by boss | Jan 24, 2011 | FAQ, Getting Started, Radio
Problem:
You only have one RC4 system but you suspect there might be another one operating nearby.
Solution:
If you are using anRC4Magic system, this is not a problem. Every system uses a unique System ID. other systems operating nearby will be using their own ID. A large number of RC4Magic systems — 15 or even more — can operate in the same space without interference. And systems that are more than 300 feet away are out of radio range and are not sharing bandwidth with you at all.
The one exception to this is when two nearby systems are both operating on the Public ID. In that case, interference WILL occur if they are within 300 feet of each other. Avoid this by not using the Public ID unless you are combining your system components with someone else’s and only ONE transmitter is being operated. Use your unique System IDs and interference is virtually impossible. We’ve designed the system that way. This is why RC4Magic works so well.
by boss | Jan 24, 2011 | FAQ, Getting Started
We’ve been designing wireless dimming since 1991 and have provided systems to Disney, Cirque du Soleil, and many others.
RC4Magic was introduced to select beta testers in 2006 and released for open sale — fully debugged — in 2007. The improved RC4Magic Series 2 followed in 2008. Several components of the system are now in their third revisions (R3), which began shipping in late 2010.
This is proven, rock-solid equipment that has been running in the field for far longer than competing systems.
It’s our advertising and marketing that are new, not our expertise.
by boss | Jan 24, 2011 | FAQ, Wireless DMX
RC4Magic does not provide ACN support, and we have not provided an RJ-45 connector for DMX over CAT-5. Our electronics currently meet DMX-512/1990 (4uSec), and are DMX-512A ready, via standard 5-pin XLR connections. In the future we will be adding Remote Device Management functions (RDM) using Enhanced DMX as outlined in American National Standard E1.11 – 2004.
If there is enough demand from the marketplace, we will add connectors for DMX over CAT-5 in a future circuit-board revision. Please let us know if we should be making this a priority.
by boss | Jan 24, 2011 | FAQ, Getting Started, Radio
RC4Magic Wireless DMX and Dimming employs low-power direct sequence spread-spectrum (DSSS) digital RF in the 2.4GHz ISM (Industrial/Scientific/Medical) band. One RC4Magic system consumes 1/15th of the available spectrum in that band. (Compare this with a WiFi network consuming up to 1/3rd of the band, or various frequency hopping spread-spectrum (FHSS) wireless-dmx systems that hop through 100% of the band.)
When an RC4Magic transmitter powers up, it scans the band and transmits in the quietest region it can find. If spectrum usage in your vicinity has changed, simply power down and back up — our transmitter takes care of the rest. Receivers automatically follow the transmitter when you do this (a process that can take up to 30 seconds).
When we demonstrate RC4 products at tradeshows, our system operates along side every other wireless product available to you in the entertainment industry. Wireless mics, intercoms, etc., are all up and running on display. If a problem were going to arise, this is where it would be: it’s far worse than any real installation, where specific brands and systems have been selected and channel selections have been managed (no such management takes place at tradeshows — it’s every company for themselves). Not only do RC4 systems function flawlessly, we do not cause problems for other exhibitors.
The shows we exhibit in are not small. We participate every year in USITT Stage Expo, and almost every year in LDI. We have also appeared several times at ABTT Theatre Show in London, England.
Now that RC4Magic has been on the market for several years, we also have real-world evidence. Our customers do not suffer from interference problems. See our customer list — there is probably someone there you know. Ask them about interference.
With thousands of productions using RC4Magic every day, including numerous shows by Cirque du Soleil, Disney Theatrical, and attractions at Disneyland, Sea World, and elsewhere, interference issues would quickly be brought to our attention if they existed. We’re proud to say there are none.
RC4Magic works. It is impossible to claim you will NEVER suffer a problem. But it is very very very unlikely that you will.
by boss | Jan 24, 2011 | FAQ, Getting Started, Radio
RC4Magic works well through more than half the typical USITT Stage Expo tradeshow floor. We run careful tests every year, and performance is always great. In this case, we have our DMXio transmitter sitting on our display table. It is NOT elevated above people and booth structures. If we were to move it up to, say, a 15-foot elevation or higher, we expect performance would exceed the size of the show floor.
And that’s with all kind of other wireless products operating at the same time, consuming rf bandwidth and adding to the rf noise floor.
During Product Showcase presentations we ask an audience member to take an RC4 receiver for a 2-minute walk (that’s all the time we’re usually allowed). In that time they wander 100 yards through hallways outside the presentation area and rarely experience a dropout, despite various walls and other obstructions between the transmitter and mobile receiver.
If you are working in 60,000 square feet or less, with point-to-point distances up to – and even exceeding – 250 feet, you are not going to have any range problems.
