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Glossary-2 Trackspot User Manual

Dichroic

A dichroic (from Greek, meaning “two-color”) filter achieves a

richly-saturated color without using any pigmented (colored)

materials. In simple terms, it achieves this effect by either

reflecting or “cancelling out” through destructive interference

all but a narrow range of the light spectrum.

The “dichroic” name refers to the fact that one color (or broad

range of colors) is reflected or cancelled out, and one color (or

narrow range of colors) is transmitted through the dichroic

filter.

The dichroics used in Trackspot are all manufactured at the

High End Systems Optical Coating and Assembly Laboratory

in Austin, Texas. They are made from a base of low expansion

glass material coated with multiple, microscopic layers of

specialized materials separated by junctions that either

transmit or reflect certain wavelengths of light, accounting for

the resulting color.

Dichroic filters offer a number of advantages over traditional

gel filters: since they are made of low expansion glass and

absorb almost no heat themselves, they theoretically have no

failure mechanism; they transmit more light than gels; and

their resultant colors are more richly-saturated than is possible

with a gel.

Dichroics are currently used for all Trackspot color and gobo

wheel dichroic filters.

(Dichroics are also used on other High

End Systems fixtures.)

DMX 512 control protocol

DMX 512 is a standard method of controlling lighting fixtures

and other devices (such as lasers and hazers). Developed by

the United States Institute of Theatre Technology (USITT),

DMX 512 is supported by leading entertainment industry

equipment manufacturers, such as High End Systems.

DMX 512 (D for digital, MX for multiplex and 512 is the

number of channels per link) is a reliable, efficient and well-

understood method of controlling lighting devices. Its strength

lies in its ability to control virtually any mix of DMX-

compatible devices on the same link using a single DMX-

compatible controller.

High End trackspot - Page 80