Pearl 2000/2004

Operator’s Manual


 





 

 

Useful Avolites phone numbers:-

Avolites England

Sales and service*          (+44) (0) 20 8965 8522

Service out of hours*      (+44) (0) 831 17 8888

Fax                              (+44) (0) 20 8965 0290

Email                            name@avolites.com

Website                         http://www.avolites.com

Distribution of Avolites products in USA:-
Avolites America

Sales and service*          (+1) 423 938 2057

Fax                              (+1) 423 938 2059

Innan du kontaktar Avolites för service utredning se till att du har serienummer och programversion. Serienumret finns på baksidan av skrivbordet och programvaruversionen kan hittas genom att vrida nyckeln till "System" och läser versionen från den översta raden i displayen.
Den senaste versionen av denna handbok och Pearl Programvaran kan laddas ner från Avolites webbplats.

The small print :

No Liability for Consequential Damages

Avolites has a policy of continuous product and documentation improvement. As such the detail within this manual may not match the operation of the Pearl 2004.

In no event shall Avolites be liable for any direct, indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages or loss whatsoever (including, without limitation, damages for loss of profits, business interruption, or other pecuniary loss) arising out of the use or inability to use the Pearl even if Avolites Ltd. has been advised of the possibility of such damages. Because some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages, the above limitation may not apply to you.

Avolites Ltd recognise that all trademarks within the manual are the property of their respective owners.

 

 

 

 

Reprint and revision history:

First produced July 2004

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This manual was written by Tim Mitchell, Sabre Technology Ltd

http://www.sabretechnology.co.uk

 

 


TUTORIAL CONTENTS

1.    Welcome to the Pearl                                                                                    1

2.    Patching                                                                                                             7

3.    Controlling dimmers and fixtures                                                     15

4.    Palettes                                                                                                            19

5.    Shapes                                                                                                                24

6.    Memories                                                                                                           28

7.    Chases                                                                                                                36

8.    Theatre stack                                                                                                 42

9.    The graphics tablet                                                                                    46

10.  Running your show                                                                                     48

11.  Advanced features                                                                                       52

12.  Introduction to intelligent lighting                                              54

13.  Introduction to Avolites consoles                                                    57

14.  Changes in the latest Pearl software                                               61

 

 

REFERENCE MANUAL CONTENTS

1.    Setting up the console                                                                            109

2.    Patching                                                                                                         117

3.    Controlling dimmers and fixtures                                                   125

4.    Palettes                                                                                                          135

5.    Shapes                                                                                                              141

6.    Memories                                                                                                         147

7.    Chases                                                                                                              157

8.    Theatre stack                                                                                               168

9.    The graphics tablet                                                                                  175

10.  Running the show                                                                                      180

11.  Automated playback (script files)                                                    184

12.  Setup                                                                                                                192

13.  Other features                                                                                            196

14.  The Personality File System                                                                  206

15.  Glossary of terms                                                                                      218

16.  Index                                                                                                                225

 

Pages in the Tutorial section have numbers below 100. Pages in the Reference manual have numbers above 100.


 

 


 


Pearl 2000/2004

Tutorial


 





INTRODUCTION

1.         Welcome to the Pearl

This manual is designed to help you get the most out of your Pearl console. We have divided it into two sections.

·            This first section is a tutorial which gives you a step by step guide of how to carry out the most common functions of the Pearl. If you are new to the console, working through this part will give you a good introduction.

·            The second section is a reference manual which tells you everything there is to know about the Pearl.

To help you move between the two sections, we have made the chapter numbering the same, so if you are using the tutorial and you want more information, just look for the same chapter number in the reference manual.

At the back of the reference manual there is a Glossary, explaining some of the technical terms used in the manual, and an Index which can be used to find what you need in either section of the manual.

This manual applies to both the Pearl 2000 and the Pearl 2004 consoles.

1.1           Setting up the Pearl

Before you can use the Pearl, you need to connect various things to it. Ensure the power is off while making these connections.

Important: Firstly check if your console has a voltage selector switch on the back of the console next to the power socket. If it has, make sure it matches your mains power. You can set it to 230V or 120V.

If you plug in the power with the switch set wrongly, you will probably blow up the power supply. This would be a Bad Thing To Do a few hours before a show.

Connect the mains inlet to an AC power supply.

If you are using the optional external VDU screen, connect a VGA monitor (640x480 text mode) to the VDU output on the back of the console. You don’t have to use the VDU screen but it does show some additional information that is not shown on the console display.

