DiyLightAnimation
Hardware => Lynx USB DMX Dongle => Topic started by: Night Owl on October 13, 2009,
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I need a little help please. I downloaded the .exe file from ftdichip.com and ran it to install the drivers. But when I plug in the dongle, I get a Windows Error Message "USB Device Not Recognized" telling me to click the message. A popup window titled "USB Device Not Recognized" and in one of the ports, "Unknown Device" is in bold type. Windows is telling me to reconnect the device and if that doesn't work, to replace the device.
I'm not 100% sure the PIC is programmed correctly. My brother was using an old programmer, and it was giving him error messages. He ordered a new programmer, but said I could try and see if it programmed correctly.
Would an incorrectly programmed PIC cause this kind of error message, or could I have messed up some other way?
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Would an incorrectly programmed PIC cause this kind of error message, or could I have messed up some other way?
I don't believe so. Windows is recognizing the USB device which should be ready to go following installation of the drivers. If the PIC is not programmed correctly, Windows would recognize the USB device but you would not get any blinky flashy.
I'd try to download and install the drivers again. If that doesn't work you may have a bad USB component for your dongle and would need to replace it but I would start with the drivers first.
Other thing is to check and see if some other conflicts may be present that would prevent Windows from seeing your dongle/USB device.
Leon
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*sigh* I reinstalled the driver as you suggested and get the same error. Installed the driver on my laptop and it doesn't even register that something is connected. Tried different USB cables and different physical USB sockets with no luck. I pulled the PIC and tried again and I still get the same error so I think you might be right that the USB component is bad. Which really sucks rocks since that is the most expensive part on the board.
Does anyone else have a suggestion? Or am I SOL and have to order another USB interface module?
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Contact technical support at DLP. We've had several bad USB adapters this year. DLP is very responsive. If they determine the adapter is bad, they will send you a replacement from Mouser. In my case, it was a bad connection from the USB connector to the board. Also, see the thread below in troubleshooting...Bill
http://diylightanimation.com/index.php?topic=1143.0
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Thanks for the link. I will have to go through all that step by step. However I contacted DLP first, since today would be the only day I can contact them during their working hours and be next to both my computer and the device. They told me to download and run the USB View program from their website. His first guess was that the Product ID and Description ID was different. However when I ran the program, all the settings were either 0X00 or 0X0000 and ConnectionStatus said DeviceFailedEnumeration. He had me check to see if pins 3, 10, 11, and 12 were connected together. They are, looking at the circuit board trace. He said that those pins should be enough for Windows to recognize the board.
He asked if I had seen this circuit working, to which I replied personally no, but a number of people have and this is based on a proven design. He seems to think that the circuit design is faulty, or the module is bad. His suggestion is to purchase a new module, or send it back to them for testing.
Kinda sucks, since I wanted to use this for a Halloween display, but I guess it will have to wait until next year. Hopefully I can get this working by Christmas.
I'll run through the thread and all the troubleshooting tips. But I suspect the module is bad, which means a lot of desoldering. Ugh.
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Ok, I have no power on the RS485 between pins 5 and 8. I do have 1.4V between pins 2 and 3 and 2 and 12. I hooked it up to a powered USB hub to ensure enough power was being supplied, but no change.
I will reflow all the solder joints, but all look bright and shiny to me. Anyone have other suggestions before I start desoldering? I would appreciate it.
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OK. Because you have 1.4 volts between pins 2 and 12, it sounds like a connection (high resistance) problem on the USB adapter. Do this. Look on the bottom of the USB adapter. You'll see 4 pins from the USB connector that are soldered to the board. Plug the dongle in to your PC. Check between these pins for +5 volts. This isn't easy, because you only have about a quarter of an inch between the USB adapter and the dongle board. I'm not sure of the pin configuration of the USB connector. Put the negative lead from your voltmeter on one pin and check for voltage between the other three. Repeat this for the three remaining pins. Hit the pin and not the solder joint. If you get +5 volts on the connector pins, you know you're good up to that point. Now, unplug the dongle and check resistance between the +5 volt pin of the USB connector and pin 12 on the USB adapter board. Let us know what you find. I know this is frustrating. Hang in there. We'll do everything to get you up and running...Bill
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Thanks for the help, I really appreciate it.
