Universe/Start Channel?

[rdebolt]

I did not do a display last year so I have been gone for quite a while. For some reason I cannot wrap my head around using the "Universe" start channel method. I have watched a couple of the videos, but I cannot find anything that really breaks it down to an idiots level of understanding. Can someone point me to a post or a video that breaks it down to the basics?

Do I look at it as any output port on my controller as being a universe? How do I organize my already made models with absolute channel mapping to a Universe method?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Roger

[Gilrock]

Why switch if you're happy with absolute and universe/channel seems hard?

The best way to think about it is to forget about the outputs at first.  Just create your models and number them with consecutive universes and start channels.  Then when you are done you figure out what universe/channel do I need to send out output #1 etc.  The only thing to really consider is it helps to group the models into universes based on the order you plan to plug them into the controller.

[jnealand]

Universe start channel seems to work best for those folks who came from the sandevices world and cannot wrap there heads around absolute.  for me who has never touched a sandevices controller and came from the LOR and then Lynx world absolute addressing is super easy and I under stand it completely.  Use whatever makes sense to you.  It is nice to have choices, but the choice is yours, there is no rule that you have to use universe start channel.

[rdebolt]

Thanks for the responses.

 One of the videos that I watched made a statement about how much easier it was to change things around from year to year and that is one thing that I have found to be difficult at times. I also some how figure a way to duplicate a channel here or there and that is annoying and difficult to fix. In absolute after I change 1 channel number I have to go through and change all channels that are downstream from my mistake. The new Sequence checker may help me with that however.

[JonB256]

I lay out my models in xlights and in an Excel spreadsheet. Like Jim, I use absolute numbers and 512 as a universe.

In that spreadsheet, I can see "blank" areas to move and consolidate. Elements get organized by yard position and controllers.

When the spreadsheet is done, I update any changed start channels in xlights.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[keithsw1111]

Universe/start channel does give you much greater flexibility to change over time without getting into renumbering hell. And there is no need to maintain spreadsheets to keep it all in order.

Here are some simple rules that will work with most controllers.

Start each controller at a universe divisible by 100.
Allocate as many or as few universes as you need for your props.
For each item physically directly connected to a controller start it at channel 1 in a universe. #universe:1
For each item electrically connected to the end of another model use the >model:1 format
When you need more universes add them.
It is dead simple to do it that way.