DiyLightAnimation
Hardware => Lynx EtherDongle => Lynx Conductor => Topic started by: RJ on February 20, 2013,
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I saw a few post and got some pm's about the conductors operation this year. As I start the work on it for the coming year I need more solid information on did it work for anyone? Did you have issues?, what were they?
This is not a post for all the things you think need to be added or changed but to discuess the goods and bads you encountered using it as it was designed this last year. Be detailed not "It did not work" Or "It worked ok" This is how I get feedback to make fixes outside the beta.
RJ
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It did not work >:D
First off let me state there was alot going on around this time so my memory is a bit sketchy. IE - LSP issues and updates galore, first year SS, oh yeah, we had baby... ;D
My kit had a bad card dock and reflowed pins. Went ok. Later the clock from the coop is doa. Replaced clock with same date of manufacture (was hoping it wasn't). Got it working. Loaded up 3 songs and it worked flawlessly for a week with the exception of some flashing. http://diylightanimation.com/index.php?topic=10659.0 (http://diylightanimation.com/index.php?topic=10659.0)
I decided to add another song later. (should have known better right ;D) At this point not only did the lights lose sync it started messing with my fm transmitter. http://diylightanimation.com/index.php?topic=10329.0 (http://diylightanimation.com/index.php?topic=10329.0)
Maybe the flashing was a sign? I tried quite a few things (formatted card/change mp3 bit rate/change mp3 file name) before I finally gave up. I cand send the conductor to you to test if you want but I am sure it will work fine for you ;D. Honestly, I didn't even plan on using it last year but threw it together to help the folks with the fm transmitter issue so no big deal. 'Twas unbelievable watching that tiny box run my show with 5k channels for the time it did!
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I got mine to work, but not without issues. I could not use the 8 character labels. For some reason, and I still do not know why, I had to use simple labels for my song names. I just simply used numbers to name my songs and sequences. For example I named "The Grinch" "8" so in my show list I had a sequence named 8 and an mp3 named 8. That was the only way that I could get it to run. As long as I did that my show would start and play.
I did notice one other thing, but I have to be honest that I do not know if this was a conductor issue or something else (I never ran my show with anything but the conductor) but as the show progressed and repeated I would get more and more flicker from my flex strips.
I found the Conductor to be very "picky" (for lack of another word) about what it wanted and if it did not like something at all it would not run. It did run my entire show every night all year and for the most part I loved it.
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I found most everything to work well. I did not have any issues with setup, the software or interference with my FM transmitter (EDM).
I did experience the sync issue though. Songs and sequences all formatted with the same 8.3 naming setup. All songs reformatted to the same MP3 settings. It seemed as the show progressed they would get more out of sequence, music and lights just off. I was running through an active hub just using the DMX output, no Smart Strings in the yard this year.
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I didn't have any problems with the conductor itself. I must of gotten a good clock module. Lights and Music stayed in sync each night from 5pm to 9:25pm then it switched over to Lights only from 9:30pm to 11pm. The show ran from Dec 16th to Jan 2nd no matter the weather (i.e.: Rain).
I did have issues with the Conductor Control Panel
- If you run a show with None.mp3 then there is no time sync or anyway to stop the show (button is disabled)
- I couldn't set schedule closer to each other then 5 minutes otherwise it would get ready to run the first show when the time comes it would skip the first show and wait for the second show. Maybe that it is a conductor issue.
If there is a way to modify the schedule grid without reformatting the CF and reload everything but the schedule that would be nice.
Rick R.
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If there is a way to modify the schedule grid without reformatting the CF and reload everything but the schedule that would be nice.
Rick R.
Thanks interesting Rick, I changed my schedule almost nightly without reformatting. I would simply delete the previous schedule then add another with no issues.
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My Conductor worked very well - after I figured out how to config it! I did have to run it wired, though as the wireless was very flaky. I had good signal and it stayed connected but it would not respond to commands consistently. At any rate, once I went wired I pretty much just left it alone. The wired connection was only there in case I needed to control the ED - which I did only once (shut the show down early due to bad weather). The ED/Conductor saved my show since I used LSP which was having some problems with its scheduler. I simply exported my seqs out to the conductor format - loaded them on the CF card and set my schedule. Best year ever - got lots of compliments and best of all - everything worked!
Thanks
Hopefully this year we can get the Slave firmware and kick it up a notch!
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Overall I had good luck with the conductor. It ran solid for the most part for the month of december 6pm - 9pm
I did have 2 issues. I did run into the FM transmitter problem but only one night. After I moved the cable it ran the rest of the month with the same transmitter just fine. What I saw in that case was the lights would still blink at the current speed but the audio was slowed down by 6x or so, really odd.
Second issue I'm not sure if its a file conversion problem or conductor. Basic problem is the lights would come on, pause and then the music would start. Running the same sequence directly from LSP to the ETD I do not see this pause. Here is a video showing the pause right at the start. Its only at the start and I had a couple sequences do this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rL0eHVWAlo8
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I used mine with None.mp3 to scroll Halloween messages. It started and stopped with no issues for a month.
Bill
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I used mine with None.mp3 to scroll Halloween messages. It started and stopped with no issues for a month.
