BOOMLIGHTS LC-8 User manual

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LC-8
8-CH LIGHTING CONTROLLER
USER MANUAL
©BOOMLIGHTS
265 McNeilly Road
Stoney Creek, ON
L8E 5H2
Canada
© 2021 BOOMLIGHTS. All rights reserved.

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CONTENTS
WARNING............................................................................................................................3
WHAT’S INCLUDED.............................................................................................................3
SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS......................................................................................................3
1.0 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................ 3
1.1 Overview....................................................................................................................3
1.2 Features.....................................................................................................................4
2.0 OPERATION...................................................................................................................5
2.1 Getting Started..........................................................................................................5
2.2 Colour Combinations ...............................................................................................5
2.3 Changing the Default Settings.................................................................................6
2.3.1 Changing the MIDI Note DIP Switches .............................................................6
2.3.2 MIDI Note DIP Switch Table ..............................................................................7
2.3.3 Changing the MIDI Channel DIP Switches .......................................................9
2.3.4 MIDI Channel DIP Switch Table ......................................................................10
2.4 Linking Multiple Units Together............................................................................10
3.0 CURRENT LIMITS ........................................................................................................11
3.1 Total Current Draw / Main Resettable Fuse.........................................................11
3.2 Individual Channel Current Draw / Individual Channel Fuse .............................12
4.0 TROUBLESHOOTING..................................................................................................12
5.0 SPECIFICATIONS .........................................................................................................13

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WARNING
WHAT’S INCLUDED
•LC-8
•DC12V 10A 90~240VAC Power Supply
•User Manual
SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS
•Do not operate this unit at temperatures above 113°F
•Only use the supplied power supply
•Make sure the power supply’s cord is not pinched or damaged in any way
•Make sure the power supply is plugged into an appropriate voltage source
•Before making any changes to the DIP switches inside the unit, turn off the power and
unplug the unit
•If resettable fuse keeps blowing, determine why the channels are overloaded before
powering the unit back on
•If any defects with the unit are discovered, please contact an authorized service technician
for assistance
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Overview
The LC-8 is an 8-channel RGB LED lighting controller that has been specially designed by musicians
for musicians. Treat your lighting like an instrument by using MIDI to create custom automated light
shows. No additional hardware or software required. The LC-8 seamlessly integrates with any
existing hardware or software set-up. Just plug and play to begin elevating your performances with
synchronized lighting.
The LC-8 is controlled using 8 groups of 3 MIDI notes (24 MIDI notes total), which represent 1 RGB
channel each. An individual RGB colour is designated to a specific MIDI note. MIDI velocity is used to
control the brightness/intensity of RGB colours. By combining MIDI notes within an RGB channel
group and adjusting their velocities, you can create an array of colours within the RGB colour
spectrum.
For your own safety, please read this manual to learn how to safely
use, store and maintain the LC-8 prior to use.
CAUTION! Please keep this unit stored in an area with no moisture.

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1.2 Features
1 - Power Button: Pressing this button will turn on the unit. Make sure the power supply is plugged
in and connected to the unit.
2 - Power Indicator Light: Under normal operating conditions, this indicator light will be green
while the unit is powered on. If the resettable fuse has blown, this indicator light will be red and the
unit will not work.
3 - Test Buttons: Pressing any of these 3 buttons will test the associated colour on all 8 channels.
For example, if you press the green test button, the green LEDs on all channels will illuminate.
Pressing these “Test”buttons will not override the colour output of illuminated channels. In other
words, the test button colour will combine with the colour of any illuminated channels. For example,
if you hold down the green test button while all channels are illuminated red, the resultant colour on
all channels will be yellow.
4 - RGB Channel Output Connectors: Each of these 4-pin USB type B connectors is used for driving
any 12V common anode RGB LED strip. DO NOT CONNECT TO A USB PORT ON A COMPUTER!
5 - Channel Indicator Light: Displays the colour output of each RGB channel. These indicator lights
can also be used to monitor a light show remotely or to display a light show without any LED strips
connected.
6 - MIDI In:Transfers MIDI input signal from a connected source to the unit.
7 - MIDI Thru: Passes through an exact copy of the MIDI input signal. This allows multiple units or
other MIDI devices to be chained together and controlled by a common source.
8 - Main Resettable Fuse: When the unit’s total load exceeds 8A, this fuse will blow. Reduce the
total load and press and hold the “Fuse”button to reset the fuse.
9 - DC12V Input:Main power connection for the unit used to connect the DC12V power supply.
FRONT PANEL
BACK PANEL

