Masking Controller

Inside the right-hand cupboard at the front of L3 is motor for the masking which also functions as its controller too. Basically the masking buttons in the proj box mirror the buttons present on the controller with additional functionality being present on the main unit.

What it all means

The buttons labelled 1-7 are 7 presets for the masking with 1 being fully closed and 7 being fully open. The buttons in the proj box going from top (open) to bottom (close) correspond to presets 1-5 and 7 on the controller with 6 effectively being a 'spare'. Besides these buttons there is a big red self-explanatory emergency stop button along with a switch to change between normal and set modes and a set button. The switch allows you to put the controller into set mode which is required if you need to manually change the masking position and/or change one of the presets and the set button is used to overwrite one of the presets (explained more fully below). Warning: Whilst in set mode the buttons in the proj box do exactly the same thing as the ones on the controller so make sure everyone is aware of what is going on if you're in set mode.

Changing one of the settings

This method is how I usually temporarily change one of the masking settings with reasons for what i'm doing, feel free to polish up/add more where neccessary. Settings 1 and 7 are set to fully closed and fully open respectively and so should never be changed unless there's very good reason.

1) 'Store' the current setting: Let's say I want to change the aspect ratio on the 70mm button and be able to reset it back to how it was at a later time. Firstly select the 70mm setting on either the panel in the proj box or on the controller (5 I think). Now put the controller into set mode by using the switch. Finally hold down the set button and press the preset 6 button. All this has done is copied the masking settings into the 'spare' preset space.

2) Set the masking to the required size: With the controller in set mode the open and close buttons will open and close the making whilst depressed. Using these buttons set the masking to the required size but be careful not to go too wide or too narrow as there is no end stop on the motor, this means if you hold down open or close too long while in set mode you will break the masking.

3) Save the new preset: When you have set the masking how you want it simply hold down the set button and press the required preset (5 in this case). This will map the current setting onto that button and turning the switch back to normal will allow you to use the buttons as normal. If you want to return the setting then follow step 1 again for the corresponding presets.