DMX Bricklet¶

Features¶

• Supports DMX slave and master
• Has male and female XLR connector
• All 512 DMX channels available
• Can be used to monitor existing DMX network without interference
• Switchable 120 Ohm termination

Description¶

The DMX Bricklet can be used to extend the features of Bricks by the capability of a DMX slave or master.

In master mode the Bricklet can control up to 512 channels with the maximum possible DMX speed. Frames can be send with a fixed frame rate to achieve smooth animations. Frames are double buffered to increase performance.

In slave mode the Bricklet can receive all 512 channels. It can react to any of the channels or also be used for monitoring in an existing DMX network without any interference.

The Bricklet comes with a male and female connector as well as a user switchable 120 ohm termination.

This Bricklet ist not galvanically isolated to the Tinkerforge system. This means that there is a direct electrical connection between the terminals of the Bricklet and the rest of the system. Dependent of the application this can lead to undesired connections, ground loops or short circuits. These problems can be prevented by using the Bricklet together with a Isolator Bricklet.

Technical Specifications¶

Resources¶

• Schematic (Download)
• Outline and drilling plan (Download)
• Source code and design files (Download)
• 3D model (View online | Download: STEP, FreeCAD)

Test your DMX Bricklet¶

To test a DMX Bricklet you need to have Brick Daemon and Brick Viewer installed. Brick Daemon acts as a proxy between the USB interface of the Bricks and the API bindings. Brick Viewer connects to Brick Daemon. It helps to figure out basic information about the connected Bricks and Bricklets and allows to test them.

Connect the DMX Bricklet to a Brick with a Bricklet Cable.

If you connect the Brick to the PC over USB, you should see a new tab named "DMX Bricklet" in the Brick Viewer after a moment. Select this tab. You can now change between master/slave mode and send/receive DMX data.

After this test you can go on with writing your own application. See the Programming Interface section for the API of the DMX Bricklet and examples in different programming languages.

Case¶

A laser-cut case for the DMX Bricklet is available.

The assembly is easiest if you follow the following steps:

• Build up side plates,
• plug side plates into bottom plate,
• screw 12mm screw with nut to the bottom plate
• screw spacers to the Bricklet and
• screw top plate to top spacers.

Below you can see an exploded assembly drawing of the DMX Bricklet case:

Hint: There is a protective film on both sides of the plates, you have to remove it before assembly.

Programming Interface¶

See Programming Interface for a detailed description.