturen und/oder
Aktualisierungen in diesem Handbuch, moechten wir Sie bitten, Kontakt mit der naechsten Strand Lighting-
Niederlassung aufzunehmen.
Le matériel décrit dans ce manuel est pour information seulement et est sujet à changements sans préavis. La
compagnie Strand Lighting n'assume aucune responsabilité sur toute erreur ou omission inscrite dans ce
manuel. Pour tous commentaires ou suggestions concernant des corrections et/ou les mises à jour de ce
manuel, veuillez s'll vous plait contacter le bureau de Strand Lighting le plus proche.
Information contained in this document may not be duplicated in full or in part by any person without prior written
approval of Strand Lighting Inc. Its sole purpose is to provide the user with conceptual information on the
equipment mentioned. The use of this document for all other purposes is specifically prohibited. Certain
features of the equipment described in this document may form the subject of patents or patent applications.
Index
-A-
Adding Devices 58
-B-
Button and Event Actions 81
Button Stations 72
Buttons 31
-C-
Communications 9
Control Stations 30
Custom Panels 38
-D-
DMX Interface 73
-F-
Fader Stations 75
File 12
-G-
Group/Rooms 29
-H-
Help 22
-L-
Loading from a Station 37
Loading Touchscreen 55
-M-
Main Tool Bar 24
Maps: Display/Unlock All 22
Mode Maps 19
-O-
Offices and Service Centres 89
Operating Style 18
Output Devices 57
-P-
Palette 78
Portable Stations and Screens 79
-R-
Real Time Clock 66, 21
RS232 Station 76
-S-
Saving and Loading Station Configurations 35
Saving to a Station 36
Screen Design 43
Setup 15
Simulations 62
Slider Faders 33
Smart Buttons 86
Station ID 34
Status Bar 27
-T-
Timed Events 67
Tools 14
Touch Screen Buttons 47
Touch Screen Maintenance 87
Touch Screen Raise and Lower 51
Touch Screen Slider 48
Touch Screen Slider Panels 50
Touch Screen Tabbed Views 44
Touch Screen Text 52
Touch Screen Tool Bar 41
Touch Screens 39
Trouble Shooting 88
-V-
Vision.Net Designer Software
Vision.Net Overview 8
-W-
Welcome , 6
Welcome , 6