User Manual: Installation, Operation Manual & Warranty Details

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Any person installing, operating, and/or maintaining this product should completely read through the guide that shipped with the product, as well as this manual, before installing, operating, or maintaining this product.

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To keep your GeNetix Product in best condition please observe the following recommendations:

GeNetix products ship with the following package contents:

GeNetix network products enable DMX data, media data and control data to be distributed throughout the lighting rig from control consoles to fixtures. GeNetix products can be used with any lighting console or media server - they are independent of MagicQ and QuickQ products.

GeNetix products are designed and engineered in the UK by ChamSys Ltd, and are designed for reliability. Wherever possible, all components are mounted on a single circuit board to avoid the need for interconnecting cables.

GeNetix products use professional locking Ethercon connectors for all network connections, avoiding the limited lifetime associated with traditional RJ45 network plugs and sockets.

GeNetix GN5, GN10, GS5IP and GS8 use professional locking power connectors for power input and accept voltages from 90V to 250V AC.

GeNetix products support being powered via Power over Ethernet (PoE) - the GeNetix GW2O, GW2I, GN2, GN5, GN10 can be powered directly by their PoE input (such as from the GeNetix GS8) reducing the number of cables in the system.

The GW2O, GW2I, GN2, GN5 and GN10 make up the network nodes in the GeNetix range.

All GeNetix network nodes support the following:

GeNetix nodes offer quick setup options for common user scenarios.

To ensure connection to GeNetix products users must ensure the device is in the same IP range as the lighting controller.

GeNetix Nodes all support industry standard protocols Art-Net and sACN supporting DMX Output or DMX Input, GeNetix nodes differ in the number of DMX ports. GeNetix GN2, GN5 and GN10 all feature an inbuilt display for node configuration and displaying device status. The GeNetix GN5 and GN10 feature additional connections supporting MIDI, Timecode and 10Scene.

All GeNetix Nodes can be powered via PoE, with the GN2, GN5 and GN10 supporting PoE Mode A and Mode B. The GW2I and GW2O nodes are powered only via PoE, supporting Mode A only (PoE over the data pair). In addition to PoE power, the GN2 can be USB powered via it’s USB-C port. The GN5 and GN10 can in addition to being PoE powered be mains powered via their mains Line Input.

The GN2, GN5 and GN10 have an optional USB connection, enabling them to be used either in USB or Network mode.

When a GeNetix node is connected via USB to a PC (Windows, Mac or Linux) with MagicQ running then the GeNetix node runs in USB mode, functioning as a MagicQ interface connected directly to the MagicQ application.

In USB mode it is treated just like a MagicQ Wing or Interface with the configuration being controlled from within MagicQ rather than from the GeNetix node. In this mode the node configuration is unused, although it is retained for when the node is used again in Network mode.

When in USB mode, the DMX outputs are configured in MagicQ from the Setup Window, VIEW DMX I/O. For GN5 and GN10 the MIDI, Timecode and 10Scene port are configured in MagicQ from the Setup Window, VIEW SETTINGS. The configuration is stored in the MagicQ show file as normal.

The node indicates USB mode on its front panel when in USB mode.

The node continues in USB mode even if the USB link is lost or MagicQ is stopped. To restart the node in Network mode, disconnect the USB or shut down the MagicQ and then power the GeNetix node on and off.

The GN2, GN5 and GN10 Nodes can be configured via their in-built display, via MagicQ/QuickQ consoles and their Web server. When configuring GeNetix devices via the in-built display, the node can be navigated in the following way:

The Encoder is pressed to access the Node Menu, then used to scroll through menu option and pressed to select the menu item or confirm options. The Back button moves up a level from the current menu level. The Home button will return back to the Node Home Display no matter which menu option is currently on the display.

The home display shows the status of the node, along with the device IP address, Name and Port configuration. On GN5 and GN10 nodes the home display will also display incoming Timecode and MIDI messages.

The Port configuration boxes change in their highlighted colour in line with Node Ports colours, see Ports section for details.

Pressing the encoder knob from the home display will enter the main menu. Main menu options are described in the preceding sections.

Allows for individual Ports of the Node to be configured separately.

DMX Fallback enables fixtures on a single universe to be connected in a loop to two ports on the GeNetix node for redundancy. If a single cable is broken anywhere in the DMX loop, all fixtures can still receive DMX.

Each port can be set to Output, Input or Fallback.

When a port is set to Fallback it is by default operating as Input.

The node periodically checks for DMX being received in on the Fallback port, if after a timeout of at least 2 seconds there is no input detected then it changes into Output mode, outputting the Art-Net or sACN universe configured.

When operating as an output, it periodically briefly changes to an input to sense whether DMX data is now being received. If detected, the port stays as an input continuing periodic checking of the incoming DMX.

Different LED states are used to indicate if Fallback is configured, and in operation.

When using Fallback it is normal to set both the main output port and the Fallback port to decode the same Art-Net / sACN universe.

DMX Fallback is supported within a GeNetix node and also between multiple GeNetix nodes. For example, an installation could have a primary GN10 and a backup GN10 that provides both backup (in case the node fails) and DMX Fallback (in case of cable failure/fixture failure).

On the GN2, GN5, GN10, GW2I and GW2O the following LED colours are used:

Port set to output:

Port set to Fallback:

Port set to input:

Note that during Identify all LEDs will be blue.

How a node reacts when losing network data (Art-Net or sACN) can be configured:

The network is only considered to be lost when data for all network ports configured as Outputs is lost.