Blizzard Lighting Buddha User manual

Blizzard Lighting, LLC
www.blizzardlighting.com
Waukesha, WI USA
Copyright (c) 2016

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BUDDHA™ User Manual - Rev. D (c) 2017 Blizzard Lighting, LLC
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Blizzard’s Universal DMX Data Handheld Appliance 1
1. Getting Started 3
What’s In The Box? 3
Getting It Out Of The Box 3
Caution! 3
Getting A Hold Of Us 3
2. Meet BUDDHA™ 4
Main Features 4
Overview 4
3. Operating Instructions 5
Introduction 5
Power Supply 5
 PowerOn/O      5
Keyboard 5
Function Menu 6
Receive DMX 6
Send DMX 7
Cable Tester 7
Channel Tracer 8
Timing Analyzer 8
Flicker Finder 9
Scanning for Flickers 10
Interpreting the Results 10
Sequence 11
PWM Tester 11
MIDI Test 12
RDM Controller 13
Touch Screen Calibration 15
Send and Receive DMX using Art-Net and sACN 15
System Settings 15
4. Appendix 16
Keeping Your BUDDHA™ As Good As New 16
Returns (Gasp!) 16
Shipping Issues 16
Tech Specs 17
Updating the Firmware 17

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BUDDHA™ User Manual - Rev. D (c) 2017 Blizzard Lighting, LLC
1. GETTING STARTED
What’s In The Box?
• 1x BUDDHA™
• 1x Carry Case
• 1x Stylus Pen
• 1x 8GB MicroSD Card
• 1x Set of 3/5-Pin Male/Female XLR Adapters
• 1x USB to Micro-USB cable with AC Adapter
Getting It Out Of The Box
Congratulations on your purchase of BUDDHA™, the multi-purpose tool for
professional lighting technicians and installers. Do not dwell in the past, do not
dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.
Your BUDDHA™ is fully equipped to measure, test, and troubleshoot any
application with DMX controlled lighting. This unit can be used test 3 and 5-pin
cables, test midi signals, monitor and analyze signals, program sequences,
send and receive DMX, store data via MicroSD card, and more. It is the ultimate
solution to help bring peace and balance to many of life’s DMX-512 challenges!
IMPORTANT: BUDDHA™ will do a lot of things, but it won’t teach you any
noble truths. You need to do that yourself. Well, what are you waiting for? GO!
Now that you’ve got your BUDDHA™, you should carefully unpack the box and
check the contents to ensure that all parts are present and in good condition.
If anything looks as if it has been damaged in transit, notify the shipper
immediately and keep the packing material for inspection. Again, please save
the carton and all packing materials. If it must be returned to the factory, it is
important that the unit be returned in the original factory box and packing.
Caution!
There are no user serviceable parts inside this unit. Do not open the housing or
attempt any repairs yourself; doing so will void your manufactures warranty. In
the unlikely event your unit may require service, please open a support ticket
online at www.blizzardlighting.com.
Getting A Hold Of Us
If something is wrong, please open a support ticket online at www.
blizzardlighting.com. We’ll be happy to help, honest.
Disclaimer:Theinformationandspecicationscontainedinthisdocumentaresubject
to change without notice. Blizzard Lighting™ assumes no responsibility or liability for any
errors or omissions that may appear in this user manual. Blizzard Lighting™ reserves the
right to update the existing document or to create a new document to correct any errors
or omissions at any time. You can download the latest version of this document from www.
blizzardlighting.com.
Author: Date: Last Edited: Date:
J. Thomas 10/31/2016 J. Thomas 2/10/2017

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BUDDHA™ User Manual - Rev. D (c) 2017 Blizzard Lighting, LLC
2. MEET BUDDHA™
MAIN FEATURES:
• 3/5-Pin DMX cable testing
• Midi testing
• RDM controller
• Channel tracer
• Timing analyzer
• DMXsignal“ickernder”
• LED PWM rate meter
• Programmable sequence recording/playback
• Send/receive DMX
• ArtNet testing and send/receive via ArtNet
• 8GB MicroSD card storage
• sACN support
• 2-year limited warranty
OVERVIEW:
1.) MicroSD Card Slot Holds the MicroSD storage card
2.) Micro USB Female Connector For power-supply, PC connection
3.) RJ45 Connector RJ45 in/out with connector
4.) MIDI Connector MIDI connector
5.) Touch Screen LCD Display Full-color TFT touch screen display
6.) Menu Button Used to access the menu options
7.) Left / CH (-) Button Navigate left/decrease a selected value
8.) DMX Input Connector to receive DMX
9.) DMX Output Connector to send DMX
10.) Up (+) Button Navigate up
11.) Down (-) Button Navigate down
12.) Enter Button Conrm/storeacurrentselection
13.) Right / CH (+) Button Navigate right/increase a selected value
14.) Light Sensor Light Sensor for PWM testing
Top View 21
3 4
9
6
7
10
11
12
13
5
8
14

