NSI NCM 1600 User manual

NCM 1600
MEMORY LIGHTING CONTROLLER
OPERATION MANUAL

1
SET-UP
Micro-plex outputs
The two Micro-plex connectors located on the back panel of the NCM 1600 controller
are both outputs and will not accept any input signals. Both male and female
connectors are provided and can be used simultaneously. These outputs are to be
used with any standard 3-pin microphone cable to connect the NCM 1600 to your NSI
Dimmer Packs. This link provides power to the NCM 1600 via the Dimmer Packs (pin
1: ground, pin 2: +15 VDC) and also serves to send the Micro-plex dimmer signal to the
Dimmer Packs (pin 3).
System hookup
The Micro-plex outputs eliminate the need for AC power directly into the NCM 1600
Controller, making placement easy and convenient. You need only connect a single
three-conductor audio cable (standard microphone cable with XLRs) to one of the
Micro-plex output ports on the back of the console. The single cable will carry all of the
control signals to your dimmer packs at the stage or other remote location. In most
cases, you can even use one channel from an audio snake to provide the link between
controller and dimmer packs, thus eliminating an individual run of microphone cable.
Note
It is recommended that when using satellite type Dimmer Packs, at least two (2)
operational dimmer packs be used to power the NCM 1600 Controller. Using only one
Dimmer Pack may result in insufficient power and erratic operation.
Long control cable runs over 150 feet (45 meters) may require the use of at least 18GA
shielded cable or an additional power supply located near the console.
Configuration
Your NCM 1600 can be customized for your application. If changes are required,
please see the Configuration section of this manual.
IMPORTANT
If this is the first time you are using the console or if you experience any problems such
as dimmers not responding or other unusual operation, the configuration may have
been accidentally changed. See the Configuration section of this manual.

2
CONTROL FUNCTIONS
Channel Levels
The Channel Level Controls are used to vary the output levels of the 16 individual
control channels. These levels can be used in programming patterns or scenes. They
can also be used to directly control the level's output to stage through the use of the
manual scene button.
Master Level
Overall light intensity to the stage is controlled by the Master Level slide control. While
the Master Level is usually kept in the maximum position (fully up), all light levels can
be increased or decreased proportionally by adjusting this slide control. It should be
noted that the Master Level control only affects the output levels and has no effect on
the LED channel level indicators.
Audio
The Audio slide control adjusts the input sensitivity of the audio circuitry. Adjust the
audio sensitivity by starting this slide control at minimum and increasing it until the
desired effects have been achieved.
Chase Rate
The Chase Rate slide control adjusts the step rate of the chase effect. The step rate is
indicated by the red LED located directly above the Tap Sync button. This LED will
flash every time the chase is sequenced.
Fade Rate
The NCM 1600 has an autofader to provide automatic crossfades from one pattern or
scene to another. The Fade Rate slide control determines the speed at which the fade
will occur. The fade will happen instantly when this control is in the fully down position
and causes increasingly slower fades as the control is raised.

3
Bump Buttons
The 16 individual channel bump buttons are used to bump (or flash) the intensity of the
respective channel to full brightness (or the setting of the master level control). The
bump buttons have priority over most control functions and are active regardless of the
blackout button. In program mode, the bump buttons serve a special function and will
not affect stage lighting levels.
Pattern Select
The 12 Pattern Select buttons are used for activating any of the 12 chase patterns or
static scenes stored in memory. A tap of any of the pattern select buttons will light the
LED above the button and cause the pattern or scene stored in memory to fade in at
the set fade rate. A second tap of the button will cause the LED to go off and then the
pattern or scene will fade out at the set fade rate.
Pressing and holding down any of the Pattern Select buttons will bypass the set fade
rate and cause all patterns or scenes to fade in or out instantly. Pattern select buttons
operate independently of one another and any or all of the 12 patterns may be active at
the same time. The blackout button will reset all active patterns.
Programming patterns or scenes is discussed under "PROGRAMMING".
Manual
The Manual button allows manual intensity control of the 16 lighting channels. The first
tap of the manual button will light the LED above it and cause the channels to fade up
to the intensity set by the channel level sliders. After the fade up is complete, changes
to the lighting levels can be made by simply moving the channel level slide controls.
A second tap of the Manual button will cause the LED to go out and the lighting levels
set by the slide controls will fade out at set fade rate. Pressing and holding down the
Manual button will bypass the set fade rate and cause the manual scene to fade in or
out instantly. The Manual scene may also be reset by a second tap of the blackout
button if the console is so configured.
Note
The Manual scene may be configured to not be cleared by Blackout or may even be
configured to be permanently on at all times regardless of operation of the Manual
scene button.

