I. RC4 Digital PersistenceDigital PersistenceDigital Persistence is a feature in all RC4 dimmers.  When used with LED light sources, it emulates the way a traditional tungsten lamp behaves when power is applied and removed.  The filament in those lamps take time to heat up and produce white-hot light output.  Similarly, they take time to cool off and stop producing […]
Read more » is a feature that makes LED brightness rise and full in a manner similar to incandescent lamps

II. The default on the RC4 LumenDimM4 is the ISL slow curveISL slow curveLEDs do not dim linearly: when dimmed to a linear 50%, they appear only slightly less bright than at 100%.  The level must drop to 25% to appear at half brightness.  To make LEDs appear linear, they must be controlled with the Inverse Square Law curve.  All good quality LED dimmers use this technique.  RC4 […]
Read more » with medium RC4 Digital Persistence™ time

A. This curve and time emulates the look of a typical 50W MR16 halogen lamp

1. This can be viewed while hitting the bump button on the console (or otherwise quickly switching between a low and high level)

2. The appropriate dimmer indicator light (next to the Set A ButtonSet A ButtonAll RC4 dimmers have Set buttons for each individual dimmer output. The first button is the Set A button. On a 2-channel device these are Set A and Set B buttons. A 4-channel device adds Set C and Set D. The most common use of the Set button is to assign a DMX channel and […]
Read more » to Set D ButtonSet D ButtonAll RC4 dimmers have Set buttons for each individual dimmer output. The fourth button is the Set D button. On a 2-channel device these are Set A and Set B buttons. A 4-channel device adds Set C and Set D. The most common use of the Set button is to assign a DMX channel and […]
Read more »s) will illuminate and fade out showing the effect of RC4 Digital Persistence™

3. The ISL slow curve makes the LED look much smoother

III. In some instances, a longer or shorter persistence time is preferable

A. This might be the case when LED lights are used along side conventional incandescent fixtures

1. Larger conventional lamps have longer natural persistence times

2. The rise and fall characteristics of a conventional filament are not linear, they tend to rise quickly and decay with a long “tail”

3. RC4 Digital Persistence™ emulates the behavior of a filament when controlling LEDs

4. Used along side conventional fixtures, RC4 Digital Persistence™ eliminates the unsightliness of LEDs switching off too quickly and appearing less smooth

IV. Setting digital persistence on the LumenDimM4

A. The LumenDimM4 needs to be streamingStreamingStreaming is the continuous flow of digital control data.  Transmitters stream data out, while receivers receive streamed data.  RC4 transmitters process an incoming stream of DMX data and convert it to a proprietary wireless data stream that is secured with a digital system ID and error checking methods.
Read more » data

1. The small yellow indicator marked DMX Data will be illuminated to indicate this mode

2. In this process, a long press of the Set C ButtonSet C ButtonAll RC4 dimmers have Set buttons for each individual dimmer output. The third button is the Set C button. On a 2-channel device these are Set A and Set B buttons. A 4-channel device adds Set C and Set D. The most common use of the Set button is to assign a DMX channel and dimmer […]
Read more » will be used to step through the available RC4 Digital Persistence™ times

B. Using a small tool like a bent paper clip, press and hold the Set C button for approximately three seconds

1. The blink pattern of the LED lights next to the set-buttonSet buttonAll RC4 dimmers have a Set button for each individual dimmer output.  On a 2-channel device, these are SetA and SetB.  A 4-channel device adds SetC and SetD. The most common use of the Set button is to assign a DMX channel and dimmer curve to the associated Dim dimmer using RC4 OneTouch; SetA is […]
Read more » will indicate the ISL curve

2. It is best to have DMX levels at zero while changing persistence times so that it’s easier to see the blinking patterns. This is because the dimmer indicators are used to display the blink patterns.

3. Written documentation provides a blink pattern persistence chart for reference

C. Test using the bump button on the console, or otherwise change quickly between high and low levels

1. The illuminated LED on the LumenDimM4 will decay at a slower rate

D. Repeat the process for a slower RC4 Digital Persistence™ time

1. The next blink pattern in the chart will be displayed

E. This is high resolution, 16-bit dimming, so it’s much smoother than what can be achieved through a console

F. Repeat the process until the desired persistence time is observed

G. After the longest persistence time, the next selection is back at the shortest (no persistence at all, the same as ISL Fast)

H. The default persistence time is in the middle of the choices and emulates a typical 50W MR16 lamp