Well many of you would say it is a material that can move energy with little resistance. This is one use of the word, but in this case think of a Orcastra.

The idea is far from a new one for me it has been talked about for years. A couple years ago on we started talks about a playback device for the show to get away from needing a computer to play your shows. This was in no way a new idea as the Monster Brain ect had been around for the commercial guys for a while. I came up with a plan to build one for my equipment but it always hinged on the wireless DMX being finished. You see while you can use the Conductor with a wired show it really was to shine when it was handled all wirelessly.

The reason it is on the radar now is that for those that have been living under a rock, we have wireless DMX now. This makes it the next big thing for the Lynx Line to add.

One of the big differences in what I am working on is that while the Lor and AL solutions are dedicated to their software only. The Conductor will be completely independant of the software you use to make the show. This means it works for LOR, Light Show, Animated Lighting, Vixen, or any other software you decide to use. This is again part of my idea of letting the users be in the driver seat of what they choose to sequence with and what hardware they drive with it. It will output DMX so it is capatible with many devices.  

Imagine a small device that is cost effective that can store hours and hours of seqencing and be set to play it back at anytime with out any outside input except power. That can handle thousands of channels of show and output you Audio over an FM signal with out any other device needed. That can transmit your in between show audio for you. Oh and by the way it can run your whole show with no cables to it but a power cord if you choose! This is because it has the ability to transmit multiple universes of DMX wirelessly to all your controllers or by cable if you want. That is where the Lynx line of equipment is going!

With the ver 2.0 wireless about to be in beta, making it easier and cheaper to do wireless DMX. The Conductor will be able to be built easier also. Just think a little box that frees up your computer for the whole lighting season. I say hand him the baton and sit back and enjoy the performance!

RJ

Well as many of you know I have been working on creating wireless DMX for the lynx lineup. It has not been the easiest project I have every done but it has been both educational and interesting. I started out by purchasing and testing a number of RF systems that I thought might make good building blocks. But after trying RF modules from Spark Fun and even looking into using compression to try and squeeze the data through Xbee units I ended up using the microchip RF modules.

They had many reasons for working the best for me but it was the issues I found with the others that really put them on top. The compression worked under most conditions but could with the right seqence just fall apart so I knew it would not be anything more than problems. The Spark Fun units had some range and interesting design quirks that limited there latency and thoughput even though the data rate was very high.

Cost was a factor that put it over the top. The microchip pricing is hard to beat for what you get. I had to design a protocol to use as the zigbee is just not effective for DMX. First it is limited to 250k Rf data rate and you need more that that to really do DMX. remember RF data rate is not how much you can move across the link it is how fast stuff moves once you get around to sending it. You need faster than this to get 250k Thoughput. It also adds a lot of overhead to what I was doing that did not benifit us in any way.

The beta testers have parts coming and should begin to build and test in the next week. I expect the beta testing to go fairly well and The coop for the units has really exploded. The first three days have exceeded 500 units on order.

So far I am very happy with the wireless system and I think it will be a big addition to the Lynx Line. With this system I look forward to a lot less cables to deal with this year.

Not sure if the LedTriks II will be completed in time this year or not but there has been a few breakthoughs that could well make it far more versital than I every thought it would be. Should make it an interesting and very sought after piece of hardware.

Getting off the subject of the LedTriks II, Stay tuned over the next 2 1/2 months as we have a couple of real big surprises coming for DLA in more than new equipment that you really are going to want to see. 

RJ

Well everyone was very patient over the show season waiting for me to get my show done with before I could finish the firmware that brings all the goodies to the express.

I hope the wait was worth it!

The new firmware is working as well as I had hoped it would. It allows you to customize the contoller to match what you are doing with it. And for the newbie building his first controller the diagnostics built into it really gives them a benifit to help get it working.  I have cleaned the menu up to make it better fit the additional features we added. It also now detect the power you are on  60hz or 50hz for all our friends over seas. That way we keep one firmware for the express for everyone.

The computer software that configures the express is clean and functional and has one click update to allow you to keep the system up to date with all of the latest lights that have had custom curves created for them. Just select to update from the menu and it will download the master list of curves from the DLA site and install it.

You set the start address and then load the four custom curves for the lights you are using and then set each channel to the which curve you want it to use. Hit the button and any Express connected up that has been put into program mode will update and reset itself once programmed.

