Chauvet Stage Designer 50 TFX-48B User manual

Chauvet, 3000 N 29th Ct, Hollywood, FL 33020 U.S.A.
[phone] –[phone]
FAX [phone]
www.chauvetlighting.com
Stage Designer™50
TFX-48B
USER MANUAL
Snapshot
Ok on Dimmer
Outdoor OK
Sound Activated
DMX512
Master/Slave
115V/230V Switch
Replaceable Fuse
User Serviceable
Duty Cycle

Stage Designer™ 50 User Manual 2 Revised: 2008-08-25 16:16:53
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Before You Begin................................................................................................................................3
What is included .......................................................................................................................................3
Unpacking Instructions..............................................................................................................................3
Safety Instructions ....................................................................................................................................3
2. Introduction.........................................................................................................................................4
Features...................................................................................................................................................4
Product Overview (front)............................................................................................................................5
Product Overview (rear panel)...................................................................................................................6
Common Terms........................................................................................................................................8
3. Operating Instructions........................................................................................................................ 9
Setup........................................................................................................................................................9
Setting up the System...............................................................................................................................9
Physical fader Assignment (optional setup)................................................................................................ 9
Switching between Page and Page B (Channels 1-24 and 25-48)...............................................................9
4. Programming..................................................................................................................................... 10
Entering program mode (record enable)................................................................................................... 10
Create a scene ....................................................................................................................................... 10
Edit Enable............................................................................................................................................. 10
Erase a Program.....................................................................................................................................11
Erase all Scenes..................................................................................................................................... 11
Record Clear ..........................................................................................................................................11
Delete a step or steps ............................................................................................................................. 12
Insert a Step or Steps ............................................................................................................................. 12
Modify a Step or Steps............................................................................................................................ 12
5. Playback............................................................................................................................................ 13
Playing a Scene......................................................................................................................................13
Playing a Scene to audioTriggering .........................................................................................................13
Playing a Scene with the Speed slider..................................................................................................... 14
Plating a Scene with the Standard beat....................................................................................................14
Change the Speed mode between 5 & 10minutes................................................................................... 14
Auxiliary controls..................................................................................................................................... 15
Midi Operation........................................................................................................................................16
Setting MIDI IN ....................................................................................................................................... 16
Setting MIDI OUT....................................................................................................................................17
Receiving MIDI File Dump.......................................................................................................................17
Sending MIDI File Dump ......................................................................................................................... 17
6. Appendix........................................................................................................................................... 18
DMX Primer............................................................................................................................................18
Fixture Linking........................................................................................................................................ 18
Returns Procedure.................................................................................................................................. 19
Claims.................................................................................................................................................... 19
Troubleshooting......................................................................................................................................19
DMX Dipswitch Quick Reference Chart....................................................................................................20
General Troubleshooting.........................................................................................................................20
Technical Specifications..........................................................................................................................24

TFX-48B User Manual 3 Revised: 2008-08-25 16:16:53
1. BEFORE YOU BEGIN
What is included
Stage Designer™50 controller
DC 9-12V 500mA, 100-240v autoswitching
Manual with warranty card
Unpacking Instructions
Immediately upon receiving a fixture, carefully unpack the carton, check the contents to ensure that
all parts are present, and have been received in good condition. Notify the shipper immediately and
retain packing material for inspection if any parts appear damaged from shipping or the carton itself
shows signs of mishandling. Save the carton and all packing materials. In the event that a fixture
must be returned to the factory, it is important that the fixture be returned in the original factory box
and packing.
Safety Instructions
Please keep this User Guide for future consultation. If you sell the unit to another user, be sure that
they also receive this instruction booklet.
Always make sure that you are connecting to the proper voltage and that the line voltage you are
connecting to is not higher than that stated on decal or rear panel of the fixture.
This product is intended for indoor use only!
To prevent risk of fire or shock, do not expose fixture to rain or moisture. Make sure there are no
flammable materials close to the unit while operating..
In the event of serious operating problem, stop using the unit immediately. Never try to repair the unit
by yourself. Repairs carried out by unskilled people can lead to damage or malfunction. Please
contact the nearest authorized technical assistance center. Always use the same type spare parts.
Don’t connect the device to a dimmer pack.
Make sure power cord is never crimped or damaged.
Never disconnect power cord by pulling or tugging on the cord.
Do not operate this device in more than 104°F (40°C) ambient temperature conditions.
Caution! There are no user serviceable parts inside the unit. Do not open the housing or attempt
any repairs yourself. In the unlikely event your unit may require service, please contact
CHAUVET at: 954-929-1115.
Please read these instructions carefully, which includes important information
about the installation, usage and maintenance of your fixture.

