Lights Alive FireFly FF-151 User manual

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FireFly'FF-151'Instructions'
And'Specifications''
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QUICK'START'
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If!you!prefer!to!start!using!your!new!FF-151!straight!out!of!the!box,!then!read!the!
instructions!later,!it’s!quite!easy!to!be!up!and!running!in!just!minutes.!Three!easy!
steps!are!all!that!are!necessary!for!professional!lightning!simulation.!
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1) Connect!lights!(up!to!2,000!for!lightning!or!1,000!watts!in!the!dimming!
mode)!to!the!power!outlet!on!the!rear!of!your!FF-151.!!
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2) Connect!an!appropriate!audio!source!(CD!player,!laptop,!MP3!player,!etc.)!to!
the!AUDIO!INPUT!jack!on!the!rear!panel.!Then!connect!an!amplifier!and/or!
amplified!speakers!to!the!1/8”!stereo!AUDIO!OUTPUT!jack!on!the!rear!of!the!
lightning!simulator.!Even!though!this!is!a!single!channel!device,!you!should!
ALWAYS!USE!STEREO!CABLES.!
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3) Connect!AC!power.!!
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No!other!connections!or!adjustments!are!required!for!basic!operation.!
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WHEN'POWERING'UP…'
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Upon!power!up,!the!FF-151!goes!through!a!quick!self-test!and!the!Lights!Alive!logo!
appears.!After!roughly!three!seconds,!the!system!is!fully!functional.!When!you!start!
playing!the!audio!thunder!tracks,!the!lights!will!respond.!If!the!lights!are!not!
responding!as!expected,!turn!up!the!volume!on!your!audio!source!or!increase!the!
level!in!the!FF-151!via!the!LCD!screens.!
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CUSTOMIZED'SETTINGS'
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Five!pushbuttons!allow!you!to!fully!customize!your!FF-151!settings.!Pressing!the!
center!MENU!button!gives!you!access!to!several!additional!windows.!Pressing!the!
UP!and!DOWN!buttons!scrolls!through!the!windows.!The!(+)!and!(–)!buttons!alter!
the!settings!for!that!particular!window.!Pressing!MENU!again!will!exit!the!program!

mode!and!save!any!changes.!If!you!do!not!press!MENU!after!making!changes,!they!
will!be!lost!when!the!unit!is!powered!down.!
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The!windows!are:!
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POWER!OFF!
Press!the!(+)!button!for!a!soft!power!down.!In!this!mode,!the!FF-151!goes!
into!a!soft!sleep.!The!LCD!panel!light!is!also!extinguished.!The!FF-151!will!
immediately!resume!operation!immediately!when!any!of!the!five!
pushbuttons!are!pressed.!
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OUTPUT!MODE!!
From!this!window,!you!can!choose!between!lightning!or!dimming!effects.!The!
dimming!mode!is!used!when!you!wish!to!simulate!a!power!failure.!
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LEVEL!!
LEVEL!sets!the!sensitivity!of!the!lightning!channel.!If!it!is!set!too!low,!sound!
will!not!trigger!“lightning”.!If!it!is!set!too!high,!the!lights!will!be!on!constantly!
during!most!“lightning!strikes”.!The!range!of!this!control!is!0-25.!The!factory!
default!setting!is!15.!
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DIMMER!DEPTH!
When!in!the!dim!mode,!this!control!determines!the!depth!of!the!dimming!
effect.!This!is!quite!similar!to!the!LEVEL!control!when!in!the!lightning!mode.!
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THRESHOLD!
The!threshold!setting!adjusts!the!minimum!voltage!applied!to!your!lights!at!
all!times.!Proper!adjustment!increases!the!sensitivity!and!range!of!lights!
connected!to!your!FF-151.!Adjustment!is!achieved!by!increasing!the!setting!
until!your!lights!just!begin!to!glow,!then!reducing!the!setting!until!they!go!
out.!This!is!a!critical!adjustment!with!a!range!of!0-50.!Factory!default!is!4,!but!
the!number!may!be!considerably!higher,!depending!on!your!lights.!!