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BUDDHA™ User Manual - Rev. D (c) 2017 Blizzard Lighting, LLC
3. OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS
Introduction:
BUDDHA™ is a powerful testing tool. All of its functions can be accessed by
using the full-color TFT touch screen display with stylus pen, or you can easily
navigate through its functions by using only the menu buttons.
Power Supply:
This unit can receive power from a 9V battery (not included), or directly by
using the USB to Micro-USB cable, plugged into any computer or device with
USB (5V, >200mA.) You can also plug it in to a standard power outlet with use
of the USB to AC power adapter. If power is supplied to BUDDHA™ via the USB
port, the battery is automatically disconnected.
Power On:
If using battery power, long press <MENU> button to power the unit on. If
using USB supplied power, simply connecting the cable will power it on.
Power OFF:
If using battery power, long press <MENU>buttontopowertheunito.If
using USB supplied power, simply disconnect the cable.
Keyboard:
IncertainareasofBUDDHA™youwillndaQWERTYkeyboard,whichmakesit
possible to input text.
The keyboard can be used with the
touch screen or menu buttons:
Using touch screen, press any key
with the stylus pen to input. Using the
menu buttons, navigate to a character
by using the <UP>, <DOWN>,
<LEFT>, <RIGHT> buttons. When
a key is selected, it will change color.
Press the <ENTER> button to make
the input. When the highlight is on the
text input box (with text in it), you can
use <LEFT>, <RIGHT> buttons to move the cursor left/right, and then press
<ENTER> to delete the character before the cursor.
When input is complete, press Enter. To cancel an input, press Exit. If you
need to input special characters, press <@> key (on the keyboard), to change
the keys to symbols.

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BUDDHA™ User Manual - Rev. D (c) 2017 Blizzard Lighting, LLC
Function Menu:
The MENU button located in the top left
corner of the screen is the starting point
to access all the functions and system
settings available with BUDDHA™.
If using the stylus pen, click the MENU
button directly. Upon doing so, the
function menu will appear, allowing you
to then click on any available testing
function, or access the system OPTIONS.
Ifusingonlythemenubuttons,rstpress
<MENU> button. When the function
menu appears, use the <UP/DOWN>
buttons to highlight a selection, then press
the <ENTER> button to activate the
selected function or OPTIONS menu.
Receive DMX:
Under this function, the unit will receive
DMX signals and display the current
value for every channel. It also shows the
maximum and minimum values for each
channel.
Click any channel using the stylus
to highlight it. After that, you can
alternatively use the menu buttons <UP>,
<DOWN>, <LEFT>, and <RIGHT> to
navigate the channels.
The OPTION button on the lower right
corner of the screen allows access to the
following Receive DMX options:
STORE SCENE: Store the current DMX data to
the MicroSD card as a scene.
REPLACE SCENE: Overwrites an exisiting, already saved scene.
SHOW LEVEL AS: Change the data display style (percent, decimal, or hexadecimal.)
ADDRESSES: Change the visible DMX range to ALL (1-512) or OPEN (currently input.)
CLEAR: Clears all of the current values, and restarts.
SOURCE: Select DMX IN or NETWORK as the incoming DMX signal source.

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BUDDHA™ User Manual - Rev. D (c) 2017 Blizzard Lighting, LLC
Send DMX:
This unit can send DMX, and display
values for every channel on each row.
Scenes can also be saved, or loaded in
from the MicroSD card storage.
Use the stylus pen to highlight the Master
or other channel from CH001-CH512.
Then hold down and drag the stylus left or
right, changing the values from 000-255.
The OPTION button allows access to:
CLEAR: Clears all value settings, restoring the
default values.
STORE/REPLACE SCENE: Saves new, or
overwrites an exisiting scene (excluding Master.)
LOAD SCENE: Load previously saved scenes from the microSD card.
REFRESH RATE: Set the DMX refresh rate from 5Hz-40Hz.
To send Art-Net/sACN to the DMX output jack:
1.) In the OPTIONS interface, set network port as ON or AUTO, set network protocol as
Art-Net or sACN, and set corresponding network universe.
2.) Enter into RECEIVE DMX interface, click OPTION, set the signal source as network,
thenanyreceivedArt-Net/sACNdatawillbetransferredoutfromtheDMXoutputjack.
Cable Tester:
Connect a cable to the DMX Input and
Outputjacks.For3-pincabletesting,use
the included 3 to 5-pin male/female XLR
adapters.
Upon selecting CABLE TESTER from
the FUNCTION MENU, BUDDHA™
will automatically start testing pins 1-5,
scanning each for connectivity.
You will see a solid line extending from
each Input to Output (pins 1-5) that make
a good connection, while broken lines
indicate no thru connection.

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BUDDHA™ User Manual - Rev. D (c) 2017 Blizzard Lighting, LLC
Channel Tracer:
This function is used to test DMX signal
real-time values, shown in curves.
6 channels of data can be shown at the
sametimeindierentcoloredcurves.The
DMX channel being analyzed for each of
the 6 can also be changed to any DMX
channel ranging from CH001-CH512.
To change the value of any channel to be
analyzed, use the stylus pen to highlight
it (bottom colored text), then either press
the on-screen right/left arrows found
on either side of the text, or use the
<RIGHT> and <LEFT> menu buttons to
change its value to another channel.
Either by double clicking the colored text
with the stylus, or by pressing the <ENTER> button while any is highlighted
will disable the display of that certain highlighted channel (NULL).
Timing Analyzer:
This function of BUDDHA™ will allow you
to analyze DMX timings.
Select TIMINGS from the MENU, and
connect a DMX source to the DMX input.
Analysis of timing will show you:
DMX SIGNAL: Shows if a connected DMX
signal is OK or faulty.
REFRESH RATE: Shows the numbers of
frames received per second.
BREAK LENGTH: Shows the length of the
break in microseconds.
MARK AFTER BREAK: the MAB (mark after break) in microseconds.
CHANNELS RECEIVED: Shows the number of channels received.

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BUDDHA™ User Manual - Rev. D (c) 2017 Blizzard Lighting, LLC
BREAK LENGTH MAB LENGTH
USITT DMX-512/1986 ≥88us ≥4us
USITT DMX-512/1990 ≥88us ≥8us
ANSI E1.11-2004 ≥92us ≥12us
Refresh Rates:
<1 frame per second Not compliant to standard.
1-10 frames per second Very slow, compliant to standard, but may cause problems
with some equipment.
10-25 frames per second Slow
25-44 frames per second Typical for most equipment
44 frames per second Maximum speed when sending all 512 channels
>44 frames per second Only possible when sending less than 512 channels. Com-
pliant to standard, but may cause problems with some
equipment.
Please refer to ANSI E1.11 for more detailed information on DMX-512 timings. The accu-
racy of this unit’s timing measurement is within approximately 1.5 microseconds.
Flicker Finder:
This function is used to test the stability
of DMX signals. It can help you detect
signal problems such as:
• Signal interruptions
• Channel quantity changes
• Channel value changes
It can be used to help troubleshoot
a wide range of equipment including
DMX boosters, splitters, stability of a
network, stability of DMX controller, and
if faders shake without pushing.
CH 511 CH 512 STARTCODE MAB CH 1 CH 2 CH 3 CH 4 BREAK

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BUDDHA™ User Manual - Rev. D (c) 2017 Blizzard Lighting, LLC
Scanning for Flickers:
1.)Congureyourconsoletosendanon-changingstaticscene,oraStatic DMX Look. This
lookshouldnotconsistofonlyzeros.Then,replacetheickeringxturewithBUDDHA™.
2.) In the main menu of BUDDHA™, select FLICKER FINDER.
3.)AdjusttheCompare Limit if needed (001-255.) Normally, it should be set to 001.
4.) Press the START button to start scanning.
5.) Let the Flicker Finder run for some time. The longer you let the Flicker Finder run, the
more you can be sure that your transmission is OK.
During scanning, the Flicker Finder will immediately report any of the following:
• TIME NO SIGNAL: Accumulated time that no signal was received.
• CHANNELS WITH ERR: The number of channels where DMX values have been
receivedanddierbymorethantheconguredCompare Limit.
• FRAMING ERRORS: The number of framing errors detected
• CHANGES OF #CHS: Shows how many times the number of channels has changed.
To stop or pause scanning, press STOP. An interrupted scan may be resumed simply by
pressing the START button again. To clear previous errors, press CLEAR ERR.
Interpreting the Results
• TIME: The accumulated scan time.
• TIME NO SIGNAL: Accumulated time that no signal was received.
• CHANNELS WITH ERR: The number of channels where DMX values have been
receivedanddierbymorethantheconguredCompareLimit.
• FRAMING ERRORS: The number of framing errors detected.
• CHANNELS RECEIVED:Totalchannelsreceivedjustbeforescanningstopped.
• CHANGES OF #CHS: Shows how many times the number of channels has changed.
If the TIME NO SIGNAL is greater than 0, it probably indicates an issue with your DMX
setup. These count after no valid incoming signal has been received for more than 1
second.Itisnottypicallythekindofissuethatwouldleadtoickering.
FRAMING ERRORS are also signs of problems with the DMX transmission setup.
Non-zero CHANNELS WITH ERRaregoodindicatorsofickerscausedbytheDMX
transmission(iftheDMXsourceisdenitelysendinganon-changing look.) The Details
Window will give you more information about each channel where an error is found:
• CH: Lists the channels where value changes are detected
• REFERENCE: The channel value when initially tested
• ERROR: Error counter, +1 for every time
Withickers,thereshouldnormallybeasmallnumberoferrorscomparedtocomparedto
total number of received values, giving you a good idea of the source of the problem.