4
Blackout
The first tap of the Blackout button will cause all patterns to reset and fade out at the
set fade rate. A second tap will reset the Manual scene under the normal console
configuration.
Pressing and holding down the Blackout will bypass the set fade rate and cause the
patterns or scenes to go to blackout instantly.
Tap Sync
The Tap sync button is used to set and synchronize the chase rate by tapping the
button twice. The chase rate will synchronize to the time of the last two taps. The LED
above the Tap Sync button will flash at the new chase rate.
Tap Sync will override any previous setting of the chase rate control slider until the
slider is moved again.
Audio
Audio effects may be activated by tapping the Audio button until the LED above it lights
and then setting the audio sensitivity control for the desired effectiveness. Tapping the
Audio button again will extinguish the LED and turn off audio effects.
Glide
The Glide button is used to turn on and off the Glide mode
Any pattern selected after the Glide mode is turned on will fade or "glide" between
chase steps instead of instantly changing between steps. The Glide mode is activated
by pressing the Glide button and the Glide LED is lit. The Glide mode is turned off by
again pressing the Glide button. Turning off the Glide mode will not affect the patterns
selected while the Glide mode was on.
Program
The Program button is used to program chase patterns or static scenes into the pattern
memory or to program audio intensity effects. For programming details see the section
under "PROGRAMMING".

5
PROGRAMMING
Quick Programming Chase Patterns using bump buttons
1. Tap the Program button so that the LED above it lights. If the LED does not light,
the memory lock is on.
2. Select the pattern to program by tapping one of the 12 Pattern Select buttons,
causing the LED above the button to flash. This will erase the current memory
programming for this button.
3. Press the desired Bump button(s) for this step of the chase. The levels will not
appear on stage but will be displayed on the channel level LEDs.
4. Releasing all the bump buttons will automatically program this step into memory.
Repeat step 3 until the desired number of steps is programmed.
5. Tap the Blackout button to exit from the programming mode.
Programming patterns or scenes using channel level slide controls
1. Tap the Program button so that the LED above it lights. If the LED does not light,
the memory lock is on.
2. Select the pattern to program by tapping one of the 12 Pattern Select buttons
causing the LED above the button to flash. This will erase the current memory
programming for this button.
3. Move the channel level slide controls to the levels desired for this step of the
chase. The levels being programmed will not appear on stage unless the Manual
scene is selected using the Manual button.
4. Tap the Program button to program this step into memory.
5. If programming a static scene, tap the Blackout button now to exit the
programming mode.
If programming a chase pattern, repeat steps 3 and 4 until the desired number of
steps is programmed. Tap the Blackout button when done to exit the
programming mode.
Note
If program LED extinguishes before the blackout button is tapped, the memory is full.

6
AUDIO SYNC
An audio signal may be supplied to the NCM 1600 console via the 1/4" phone jack
located on the back of the unit. The audio signal can be used to synchronize the chase
to the beat of the audio and to affect the intensity of predetermined channels.
To synchronize chase, activate the audio mode by tapping the Audio button until the
LED above it lights. Now activate a chase pattern and move the Chase Rate control to
the minimum position. Move the Audio Sensitivity slide control slowly up until the
desired effect is achieved.
Programming audio intensity effects
The Audio mode may be programmed to flash desired channels to the intensity of the
audio signal whenever the Audio mode is on by following these steps.
1. Tap the Program button until the LED above it lights. If the LED does not light the
memory lock is on.
2. Select channels to be affected by audio by moving the corresponding channel level
sliders to maximum, and move the remaining channel level sliders to minimum.
3. Tap the Audio button to program the audio intensity effects into memory.
REAR PANEL DIP SWITCH SETTINGS
The 4 DIP switches on the rear panel serve special functions as follows:
1 MEMORY ACCESS ON (DOWN)
OFF (UP) = LOCKED = UNLOCKED
2
RESERVED
3 CONFIGURE TAP BUTTON ON (DOWN)
OFF (UP) = MANUAL TAP = TAP SYNC
4 CONFIGURE ACCESS ON (DOWN)
OFF (UP) = LOCKED = UNLOCKED

