The Explo GX2 Flamer unit is a vertical flame projector that can be controlled by any of the DMX-capable firing systems, such as Piroshow, Pyromac, PyroSure, fireTEK, Cobra, and Mongoose.
Figure 1 – Explo GX2 Flamer
The fixture has two different DMX personality configuration options, 1CH and 2CH. Neither configuration requires an explicit safety channel effect in Finale 3D. The single channel configuration doesn’t use a safety channel. The two channel configuration combines the safety with the duration channel that is set automatically by Finale 3D for each effect.
Table 1 – DMX personality choices
| DMX personality (“DMX Channel Mode”) | Number of channels |
| 1CH | 1 |
| 2CH | 2 |
In Finale 3D you will select which DMX personality configuration you want as you configure the position/fixture. At any time you can change the personality configuration with the menu item, “Change DMX fixture and convert effects” from the right-click menu on the fixture. The single channel personality will yield slightly smaller script files, but the two channel personality is safer since it is less susceptible to spurious DMX values triggering the flame.
Table 2 – DMX channels for 1CH personality
| DMX Channel | Meaning | Effect in Finale 3D that controls channel |
| Channel 1 (DMX Channel Base + 0) | On/Off (0 – 253 = OFF; 254- 255 = ON) | Part numbers GFX9106 – GFX9111 representing flame effects with small, medium, large height at durations from 0.1s to 1s. |
Table 3 – DMX channels for 2CH personality
| DMX Channel | Meaning | Effect in Finale 3D that controls channel |
| Channel 1 (DMX Channel Base + 0) | Ignition (0 – 253 = OFF; 254- 255 = ON) | Part numbers GFX9100 – GFX9105 representing flame effects with small, medium, large height at durations from 0.1s to 1s. |
| Channel 2 (DMX Channel Base + 1) | Duration And Safety ( 0-10 = Disabled; 11-200 = ON for duration; 201-250 = ON continuously; 251-255 = Disabled) | Part numbers GFX9100 – GFX9105 representing flame effects with small, medium, large height at durations from 0.1s to 1s. |
In the two channel configuration, Finale 3D sets the value for Channel 2 (DMX Channel Base + 1) to 225 (i.e., ON continuously) for the duration of the effect, and returns the value to 0 at the conclusion of the effect.
For further information about the GX2 units, see the Explo website (www.explo.at).
Instructions
To design a show for Explo GX2 Flamer units, please follow these steps:
- Set up. (A) Follow the flame set up instructions in the Flame systems basic instructions and Exporting a firing system script for flame systems. Depending on your DMX controller, you may choose to give each GX2 its own DMX universe, or give each GX2 a channel range in a shared DMX universe. (B) In the real world configure each physical GX2 unit’s “Start Address” to be the start of the channel range you allocate for it. (C) In Finale 3D configure the “DMX Channel Base” of the fixture to match the Start Address exactly.
- Add flame effects to the show. (A) Right-click on the GX2 positions to add compatible effects from the context menu or to filter the effects window to compatible effects. No safety channel effect is required.
- Make your own, or modify existing flame effects. The GX2 effects come in a few example durations in Generic Effects, but you can also create your own variations that have arbitrary durations. (A) First copy the original effect by selecting the effect row in the Generic Effects, then right-click copy (or control-C). (B) Then paste into your My Effects or any of your other effects collections. (C) After copying it to your own inventory, you can modify its parameters. Simply edit the duration field to change its duration. The 3D simulation and the DMX Patch will automatically incorporate your change. You can also adjust the height field to change the height of the flame simulation, though doing so has no bearing on the exported DMX script.
Choosing the DMX channel ranges for fixtures
Each GX2 fixture in the 2CH configuration requires two channels, so if you are putting multiple fixtures in the same DMX Universe, you need to set the Start Address on the fixture in the real world and the corresponding DMX Channel Base on the fixture in Finale 3D to a range of channels that doesn’t overlap with others. A DMX universe has channels 1-512. If you want to pack as many fixtures into the 512 channels of a DMX universe as you can, back-to-back ranges are the most efficient. Table 4 shows an example for GX2 fixtures in the 2CH configuration. Some DMX firing systems only support 50 or 100 channels, so you may not have all 512 channels to work with.
Table 4 – Example channel ranges for GX2 fixtures in 2CH configuration in a DMX universe
| Fixture | DMX Channel Base | Channels Used |
| 1 | 1 | 1-2 |
| 2 | 3 | 3-4 |
| 3 | 5 | 5-6 |
| 4 | 7 | 7-8 |
| 5 | 9 | 9-10 |
| 6 | 11 | 11-12 |
| 7 | 13 | 13-14 |
| 8 | 15 | 15-16 |
| 9 | 17 | 17-18 |
| 10 | 19 | 19-20 |
| … | ||
| 256 | 511 | 511-512 |
Table 5 – Example files and downloads
| Download link | Explanation |
| GX2 v2.0 (ENG).pdf | Explo GX2 Flamer user manual |