TFX-48B User Manual 4 Revised: 2008-08-25 16:16:53
2. INTRODUCTION
The Stage Designer 50™ is a universal intelligent lighting controller. It allows the control of 48 channels with
96 scene/chase playback faders. Each scene/chase can contain up to 1000 individual steps, or looks. On the
surface, when in the CHASE◄►SCENE mode, there are 12 physical faders for the playback of the saved
programs. There are 4 pages of Scenes playback on Page A, and an additional 4 pages of playback faders on
Page B. Programs can be triggered by music, midi, automatically or manually. Channel assignments can be
reprogrammed for ease of controlling different fixtures. On the surface you will find various programming tools
such as 24 channels fader, A/B master faders for cross mixing, and Fade and Speed time faders for on the fly
adjustments. And it also has an LED display for easy navigation of controls and menu functions.
Features
Universal DMX-512 controller
Controls up to 48 DMX channels
8 pages of 12 playbacks faders,
6 sets of chases containing 240 scenes
Program fade and speed time into each step
Reversible sliders
Re-assignable channels
Sequential linking of chases
Assignable joystick
Fog & strobe control buttons
Grab any fixture on the fly
Beat activation, tap-sync and auto run
Polarity selector
6 space (6U) 19" rack mount
MIDI compatible

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Product Overview (front)
21
2
5
7
8
15
12
6
4
13
1
20
3
16
10
9
18
11
19
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
14

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Item
Button or Fader
Function
1
Channel Faders
Indicates channels 1-12(25-36)
2
Channel Flash button
Brings the relevant fader to 100% or DMX value of 255
3
Channel Faders
Indicates channels 13-24(37-48)
4
Scene Playback
indicators
Indicates that the scene is playing back
5
Channel Flash button
Brings the relevant fader to 100% or DMX value of 255
6
Down/Beat Rev
Down functions to modify a scene in Edit mode, Beat Rev is used to reverse the
chasing direction of a program with regular beat
7
Up/Chase Reverse
Up function to modify a scene in Edit mode, Chase Reverse is used to reverse
the chasing direction of a program under Speed Slider control.
8
LCD Display
Shows the current activity or programming state
9
Delete/Rev One
Delete a step in a scene or reverse he chasing direction of any program
10
Aux 1
Patchable; used to control a channel in 1 of 2 modes of operation
11
Insert/%or255
Insert is to add 1 step or steps into a scene; %or255 is used to change the
display value cycle between % and 0-255
12
Aux 2
Patchable; used to control a channel in 1 of 2 modes of operation
13
Edit/All Rev
Edit is used to activate Edit mode; All Rev is to reverse the chasing direction of
all programs
14
Record/Shift
Record is used to activate Record mode or program a step; Shift functions the
alternate function of other buttons only
15
Audio/Page A_B
Audio activate audio sync of chase; Page A_B switches the channel faders
BETWEEN 1-24 MODE AND 25-48 MODE. Press and hold Record & Page A_B
to switch between the 2 channel pages.
16
Blind
Takes the channel out of a program temporarily in Chase◄►Scene mode
18
Dark
Used to temporarily blackout overall output
19
Home
Used to deactivate the Blind on a given channel
20
Park
Used to select Single/Mix Chase, bring Channel 13-24(37-48) to full of current
setting, or momentarily program a scene into Master B slider depending on the
current mode.
21
Mode Select/Rec
Speed
Used to activate the operating mode; Rec Speed sets the speed of any
programs chasing in Mix mode
22
Tap Sync
Repeatedly tapping this button will establish the chase speed
23
Hold
Used to momentarily maintain current scene
24
Page
Tap to select pages of scenes from 1-4(Page A) and 1-4 (Page B)
25
Full On
Momentarily bring all channels (1-48) to full intensity
26
Step
Used to go to the next step when the Speed slider is set in Show Mode or in Edit
mode.
27
Add Kill/Rec exit
In Add mode, multiple scenes or Flash buttons will be on at the same time; In Kill
mode, pressing any Flash button will kill any other scenes or programs; Rec Exit
is used to exit from Program or Edit mode.
28
Blackout
Used to kill all output, with exception of Full On.
29
Audio Level Fader
Adjusts the audio sensitivity when in Audio trigger mode of scenes
30
Speed Fader
Used to adjust the sped of scenes/chases running
31
Fade Fader
Adjusts the fade-in, fade-out, and cross-fade times
32
Master A_B
Adjusts overall intensity