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2.0 OPERATION
2.1 Getting Started
The unit comes set-up with the following default settings: MIDI notes 0, 1 and 2 control the green,
red, and blue LEDs plugged into channel 1 respectively, MIDI notes 3, 4 and 5 control the green, red
and blue LEDs on channel 2 respectively and continues in the same manner up to MIDI note 23. The
unit’s default MIDI channel is set to be MIDI channel 1. Both the MIDI channel and MIDI note settings
can be changed easily by removing the unit’s lid and adjusting the internal DIP switches. More
detailed information on changing the unit’s default settings will be covered in section 2.2.
Below is a diagram that illustrates the unit’s default set-up. In the 1 measure example shown below,
the LEDs will illuminate the colour white in succession beginning with channel 1 and concluding with
channel 8.
4 / 4
1
1.2
1.3
1.4
2
B-1
NOTE 23
B
A#-1
NOTE 22
RCH 8
A-1
NOTE 21
G
G#-1
NOTE 20
B
G-1
NOTE 19
RCH 7
F#-1
NOTE 18
G
F-1
NOTE 17
B
E-1
NOTE 16
RCH 6
D#-1
NOTE 15
G
D-1
NOTE 14
B
C#-1
NOTE 13
RCH 5
C-1
NOTE 12
G
B-2
NOTE 11
B
A#-2
NOTE 10
RCH 4
A-2
NOTE 9
G
G#-2
NOTE 8
B
G-2
NOTE 7
RCH 3
F#-2
NOTE 6
G
F-2
NOTE 5
B
E-2
NOTE 4
RCH 2
D#-2
NOTE 3
G
D-2
NOTE 2
B
C#-2
NOTE 1
RCH 1
C-2
NOTE 0
G
2.2 Colour Combinations
You can create an array of different colours within the RGB colour spectrum by illuminating various
combinations of the green, red and blue LEDs on each channel. For example, if the green and red
LEDs are simultaneously illuminated on the same channel, the resultant colour will be yellow. MIDI
velocity can be adjusted to change the overall brightness/intensity of the LED designated to the
corresponding MIDI note. MIDI velocity changes can also be used to create additional colours and
shades, particularly when the MIDI velocity value of multiple notes from the same channel are
unequal.
The following table shows the available fundamental colours and their corresponding RGB colour
combinations.

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COLOUR
RGB FORMULA
RED
R
GREEN
G
BLUE
B
YELLOW
R + G
MAGENTA
R + B
CYAN
G + B
WHITE
R + G + B
2.3 Changing the Default Settings
2.3.1 Changing the MIDI Note DIP Switches
After removing the unit’s lid, you will notice that each channel has a corresponding vertical circuit
board module. Each channel module has a DIP switch that can be set to various values. Setting the
DIP switch on each channel module determines which MIDI notes that channel will respond to. See
DIP switches 1 through 7 in the diagram below.
By setting the DIP switches, you are effectively setting the MIDI note that will control the colour
green for that specific channel. The colours red and blue will always be the following 2 MIDI notes.
For example, setting the DIP switches to the binary value 0 (all switches in the down position), means
that this particular module’s channel will respond to MIDI notes 0, 1 and 2, which will be green, red
and blue respectively. If you refer to the table in section 2.3.2, you can see the default DIP switch
settings which are highlighted in grey.
To set the DIP switches correctly to the desired MIDI note, refer to the “Binary” column on the table
in section 2.3.2. These 7 number sequences represent the individual DIP switch positions. When a
DIP switch is in the up position, it is considered “1” and, when it is in the down position, it is
considered “0”. These binary codes are used to configure the channel to respond to specific MIDI
notes. For example, if you set only DIP switch number 1 in the up position and leave the 6 remaining
DIP switches in the down position (resulting in the binary code 1000000), MIDI note 64 (E3) will
control the colour green on that particular channel. Therefore, MIDI note 65 (F3) and 66 (F#3) will
control the colours red and blue respectively on the same channel.