First I checked the USB cable from the computer: 5V between pin 1 and 4
I'll draw up a diagram later and post it for future troubleshooting efforts, but the pin-outs for the USB connector is
Pin 1: +5V DC
Pin 2: Data -
Pin 3: Data +
Pin 4: GND
Looking at the USB module upside down (easier to see the soldered pins of the USB connector)
Pin 1: left rear
Pin 2: right rear
Pin 3: right front
Pin 4: left front
Voltages:
1 - 4: 5V
2 - 4: 3.14V
3 - 4: 3.22V
2 - 3: 0V
1 - 2: 1.86V
1 - 3: 1.89V
Resistance between pin 1 on USB connector and Pin 12 of the USB module: 0 ohm
Pin 12 of the USB module to pin 4 of the USB connector: 5V
Pin 12 to pin 2 on USB module: 1.4 V (Just wanted to double check)
Resistance between pin 4 on USB connector and Pin 2 of USB module: Open.
Shouldn't pin 4 of the USB connector (GND) and pin 2 of the module have no resistance between them?
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Correct. You should have very low resistance between pin 4 on the USB connector and pin 2 on the adapter. Now, to verify this is the problem, do this. Plug the dongle up to your PC. Turn the volume up on your PC. Take a small jumper wire and touch between pin 4 on the USB connector and pin 2 on the adapter. You're not shorting anything out. You're just completing the power circuit. If this is the bad connection, you should hear your computer recognize the adapter. Let us know...Bill
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Yep that did it. Connecting the two pins completed the circuit and the computer both recognizes it as a valid USB device and as COM 3. Thank you SO much for the assistance!
Now to see if I can desolder this unit and send it back.
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Before you desolder, double check your solder joint on pin 2 of the adapter. If this doesn't do it, move on with desoldering. I used a Dremel tool with a cutting disk and a hacksaw blade. It sounds crude, but the hacksaw blade worked the best and caused less damage. If you have a sheet rock cutter with a hacksaw blade attached, I found this was best. Put the blade in the middle of the black plastic spacers between the adapter board and the pcb and start cutting slowly. Once you get all pins cut, remove the remaining plastic spacers from the pins left in the pcb. Grab each pin with needle nose pliers and hit the solder joint with your iron. The pins will pull right out. Next, use a desoldering iron like the one Radio Shack sells to blow the remaining solder from the pin hole. Hope this help...Bill
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if you really want to use it for your halloween display i don't mind letting you borrow mine. Just cover shipping expenses. ;D
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if you really want to use it for your halloween display i don't mind letting you borrow mine. Just cover shipping expenses. ;D
Wow, I really appreciate the offer. But I don't think I am going to get to it this Halloween anyway. I'm trying to hack a bunch of talking skulls so the jaws open and close automatically to the soundtrack. Thanks!
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Before you desolder, double check your solder joint on pin 2 of the adapter. If this doesn't do it, move on with desoldering. I used a Dremel tool with a cutting disk and a hacksaw blade. It sounds crude, but the hacksaw blade worked the best and caused less damage. If you have a sheet rock cutter with a hacksaw blade attached, I found this was best. Put the blade in the middle of the black plastic spacers between the adapter board and the pcb and start cutting slowly. Once you get all pins cut, remove the remaining plastic spacers from the pins left in the pcb. Grab each pin with needle nose pliers and hit the solder joint with your iron. The pins will pull right out. Next, use a desoldering iron like the one Radio Shack sells to blow the remaining solder from the pin hole. Hope this help...Bill
The joints I made to the dongle board looked good. The pins on the top of the module all looked a bit iffy, but that could be due to solder oxidation vice a cold joint. I ended up desolding the joints and cutting the pins close to the board. Then put a little tension between the two boards and heating each pad and it slowly came loose. However your method probably would have saved me a few burnt fingers. :P Thanks again for your help!
