32 channel DMX dimmer "pack" for LEDs/clusters/strips/bars (or relays, solenoids, small motors, lasers, EL drivers, anything DC powered)

(New version 2!)

• 32 channels with one board!  No more compromises due to not having as many channels as you really want.  If you're tired of the expense and hassle of wiring multiple 3-channel dimmers to get even a modest number of channels in your installations, this board is for you.  Example: you can run 10 separate RGB flex strips or ropelight with smooth, precise, DMX controlled color mixing with one board.
  
• Each channel can switch 8 Amps, total current capability of the board is at least 40 Amps continuous, and up to 70 amps, depending on installation specifics.
  
• Each channel can switch up to 48V for driving large clusters of LEDs efficiently.  Please consult with me if you will be using > 24V.
  
• Each channel diode protected from inductive load switching spikes, making it safe to use with solenoids, relays, small motors, and unusual stuff.
  
• Fully (power and signal) isolated DMX input, using the marvelous and not cheap Maxim MAX1480 isolated RS485 transceiver.
• 4096 levels of dimming at a pulse-width-modulation (PWM) refresh rate of 450Hz (can be 112Hz to 14.4Khz by request).  This allows smooth fade up & down from black with no flicker ever!  Unlike cheap stuff that doesn't even have specifications, this board was specifically designed for theatre-quality dimming that can be photographed or video recorded without flicker.
  
• LED brightness levels retained if DMX signal is lost.
  
• DMX start channel (1-511) set via DIP switch, changes are immediate, status LED blinks orange to acknowledge setting change.
  
• DMX termination on/off via DIP switch.  No jumpers or plugs to deal with!
  
• Dimming enabled on all channels yes/no via DIP switch to protect non-dimmable loads from damage (relays, solenoids, etc.).
  
• Test pattern via DIPswitch: fade up all channels to 10%, then chase all channels, then repeat.  Very handy for debugging installations.
• High-resolution (16-bit) DMX input mode, selectable by DIP switch, for ultimate precise brightness control.
  
• Supports the top speed possible with DMX: 512 channel frames @ 44fps.  No having to set a max fps rate, or a delay between frames, or any other hacks some other DMX devices require.
  
• Multicolor status LED indicates DMX protocol or wiring error (red), no DMX wire connected / no data on connection (green slow blink), and valid DMX frames incoming (green fast blink).
• LED connection headers are a unique "pluggable" design: they can be unplugged from the board, wires added/removed, then plugged back in.  They can be plugged in two ways: such that the wires exit parallel to the board, the conventional case (shown in picture) or straight up out of the board.  This allows for much easier installation and for moving installations, since the board and the LED clusters are easily separated.
  
• Board electronics runs from 7-48V DC, using the same power supply as your LEDs.  At 12V the current draw is approximately 100mA.
  
• Up to 16 boards can run from a single DMX source, so a complete DMX universe of 512 high-current channels can be easily built.
  

• LED cluster positives are all tied together with thick wire to the positive of the power supply for the LEDs (up to 48V).
  
• LED cluster negative goes to terminal block.  This can be a thinner wire, since only the current for that cluster goes down it (up to 8 amps).
  
• LED power supply positive and negative goes to LED power terminal block (the large one on the right).  The positive can be a thin wire since this is only used for powering the board and diode inductive switching protection.  The negative(s) needs to be thick wire (14awg minimum, 12, 10, 8 AWG recommended), since the current for all the LED clusters goes through these wires.  For 10 amps or less total, a single negative connection is fine.  For 10-20amps total, two are needed, and 3 recommended.  For above 20amps all four are required.  The power supply should be located as close to the board as possible.
  
• NOTE: this board doesn't do any current limiting.  When it switches a cluster on (i.e. the cluster's negative is switched to ground) the effective resistance of that switch is less than a tenth of an ohm.  Therefore the LED cluster has to be designed to limit current to whatever the LEDs are rated for.  Fuses can also be added.  I am happy to advise on LED cluster designs.
  

1. Turn off the LED power supply, and set the board DIPswitches to: Dimmable ON, 16bit DMX OFF, Testmode OFF, Terminate OFF.
   
