ABSTRACT
Modern lighting control methods are governed by complex computer systems that make it possible to operate hundreds of dimmers at one time. The final link in that technology was the introduction of the card-reading board. One can see how many mechanical parts might be subject to failure. This technology didn't last very long, but it is interesting to consider how it was a direct ancestor of the modern computer and how it works in controlling dimmers for a show. The address numbering system starts over again in the second universe. Most Digital Multiplex (DMX) operated devices have both input and output connectors for the DMX signal so that up to 32 of them can be run from one board output by daisy chaining them together. A DMX-controlled device will only react when its particular section of the data stream tells it to do so.