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It is important to note that any changes to the DIP switches must be done while the unit is powered
off, as the unit only checks the DIP switch settings during start-up.
2.3.2 MIDI Note DIP Switch Table
Note
Octave
Number
Binary
Note
Octave
Number
Binary
C
-2
0
0000000
C
1
36
0100100
C#
-2
1
0000001
C#
1
37
0100101
D
-2
2
0000010
D
1
38
0100110
D#
-2
3
0000011
D#
1
39
0100111
E
-2
4
0000100
E
1
40
0101000
F
-2
5
0000101
F
1
41
0101001
F#
-2
6
0000110
F#
1
42
0101010
G
-2
7
0000111
G
1
43
0101011
G#
-2
8
0001000
G#
1
44
0101100
A
-2
9
0001001
A
1
45
0101101
A#
-2
10
0001010
A#
1
46
0101110
B
-2
11
0001011
B
1
47
0101111
C
-1
12
0001100
C
2
48
0110000
C#
-1
13
0001101
C#
2
49
0110001
D
-1
14
0001110
D
2
50
0110010
D#
-1
15
0001111
D#
2
51
0110011
E
-1
16
0010000
E
2
52
0110100
F
-1
17
0010001
F
2
53
0110101
F#
-1
18
0010010
F#
2
54
0110110
G
-1
19
0010011
G
2
55
0110111
G#
-1
20
0010100
G#
2
56
0111000
A
-1
21
0010101
A
2
57
0111001
A#
-1
22
0010110
A#
2
58
0111010
B
-1
23
0010111
B
2
59
0111011
C
0
24
0011000
C
3
60
0111100
C#
0
25
0011001
C#
3
61
0111101
D
0
26
0011010
D
3
62
0111110
D#
0
27
0011011
D#
3
63
0111111
E
0
28
0011100
E
3
64
1000000
F
0
29
0011101
F
3
65
1000001
F#
0
30
0011110
F#
3
66
1000010
G
0
31
0011111
G
3
67
1000011
G#
0
32
0100000
G#
3
68
1000100
A
0
33
0100001
A
3
69
1000101
A#
0
34
0100010
A#
3
70
1000110
B
0
35
0100011
B
3
71
1000111

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Note
Octave
Number
Binary
Note
Octave
Number
Binary
C
4
72
1001000
C
7
108
1101100
C#
4
73
1001001
C#
7
109
1101101
D
4
74
1001010
D
7
110
1101110
D#
4
75
1001011
D#
7
111
1101111
E
4
76
1001100
E
7
112
1110000
F
4
77
1001101
F
7
113
1110001
F#
4
78
1001110
F#
7
114
1110010
G
4
79
1001111
G
7
115
1110011
G#
4
80
1010000
G#
7
116
1110100
A
4
81
1010001
A
7
117
1110101
A#
4
82
1010010
A#
7
118
1110110
B
4
83
1010011
B
7
119
1110111
C
5
84
1010100
C
8
120
1111000
C#
5
85
1010101
C#
8
121
1111001
D
5
86
1010110
D
8
122
1111010
D#
5
87
1010111
D#
8
123
1111011
E
5
88
1011000
E
8
124
1111100
F
5
89
1011001
F
8
125
1111101
F#
5
90
1011010
F#
8
126
1111110
G
5
91
1011011
G
8
127
1111111
G#
5
92
1011100
G#
8
-
-
A
5
93
1011101
A
8
-
-
A#
5
94
1011110
A#
8
-
-
B
5
95
1011111
B
8
-
-
C
6
96
1100000
C#
6
97
1100001
D
6
98
1100010
D#
6
99
1100011
E
6
100
1100100
F
6
101
1100101
F#
6
102
1100110
G
6
103
1100111
G#
6
104
1101000
A
6
105
1101001
A#
6
106
1101010
B
6
107
1101011

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2.3.3 Changing the MIDI Channel DIP Switches
Setting the DIP switches on the main board determines which MIDI channel the unit will respond to.
See DIP switches 1 through 4 in the diagram below.
These DIP switches are set in the same way in which the channel DIP switches are set. That is, when
a DIP switch is in the up position, it is considered “1” and, when it is in the down position, it is
considered “0”. These binary codes are used to configure the MIDI channel in which the unit will
respond to. For example, if only DIP switch 4 is in the up position on the main board while the other
switches are in the down position (resulting in the binary code 0001), the unit will respond to MIDI
channel 2. Refer to the “Binary” column on the table in section 2.3.4 for the DIP switch positions
required to change the unit’s designated MIDI channel. The default DIP switch setting is highlighted
in grey.
Again, it is important to note that any changes to the DIP switches must be done while the unit is
powered off, as the unit only checks the DIP switch settings during start-up.

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2.3.4 MIDI Channel DIP Switch Table
MIDI Channel
Binary
1
0000
2
0001
3
0010
4
0011
5
0100
6
0101
7
0110
8
0111
9
1000
10
1001
11
1010
12
1011
13
1100
14
1101
15
1110
16
1111
2.4 Linking Multiple Units Together
Multiple units can be linked together using the “MIDI In”and “MIDI Thru”connectors found on the
back panel of each unit. Using a standard MIDI cable, you can connect the “MIDI Thru”of the unit
that is receiving incoming MIDI data with the “MIDI In”of the other unit you want to link. This same
process can be applied to link additional units. There are several approaches to using multiple units
in conjunction.
Firstly, you can control multiple units using the same MIDI data by leaving the MIDI note and MIDI
channel DIP switches in their default positions on each unit. In other words, this approach will
simply mirror the output to all linked units.
Alternatively, you can assign multiple units to different MIDI note ranges and control them via the
same MIDI channel by adjusting the MIDI note DIP switches accordingly (see table in section 2.3.2 for
MIDI note DIP switch settings), but leaving the MIDI channel DIP switches in their default positions
on each unit. This approach allows you to expand the number of independently controlled channels
available on a single MIDI channel.
You can also assign multiple units to different MIDI channels by adjusting the MIDI channel DIP
switches accordingly (see table 2.3.4 for MIDI channel DIP switch settings). This is particularly useful
when the maximum MIDI note range has been reached on a single MIDI channel. In combination
with this approach, you can still assign the MIDI note ranges of each unit independently.