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MAXIMUM!DIMMER!LEVEL!(dim!mode)!
This!setting!adjusts!the!maximum!brightness!when!in!the!dimming!mode.!
The!range!is!0-20!with!a!factory!default!of!10.!
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MENU!BACKLIGHT!
With!a!range!of!0-10!and!a!factory!default!of!9,!this!adjustment!controls!the!
brightness!of!all!menu!screens,!except!the!main!“run”!window.!
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MAIN!SCREEN!BACKLIGHT!
Range!is!0-10,!with!a!factory!default!of!1,!this!adjustment!is!for!the!main!
“run”!window.!Generally!this!channel!is!adjusted!to!dim!the!screen!while!
running.!!
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FACTORY!RESET!
If!you!get!lost!and!prefer!to!start!over,!FACTORY!RESET!will!return!all!
settings!to!a!factory!default!that!works!well!for!most!types!of!lights.!In!the!
FACTORY!RESET!window,!press!+.!It!will!ask!you!to!confirm!by!pressing!both!
+!and!–!simultaneously.!The!factory!reset!will!happen!nearly!instantaneously.!
You!may!then!scroll!down!through!the!various!windows!or!just!hit!MENU!to!
save!and!resume!operation.!
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LIGHTNING!AUDIO!
This!setting!allows!you!to!choose!the!audio!source!for!the!lightning!effect.!
Options!are!mono!(left!+!right),!Left!channel!only!or!Right!channel!only.!The!
normal!setting!is!Mono!(L+R).!!
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DIMMER!AUDIO!!
Dimmer!audio!sources!are!also!MONO!(L+R),!Left!channel!only!or!Right!
channel!only.!
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TEST!MODE!
Test!mode!allows!you!to!confirm!proper!operation!of!your!FF-151,!cables!and!
lights.!When!in!test!mode,!simply!press!(+!or!-)!to!initiate!the!test!to!turn!on!
the!light.!The!light!will!be!on!as!long!as!you!hold!the!button,!but!will!turn!of!
immediately!after!releasing!the!button.!When!finished,!simply!press!the!
MENU!button.!
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ADVANCED'OPERATION'
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The!FF-151!will!work!right!out!of!the!box!with!no!adjustments!as!mentioned!in!the!
QUICK!START!section.!However,!you!can!customize!some!of!the!settings!to!optimize!
the!system!to!better!fit!your!needs.!
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LEVEL!adjustments!should!be!set!so!that!lights!react!to!subtle!sounds,!yet!don’t!
remain!on!solid!during!a!lightning!strike.!!
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DEPTH!-!DIMMER!will!determine!the!depth!of!dimming!or!how!dim!the!light!will!
become!during!a!strike.!It!can!be!adjusted!to!just!make!the!lights!flicker!slightly!with!
strong!lightning!strikes!or!it!can!completely!extinguish!lights!with!even!medium!
strikes.!There!is!no!right!or!wrong…!only!personal!preference.!
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THRESHOLD!controls!are!one!of!the!most!important!settings.!Set!too!high,!the!lights!
will!always!glow.!If!set!too!low,!the!system!will!still!work,!but!the!lights!will!seem!
more!“choppy”!and!they!will!lose!sensitivity!to!subtle!sounds.!Always!adjust!this!
control!until!your!lights!just!begin!to!glow,!then!back!it!down!a!step!or!two.!

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MAXIMUM!DIMMER!LEVEL!!
This!adjustment!allows!you!set!the!maximum!brightness!of!the!lights!connected!to!
the!dimmer!channel.!You!can!now!reduce!the!maximum!intensity!of!the!lights!
connected!to!the!dimmer!channel,!while!still!having!the!FF-151!flicker!and!dim!them!
more!during!a!“lightning!strike”.!This!adjustment!is!purely!a!matter!of!preference.!!
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SPECIFICATIONS'AND'FEATURES'
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MAXIMUM!POWER!HANDLING!!-!!
