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| An Astera Box model ART7 |
I hoping I'm not the last gaffer to discover this; Astera Boxes can also be used as a CRMX receiver.
I was gaffing a movie in January and February this year. I was unable to get any CRMX receivers with my electric order. I own 2-Moonlites in my kit. Some of the new, and better lighting heads have built in CRMX like the S360s and my Creamsource SpaceX.
I was able to just barely DMX everything by using my wireless receivers and the CRMX lights by connecting them to other heads with DMX cables. It worked but it was awkward.
While looking online for receivers, I saw it mentioned somewhere that Astera boxes are CRMX transmitters/receivers, too. It was an revelation to me! I own 3 Astera boxes.
I know the boxes have the funny little adapter cable from mini-jack to 5-pin DMX. I've seen board operators use them, but never really understood what they were doing. They are using the Astera boxes as CRMX transmitters from their boards.
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| Astera DMX adapter cable and a 5-pin DMX turnaround |
To use the Astera boxes as CRMX receivers you need to get a 5-pin DMX turnaround. To setup the boxes involves a bit of confusing button pushing but once the box is setup, it remembers it's setting each time you plug the adapter cable into it.
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| An Astera box operating in a CRMX receiver mode |
Astera has an excellent video about how to setup the Astera boxes as transmitter or receivers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6C_Mhh-wHw
I have used Astera boxes as receivers several times now. They are excellent receivers.
PS: I love Astera but they really dropped the ball with the Astera boxes. They work exceptional well but unlike most of their gear which is robust and durable in the field, Astera boxes are fragile. I have repeatedly had Astera boxes take small impacts, like being dropped a couple feet, and then stop operating. Sometimes they are repairable in the field with a connector that has pulled loose from the circuit board and sometimes not. The Astera boxes have been so unreliable for me in the field that I always bring a backup box. I've also learned to put it somewhere where it will not be disturbed. Sometimes I even just leave it in the case with the lid open.
PPS: On the same movie, for the first time, I used an Exalux Contoller One for wireless DMX control. It arrived just a couple weeks before the movie. I was worried that I might not be able to learn how to operate it in time. It wasn't a problem. It was relatively easy to learn with a moderate learning curve. It made operating the lights easy. It made me look great to the DP. It made setups quicker. I can't imagine working on a show again with out it.
Andrew Lock has a great review and shows the operation of it on his YouTube Channel: