91 x 72 x 29 mm and two screw ears: it mounts behind or beside the panel you fit the knobs to.
Inside: an RP2350, W5500 Ethernet and an isolated PoE module on an 85 x 66 mm board.
A PoE controller that turns rotary encoders and push buttons into commands for any OSC device or server: mixers, media players, lighting desks, and a DMX Core 100. It also talks directly to a Symetrix or Q-SYS DSP, with no DMX Core 100 needed, and to Bitfocus Companion. Four control ports, no programming, no power supply. Mount the knobs and buttons yourself on a wall panel, in a 19" rack, on a desk, or anywhere else. No panel or knobs included: add the Rotary Encoder Kit ($25), or bring your own. What each knob does is a setting, not a firmware change.
91 x 72 x 29 mm and two screw ears: it mounts behind or beside the panel you fit the knobs to.
Inside: an RP2350, W5500 Ethernet and an isolated PoE module on an 85 x 66 mm board.
Control ports on one edge, network and USB-C on the other, the LED port on the side, and the labels printed on the lid.
Rendered from the production board and enclosure designs.
On a DMX Core 100, a DSP, or Companion, the target owns the value. The knob only sends steps, so there is nothing to drift, nothing to re-sync and nothing to lose in a power cut.
One Cat5 cable from a PoE switch carries power and control. The unit takes an address over DHCP and finds a DMX Core 100, or any other OSC server advertising on the network, by name or by address. A Symetrix or Q-SYS DSP, or Bitfocus Companion, is reached by the address you enter.
On the OSC firmware, point a knob at any OSC address, or create a Control Value on a DMX Core 100 and point Drives at a master dimmer, a zone, a fixture channel or the audio volume. On a DSP, name the fader: a Symetrix controller number or a Q-SYS control name. In Companion, the knob is a key on the Buttons page. Change it any time, from a browser, without touching the knobs.
Open the unit's web page - http://poecontrol-<id>.local/ - and name the server, a DMX Core 100 or any other OSC server, and what each knob steps, or enter the DSP's address and the fader, or Companion's address, and save. The same settings are in a config.txt on the small drive the unit presents over USB-C, for the first setup or a locked-down network. No software to install, and nothing at the knobs to change afterwards.
The controller in its enclosure. Four control ports for encoders or buttons, a panel LED port, PoE or USB-C power, a built-in web page for settings, status, log and firmware updates, and a USB-C configuration drive with drag-and-drop firmware updates. Firmware for OSC devices (including DMX Core 100), Symetrix, Q-SYS and Bitfocus Companion included; pluggable terminal plugs for every port too. No panel or knobs included. Add a Rotary Encoder Kit ($25) per knob, or bring your own encoders and buttons, and mount them on a wall panel, in a 19" rack, on a desk, or anywhere else.
One knob, ready to mount: a Bourns encoder with push switch on a small panel board, an aluminum knob, and a 200 mm cable that plugs straight into a control port. The DMX Core PoE Control does not include a panel or knobs. This kit is the ready-made option, and any standard rotary encoder or push button works on the ports too. You mount them yourself.
All prices set out or referred to on this page are recommended prices only, and there is no obligation to comply with the recommendation.
| Network & Power | |
|---|---|
| Ethernet | 10/100 RJ45, PoE IEEE 802.3af (Class 0) |
| Power | PoE, or USB-C 5 V, or both at once. PoE has priority |
| Consumption | About 1 W, under 1.5 W with panel LEDs lit |
| Addressing | DHCP, or a fixed IP from config.txt |
| Discovery | Finds a DMX Core 100, or any other OSC server advertising on the network, by name (mDNS) or by IP address |
| Targets | Any OSC device or server over UDP (mixers, media players, lighting desks, and DMX Core 100), Symetrix DSPs (Composer control protocol, TCP), Q-SYS Cores (External Control Protocol, TCP), Bitfocus Companion (Satellite protocol, TCP). Symetrix, Q-SYS and Companion need no DMX Core 100. One firmware image per target, chosen by which file you copy on |
| Knob actions | Step or set a level on any OSC server; step a Core Control Value; nudge a Symetrix controller or a Q-SYS named control by a set percent per click; a rotary action per click on a Companion key |
| Press and button actions | OSC: any address, one-shot or momentary. Symetrix: toggle, set, momentary, pulse, preset. Q-SYS: toggle, set, momentary, trigger, snapshot. Companion: a key press |
| Control Inputs | |
| Control ports | 4x pluggable 3.5 mm screw terminals (A, B, S, GND) |
| Per port | One rotary encoder with push switch, or up to 3 push buttons |
| Input protection | ESD clamp, series resistor and noise filter on every line; survives a wire brushed onto 12 V |
| Cable length | Up to about 10 m of ordinary multi-core cable per port |
| Panel LED port | 3.5 mm terminal (5V, DATA, GND) for up to 8 addressable RGB panel LEDs (WS2812) |
| Configuration | |
| Web page | At http://<name>.local/: live status, the settings file in an editor, the list of OSC servers or DSP controls found, the log, firmware upload and restart. Optional password; can be switched off entirely |
| USB-C | Appears as a drive with the same config.txt, status.txt and the list of OSC servers found on the network |
| Firmware updates | Upload the .uf2 on the web page or copy it onto the drive. Installs on trial and rolls back on its own if the new firmware does not start |
| Status | RGB status LED through the lid, the web page, and a serial log over USB |
| Reliability | Hardware watchdog, crash recording, settings kept across updates |
| Physical | |
| Board | 85 x 66 mm, RP2350 MCU, W5500 Ethernet, isolated PoE module |
| Enclosure | Box with mounting ears, about 91 x 72 x 29 mm. Sits behind knobs mounted on a wall panel, in a 19" rack, on a desk, or anywhere else |
| Environment | Indoor, 0 to 40 °C |
| In the Box | |
| Included | Controller in enclosure, four control-port plugs, one LED-port plug |
| Not included | Panel, knobs and buttons (Rotary Encoder Kit, $25, or your own encoders and buttons, mounted by you), PoE switch or injector |
On the OSC firmware a knob drives any OSC server: a mixer, a media player, a lighting desk, or a DMX Core 100. It steps the server's own addresses, or sends a level it keeps itself.