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Glad you're making progress. Keep us updated...Bill
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The company verified that the USB module was damaged and will be sending me a new one. I'll update again when I get it up an running with a new module and a correctly programmed PIC.
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Thats great news and just the post I was waiting for in this thread. I hope it's all smooth sailing from here. :)
Leon
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Heh, nope. Still having problems.
So I got the new module. Connected pins 3, 10, 11, and 12 together and plugged it into the computer. Recognized it right off and assigned com 5. Fantastic. Soldered it up and installed a PIC that Kenneth programmed for me. Hooked it up to my express and ran the test mode. Test is successful and at the end, LEDs 2,3, and 4 remain lit. With LED 3 on, I assume the board is receiving a DMX signal. So I'm feeling good.
So following the manual, I download and install the Express config utility. Update the light list. Change the comport setting to COM5 and press the Update button.
Selected the first light on the list. Put the board into program mode. (LED display says "PG6" (PRG), press Select once and it now says "PG6." Pressed the Program button on the config utitilty program and... nothing.
I read the thread about the config program:
http://diylightanimation.com/index.php?topic=1935.0
The Express remains in "PG6." mode and does not reboot. I tried what RJ suggested and changed the StartChannel to 207 and repeated the process. No LEDs on the board flash during the process. Well, LED 16 flashes when I press the Select button but nothing afterward.
After a bit, I stop transmitting, and disconnect the power to the Express then plug it back in. The board boots, but the start channel is still 001.
I tried different USB cables and the cat 5 cable with no luck.
With all the soldering/desolding involved with replacing the USB module, might I have damaged something else? I hate to do it, but I'll start from scratch and order all new parts if I have to.
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curious, what is the date on your express chip? Also was it through a coop or did you order the chip?
If the chip starts with a 9XX date on it then you might need to reprogram the chip for the new firmware. Instead of using hte utility to do the programming couldn't you program the start channel on board? Correct me if im wrong here anyone
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The chip is a 9XX chip and I got it from the last coop.
As for the channel change, I was following RJ's suggestion from the other thread. I'm assuming his reasoning was that if the Express registered the DMX channel change from the configure program, then we know that both the dongle and Express was communicating.
*sigh* it's never easy. Trying to cover all bases, I checked Mouser to see if they had all the parts for a new dongle. Yep, many parts are out of stock. :P
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You don't need to run the "LE Config utility" unless you want to update the LNT tables.
You can set the starting address of the LE via the buttons on the LE.
I would worry more about getting the lights to go on/off/dim, rather than worry about the LNT stuff.
See if you can get Vixen or LSP or whatever light control program you are using to send signals to the LE and go from there...
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Actually, I wanted to start out with the config utility as a test to see if the dongle and the express could talk to one another. I was pretty confident that the Express was fine since the built in diagnostic passed OK. But because of problems I had with the USB module, I was concerned that I may have damaged something on the dongle. I did pull all the chips prior to desoldering, but with my luck so far...
Also, as I am a total noob when it comes to computer controlled lighting, I have zero experience with Vixen. So by starting with the config utiliity, I can ensure the hardware is working before attempting to learn how to use Vixen.
That being said, I did try and run a quick and dirty sequence and couldn't get the the Express to react. I followed the nice Youtube videos and just laid down a simple beat track for channel 1. Of course, I could be doing something wrong.
Its late for it already, but tomorrow I'm going to fire up my soldering iron and reflow the joints and see if that helps. It looks good to me, but I'll try anything at this point.
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I think I'm running out of ideas. I heated all the joints and they all look good. I installed the USB drivers and the config program on a different computer but it is still not working. From what I am reading on the Express manual, the config program should transmit the data then reset the board. Although the program says "Transmitting" the Express doesn't react.
I ordered a PICKIT2 programmer and will try and reflash the PIC on the Express with the updated hex file.
If this doesn't work, I'm going to assume that I somehow damaged the Dongle (either the PCB or one of the components) when I desoldered the USB module and will order parts to build a new dongle.
