Set your start universe and this builds the whole rope patch: every controller output, its universe range,
start channel, and pixel count. Pixel counts are computed from the surveyed segment lengths, so they update with the geometry
instead of being retyped. Built for Joshua Dirks, LX Crew Chief.
4 PXL-CTRL · 14 rope outputs · 3,765 pixels · 187.8 m of 22 mm black rope.
KG3 supplies the rope, the controllers, and the 24 V distribution. You give us one Art-Net/sACN feed per controller
and a block of universes. Nothing below needs a hang change: it is all patch.
1 · Set the patch
Change any control and every table, map, and export on this page recalculates. Defaults are KG3's
recommendation; overwrite them with whatever the LX rack actually uses.
First universe of the rope block.
Advatek PixLite takes either.
Clean = each output starts on its own universe at ch 1.
510 is the safe default for RGB.
120 LED/m ÷ 6 LED per IC = 20 px/m.
First controller; the rest increment. Tell us your subnet.
WS2811, 3 channels per pixel. Confirm on the bench.
2 · Controller patch sheet
One row per rope output. Universes is the span that output occupies: that whole span
must be free in the LX patch. Give each controller its own IP; KG3 sets those at the rack.
Output
Rope run
Segments
Metres
Pixels
Channels
Start
End
Universes
3 · Universe block per controller
The short version for the LX patch: hand this block to whoever owns the universe map.
Every controller sits inside its hardware limits: 4 outputs, 24 universes, 1,020 px per output,
600 W PSU. Headroom is shown so you can see there is room to grow.
Controller
Position
Outputs
Pixels
Universe block
Universes
PSU load
Headroom
PSU load is the near-end share the controller actually sources,
not the full length of rope on it. The flown PWR-NJCT injectors carry the far-end load, which is why a 600 W supply
comfortably drives a run whose end-to-end draw is well above that. Figures from the measured 23.04 W/m box-load table.
4 · Where the pixels are
Each bar is one rope run drawn to true relative length. Segment boundaries are the physical joins ,
power injects there, but the data runs straight through, so a run is one continuous pixel string from the controller.
5 · Pixel counts by segment
Auto-generated from the surveyed lengths on drawings V2.2. Pixels are
ceil(metres × px/m): always rounded up, never down, so a segment is never short-patched.
Segment
Run
Length
Metres
Pixels
Channels
Position in run
6 · Rack labels & addressing
What goes on the physical box at the pylon base. Each PXL-CTRL gets a static IP and each
NL4 output gets a label so the run it feeds is obvious without a drawing. Give us your subnet and gateway
and we will set these before the truck loads.
Controller
IP address
Output
Label on the NL4
Pixels
Patch
7 · Export
Copy the patch straight into an email, a console note, or a spreadsheet.
8 · Josh's questions, answered
Who's providing power to the winches?
LMG / automation: not KG3. The winches are winches on the LMG
package and take their motor power and control from the automation system. KG3 touches none of it. KG3 puts nothing on the winch. Our own 12/3 power drop comes down beside it at each of the four DS/US pickups. The winch itself is rigging only for us: no pass-through of our power or data.
Who's providing data to the winches?
Also LMG / automation. Winch position data is not on the KG3 system. Our data never goes
up a winch: every rope run gets its data from a PXL-CTRL at the pylon base and carries it through the rope itself. The
seven PWR-NJCT injection boxes in the air are power only and carry no data at all.
What kind of data connection do you need between the LX data system and your data system?
One Ethernet drop per controller, 5 total (four in the rack plus one spare carried for the road), carrying sACN. Specifically:
Physical: etherCON / RJ45, 100 Mb is plenty. Five ports on an LX switch at the pylon-base rack, the fifth for the spare controller.
Protocol: sACN, confirmed with Josh Dirks. Our devices sit on 192.168.41.41 through .45 on the /24, universes 41 through 69 live with 70 through 85 held for the spare.
Universes: a contiguous block of 30 universes, starting
wherever you like. Set the start universe at the top of this page and the whole patch regenerates.
Addressing: KG3 provides static IPs on whatever subnet you nominate. Send us the range and gateway.
Redundancy: if you want a B-feed we can take a second port per controller: say the word before we build the rack.
Cleanest division of labour: LX owns the network up to the switch port; KG3 owns everything downstream of it.
You mentioned a rack at the base of the pylon. Does that rack need power / data input?
Yes: both, and it is the single point where we need you.
Power in:1,483 W at the rack: 18.2 A at 120 V, or 10.5 A at 208 V, on one powerCON TRUE1, full white, measured not estimated.
The rack is about a third of the 4,327 W rig; the seven flown PWR-NJCT boxes take the rest on their own TRUE1 feeds and never touch this rack.
One 20 A circuit covers it, or the dedicated 208 V TRUE1 Josh Dirks offered. The rack converts its share to 24 V on the deck; each flown box converts its own share at height.
Data in: the five Ethernet ports above.
Out of the rack: KG3's own feeders run up the pylon: 5× Pixel Data + Power Cables (NL8, two circuits each, NL8 barrel + NL8-to-2×NL4 splitter at the top) plus 4× NL4 singles (Aug 31 plan, see the Power page). Nothing for LX to hang.
Everything the rope needs lands at that one rack. If you can give us a location on the deck plan and confirm the circuits,
we can close this out.
Assumptions this page is built on
Rope: 22 mm round black 360° silicone neon, DC 24 V, WS2811 SPI, 120 LED/m addressed at
20 px/m (6 LEDs per IC), 3 channels per pixel.
Power: 23.04 W/m at full white: measured on the actual product on a bench,
not a datasheet figure. Rig total 4,327 W / 180.3 A at 24 V.
Geometry: segment lengths from drawings V2.2, 24 segments, 187.8 m lit.
Controllers: Advatek PixLite A4-S Mk3 class, 4 outputs each, in the pylon rack at the
pylon base. The audience runs sit side by side on the rack: AUD1 on CTRL A out 4 and AUD2 on CTRL B out 1, so their universes run back to back (4-box plan, Aug 31; output order Sep 1).
Data topology: data originates at the controller and runs the full length of each run through
the rope. Segment joins pass data through. Injection boxes are power only.
If any of these change, the numbers change: tell us and we will regenerate rather than patch by hand.