With the newest version of the Express which is Ver 3.0 and do to be release in a coop in a few days. The Express addes to it a onboard single splitter to give you two DMX outputs. One that is the pass through from the input as is normal and the new DMX OUT 2 which give you a seperate DMX stream that can handle 32 more devices and be terminated on its own. It give us a mini Lynx Splitter on each board for convienence.

We also added two additional LEDs for the two power supply voltages as a part of the diagnostics enhancements on the Express. This lets the builder know his power supply circuits are working. They are marked 5V OK and 3.3V OK to show those power outputs are working. The board can be powered up before the pic is inserted to check the power and prevent errors doing damage. The builder then can put the pic in sure that the power is correct.  

The Express raises the bar for the DoItYourself to a new level. This is not the end but just another step on the way. In fact … where is that express wireless module I’m working on?  Oh here it is!  Just you wait!

RJ

I know, I know, you are all saying “Why in the heck are we doing another dimmer.”  Well the facts are simple really. I love my Lynx dimmer but some of the parts on it have went up so much it is getting to be too expensive a device to really sell the DIY users on.

What I like about the Lynx is that it gives you such a nice linear dimming compared to the Phase angle dimmers like my SSR4 and Freestyle. Now don’t get me wrong they dim fine, in fact as good as any of the pic dimmers. But they do not dim like a Lynx.

So I set out to do two things. First come up with a cost effective replacement dimmer for the Lynx. And second create a pic dimmer that dimed like my Lynx. So I worked out the idea to come up with a dimmer using a very fast pic. Much faster than would normally be used and then increase the resolution of the pulse width modulation by a factor of 4 times. This means there would be 1024 steps of dimming from off to full on. Of course DMX and vixen only gives us 256 steps so it does not seem that this is of any help. But this is where I could use a custom dimming curve to try and get a more linear dimming from it. At some points I might only step one step at a time to slow the fade. And in some parts of the curve I could go 6 times as fast to speed up areas where each dimming step appears to do nothing.

As long as I start at zero and end at 1024 then I had freedom to do as I wish to get the overall linear fading I wanted. I was truely out to try and make each step act the same.  Then I had a thought, since each type of lights acts different. For example a led and a mini light is going to come on at different levels and fade up and down different, what if I could have more than one curve and program the dimmer for the type of lights I had on it. This way the lights would all act the same. Led’s and minis could come on at level 1 and fade up at a close rate to hit their max at 256 at the same time.  I call this Light Normalization. It is the same as what we do with MP3 music to make sure one song is not blowing your eyes off and the next you can not hear.

This lead me to the next thought. What if I want leds on channel #4 and minis on Channel #5?

Well thats when I decided it should be able to have more than one curve in the dimmer at a time and apply them to whatever channels I wanted to.

I think it is a great idea with a lot of potential. So much so that I am researching a patent on it so the the commercial companies can not copy the idea to make more money.

This is where the Lynx Express comes in, it is this dimmer that has these abilities. It is a All in one 16 channel design with built on SSR’s and a max of 40 amps output. Each channel is setup to handle 4 amps. This is a DIY dimmer that is a little less DIY. It is more like a commercial dimmer that you build.

It has a number of options like onboard channel indicating led’s and a 3 digit led display to show the mode it is operating in and start channel address. You can set the address via this interface or you can do it from the software on your computer where you upload the curves to it and set which channel uses which curve.

The Lynx Express will put a device in the DIY hobbiest hands that they can build easily and have something I believe outclasses the commercial controllers costing 5 times the cost.  

Here is a video of the first prototype :

http://diylightanimation.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=517.0;attach=405

It is just in the beta test phase an I have work left to do but I think it might just be a suitable replacement for my trusty old side kick the Lynx.

RJ

RJ,

 What the heck is up with everything you make being named Lynx …..?

Well it is really simple in reality. When I started in the DIY holiday lighting hobby I noticed that there were a number of devices you could build and it at first seemed confusing as to what hooked together and worked together. So when I started designing stuff for the hobby I decieded to go with one protocol, Test each device to ensure it worked with all the others and name the devices that work together under a brand name. This where Lynx came from.

The Lynx was suppost to be “The Lynx Dimmer” and the only one I did. But I was talked into expanding the offering of dimmers so I had to name them and add Lynx to the front.  

