Reddit reviews DMXking UltraDMX Micro – USB DMX Adapter/Dongle

https://www.amazon.com/DMXking-ultraDMX-Micro-adapter-dongle/dp/B00T8OKM98/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1519036444&sr=8-1&keywords=dmxking+ultradmx+micro+usb+dmx+adapter%2Fdongle&dpID=413Yc-eLYJL&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch Looks like it has doubled in price in two years.
The Enttec DMX Pro Mk2 is also a good candidate, I am in the process of upgrading my rig to use that. The Mk2 provides 2 universes and the DMXKing dongle only one, but less than half the cost.

So I just bought DMXking UltraDMX Micro – USB DMX Adapter/Dongle.

Will this allow me to use a software to control the light?
What software is most recommended?

Thanks for the input of matching Hz to BPM, seems like the way I want to go.

QLC+ and any DMX dongle can do this, you'll have to learn how to use QLC though. You'd essentially be setting the speed of a chaser with the tap widget, and you'd have a couple of buttons in a solo frame to choose which chaser function to activate. Chasers 'chase' between two 'scenes', or sets of DMX values (i.e. going between red and blue).

You can map any MIDI input to these buttons, I've done it with the Behringer FCB1010 w/ EurekaPROM upgrade.

Altogether, this setup costs $72 for the DMX adapter + $149 for the Behringer + $35 for the EurekaPROM upgrade, $256 total. This setup gives you far more flexibility than the Chauvet controller.

IMO those sorts of controllers that don't include a PC are a waste of money unless you're never ever going to add any more lights to a system. They make sense if you're running a tiny venue that will never need more lights, but as soon as you start experimenting with your own setup, you're going to want to be able to add lights at some point that the Chauvet controller can't manage.

I've been looking for a USB to DMX adapter that's reasonably priced, and now the cheapest / simplest I can find is this @ $72:

https://www.amazon.com/DMXking-ultraDMX-Micro-adapter-dongle/dp/B00T8OKM98

I would recommend QLC+ for free DMX software if you decide to go that route. It can be somewhat difficult to learn and it's certainly not pretty to look at. But it is very capable and once you get the hang of it it's fairly easy to use. And once you set it up it you can train just about anyone how to operate it, you can make a set of simple buttons on the "virtual console" that can recall different scenes.

Of course you will need a DMX adapter - one I've seen recommended a lot is DMXking UltraDMX Micro but I've never used it personally. And then you'll need some DMX cables to connect the lights together - something like this. The length you need will depend on how far apart you want to place the lights. They can be daisy-chained together - so "DMX out" port of light 1 connects to "DMX in" port of light 2 etc. There's also wireless DMX systems if you don't want to run cables.

Are you on a PC or a Mac?

I use the full version of this https://lightning-dmxcontrol.com/ w/ TouchOSC and an iPad + several midi controllers, works well and was super simple to learn.

I would advise against the knock off USB dongle, I've had shaky experiences with those. I have one of these and it's been solid: https://www.amazon.com/DMXking-ultraDMX-Micro-adapter-dongle/dp/B00T8OKM98

I have also used an ENTTEC OpenDMX USB box, but for whatever reason I get an intermittent flicker when I use it with my mac. It's been solid for PC though.

Currently running my light shows this way. I use a free light program called qlc+ to convert midi to dmx. In qlc+ I have made a virtual light board out of buttons, with each button mapped to a midi channel. Ableton then plays the midi sequence to qlc+ so everything runs perfectly in time. Qlc+ needs some sort of usb-dmx dongle to work but it is not that expensive compared to other options.