How to use Lighting Console

This is an introduction and brief overview on how to operate the ETC Smartfade ML Lighting console located in The Stage.

Operating the console

This page is intended for production personnel and volunteers who are in need of some instruction on how to operate the console. For access to advanced processes and information please refer to the lighting console manual, which is located with other gear documentation at the sound booth

Turning On/Off the light console

• To turn ON the light console locate the power button at the top right of the light console and press it. It will take a few moments for the console to boot up. Once the boot up process is finished, the console will be available for use.

• To turn OFF the console locate the power button at the top right of the light console and press it. Then, you will be prompted to CONFIRM or ABORT. To ABORT select the NO button just below the Abort text, it will be labeled with a NO underneath the button. To, CONFIRM select the YES button, which is also the MENU button, which is located just underneath the CONFIRM text in the LCD window.

• If you still have lights on after shutting down the console, proceed to the ,Troubleshooting ETC Light Console, page.

Using saved memories on the ETC Smartfade ML light console

• To access and use saved memories on the light console, make sure the light console is ON first.
• There are 12 banks of memories on the SmartFadeML light console, which contain 12 individual memories within each one of those banks.
• To access a memory bank on the light console, press and hold the Mems button which will make the fader buttons start blinking. Then, select which memory bank you would like to use. When you press and hold down the Mems button, you will notice that one of the flashing fader buttons will be more illuminated then the rest. That illuminated button will be the current memory bank selected, if you want to access a different memory bank go ahead and press a different fader button. Beginner users of the console should only use, Memory Bank 1.

• To use a light scene saved within that memory bank, just slide up the fader memory (1-24) to the intensity of your liking.

Programming memories

• Programming the light console is for advanced users only. If you are an advanced user, please DO NOT overwrite any memories currently saved on light console. If there aren’t any available memory locations, notify the facility manager to accommodate your lighting needs.
• Their are a handful of ways to program memories on the ETC SmartFadeML Light Console. The current preferred method is to use the REC SEL method, not the REC ALL method. Reason for this is that when blending faders during a live show, the lights will change to unknown colors and do things that are not logical in the REC ALL mode.
• First, what you need to do is press the DEVICE SELECT button located in the center of the console, then press the PARAM 1 button which is located in the bank of buttons to the left of DEVICE SELECT.
• Once you have these two buttons pressed on illuminated, you are ready to start selecting fixtures that you would like to program.
• Note: There are three rows of light fixtures with four lights per row and there are 2 moving head lights as well. Your main focus will the LED fixtures only, with only facility managers and trained users to be able to use the moving head lights.
• Once the above processes are completed now you can move to selecting fixtures. Choose which fixtures you would like to program (9-20) and go ahead and select them. Then, go ahead and slide fader number one up(intensity fader)and press the COLOR button located above that fader. Once the intensity fader is up and you have pressed the color button, go ahead and select a color.
• Once a color is selected, your selected light fixtures should change to that color. If not, repeat above steps. If you are satisfied with that color go ahead and deselect the fixtures you had selected and choose the other set of fixtures you would like to program, if that is your intention for this memory.
• If that is not your intention and are just wanting to program only a single choice color and fixtures, go ahead and save that memory.
• To save that memory, make sure you still have the fixtures you selected, illuminated, and have the intensity up for those fixtures. Then, go ahead and press the RECORD SEL button (located by Crossfaders)and then begin saving the memory to its proper location.
• Once you have pressed the RECORD SEL button, all of the fader buttons will start flashing red. Go ahead and press and hold down the MEMS button to verify which memory bank you are going to save to. After verifying the memory bank, save your memory into a fader that does not already have a memory saved into it. Available fader spots for saved memories will be indicated by a brightly lit red fader button, opposed to a dimly lit red fader button. If all fader buttons are dimly lit, you must move to another memory bank.
• NEVER save a memory over an already existing fader memory.