Does anyone have alternative suggestions? I'm afraid that I might have to put off putting up a display this year if I can't get this solved soon. :'(
Hm, I got a couple of questions. I was reading the dongle manual again. It says not to plug in the dongle until after the drivers are installed. But the ftdichip.com install manual says to plug it in, then install drivers. I followed the ftdichip instructions. Would that cause a problem? The computer is recognizing that it does have a USB com port so I didn't think it was a big deal.
Second, I was looking at the properties for the USB Serial Port for the dongle. The port settings is 9600 bits per second, 8 data bits, no parity, one stop bit, and no flow control. The dongle manual says to start Vixen and set the com speed to 115K. What are the port settings supposed to be?
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Hm, I got a couple of questions. I was reading the dongle manual again. It says not to plug in the dongle until after the drivers are installed. But the ftdichip.com install manual says to plug it in, then install drivers. I followed the ftdichip instructions. Would that cause a problem? The computer is recognizing that it does have a USB com port so I didn't think it was a big deal.
Second, I was looking at the properties for the USB Serial Port for the dongle. The port settings is 9600 bits per second, 8 data bits, no parity, one stop bit, and no flow control. The dongle manual says to start Vixen and set the com speed to 115K. What are the port settings supposed to be?
If the computer is recognizing the com port, I think you're okay with the drivers and the usb module. Port should be 115 Kbps, 8 data bits, no parity, one stop, no flow control.
Greg
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I also agree you should be working to get a controller working using vixen and not trying to config the controller as your test.
Get a controller setup stock and hook up the dongle no wireless or anything else just a cable. If you are getting a DMX light during the self test as you say your dongle is putting out something that looks like DMX to it. Use vixen configure the plugin on a blank 512 channel seqence and use the test channel with all channels selected to see if you can control anything. This is the best start to diagnose the problem.
RJ
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Great Goolgly Moogly! It works! ;D Thank you all so much for the help! Following Mark's advice I had been using Vixen to test the hardware, but nothing was happening. In the back of my mind I was also concerned that I was using Vixen wrong (incorrect settings, wrong driver, etc) so I was also using the config program to test. The culprit was the transmission speed. Set to 115K, all the LEDs started to flash rapidly when the board was in the run mode and the config program was transmitting. It didn't look right, but after so long of nothing working, random flashing was an improvement.
In Vixen, the Express is accepting simple on/off commands on all 16 channels. I need to figure out how to do fading, but at this point, I'm overjoyed that I can get that far.
Thank you Leon, Bill, knguyen916, Mark, Greg, and RJ for sticking with me. I was really beginning to despair that I would get this system working.
Mahalo!
Nathan
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Glad you got 'er going Nathan!
Are you one of those culdesac houses in Hanamaulu?
John
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Hey thats what we are here for. I am also glad you got her going. The people that do have an issue at first normally once we get them going it becomes easy for them. Once you get one setup running it gets much easier from there.
RJ
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Hey thats what we are here for. I am also glad you got her going. The people that do have an issue at first normally once we get them going it becomes easy for them. Once you get one setup running it gets much easier from there.
RJ
Congrats Night Owl,
I am a perfect example of what RJ said. I was getting dongle errors at random times when I first started with lynx hardware, until I finally listen to RJ and tried different usb cables until one worked. Since then I have learned a lot and try my best to share and help others. Its a great cycle of learning and sharing.
Cheers
Rick R.
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Are you one of those culdesac houses in Hanamaulu?
John
I'm not familiar with that area. Is that on Kauai? I live in central Oahu.
My PICKit2 just arrived in the mail today. Heh, now that I have gotten the system working, I'm hesitant to flash the PIC to update the Express. Maybe I'll hold off until after Christmas. Or at least until my two kits from the current coop arrive and I verify those work. ;D
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Yes, Nathan, Kauai... Hanamaulu just 5 miles north of Lihue. It's been six years since I saw those houses, but I'm sure some must be animated by now.
I was afraid to try out my PicKit 2 for quite a while too... but it's really easy. And in my case at least, it always helped to plug it in before starting the software!
John
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I'm soooo relieved to hear you've got it working. :)
Leon