Anything that starts with Lynx plugs together and works together and has been tested together. It can be mixed and matched to you needs. Like a freestyle can be pluged into a Lynx and a Lynx into a MR16 controller into the not yet release Lynx RoboLight.  

Many would say ” of course they are DMX devices that does not mean anything” but they would be wrong. It is more than the hook together, it is they work together and operate and program in the same way. It means they will use cat5 cable and ends to interconnect.  They even build very much the same as well as having many interchangable parts.

It is that you know they all have there own power and need no external extras to operate. That the coops kits come with it all so when pricing you know that $__.__ gets you going with out the additional expense’s. Right down to the case. You know that it will have a case that fits well. You know there will be a good step by step manuals with photos to help you be successful.  And that if you built a Lynx device it is exactly the same as any other built so it will work like every other one or that we will be able to help you figure out what is wrong as we can know it inside and out. This is because I do not let people modifiy my devices. I let them build anything they want as long as it is not a modified version of my stuff.

So what is Lynx all about?

It is about a family of devices all intended to work with each other.  

  RJ

MR16/LED Controller

Well with the need to controller individual LED’s like what was requested for the Train LED controller I thought I might as well make one that would handle the MR16 led spotlights.

This little unit is designed to allow me to control MR16 spotlights so I can flood the house in different colors. This means dimming the MR16’s. The Lynx controller does this very well but has alot of parts not required to just do 12 volt MR16’s

So I came up with a controller to do both and since it uses the Lynx control section it can use the special MR16 firmware I created for the Lynx to be a very good MR16 controller at a very good price. It provides 16 channels of control and should handle 10 - 15 MR16 per channel.

You plug a 12 Volt DC supply in and your DMX input and thats it. All connections are done with 1/4 spade connectors to make it easy to wire.

You can jumper the transistors if you only need 100ma or less drive or install them if you want more like to run MR16’s.

I expect to be lighting up the show this year using one myself. The boards are ordered and I am waiting for them to arrive to do some testing. I expect us to be able to coop these within the month.

 RJ

RJ,

Why in the world would you create another SSR when we have so many good designs already?

Well they are a few good reasons I felt like creating a new SSR. First while the current designs are good they do not really have any good enclosures that they fit into well. They require you to engineer them into something and while some folks are really good at making them nice and even weather resistant, it is work and didn’t have the clean look I was looking for.

So the first thing is I started with the case. With help from others I was put on to a nice yet very small case. This case has rubber seals for the cables to exit through. It is hinged top for access and can be locked. It cost about $3.50 in quanitity and $4 in low quanitity. I like the neat weather tight setup I am going to desolder all the parts off of my SSR’s and use them on these for my Freestyle this year.

But the real reason I did it was so that I could design a SSR that was the same parts and board cost as the standard ones, but gave the user the ability to add some extra parts for a few dollars more at anytime to make it a complete 4 channel DMX controller with internal SSR. So it is a SSR + (4). This is what I wanted for my mini trees. I will put 16 of these out, one under each mini tree and I will have the four channels to run the colors on the tree. These are small enough to hide under a mini tree easy and then I can use one cable daisied between all my mini trees (DMX) and not have to run 16 cables out to the mini trees at the extreme edge of the yard.

The unit is complete with its own tiny power supply and so like the other Lynx items you just plug it into power and plug your DMX feed into it.  I think this adds another nice device to our family of holiday light control.

RJ 

Here you go, the final product of a lot of work but I think the outcome was worth it. This is the freestyle as it builds from the current coop that is under way. The Coop includes the PCB , Parts and Case. This make it’s easy for everyone to have good results.

The Freestyle is a 128 channel DMX controller that works with Standard DIY SSR’s. It is complete and does not require any additional external parts to function.  Just plug it in and hook up your DMX feed to have control over up to 32 SSR’s and 128 channels.

Of course you do not have to use all 128 channels but it is nice to have them there when you decide to expand you show. Just build a few more SSR’s and plug them in.

The cost is very aggressive. The current Coop that Bill at www.Diylightanimation.com is running is costing under $76  and even includes the pic chip programmed for you. This makes the per channel cost including even the case cost unbelievable cheap.  