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3.0 CURRENT LIMITS
3.1 Total Current Draw / Main Resettable Fuse
The unit can handle a total current draw of 8A before the main resettable fuse blows. If the fuse
blows, the power indicator light will change from green to red and the unit will stop working. This is
an indication that the total current draw has exceeded 8A. As previously discussed, you will need to
reduce the total load and then press and hold the “Fuse”button to reset the fuse.
To avoid this issue, it is important to know that the longer the LED strip is, the more current it draws
from the channel it is connected to. Each individual channel is capable of drawing up to 2.5A.
Therefore, when calculating the power budget for a lighting set-up, there are two key current values
to consider: each individual channel cannot exceed 2.5A and the sum of the current draw from all 8
channels cannot exceed 8A.
On average, our LED strips consume 1A for approximately every 40”. With that said, there are
numerous ways you can distribute the unit’s overall power budget. You can use equal length LED
strips that draw up to 1A for each of the 8 channels (see “Example 1” below) or you can use various
lengths of LED strips that add up to draw a maximum of 8A across all 8 channels, pending you do
not exceed 2.5A on a single channel (see “Example 2” below).
Example 1: Equal Channel Current Draw
Channel
Current
LED Strip Length
1
1A
40”
2
1A
40”
3
1A
40”
4
1A
40”
5
1A
40”
6
1A
40”
7
1A
40”
8
1A
40”
Example 2: Variable Channel Current Draw
Channel
Current
LED Strip Length
1
2.5A
122”
2
1A
40”
3
0.5A
14”
4
1A
40”
5
1.5A
68”
6
0.5A
14”
7
0.5A
14”
8
0.5A
14”

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3.2 Individual Channel Current Draw / Individual Channel Fuse
As stated in the previous section, each individual channel can draw up to a maximum of 2.5A. If you
connect an LED strip that draws more than 2.5A to a single channel, you will blow that channel
module’s fuse and the channel will no longer function correctly. However, you can replace the fuse
by opening the unit’s lid, locating the blown channel module’s fuse and swapping the blown fuse
with a new one. There are spare fuses located on the main board which can be used to replace
blown channel module fuses. See fuse location in the diagram below.
4.0 TROUBLESHOOTING
Issue: Changed the DIP switches to use other MIDI notes or to use another MIDI channel, but the
unit is not responding to the new changes and is continuing to use the original note and channel
assignments.
Solution: Make sure the unit is powered off when changing the MIDI notes or MIDI channel DIP
switches, as the unit only checks for new DIP switch settings during start-up.
Issue: Changed the MIDI notes or MIDI channel DIP switches while the unit was powered off, but,
after start-up, the unit is still not responding to the new MIDI notes or MIDI channel selected.
Solution: Power off the unit and check to make sure the DIP switches are fully set in their intended
positions. Sometimes, if you do not press hard enough when moving a DIP switch, it can get stuck in
a middle position, which will result in the wrong MIDI notes or MIDI channel being selected.
Issue: LED strip is connected to a channel and the corresponding channel’s indicator light is
displaying the intended colour, but the LED strip is not illuminating. However, the other channels are
working fine.
Solution: The corresponding channel module’s fuse may be blown. Check to make sure that the LED
strip is no longer than 122”, as an LED strip longer than this length will have a current draw that
exceeds the 2.5A maximum for a single channel. To replace the channel module’s fuse, see section
3.1. Alternatively, if the corresponding channel module’s fuse is not blown, check to make sure the
USB cable you are using to connect the LED strip to the unit has no shorts or defects, as this could
also prevent the LED strip from illuminating.

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5.0 SPECIFICATIONS
LC-8: 8-CH LIGHTING CONTROLLER
Controls: Power Button, 3x Test Buttons (Green, Red, Blue)
Indicators: Power Indicator Light, 8x Channel Indicator Lights
Connectors: 8x RGB Channel Output, MIDI Input, MIDI Thru, DC12V Input
Power Supply: DC12V 10A 90~240VAC
Maximum Current Draw: 8A (2.5A / channel)
Dimensions: 19” x 4.125” x 1.75” (483 mm x 105 mm x 45 mm)
Weight: 1.86 lbs (0.84 kg)