Lightning!–!Up!to!2,000!watts!
Dimming!–!Up!to!1,000!watts!
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ELECTRICAL!ISOLATION!–!Low!voltage!is!provided!by!an!isolated!switch!mode!
power!supply.!Solid-state!optical!isolation!is!also!utilized!to!separate!low!voltage!
and!audio!circuits!from!AC!power!circuits.!!
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SAFETY!FEATURES!–!A!user!accessible!master!fuse!(25!amp)!is!located!on!the!back!
panel.!Individual!channels!are!internally!fused.!Internal!surge!suppression!is!also!
provided.!
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LIGHTS!SUPPORTED!–!Lights!Alive!ProLight-200!LED,!ProLight-400!(preferred),!
incandescent,!halogen,!plus!many!dimmable!LEDs!and!some!dimmable!compact!
fluorescent!bulbs.!
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THRESHOLD!–!This!feature!extends!the!life,!improves!response!time!and!increases!
sensitivity!of!incandescent!and!halogen!bulbs.!It!also!improves!apparent!sensitivity!
of!LED!fixtures.!!
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FACTORY!DEFAULT!–!When!in!doubt,!start!over.!The!factory!default!option!allows!
you!to!quickly!return!to!known!working!values!and!be!back!in!operation!within!
seconds.!
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CONTROL!METHOD!–!Digitally!generated!phase!cut!dimming.!The!amplitude!
(volume)!of!the!thunder!determines!the!intensity!of!the!light.!!
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ELECTRICAL!REQUIREMENT!–!120!volts,!60!Hz,!up!to!20!amps!(depending!on!
lights!connected).!
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PREFERRED!ENVIRONMENT!–!0ºF!to!100ºF,!10-90%!(non!condensing)!relative!
humidity.!!
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WARRANTY!–!Lights!Alive!provides!an!unprecedented!three!(3)!year!limited!
warranty!on!all!FireFly!models.!We!will!repair!or!replace!(at!our!option)!any!unit!
that!is!found!to!be!defective!in!materials!or!workmanship!within!three!(3)!years!of!
the!date!of!purchase.!This!warranty!does!not!apply!to!units!that!have!been!
physically!damaged,!improperly!connected,!altered,!subjected!to!water,!power!
spikes!or!any!other!issues!beyond!the!control!of!Lights!Alive.!No!other!warranty!is!
expressed!or!implied.!By!using!this!equipment,!you!understand!and!agree!that!
Lights!Alive!will!not!be!responsible!for!injuries!or!damages,!whether!direct!or!
indirect,!even!if!they!are!a!result!of!our!negligence.!!
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To!obtain!warranty!service,!please!call!or!email![email protected]!for!a!
return!authorization!number,!then!return!the!unit,!prepaid,!including!a!copy!of!your!
original!invoice!and!a!detailed!description!of!the!problem!to!Lights!Alive!at!the!
address!listed!below.!For!your!protection,!we!suggest!insuring!your!package!and!
using!a!method!that!will!provide!tracking!information.!If!we!find!the!unit!to!be!
defective!and!under!warranty,!we!will!promptly!repair!or!replace!it.!If!it!is!a!non-
warranty!issue,!we!will!contact!you!with!details!and!options.!!
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A'WORD'OF'WARNING'
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Your!FF-151!is!equipped!with!security!screws!to!prevent!personal!injury!and/or!
damage!to!your!system.!There!are!no!user!serviceable!parts!inside.!Any!attempt!to!
defeat!these!security!screws!to!gain!entry!into!the!enclosure!will!void!your!
warranty.!In!addition,!opening!the!enclosure!could!subject!you!to!high!voltage!that!
could!cause!serious!injury!or!death.!
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SUPPORT!
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If!you!need!help!with!your!FF-151,!Lights!Alive!is!here!for!you.!Please!feel!free!to!
contact!us!at:!
! Email:!![e-mail]!
!Phone:!!317.280.3000,!option!2!!
!Web:!!www.LightsAlive.com!!
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