2. Connect the LED power supply to the board.  (+) is the top position on the 3-position connector on the right, marked with red paint.  (-) is either of the two below it, and either of the two on the 2-position connector in the middle of the board.
3. Turn on the LED power supply.  You should see the status LED blinking green slowly.  If not, check that at least 7V is present on the (+) relative to the (-).
4. Now connect the (+) for one of your LED clusters/strips to LED power supply + and the (-) to the power supply negative.  It should light up.  This ensures it is working.
5. Turn off the LED power supply, and wire the cluster in: the LED cluster (+) goes to the LED power supply (+), either at the big green board connector or at the power supply itself.  Wire the LED cluster (-) to channel 1.
6. Turn on the LED power supply.  The board's status LED should again blink green slowly, and the cluster is off.  Now flip the "Testmode" DIPswitch to ON.  The status LED now toggles red & green rapidly.  The LED cluster should fade up from black to 10%, then flash full-on momentarily, then go off.  After 5 seconds or so this repeats.  The board is doing a fade-up of all channels to 10%, then chases all channels at 100%, then repeats.  If the LED cluster doesn't light, or stays lit, turn off power and recheck wiring.  Also try a different channel.
7. At this time, you're ready to wire!  I don't have a good solution for how to combine all the LED cluster (+) together; you can use multiple wire-nuts, or get a multi-position terminal block and wire all its pins together, or strip 8" of thick wire and solder the LED cluster (+) to it.  I've done it all these ways and others.  If you've got something handy, please let me know.
   
8. I suggest wiring a half dozen or so channels and verifying operation with the "Testmode" DIPswitch at this time.  They should all come up to 10%, then chase.  Remember that multiple thick, short wires from the board to the LED power supply ground are required for high currents; see notes and wiring diagram above.
   
9. On to DMX: set the "Testmode" DIPswitch to OFF, choose the DMX start ID (suggest 1) and set the 9-position DIPswitch for it (for help with decimal to binary go here).  The DIPswitch on the DMX32 is a little confusing.  Firstly, ignore the numbers 1-9 printed on the switch itself, instead look at the "256","128","64", etc. printed on the circuit board.  These numbers are the "bit value" of the corresponding switch; OFF= binary 0 and ON= binary 1.  Example: DMX ID 274 is "100010010" in binary, so the leftmost switch ("256") is ON, the 128,64,32 are OFF, 16 is ON, 8 and 4 are OFF, 2 is ON, and 1 is OFF.
   
10. Now connect the DMX cable to the board.  If you have a 3-pin or 5-pin DMX cable, you can cut the end and screw the wires into the terminal block (pin 2 and pin 3; pin 1 do not connect) or use a 3 or 5 pin to wire pigtails adapter - I normally have a few for $15.  Either of the two DMX terminal blocks can be used, there are two for wiring convenience for multi-board installations.  Top pin is DMX pin 2, bottom pin is DMX pin 3.
11. Flip the "Terminate" switch to ON, and plug into your DMX source and turn it on.  The board status LED should be flashing fast green.  If it is red (meaning garbled data): the pin 2 / pin 3 is likely backwards or one is loose.  If it is slow green: no DMX is seen; double check the wiring, and that pin 2 / pin 3 is correct, and that your DMX source is outputting data.
12. Now finally for the fun part!  If the DMX start ID is 1, and your DMX source is outputting data for channel 1-32, you should be able to fade up and down your installed LED clusters.  If there is a lot of flicker, check the DMX wiring; if one wire is loose there will be lots of bad data.  If the fade up/down looks choppy, compare it with the fade up the Testmode does.  Some lighting control desks and software don't do smooth ramps; the fade up the Testmode does shows the board's best capabilities.

• DMX requires that the last (and only the last) DMX device in a network be terminated; please look elsewhere for more details about this.  The "Terminate" DIPswitch accomplishes this.
• The "Dimmable" DIPswitch is normally ON.  For special devices that can't or shouldn't be dimmed, turn this OFF.  Now if the DMX brightness value for a channel is 0, the device is off, and for 1-255 it is fully ON.
• The "16 bit DMX" DIPswitch is normally OFF.  For finest dimming control possible (such as from a computer) this can be turned ON, and the board combines two DMX channels (8bits & 8bits) to create one 16-bit dimming channel so you can set the brightness to 4096 (12-bit) different levels.
• An external status LED can be easily added, if you would like something visible on the outside of an enclosure, etc.  Connect your red/green LED here and you don't need a current-limiting resistor for it, there is one already on the DMX32.  The DMX32 uses digikey.com 160-1038-ND, I can include one for you, just ask.  You may find mouser.com 696-LXH600HGW-150 more useful, although you'll need to wire it polarity-reversed to have its red/green match the DMX32's red/green.
  

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Useful accessories!