Stage Designer™ 50 User Manual 7 Revised: 2008-08-25 16:16:53
Product Overview (rear panel)
8
1
7
2
3
Item
Button or Fader
Function
1
3-pin DMX output connector
DMX control signal
2
5-pin DMX output connector
DMX control signal
3
Polarity switch
Used to select DMX polarity
4
MIDI Thru
MIDI port for connecting to a sequencer or MIDI device
5
MIDI Out
MIDI port for connecting to a sequencer or MIDI device
6
MIDI In
MIDI port for connecting to a sequencer or MIDI device
7
Audio Input
This jack accepts a line level audio input signal ranging from 100mV to 1Vpp
8
Remote Input
Blackout and Full On may be controlled by a remote control using a standard ¼´jack
9
DC Input
DC 12-20V, 500mAMin.
9
4
5
6

TFX-48B User Manual 8 Revised: 2008-08-25 16:16:53
Common Terms
The following are common terms used in intelligent light programming.
Blackout is a state where all lighting fixtures’light output are set to 0 or off, usually on a temporary
basis.
DMX-512 is an industry standard digital communication protocol used in entertainment lighting
equipment. For more information read Sections “DMX Primer” and “DMX Control Mode” in the
Appendix.
Fixture refers to your lighting instrument or other device such as a fogger or dimmer which you can
control.
Programs are a number of scenes arranged one after another. It can be programmed as either a
single scene or multiple scenes in sequence.
Scenes are static lighting states.
Sliders are also known as faders.
Chases can also be called programs. A chase consists of a number of scenes arranged one after
another.
Scanner refers to a lighting instrument with a pan and tilt mirror; however DMX controllers can use
this term to control any DMX-512 compatible device as a generic fixture.
MIDI is a standard for representing musical information in a digital format. A MIDI input would provide
external triggering of scenes using midi devices such as a midi keyboard.
Stand Alone refers to a fixture’s ability to function independently of an external controller and usually
in sync to music, due to a built in microphone.
Fade slider is used to adjust the fade time between scenes within a chase.
Speed slider affects the amount of time a scene will hold its state. It is also considered a wait time.
Shutter is a mechanical device in the lighting fixture that allows you to block the lights path. It is often
used to lessen the intensity of the light output and to strobe.
Patching refers to the process of assigning faders to a DMX channel within a fixture.
Playbacks can be either scenes or chases that are directly called to execution by the user. A
playback can also be considered program memory that can be recalled during a show.

