Our SER-DMX has had a long and storied life here at Gilderfluke- moving up several generations, it’s third and current iteration has moved it from the SD family into the miniBrick family (meaning it is now more dynamic and multi-functional than ever before)! The first generation of the SER-DMX was a set of timers with sixteen 0-10 analog inputs and ServoMotor outputs. The second generation had a micro controller CPLD generating a pulse for talking to Servo’s and was a DMX slave device. The third and current iteration of the SER-DMX is used for controlling remote control-style ServoMotors from its micro Sd card, or from any Gilderfluke Animation Control System or other DMX-512 source (check out our SER-DMX ‘facts’ below for further detail!). ServoMotors are an inexpensive way to add analog movements to animated figures. Using analog controls allows for smoother movement and control.
SER-DMX FACTS!
Digital or Analog? We have changed the SER-DMX to analog movements from primarily digital. To give a little background- A digital device is either on or off, like a light switch. An analog device is on, off, or at any point between. A common example of an analog device is a lamp dimmer. In animation, analog movements give the fluid, lifelike movements that are needed to bring an animated figure to life. Analog movements can be moved as quickly or slowly as you desire, and stopped at any point within their range of movement. Features of the SER-DMX include:
- The SER-DMX controls up to sixteen remote control-style ServoMotors. These use a Pulse Code Modulated (PCM) command signal with pulses that typically vary between 1.0 and 2.0 milliseconds to give you a 90° ServoMotor shaft rotation. Each ServoMotor output can be adjusted anywhere between .5 and 2.5 milliseconds, or even reversed. Depending on your ServoMotor, this can give you up to 180 degrees of movement. The ServoMotor endpoints do not interact during adjustment.
- Accepts eight or twelve bit resolution commands from your Pc•MACs Animation Programming System.
- Built-in Ease-In when shows or DMX-512 starts or stops. These keep the ServoMotors from jumping.
- Networkable! The SER-DMX can act as a ‘master’, sending up to 512 channels of DMX-512 data to other GilderGear and DMX-512-compatible equipment that act as a ‘slaves’, or the SER-DMX can receive DMX-512 from an external source, and itself be a ‘slave’. Error checking prevents any updates from bad DMX-512 data. As a ‘Master’, the SER-DMX has the DMX-512 output capacity to run most shows.
- Micro Sd Flash card for a virtually unlimited show capacity. Up to 255 shows can be loaded onto a SER-DMX at one time. In many installations, the SER-DMX can take the place of a lighting board.
- Indicator LEDs for heartbeat, trigger inputs, ServoMotor outputs, and DMX-512 status.
- Two optoisolated inputs or the RS-232 serial port can be used to start, stop, or access shows.
- The SER-DMX cards can be mounted in ‘inaccessible’ locations, since they are Controlled and Configured through the RS-232 serial port.
- The SER-DMX runs on 7 to 24 vdc. ServoMotors typically use 4 to 6 volts. Some ServoMotors use up to 12 or 24 vdc. If using ServoMotors that need more than seven volts, you can run the SER-DMX from the same supply as the ServoMotors.
- Identical in size and shape to a Br-miniBrick8. Can be mounted on Snap-Track, DIN rail (using the optional DinAdapt clips), or just screw or velcro it to the backside of whatever it is controlling.
Story time! “Take it away, Ern’!”
The SER-DMX is used in all sorts of props and animated figures for movies, theme parks, haunt and home hobbyists the world over. It’s especially useful if you have a lightweight animatronic, the SER-DMX is about the size of our miniBrick8 (about 2×2.5x.75”) so you’re not weighed down by bulky hardware. One of the more fun examples is about that shrunken head in that magical movie based on a series of magical books about a British boy with a lightning bolt scar on his forehead! The shrunken heads are particularly well-known as they were not in the books, but added in the movies- a unique curiosity for fans who were used to elements being removed from the original story line, not added.
Story goes, the props department was messing around with fun background ideas to make the movie visually spectacular. The grand wizard herself, JK Rowling came in on one fateful day- noticed the shrunken heads and loved them. As a result, they got moved up from a static background prop to an animated full-frontal addition to the movie! This is an especially good example of a small animatronic using the SER-DMX seamlessly- most viewers don’t even realize the puppet required no CGI at all- it was purely practical!
Props for the movie used our PC-MACs software, which at the time, the props team wasn’t super familiar with. So one of the props heads brought our manual home one night (probably as a way to lull her to sleep after a long day ) and discovered the ‘Yak’ function in the manual. As one might assume, the Yak function allows for easy programming for mouth movement. The next day she put the Yak function to work and BOOM! Movie magic. The director loved it, the movement was seamless and- it’s worth mentioning twice- didn’t require a touch of CGI. You can thank that PC-MACs software for those shrunken, moving lips when it projects, “Take it away, Ern!”, among other quips.
The SER-DMX brought a large swath of props to life for the movie series far beyond the infamous shrunken heads- most of which we cannot disclose here, or we would have to wipe your memory. It is also used in theme parks, restaurants, and stage shows all over the world! Interested in one for yourself and your creations? Do you have any specific questions? Don’t hesitate to contact us!
If your eyeballs are tired and you no longer want to read- but still have a desire to learn- check out our related Brown Bag Seminars below!
Want to buy all of our products? Please do! Or just get the SER-DMX!
Join us next week as we jump into the wild world of the DAC-Quad!
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