Use rotary encoders in place of potentiometers*. Step the Core's audio output, or a fader on a Symetrix or Q-SYS DSP. Press the knob to mute. An encoder has no end stops, so there is no jump when a level is changed from elsewhere. Everyone else sees the same level on the Faders page, or in the DSP's own software.
*Digital inputs only. Works with rotary encoders and push buttons, not analog potentiometers or faders.
Master dimmer, a zone, or a single fixture's intensity or color channel. A cue that moves the same target moves the knob's value with it, so it never springs back.
Three buttons per port, each sending its own OSC address. Play a cue, apply a preset, blackout, or hold a button down for a flash preset that drops when released.
A room with a DSP and no lighting controller gets knobs and buttons for a fraction of the DSP maker's own panels. The Symetrix and Q-SYS firmware talk to the DSP over its control port: a fader nudge per click, mute on the push, presets and snapshots on buttons. No DMX Core 100 needed.
On the Companion firmware the unit is a satellite surface, the way a Stream Deck is: each knob and button is a key on Companion's Buttons page, a knob's turn is the key's rotary action and its push the press, and what each key does - across the hundreds of switchers, media servers, consoles and programs Companion talks to - is set up in Companion. Put the knobs on a wall, in a rack, or on a desk. No computer beside them.
From the box to a working knob, and the settings file.
Ports, wiring, the encoder kit, updates and troubleshooting.
Any IEEE 802.3af or 802.3at PoE switch or injector powers it over the same Ethernet cable that carries control. Without PoE, a USB-C power supply works too.
Yes. No panel or knobs come with the controller. Each control port is a pluggable screw terminal that takes any standard quadrature rotary encoder with or without a push switch, or up to three momentary push buttons. Nothing on the cable carries power, so the wiring is passive. Add a Rotary Encoder Kit ($25) per knob, or bring your own, and mount them yourself on a wall panel, in a 19-inch rack, on a desk, or anywhere else.
Four control ports. Each port is one rotary encoder with a push switch, or up to three push buttons, in any mix.
Yes. It talks OSC over UDP, which every DMX Core 100 has built in, whether it runs on the dedicated hardware or as software on Windows, macOS or Linux.
Yes. Load the Symetrix or Q-SYS firmware instead of the DMX Core one, give it the DSP's address, and each knob nudges a fader by controller number or control name over the DSP's own control protocol. Presses and buttons mute, toggle or recall presets. No DMX Core 100 in the picture.
Yes. Load the Companion firmware and give it Companion's address, and the unit appears in Companion as a satellite surface, like a Stream Deck. Each knob and button is a key on Companion's Buttons page - a knob's turn is the key's rotary action and its push the press - and what each key does is set up in Companion.
From a browser: once it is on the network, open the unit's own web page to see its status, edit its settings, read its log and upload firmware. Or plug it into a computer over USB-C and it appears as a small drive with the same config.txt file. Either way you name the server, your DMX Core 100 or any other OSC server, and what each knob steps, or a Symetrix or Q-SYS fader, or Companion's address, and save. No software to install. The page can be given a password, or turned off for a unit that should only be reachable over USB.
For DMX, point PoE Control at a DMX Core 100 over OSC. The Core is a complete DMX control platform with fixture management, effects, scheduling, and Symetrix and Q-SYS integration of its own. PoE Control sends the commands; the Core outputs the DMX.
Explore DMX Core 100