Pathway DMX QConnect Software for CR Manual - Manual (Page 7)

DMXQConnect for CR - User Guide About DMXQConnect
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Launching DMXQConnect, the user is presented with a combination status
screen and work area made up of several window “panes”. It is here that the
main work of creating a patch file is done. An old file can be retrieved from the
archive, edited, and saved as a different one, or a new patch can be started
from scratch. The basic connectivity information needed by the system can be
described simply: where do we get the signal from to control a given piece of
equipment?
All DMX input (source) locations in the installation are shown, ready for
immediate use, in the Source pane (these names can be edited at any time in
a separate Configure Sources window). Similarly, all DMX output stations are
shown in either the Non-Connected Stations or Connected Stations panes
(these names can be edited at any time in a separate Configure Stations
window). Both Sources and Stations include a description field to allow
optional text notes to be added to each connection record.
Clicking on any station (connected or unconnected) will provide you with
additional information in a station detail pane at the top of the screen. Here
you will find (and be able to change) the optional device type and icon for the
station, as well as provide a detailed description or note. The Device # cell
allows you to enter the control console's idea of how to find the color scroller
(or other receiving equipment) that you are connecting via a given record --
typically a value ranging from one to several thousand. DMXQConnect
automatically computes the "real" address for the scroller which of course can
be no higher than 512, and pops it into an Address cell for all to see, especially
whoever is in charge of hanging lights and setting thumbwheel address
switches.
DMXQConnect also allows the user to specify which stations will be handling
bi-directional communications; that is, where the connected equipment is
capable of both sending and receiving data on separate wire pairs. The
DMXPathfinder will, incidentally, handle any manufacturer's native protocol
provided that it meets the basic requirements of EIA (Electronic Industries
Association) RS-422 or RS-485, and its baud rate doesn't exceed 2 megabits
per second.
What about using the network for signals that don't meet RS422/485 specs?
That's where the DMXPathfinder’s cable isolation feature comes in. If you
don't select a given input or output path in the workspace, the actual installed
DMX wiring for that node remains physically and electrically isolated from the
Pathfinder’s transceiver electronics. This means that you can use the wiring to
handle almost any low voltage, low power application you can think of, for
example: headsets, contact closures, or analog control signals.