very simple DMX controller with arduino

Projects General Guidance
1

Hi!

I need to hide some fog machines in the forest, and to put them to throw fog automatically. I have a very basic fog machine and it has a controller with an on-off button, and nothing else, so if I want to be able to throw less fog, I have to use a dmx controller, and there is no way I can make interruptions with this machine, so I though I might be able to do all this with an arduino.

this is the fog machine:

this is the dmx controller that I have:

When using this fog machine with this controller, I pull up the master to the maximum, and control how much fog comes out with the fader 1.

What do you think would be the easiest attempt for this project?

2

You should be able to do that with a DMX shield and software (and the Arduino). See [u]this page[/u].

I assume the user manual for the fog machine has a list/chart of DMX commands?

3

will check it out and come back with the results

here is the manual: https://images.thomann.de/pics/atg/atgdata/document/manual/307680_c_307680_r2_en_online.pdf

4

I built a circuit as explained in Arduino Playground - DMXShield

and upload the following code to an arduino micro:

#include <DmxSimple.h>

void setup() {
  
  DmxSimple.usePin(3);
 
  DmxSimple.maxChannel(10);
}

void loop() {
    DmxSimple.write(1, 100);
}

I dont see I made a mistake in the circuit. Is there something missing in the code?

5

I know you cant see much, but this is my configuration:

unnamed.jpg
unnamed.jpg750×1000 86.6 KB

6

here is the manual: https://images.thomann.de/pics/atg/atgdata/document/manual/307680_c_307680_r2_en_online.pdf

So, it's pretty straightforward. There's only one channel/command... Makes sense... Set the fog-output between zero and maximum by sending 0-255 to channel 1 (at the address of the machine).

...I've never used DMX so I don't know what the actual command looks like, and it probably depends on the library you're using (assuming you're using a library).

7

I am using dmxsimple and my code is posted in post#3

so far, it is not working...