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3. OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS
Setup
SETTING UP THE SYSTEM
1) Place the Stage Designer 50™on a level surface. Note! The Stage Designer 50™can also be
rack mounted, occupying six rack spaces (6U).
2) Plug the AC to DC power supply into the system back panel and into the mains outlet.
3) Plug in your DMX cable(s) to your intelligent lighting as described in the respective fixture’s
manual. For a quick overview of DMX see the “DMX Primer” on page 19.
4) Reset the system using the instructions on page 11 under ERASE ALL SCENES..
PHYSICAL FADER ASSIGNMENT (OPTIONAL SETUP)
Use this feature to combine or unify fixture control attributes for different fixtures. For example; if you
were controlling 4 moving mirrors and 4 moving yokes, the color, gobo and dimmer channels may not
line up ideally on the physical faders. Use this function to re-assign the dimmer, color and gobo
channels to faders 1, 2 and 3. From now on you will be able to control the same attributes on all
fixtures using the same fader location. This is also most useful when needing to combine all colors
together.
Action 
1. Press and hold RECORD button.
2. While holding the Record button, press the
Flash button #6 (3) times.
3. Press the Flash button that you wish to
assign the DMX channel output to.
4. While holding Record, press the Flash
button corresponding to the DMX output
that you wish to assign the Fader to.
5. Repeat steps 2 ~ 3 as often as necessary.
6. Press and hold Record & Rec Exit to exit
the mode.
For example: you wish to assign Fader #1 to
output to DMX channel #5.
1. Hold the Record button & press Fader#6 (3)
times.
2. Press the Flash button #1.
3. While holding the Record button, press the
Flash button #5.
Notes 
All physical faders can be re-assigned to output on a
different DMX channel. Faders are given a channel
number and are labeled on the surface of the
controller as such.
You can check to see what the assignment is by
pressing the Fader button of the corresponding
channel while in this mode.
Here is no limit to the amount of channels that can be
assigned to a single fades. One can assign up to all 48
channels of DMX output to a single Fader.
CHNO corresponds to the Physical Fader, while
SLDNO corresponds to the DMX output channel.
SWITCHING BETWEEN PAGE AND PAGE B (CHANNELS 1-24 AND 25-
48)
Action 
1) Press and hold Record & press Page A_B
button. If you are on Page A, then this will
bring you to Page B. If you are on Page B,
then this will bring you to Page A.
Notes 
When the fixture turns on, it will revert to the
previously used page.
Page A is used to control channels 1-24, while Page B
is used to control channels 25-48.
The screen will display which current page.
There’s an additional set of 4 pages of playback
controls on Page B.

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4. PROGRAMMING
ENTERING PROGRAM MODE (RECORD ENABLE)
1. While holding the RECORD button, tap the Flash buttons 1-5-6-8 in sequence.
2. Release the RECORD button. The Record LED lights up;
CREATE A SCENE
A scene is a static lighting state. Scenes are stored in the temporary memory, until they are
transferred to one of the playback faders. You may create a single scene or a succession of up to 999
steps per Scene.
Action 
1) Record enable.
2) Select the 1-24 Single mode by tapping the
Mode Select button. This will give you
control of all 24 channels of the first page.
3) Compose a look by moving the FADERS.
(Changes in fixture attribute such as colors
and gobos, or simply dimmer values).
4) Press Record to save the look into the
temporary memory.
5) Repeat steps 2 ~ 4 until you have your
desired scene.
6) Adjust the Speed and Fade sliders to
achieve the desired amount of time a scene
will be held in a chase (speed) and the
amount of time allowed for the fixtures to
move from one scene to the next (fade).
7) Select a Scene master to store your scene.
Tap the Page button to select a page (1-4).
8) Press and hold the Record button & tap the
Flash button for the scene that you wish to
store it to. All LEDs will flash indicating the
scene has been programmed into memory.
9) You can continue programming or exit. To
exit program mode, press and hold the
Record button & tap the Rec Exit button.
Notes 
Deselect Blackout if LED is lit.
Be sure that you are on the right page by viewing the
screen where it displays Page A or Page B. This will
enable 1-24 or 25-48 channel control.
If you just wish to create a static look, then you must
create a scene composed of only 1 step.
There are 1000 steps available in every scene.
EDIT ENABLE
Action 
1) Record enable.
2) Use the Page button to select the page the
program you wish to edit is on.
3) Tap the Mode Select button to select
Chase◄►Scenes.
4) Press and hold the Edit button & tap the
Flash button (13-24) of the Scene you
wish to edit.
5) Release the Edit button. The relevant
Scene Led should light, indicating you are
in Edit mode.
Notes 
When the EDIT mode is entered properly, the display
will read EDITING.
This mode is displayed here for only the initiation of
EDIT mode. Please see the following sections on the
uses of this mode in detail.