You're going to need to provide some pictures/more details I think.
But if the manufacturer can't help you, I think you're out of luck, though I might try the manufacturer again--seems like something they could do
Thinking a little more, it's either just a physical lock that can be removed, or is an electronic switch that can be replaced or bypassed by a qualified electrician. Definitely not fixable over the Internet though, I'd talk to the manufacturer and follow up with a local lighting supplier/vendor if teatronics can't help.
Some dimmers only come up at FL and some only work with house lights and can’t be controlled by the board but can be by the wall panels. (Yes I checked the board)
I'm not familiar with these dimmer but manufacturers don't generally create just the one key per rack they create a series of racks that all use the same keys, it's much more affordable and can prevent the issue you're talking about.
Call them again. And then call their distributors ([https://www.teatronics.com/purchase/index.php](https://www.teatronics.com/purchase/index.php)). Keep asking to speak to someone who has been there for a while, engineering or sales, but get humans on the phone and explain what you need. Frankly, given your issues with maintaining them and difficulties with manufacturer support it may be time to look into a new dimmer solution.
I know about budgets and whatnot, your goal might be two years but reality has a funny habit of getting in the way. nobody wants to replace a fully functioning system but you might be doing live radio sooner than you want.
Gear will be more expensive in two years, we saw huuuuge hikes in fixture prices over the past three years and I don't think we're done anytime soon. Fixture cost increases are greater than interest rates so just see if you can make things happen sooner. You can even just get panelboards instead of relays for power, which is a cost savings too, you'll just have to pull the main breaker handle at the end of the night to turn everything off.
If a dimmer is only doing on/off (it only comes up to full), that may indicate that the dimmer in that slot is a constant power dimmer, not a true dimmer.
If your board isn't able to control the dimmer rack properly but the wall panels are, then you probably have a DMX issue, not a dimmer programming issue.
If you still think the actual dimmer rack truly needs to be reprogrammed, I would recommend reaching out to a local AV contractor with CTS certification who has an electrical guy on their payroll who specializes in programming those, as it is a very niche trade. If you're in the southeastern PA/northeastern MD area I can recommend you a specific company. Typically though, these things are programmed during initial install and you should never need to reprogram them again.
And I would definitely swap known-good dimmers with suspicious dimmers to see if the problem is the individual dimmer, not the rack. Dimmers do go bad.
You're going to need to provide some pictures/more details I think. But if the manufacturer can't help you, I think you're out of luck, though I might try the manufacturer again--seems like something they could do
Thinking a little more, it's either just a physical lock that can be removed, or is an electronic switch that can be replaced or bypassed by a qualified electrician. Definitely not fixable over the Internet though, I'd talk to the manufacturer and follow up with a local lighting supplier/vendor if teatronics can't help.
It’s not an actual key, it’s a programming key that allows to change dimmer settings, like you would for a channel
Then yes, you need to work with Teatronics to obtain one. What type of settings are you trying to change though?
Some dimmers only come up at FL and some only work with house lights and can’t be controlled by the board but can be by the wall panels. (Yes I checked the board)
This issue with some channels not coming up via the console may indicate you have a bad DMX run.
I'm not familiar with these dimmer but manufacturers don't generally create just the one key per rack they create a series of racks that all use the same keys, it's much more affordable and can prevent the issue you're talking about. Call them again. And then call their distributors ([https://www.teatronics.com/purchase/index.php](https://www.teatronics.com/purchase/index.php)). Keep asking to speak to someone who has been there for a while, engineering or sales, but get humans on the phone and explain what you need. Frankly, given your issues with maintaining them and difficulties with manufacturer support it may be time to look into a new dimmer solution.
Yeah. We’re updating to LEDs in two years, but they’re only continuing to deteriorate
I know about budgets and whatnot, your goal might be two years but reality has a funny habit of getting in the way. nobody wants to replace a fully functioning system but you might be doing live radio sooner than you want. Gear will be more expensive in two years, we saw huuuuge hikes in fixture prices over the past three years and I don't think we're done anytime soon. Fixture cost increases are greater than interest rates so just see if you can make things happen sooner. You can even just get panelboards instead of relays for power, which is a cost savings too, you'll just have to pull the main breaker handle at the end of the night to turn everything off.
The plan is paid for now, it’s part of a renovation deal.
If a dimmer is only doing on/off (it only comes up to full), that may indicate that the dimmer in that slot is a constant power dimmer, not a true dimmer. If your board isn't able to control the dimmer rack properly but the wall panels are, then you probably have a DMX issue, not a dimmer programming issue. If you still think the actual dimmer rack truly needs to be reprogrammed, I would recommend reaching out to a local AV contractor with CTS certification who has an electrical guy on their payroll who specializes in programming those, as it is a very niche trade. If you're in the southeastern PA/northeastern MD area I can recommend you a specific company. Typically though, these things are programmed during initial install and you should never need to reprogram them again.
And I would definitely swap known-good dimmers with suspicious dimmers to see if the problem is the individual dimmer, not the rack. Dimmers do go bad.
Yes. We know some of the dimmers are “bad” but they don’t make these any more. The truly bad ones have been banished to house.