Connect the DMX output(s) to your lighting fixtures or dimmers. The Pearl 2004 has four DMX output sockets. The Pearl 2000 has only two DMX sockets, but four DMX lines may be connected to them using a splitter cable. Chapter 1 in the reference manual has more details on DMX connections.

Plug in the desk light to the socket on the top left of the console. If you have a QWERTY keyboard, plug it into its socket. You do not have to connect a keyboard if you don’t want.

Turn on the power. The console display and VDU screen (if you are using one) should come alive.


1.2           Finding your way about on the Pearl

The Pearl might initially appear to have an alarming number of sliders and buttons on it, but don’t be scared of it. The main controls are:

 

·         The Preset Faders are used to control individual dimmer channels and fixture intensities. The 2 buttons below the faders are used to select and flash fixtures. Each fader and buttons is called a “Handle”.

·         The Mode select keyswitch sets the operating mode of the console; Program for programming a show, Run for running the show and System for configuring the console.

·         The Page select roller lets you select different pages of playbacks, and you can write the playback names on the roller so you know what’s in them.

·         The Master faders control the overall output of the various parts of the console. You will normally have these set at Full.

·         The Playback faders and flash buttons are used to play back memories you have programmed, when you are running a show.

·         The Main display is the nerve centre of the console and shows you what is going on. The display can show various screens of information.

·         The Control wheels are used to set control values on the fixtures, and to set chase speeds and fades.

·         The Menu softkeys (labelled A – G) are used to select control options. The display next to the buttons shows what each one will do. The options for each key change depending on what the console is doing. Softkey commands are shown in the manual with square brackets like this: A [Chase Parameters]

·         The Numeric keypad and other control buttons are used to enter values and change controls on the console.

·         The Fixture Page buttons are below the keypad, which select 4 pages for the Preset Faders.

·         The blue Command buttons are used to carry out functions such as storing memories, copying, saving to disk, etc. These buttons have lights on to indicate when they are active.

·         The Attribute select buttons are used to select which attributes of a fixture (e.g. colour, gobo, pan, focus) are going to be controlled using the Control wheels. The buttons have lights on to show you which attributes are active. The bottom (red) button allows you to reduce the intensity of a fixture if it loses position during a show.

 


The VDU screen shows more information than the on-board displays. It is useful when setting up the console and programming shows. When entering text or numbers, what you are typing is shown only on the VDU screen. If you are short of space you can often manage without it when you are running a show.

The main part of the display shows the output of the console for one of the types of fixture you are using (you can show different things using the View button, see page 112). Across the bottom of the display, the current page of memories is shown. The “A B” at the right side of the screen shows which functions are currently assigned to the control wheels.

1.3           The Pearl simulator

You can download a free Pearl simulator from the Avolites website, which runs on a PC. This allows you to work on the Pearl even when you haven’t got the real console with you. You can patch the desk, and program shows using the Avolites Visualiser, then save the show to disk and load it into the real console. The simulator operates almost exactly like the real Pearl.

1.4           What you’ll need for the tutorial

The rest of the first part of this manual is a hands-on tutorial. If you have never used an Avolites console before, by working through the rest of the tutorial section you should be able to get the Pearl up and running, and be well on the way to programming and running a show with it.

The tutorial is organised in the order you’ll need to do things to get the console set up and working, so try to work through it in sequence. To make the most of it, you will need a few lights set up to play with; a couple of moving lights and a few dimmers would be best. If you can’t lay your hands on any real lights, you can use Avolites Visualiser to simulate some lights.

When you are preparing to start programming a new show, it’s handy to have the following things.

·         A lighting plan of your rig which you can scribble on

·         Some blank floppy disks to save your work

·         Some white or clear tape and a fine black marker pen to mark up the console so you know what’s where

·         Paper & pen to make notes (or a laptop, depending on how technological you are)

·         Manuals or DMX tables for the fixtures you’re using

·         A supply of beverages of your choice

 


If you are new to intelligent lighting, or even new to lighting altogether,  read chapter 12, “Introduction to intelligent lighting”. This explains the concepts behind digital control of lighting and will help you to understand what we are going on about in the rest of the manual. There is also a Glossary at the end of the Reference Manual which explains some of the obscure lighting words we have used in the manual.

If you are used to older Pearl software, read chapter 14, “Changes in the latest Pearl software”, which gives you a quick rundown on the differences between the two consoles.