Patch a Fixture
Patch a fixture by setting its universe, address, and mode, or let Spectralite calculate a free address automatically as you add it.
Patching gives a fixture a DMX address, the universe and start channel where its control data lives. Spectralite needs that address to send the right values to the right light. Fixtures and patching explains what a patched fixture is and how it differs from the reusable definition that it comes from. If the fixture is not in your project yet, add it first.
A patch is two numbers and a mode. The universe and address locate the fixture. The fixture's mode sets how many consecutive channels it claims from that start. An eight-channel mode patched at address 100 occupies channels 100 through 107, so the next fixture starts at 108 or later. If you switch a fixture to a mode with a different channel count, the range that it claims changes.
Open the edit dialog
In the Fixtures panel, right-click the fixture and choose Edit, or click its pencil icon. The edit dialog holds the fixture's universe, address, mode, and network settings.
Set the universe and address
Set Universe and Address. Both are 1-based: universe 1 is the first universe, and address 1 is the first channel in it. These numbers match the numbers printed on the fixture's display and in its manual. Type them exactly as the physical light shows them, and do not pre-subtract for any protocol. Spectralite converts to the numbering that each protocol carries on the wire. Output covers this conversion.
Save the patch
Click Save changes. The fixture now claims its channel range, and the Fixtures panel shows its universe and address in the UNI and ADR columns.
Let Spectralite pick the address
When you add a fixture, the two-column Add fixture form can place it for you. On the left, the Calculate universes/addresses button finds the next free address after your existing fixtures. To patch several identical fixtures in one pass, set the Quantity field. Spectralite lays them out end to end. Two options refine the placement. One keeps each fixture inside a single universe, and the other fills gaps that earlier fixtures left in the address space.
On the right, the Address space grid shows what is already patched and where the new fixture would land. To set the start address directly, click a cell. To preview the placement first, hover over a cell. The same grid and buttons appear when you add a fixture. That is the usual moment to address a fixture.
Patch many fixtures at once
The address and universe fields accept comma-separated values, so one add creates several fixtures at different locations. If you enter addresses such as 1,100,200 and universes such as 1,2,3, each pairing becomes its own fixture. Universe values here are 1-based, the same as everywhere else in the patch. Click Patch N fixtures to create them all.
How universe numbers reach the wire
Your patch universes start at 1. The two output protocols number their first universe differently. When you create an output, Spectralite corrects for the difference, so patch universe 1 arrives where a standard receiver expects it. Output has the full mapping and the one case where you shift it.
Use the per-output Universe Offset only to align with a third-party receiver that numbers its universes differently from Spectralite's default. Spectralite already converts between 1-based and 0-based numbering correctly per protocol, so the offset plays no part in that. Unless a specific receiver forces another number, leave the offset at its default. See Output.
Find overlapping channels
Two fixtures must not share a channel, because shared channels produce unpredictable output on stage. Spectralite still lets you patch into an occupied range and sends the addresses that you give it. It shows you the collision and does not block the patch.
The Address Space panel maps every channel to the fixture that holds it. It highlights any cell that more than one fixture claims. After any bulk re-patch, and before a show, scan the panel to make sure that no two fixtures share a channel. Fixtures and patching explains the concept behind this check.
To clear a flagged conflict, move one fixture to a free address, move it to a different universe, or switch it to a mode that uses fewer channels.
See your patches
Two views tell you where everything sits.
The Fixtures panel lists every patched fixture with its universe and address. It shows network status icons for unicast fixtures and has a search box to filter by name.
The Address Space panel shows channel allocation universe by universe, so you can find gaps to fill and conflicts to fix at a glance.
Document and share a patch
From the Fixtures panel toolbar, Print as PDF produces a patch sheet, and Create shareable link publishes one to a public URL. See Share a patch.
Address remotely and per cell
Some fixtures need more than a single start address. A multi-cell fixture may address each cell separately. To learn how its cells are laid out, check the fixture's mode and its manual.
With RDM-capable hardware, you can address fixtures over the network instead of at the light. The RDM Devices panel discovers fixtures, reads their current addresses, and changes them over Art-Net.
For unicast output, the Target IP field in the fixture edit dialog suggests the nodes that discovery found. You can choose a node instead of typing its address. See the Art-Net Nodes panel.
Related
- Fixtures and patching: what a patched fixture is.
- Output: how universes leave Spectralite and reach hardware.
- Add a fixture: bring a fixture in before you patch it.
- The Fixtures panel: manage every patched fixture.
- Address Space panel: see the whole patch as a grid.