DMX / serial outputs¶
The RJ45 jacks labelled DMX (or DMX1 / DMX2) are RS-485 serial outputs. FPP can drive them as:
- DMX512 (DMX-Open), for floods, moving heads and DMX relay boxes
- Pixelnet
- Renard and LOR (Light-O-Rama) networks
| Board | Serial outputs | FPP name | Pin |
|---|---|---|---|
| K8-Pro, K8-Max, K16, K32 | 1 | DMX |
P2-07 |
| K16-Pro, K16-Max, K32-Pro, K32-Max | 2 | DMX1, DMX2 |
P2-07, P1-08 |
| K8-PB | 1, on a 3-pin header (FPP 10.3 or later) | ttyS2 |
P1-10 |
| K4-PB | 1, on a 3-pin header | ttyS4 |
P2-07 |
| K40D-PB | 1, on a 3-pin pluggable terminal | ttyS4 |
P2-07 |
| PocketScroller v2, v3 and -16 | none | — | — |
| K8-B, K8-B-Scroller | 2, on a 2×3 header | ttyS1, ttyS2 |
P9-24, P9-21 |
| K64D-B, K128D-B | 2, RJ45 with a DMX/LOR switch | ttyS1, ttyS2 |
P9-24, P9-21 |
| OctoPlus | none | — | — |
| K16A-B | 2: 3-pin terminals (v1), RJ45 (v2, v3) | ttyS1, ttyS2 |
P9-24, P9-21 |
| K32A-B | 2, on 3-pin terminals | ttyS1, ttyS2 |
P9-24, P9-21 |
| K8-Pi | 1, on a 3-pin header | ttyAMA0 |
Pi GPIO14 (pin 8) |
| K2-Pi-Servo, K2-Pi0 | none | — | — |
Pinout¶
These are the RJ45 jacks on the K8, K16 and K32 boards. The K8-PB, K4-PB and K40D-PB have a 3-pin header or terminal instead, and the K8-B and K8-B-Scroller a 2×3 header; see their board pages (K8-PB, K4-PB, K40D-PB, K8-B, K8-B-Scroller). The K64D-B and K128D-B jacks use this pinout with their switch set to DMX; set to LOR, they suit LOR networks directly (K64D-B, K128D-B).
The pinout follows the ESTA standard for DMX over RJ45 (ANSI E1.27-2):
| RJ45 pin | Signal | DMX XLR pin |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Data + | 3 |
| 2 | Data − | 2 |
| 7, 8 | Ground | 1 |
| 3–6 | not connected | — |
To connect fixtures with XLR inputs, use an RJ45-to-XLR DMX adapter wired to this standard.
LOR, Renard and Pixelnet need an adapter
The jack is wired for standard DMX only. To drive Light-O-Rama, Renard or Pixelnet devices, use an adapter cable that takes data + / − (pins 1 and 2) and ground (pins 7 and 8) to the pins that device expects. Don't connect them with a plain network cable.
Notes¶
- These are outputs only. The controller doesn't receive DMX or RDM.
- A 120 Ω termination resistor is fitted permanently at the controller. Put a terminator on the last fixture in the DMX chain.
- Set the outputs up in FPP under Input/Output Setup → Channel Outputs → Other. FPP installs a disabled DMX-Open output on each port. Enable it and set the start channel and channel count. See the FPP manual.