Astera Pixel Tubes
Astera has a line of pixel tubes, the first generation being the AX1 tubes. The second generation is the Titan Tubes, the shorter version is 1.8' version is the Helios Tubes and the 6.5' version is the Hyperion Tube.
The differences between the AX-1 and the Titans is that the Titans have an onboard control on the back, they are slightly brighter in daylight and tungsten modes, and the titans are 24v while AX1 tubes are 48v.The AX-1s have an RGBW chip, while the Titan Tubes have an RGB + Mint and Amber chip to produce a wider spectrum of color-correct light. The Astera Titan Tubes include a heavier duty battery and a boost mode to allow you to get extended output for a period of time.
Both the AX1 and the Titan tube have 16 pixels of individual control.
Uses
- Used in kino fixtures as a regular unit or put on a chase to do moving light effects.
- Laid on the ground with astera tube holders for uplights or accents.
- Put inside set pieces for accent lighting.
- Used with upright tube stand for accents.
Troubleshooting
- Perform a factory reset on the tube.
- Reset the connection with astera box
- Make sure you are using the most recent version of the app
- Update the firmware on the tube and the astera box
- If problems still persist send to a licensed Astera repair facility.
Factory Resets
Reset App
- Click the 3 dots in the top left of the Astera App
- Click Settings
- Click AsteraApp Factory Reset
Reset lights
Before you begin you will need to connect the AsteraBox to the tablet as well as the tubes to the AsteraBox
- Click 3 Dots top right
- Actions for all lights
- Reset Lights/ Unlink CRMX
make sure, reset settings, unlink CRMX, Bluetooth are all selected to yes. all the tubes should be flashing a white light. press the on/off button once, or hit enter button on Titans. and press done. if done successfully, all the tubes should be a solid red color.
Pair Tubes with App
- Turn on the tablet
- Open the AsteraApp
You may also do this on your phone by installing the app.
Check for updates for the app.
Pairing AsteraBox
This will tell the app which asterabox the app should communicate with.
- Click hamburger menu in app
Click refresh connection, it will show any available boxes to pair to. Can use the astera box number on the box to see if you are pairing to the correct one.
- Click the box you want to pair to
Will prompt you for pin from box.
- Enter pin
Pairing Lights
This will tell the asterabox which lights will be available to control.
- Click the top left Network Tab
You should see the connected AsteraBox here
- Click on the AsteraBox
- Click Reset Lights/Unpair CRMX
- Click Pair with Lights
This can be found to the left of the battery icon in the same screen. It will tell you to put the lights in blue mode. Do the next step before pressing okay.
- Put tubes in Pairing Mode
Hold down power button until lights flash blue.
- Press Okay on the App
Once they pair they will turn a solid color. If you have trouble click pair with lights again. Do not put lights that have turned a solid color back into the pairing mode.
To Check Pairing
- Click Network tab on the far left of the app
This will then show you the tubes that have been connected. It should show 8, you can click the lightbulb to test each light if you wish.
Video Resource
Updating Firmware
- Check Current Firmware
Will need to check to see if it has the most recent firmware in it. The reason for making sure it has the most recent firmware is so we can use mode 89 which gives us greater flexibility. If it has firmware version 5.8.64 or higher, you can skip these steps and move onto Addressing.
- Press Menu
Use +/- to scroll to info. Click Enter Scroll to firmware version Must be 5.8.64 or higher
- Check App for Recent Firmware
You will need to look in the app to see if it has the most recent firmware to go to the tubes.
- Click Hamburger menu
Look under the paired astera box for the most recent firmware. It should be 5.8.64 or later. If it isn’t, you will need to connect to the internet.
Update Firmware on Tubes
- Click Hamburger menu
- Click App settings
- Click Lights background update
It will start to update the tubes and you will see a growing progress bar.
- Click “Update to…”
Will Show Alert on tubes that are updating
- Check app to make sure no tubes are showing out of date
If it does not give you an option to update it, turn auto-update off and upgrade the tubes manually. Once completed
- click Reboot and Install Update
Video Resource
DMX Settings
You may now set the DMX Mode, pair them to the transmitter using CRMX, and set the address on the tubes now that they are updated to the proper firmware.
Changing DMX Mode
- Click tab on far left
- Click and hold the tube icon to select all
- Magic wand will appear in top right, click it
By clicking the magic wand you can change the settings of all the tubes at once.
- Click Profile by #
- Select Profile 89
1 pixel, Strobe None
- Click Auto and change it to CRMX
It’s next to the light icon in the top left.
Pairing to AsteraBox via CRMX
Now check to see if any of the tubes say no signal. If any of them do that means they are paired with a previous box still and we would like to make sure they all pair via CRMX at the same time to our AsteraBox. We’ll unpair them.
- Unselect the ones that say “Not Paired”
Click the Magic Wand and Unpair these tubes
Link the tubes to the Astera Box
- Plug in DMX adapter cable to astera box
It will not let you link them unless it senses this cable plugged in. You do not need to patch in DMX, only the adapter cable.
- Initiate CRMX Link
Click the green button for CRMX link on AsteraBox.
Addressing Tubes
Select all tubes using Magic Wand Click Auto Address Click starting address, it will show you a preview. Apply this if correct.
Now the tubes are addressed. Look at each DMX address on the tubes to see which fixture they are.
Labeling
Labeling Tubes
Labels should be received from Lighting Programmer first. The tubes will need to be covered with paper tape to protect the tube from the label.
- Cover Tube with 2 pieces of 2” Paper tape
The paper tape should completely cover the backside of the label.
- Put the label on over the paper tape
Labeling AsteraBox
- Color label
Use colored tape that corresponds to the kit first to create a block of color.
- Label for Universe and Kit number
Setting Up Tubes for CRMX
- Connect device to Astera Box
- Turn on tubes
- Connect tubes to Device
- hamburger menu top right
- Actions for all lights
- Reset Lights/ Unlink CRMX
make sure, reset settings, unlink CRMX, Bluetooth are all selected to yes. all the tubes should be flashing a white light. press the on/off button once, or hit enter button on Titans. and press done. if done successfully, all the tubes should be a solid red color.
Setting Up Tubes for CRMX
Before you continue, make sure you have done the steps for resetting all lights.
Addressing DMX
- Select all tubes
when your in the bulb hamburger menu, the far left tab on the top left of the app, you can select all the tubes by going to the pencil icon on top right and choose "Select All" or you can manually select tubes by clicking the tube icon that is on the left-hand side next to each listed tube.
- Select the magic wand
When you select one or more tubes a magic wand icon appears at the top right of the app.
- Select CRMX
Near the top left of this page is a drop down menu to select the type of control, choose CRMX.
- Choose Batt Runtime
- Choose a starting DMX address
- Choose a pixel amount
Note in general, 16 pixels allows you to do chase effects within the tube, this takes up a lot more dmx slots than single pixel mode which uses less DMX slots.
- Choose a DMX profile
The table section is where you choose the profile you want to use.
- DMX Failure to Hold
this will keep the tube on even if you loose wireless control to the tube instead of turning it off if it looses connectivity, which would be bad especially during a take.
- AC Fail - Ignore
Master Pin
- turn on astera app
- set the radio pin innthe hamburger menu to any other pin than what it currently is set to.
- turn on asterabox. make sure asterabox is connected to the device
- turn on astera tubes
- goto hamburger menu and select master reset lights
- enter master pin (123456)
- follow the instructions per the app
Excellent video on this topic [1]