DMX DIP Switch Address Table and Calculation

With addresses you can type on a display, why are we still flipping tiny switches? Because DIP switches are cheap, they do not fail, and they never forget their setting when the power goes. But if the binary logic is not second nature, addressing eight fixtures by hand will eat half an hour.

How a DIP switch encodes an address

Each switch is one binary digit and carries a fixed numeric value. You add up the values of the switches that are ON, and the result is the fixture’s DMX address.

Switch	Value
1	1
2	2
3	4
4	8
5	16
6	32
7	64
8	128
9	256

Say you want address 245. Since 245 = 128 + 64 + 32 + 16 + 4 + 1, switches 1, 3, 5, 6, 7 and 8 go ON and the rest stay OFF.

245  =  128 + 64 + 32 + 16 + 4 + 1
        (8)   (7)  (6)  (5)  (3) (1)

Two different addressing methods

Fixtures interpret that sum in two different ways, and you cannot tell which one you have without checking the manual:

Method	With all OFF	For address 1
Sum	Invalid / address 0	Switch 1 ON
Sum + 1	Address 1	All OFF

What the 10th switch does

Nine switches can count to 511, which is more than enough for a 512-channel universe. That is why the tenth switch is usually not part of the address at all: on most fixtures it selects the operating mode — sound active, auto program, master/slave or channel mode. It holds no address, yet it completely changes how the fixture behaves.

Channel count sets the address spacing

If you want fixtures to sit side by side without overwriting each other’s channels, each address must be ahead of the previous one by the fixture’s channel count.

Fixture type	Channels	1st	2nd	3rd	4th
RGB LED	3	1	4	7	10
RGBW LED	4	1	5	9	13
RGBWA+UV	6	1	7	13	19
LED par (8 channel)	8	1	9	17	25
Moving head	16	1	17	33	49

Ready reference: 16-channel fixtures

No	Address	Switches ON
1	1	1
2	17	1, 5
3	33	1, 6
4	49	1, 5, 6
5	65	1, 7
6	81	1, 5, 7
7	97	1, 6, 7
8	113	1, 5, 6, 7
9	129	1, 8
10	145	1, 5, 8
11	161	1, 6, 8
12	177	1, 5, 6, 8

The calculator will build the same table for any channel count and fixture quantity, and print it with each switch drawn out so you can carry it into the venue.

Common mistakes

• Addressing without checking the channel mode. The same fixture may run in 4, 8 or 16 channel mode, and the spacing changes with it.
• Leaving no room for the last fixture. Addresses past 512 are silently cut off and the remaining channels never arrive.
• Leaving a switch half-set. A switch pushed with a fingernail may not seat; a small screwdriver is safer.
• Not writing the address on the fixture. A year later nobody remembers which light is where.
• Accidental duplicate addresses. Giving two fixtures the same address on purpose is a valid technique; doing it by accident is hours of fault-finding.