I am excited to get this done for those that asked for it and can not wait to see them in use this season. I know I will be running one to replace my two grinche’s and DMX converter. I never intended to use it when I designed it for everyone but after getting it built it is just too nice not put to work.

I think you will agree that the 180 degree about face to redesign the newer unit was worth the wait.

RJ

Why a new Freestyle? Whats was wrong with the old one that was in beta?

Well, Nothing really. The board was up and running with the exception of the 50hz code. And that is just some tweaking to get to act correct.

The truth is it was a matter of smaller, and cheaper winning out and we decieded since we had come up with a way to do it for about 40% the cost and in 2/3 the space it was worth a refit. When I told the beta tester I could redo the board with these benifits not one hesisitated! “Do it!” they said and asked where to send the money and how much to help fund the new beta boards.

Now understand these are the people who had just paid for the expensive beta boards and parts for the then current design and some of them were finishing them at that moment. This is why I love Diylightanimation.com, There were no compliants to be heard. Instead a bunch of users ready to rollup sleeves and get the job done which would lead to cheaper and nicer controllers for everyone.  

When everyone pitches in and helps there is little we can not do and it shows. A few people can do so much with the right attitude and a little effort. Whenever I get a new design ready I have no problem finding people to host the coop for it. In fact I am more often holding people back when things are not quite ready to go out the door. When someone asked about what it cost to host the forum. As soon as the answer was put out the response from so many is “Where can we send money to help support the forum” I never asked and never would of but I never needed to. It is these kind of people you want on your team.

The growth and success of DLA in its short life has been more than I could have imagined. When I started it I had many who told me It would never go. I had my doubts but knew I needed to make a change. What happened was better than expected but more so the quality of the people has been far beyond my belief. I started DLA with the hope of pulling a few good quality people together and having fun while creating new stuff. Some of the first users here and I joked that if we got 100 users in the next year it would be great and we would be very happy. Instead in just two months we have exceeded 160 users. And with the support they have given we have some cool stuff to show for it.

A DMX dongle, A 128 channel controller that cost less than most much smaller ones, Two different SSR design, one 4 channel and one 16 channel, that doubles as DMX standalone controllers with just the additional of a few parts, and a dedicated 16 channel DMX LED controller. This in just a couple months! I will be working on the DMX wireless as I finish up the SSR4 design and the new Ledtriks and redesign of the Lynx will likely be high on my list.  The best thing is we are just getting started. There are six projects underway right now that I know of. Some will knock the socks off of you when you see them. And the best part is seeing other start thinking “What if?” and looking outside the box for answers. The ideas coming out of this group is so rich and clever it is amazing! We have strobes made of eggs for crying out loud! don’t tell me this bunch isn’t cleaver. LOL  

I want to thank all of you for helping to make DLA such a great place to hang out. One old commercial from years ago said “The People Make the Difference” and I could not agree more. At least when it comes to our little hole in the blinky lighting world, it is the people that make it what it is.

RJ

What a Mess!

Ok, so working on this stuff has left my shop a mess that will take a day to clean up. I guess it worth it when things work. I always kinda liked the A-Team when it was on. The Phrase “I love it when a plan comes together!” always suited me well.

 If you can believe it, under all of this is a Freestyle and a whole lot of SSR’s. The purpose of this mess was to test the Freestyle under load to see if the power supply and digital systems would function properly when loaded in a real show with 128 channels hooked up.

The Good news it it will. And except for a goof or two on my part on the pcb it worked very well with little tweaking of anything. I have modded the PCB design to fix these and we should be ready for a coop as soon as the other beta testers are happy. 

That is the 60hz guys, we expect to have some tweaking to do on the 50 hz firmware as I have no way to truely test it in the states.

What is a Freestyle?

If you have been away for way to long and do not know what a Lynx Freestyle is let me bring you up to speed.

The Freestyle is a DMX holiday light controller that uses External SSR’s (solid state relays) to control 128 channels of lighting. It has everything but the SSR’s on board so you simply plug it in to power and run cat5 cables to the SSR’s to control up to 128 channels.

It is really not a 128 channel controller as it has been designed to be modular in design so it can be 16 - 128 channels in increments of 16 channels. You build what you need and add more later very cheaply with the addition of a few parts. Each set of parts added gives you another 16 channels up to fully loaded which is 128 channels.

If you like Cat5 network cable then brother have I got a controller for you!

RJ