7
MEMORY LOCK
The entire memory of the 1600 can be locked to prevent accidental changes to the
programmed patterns or scenes. This is highly recommended whenever the console is
not expected to be reprogrammed for a period of time.
If programming is attempted on a locked console, the program LED will not light when
the PROG button is pressed.
TO LOCK MEMORY
Place DIP switch #1 in the on (DOWN) position.
TO UNLOCK MEMORY Place DIP switch #1 in the off (UP) position.
Note
Changes to Configuration are not possible if the memory is locked.
CONFIGURATION
To change NCM 1600 console Configuration follow these steps.
1. Place both DIP switch #1 and #4 in the off (UP) positions.
2. Hold scene select buttons 9-12 down at the same time while applying power to the
unit (disconnect and reconnect microphone cord). Release buttons after the
console is powered up.
3. Select the Configuration mode desired by pressing the appropriate pattern select
button as listed below and follow the instructions. Flashing LEDs will indicate the
currently defined modes.
PATTERN #1: MIDI TRANSMIT CHANNEL
After pattern select #1 is pressed, the current MIDI channel is displayed by lighting the
corresponding channel level LED. To change the channel; tap the bump button
corresponding to the desired channel. When done, tap the Blackout button followed by
another pattern select for additional changes or tap Blackout again to exit configuration
mode.
PATTERN #2: MIDI RECEIVE CHANNEL
Same instructions as Pattern #1.

8
PATTERN #3: MIDI MEMORY DUMP
Pressing button #3 prepares the console for a Memory Dump to MIDI disk or any other
MIDI storage unit. The dump is approximately 16K bytes. To initiate, press pattern
button #3 again. When the transfer is complete, the pattern select LEDs for currently
defined configuration modes will flash. At this point another mode may be selected or
Blackout can be tapped to leave the configuration mode.
PATTERN #4: SOFTWARE SWITCHES
This button allows modification of software switches that control certain console
functions. After pattern #4 is selected, the current status of the 16 software switches is
displayed on the channel level LEDs. Switches that are currently on are indicated by
an illuminated LED. Tap the corresponding bump button to toggle the switch. Below is
a list of software switch functions.
SWITCH #1: MANUAL SCENE BLACKOUT DISABLE
Activating this switch will cause the blackout button to have no effect on the manual
scene.
SWITCH #2: MANUAL SCENE OVERRIDE
Activating this switch will force the manual scene on at all times. The master level and
blackout button will have no effect on manual scene operation.
SWITCH #3-16 RESERVED
Select another configuration or press Blackout when done.

9
MIDI IMPLEMENTATION
Program Changes
The NCM 1600 will send and receive MIDI program changes according to the following
table.
PROGRAM CHANGE NUMBER FUNCTION
0 -11
12 -23
97
113
114
123
124
125
TURN ON PATTERNS 1-12
TURN OFF PATTERNS 1-12
BLACKOUT
GLIDE OFF
GLIDE ON
STEP CHANGE
MANUAL ON
MANUAL OFF
NOTE ON / NOTE OFF Data
The NCM 1600 will transmit and receive Note On and Note Off data via the bump
buttons. Velocity is transformed into channel intensity and note number corresponds to
the following lighting channels. No fade information is used.
NOTE NUMBER
CHANNEL
96 –111 1 -16
Control Changes
Control Change #1 is sent whenever a Pattern, Manual orBlackout button is pressed.
The current fade rate setting is sent as the value of the control change. When
receiving a Control Change #1, the current setting of the fade rate slider is overridden
until the slider is moved.
System Exclusive Messages
ASystem Exclusive message is sent as a memory dump. The message uses $77 as
an ID code.

10
NSI CORPORATION LIMITED WARRANTY
NSI Corporation warrants new electronics products to be free from defective materials
and workmanship for a period of one (1) year from the date of purchase to the original
owner when purchased from an authorized NSI dealer.
The purchaser is responsible for completing and mailing to NSI, within 15 days of
purchase, the warranty registration card enclosed with each product. NSI products that
have been subject to accident, alteration, abuse, or defacing of the serial number are
not covered by this warranty. The normal wear and tear of items such as knobs, jacks,
and switches are not covered under this warranty.
If your NSI product requires service during the warranty period, NSI will repair or
replace, at its option, defective materials provided you have identified yourself as the
original owner of the product to NSI or any authorized NSI dealer. Transportation
charges to and from an authorized dealer or the NSI factory for repair shall be the
responsibility of the owner. All products returned to NSI must have factory
authorization for return prior to shipping.
NSI Corporation is not liable for any incidental or consequential damages resulting from
defect or failure other than repairs of the NSI product subject to the terms of this
warranty. This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may have other rights
which vary from state to state. This warranty is expressly in lieu of all other agreements
and warranties expressed or implied except as may be otherwise required by law.