Author Topic: Trigger implementation idea: basic push button  (Read 3906 times)

Offline Steve Gase

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Trigger implementation idea: basic push button
« on: September 19, 2012, »
I'm creating multiple threads to launch discussions on how to create various kinds of triggers.

I'm looking for some discussion to help guide me in making a decision about the "best" way for my particular needs, and I really don't know what those requirements are at this time.  So, I'm intending the discussion to be pretty open-ended, and something that might help others with similar questions.

"best" might be based on various factors:
  • price and availability of the parts
  • ease of assembly (to me)
  • ease of use (to my visitors)
  • flexibility in placement (how far can it be from my conductor and/or power source and/or wireless? and/or ???)

In this thread I am interested in a basic push button solution, typically something that could be placed at the sidewalk as a jukebox.  The visitor would press a button to start a specific show.  The technical part shouldn't be a big problem, but the elegance of your solution might be very interesting to others.

As is the case with all of the ideas, it must be able to interface with the conductor's trigger solution.

After discussing ideas, I'm hoping that final concepts could be written up as assembly manuals in the wiki, complete with answers to the "how" and "what", and "where" questions.

Any takers?
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Offline RJ

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Re: Trigger implementation idea: basic push button
« Reply #1 on: September 19, 2012, »
Can we combine all of these topics into one where you tell people what it is you want and let them make suggestions. Bunchs of different threads seems like a mess. One would be much nicer for the users to work from . I just had to do the same thing in the beta cause it was hard to follow everything spread out.

RJ
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Offline PJNMCT

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Re: Trigger implementation idea: basic push button
« Reply #2 on: September 19, 2012, »
A thought about a unique trigger would be something that someone steps on that activates a switch for the trigger.

Another would be something that flips a mercury switch wired in as a trigger.

Even a simple door magnet and reed switch like the kind used in household alarms.

These are all simply wired to the trigger board - no external power supplies/circuits for proxs or hall effects or ultrasonics or such.

-Paul
Leesburg, FL

Offline tbone321

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Re: Trigger implementation idea: basic push button
« Reply #3 on: September 20, 2012, »
Damn, now ot looks like Steve is trying to challenge Chris in the post and thread start totals.
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Offline Steve Gase

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Re: Trigger implementation idea: basic push button
« Reply #4 on: September 20, 2012, »
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Damn, now ot looks like Steve is trying to challenge Chris in the post and thread start totals.

LOL

I'd need to create a robot to keep up with chris.  I'm not even gonna try.   :o
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Offline tbone321

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Re: Trigger implementation idea: basic push button
« Reply #5 on: September 20, 2012, »
LOL
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Offline chrisatpsu

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Re: Trigger implementation idea: basic push button
« Reply #6 on: September 20, 2012, »
he's actually caching up to me....   you guys talk about me posting a lot.  I've been on here almost a year longer and look at HIS thread count catching up to me!
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Offline chrisatpsu

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Re: Trigger implementation idea: basic push button
« Reply #7 on: September 20, 2012, »
just sayin....
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Offline Steve Gase

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Re: Trigger implementation idea: basic push button
« Reply #8 on: September 20, 2012, »
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he's actually caching up to me....   you guys talk about me posting a lot.  I've been on here almost a year longer and look at HIS thread count catching up to me!

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just sayin....

It took you 2 posts to "say"? 

 :P
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Offline chrisatpsu

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Re: Trigger implementation idea: basic push button
« Reply #9 on: September 20, 2012, »
gotta stay ahead of you somehow  hehe
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Offline charles59

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Re: Trigger implementation idea: basic push button
« Reply #10 on: September 23, 2012, »
If you are going to do a "jukebox" concept, you can combine it with a vending machine concept for food donations.

THe concept is simple, one puts a can in a slot, which powers the selection buttons.  This allows one to to request a song to be played next.

Now I don't know if the trigger function is only for shows, or if it allows one to interrupt a show playing to plays a single show and then continue one.  But that is how the show player I have works, and it would seem to be somewhat adaptable to the conductor.  One may have to may a series of small shows for it to work.

Offline RJ

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Re: Trigger implementation idea: basic push button
« Reply #11 on: September 23, 2012, »
Once a show starts the inputs are disabled. Kids pushing the buttons while one playing will not stop the current one. Only when no show is playing does it accept input. If you hold a button while a show is playing when the show ends the one you are pushing will start if and only when you release the button.

Hope this helps everyone understand its function.

RJ
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Offline galgon

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Re: Trigger implementation idea: basic push button
« Reply #12 on: December 28, 2012, »
So if I understand correctly the conductor must be in waiting mode for a trigger to work (no sequence playing).  Is there any way to change this?  I am thinking of implementing a push button startup for next year it would be nice if the house was not dark waiting for someone to hit the button.  And you could light up the button until it is pushed then turn that light off so it doesn't distract from the show.

My thought would be to have the trigger only override a scheduled sequence.  So you could set a scheduled sequence to run all night with some simple fades and hitting the trigger would break into that sequence and start the triggered sequence.   This way people driving by might notice the house and stop to hit the button.

This would also work better for Halloween shows.  You could have a scheduled sequence of Halloween music and have motion triggers that break in and play a scream or lightning strike and then the scheduled sequence picks back up from the point it stopped.
- Joe
Bethlehem, PA

Offline chrisatpsu

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Re: Trigger implementation idea: basic push button
« Reply #13 on: December 28, 2012, »
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So if I understand correctly the conductor must be in waiting mode for a trigger to work (no sequence playing).  Is there any way to change this?  I am thinking of implementing a push button startup for next year it would be nice if the house was not dark waiting for someone to hit the button.  And you could light up the button until it is pushed then turn that light off so it doesn't distract from the show.

My thought would be to have the trigger only override a scheduled sequence.  So you could set a scheduled sequence to run all night with some simple fades and hitting the trigger would break into that sequence and start the triggered sequence.   This way people driving by might notice the house and stop to hit the button.

Only RJ can answer this.

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This would also work better for Halloween shows.  You could have a scheduled sequence of Halloween music and have motion triggers that break in and play a scream or lightning strike and then the scheduled sequence picks back up from the point it stopped.

you could have another eD with conductor/trigger, to provide the "effects" keeping the original to run the show as normal. (you would just have your lighting, and screams on a different set of pixelnet universes.
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Offline galgon

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Re: Trigger implementation idea: basic push button
« Reply #14 on: December 28, 2012, »
I like the two conductor idea for Halloween.  This way the music would actually never stop and the effects would just go over top of them.  The only real drawback would be that you would have to separate the "normal" show lights from the "effects" show lights and could not mix the two.

For the other issue I guess I will have to wait and see if RJ decides that this feature is worth adding to the software/firmware or not.  I think I could rig something up using two conductors and have the button trigger the show conductor one while it cycles the power of the conductor that was doing the slow fades (effectively placing it into waiting mode).  Then I would have to figure out a way for the end of the show to trigger the conductor that was shutdown to run the slow fades again.  This of course assumes I could find a way to have the two conductors output to the same pixelnet universe (just not at the same time).   That doesn't seem impossible but a software based solution would certainly be more elegant.
- Joe
Bethlehem, PA