Bill
I guess I didn't explain my issue. A schedule show with none.mp3 worked just fine but if you try to manually stop the show the button is disabled or if you are testing a show you can't stop it and have to wait for it to finish.
Rick R.
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Rick I have found that bug. It will fix it for you.
Keep the info coming. I have much in the works for it this year but fixing any issues is first and foremost.
I will give a few planned improvements away if it will not hi jack the thread an cause replies to leave what I asked for.
1. Adding the ability to control lights for testing from the control panel and android app (the android app is in the wiki for those that have not found it). This will include some predefined patterns for testing.
2 Improving the control panel to make it check that you are doing things correctly to help prevent bad file names ect. This will fix some issues people thought were hardware but really was bad setup.
3 releasing a user guide to step people from finishing building it to their show running on it.
4. I may have the system automatically convert your mp3 music to a different format which has precise timing marks in the file to allow me to insure their will never be mismatch of lights to music. There are many formats of mp3 and it appears some can create timing mismatch with no way for me to be positive of exactly where we are in the music. If I do this it will hidden from the user so you would not do anything different than you do now.
5 Once the firmware is locked in... Get the slave matched and beta tested then release it... Then and only then edit the stable finished firmware to allow DMV output for those that do not use pixelnet.
Please keep the rest of the posts on track.. I should not posted this here but oh we'll.
RJ
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If there is a way to modify the schedule grid without reformatting the CF and reload everything but the schedule that would be nice.
Rick R.
Thanks interesting Rick, I changed my schedule almost nightly without reformatting. I would simply delete the previous schedule then add another with no issues.
Yes the schedule file can be replaced without issue. It is a fixed size for this reason and will not fragment the card.
I might look at adding the ability to have more than one schedule stored on a card and choose the active one. This way you can change it from you computer or andriod phone.
RJ
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It did not work >:D
I decided to add another song later. (should have known better right ;D) At this point not only did the lights lose sync it started messing with my fm transmitter.
'Twas unbelievable watching that tiny box run my show with 5k channels for the time it did!
I am glad it inpressed you when it was working for you.
Can you post here a short expliantion of the transmitter issue? The point of this post is to get stuff together in one post for me to work from. Include what kind of transmitter and anything you think was a factor.
RJ
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I used mine with None.mp3 to scroll Halloween messages. It started and stopped with no issues for a month.
Bill
I guess I didn't explain my issue. A schedule show with none.mp3 worked just fine but if you try to manually stop the show the button is disabled or if you are testing a show you can't stop it and have to wait for it to finish.
Rick R.
Sorry for the confusion. I was not trying to comment on your specific issue, just stating that the schedule I set using sequences with none.mp3 worked OK.
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I was not able to use mine because of the solder issues. I started to correct myself but did not feel comfortable with it.
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I was not able to use mine because of the solder issues. I started to correct myself but did not feel comfortable with it.
If you had issues with the Conductor pcbs soldering on the socket you should have got with me. I redid a number of them for people. If you still have this issue let me know.
RJ
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I was not able to use mine because of the solder issues. I started to correct myself but did not feel comfortable with it.
If you had issues with the Conductor pcbs soldering on the socket you should have got with me. I redid a number of them for people. If you still have this issue let me know.
RJ
I did RJ but I know you are incredibly busy getting emails left and right. Was waiting to try again when you were a little "less" busy :)
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Ok,
1 - I have the sync issue fixed and will be having the users that were having this issue try it out for me.
2 - Fast forward is finished and fully functional. It does both music and lights at varable speed between 1x and 10x normal play while being in complete sync.
3 - replay is working but rewind has be come a problem may not have a rewind feature.
4 - skip is working so you can jump to the next song.
5 - Transmitter issue I believe I have figured out. Some transmitter units create ground loops on the audio connections this is why only some people are seeing it. When you have this and RF coming in it causes issue. I am creating a small add on board with a few parts that will be connected inline with the wires to the audio jack to hopeful fix the issue. I will have a few of you having this test it since I do not have a transmitter that does this. If it fixes it I will add it to future pcbs.
6 - still have to work on the multiple schedules and channel test capabilties.
7 - still have to create the user manual once changes are complete.
RJ
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Awesome Work <res.
Rick R.
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Awesome good to hear!
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It did not work >:D
I decided to add another song later. (should have known better right ;D) At this point not only did the lights lose sync it started messing with my fm transmitter.
'Twas unbelievable watching that tiny box run my show with 5k channels for the time it did!
I am glad it inpressed you when it was working for you.
Can you post here a short expliantion of the transmitter issue? The point of this post is to get stuff together in one post for me to work from. Include what kind of transmitter and anything you think was a factor.
RJ
Looks like you fixed it before I got to posting more info! :o
Great job. Thanks RJ.
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Awesome RJ! Thanks!
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I had a few issues with the conductor software. It may have been my PC, but I tried it on another Dell machine and it showed the same. The save button was cut off my screen and I could not resize the screento see the button. I had to guess where the button was and click save until I hit it. Also If I wanted to delete a song or sequence in the schedule that was in the middle of the show, I would have to delete all songs below it. A good way to highlight and delte and add sequences/songs and replace in the scehdule would be a good addition.
Also when I had a problem like I had a power outage, ( Seemed to have one of those at least once a week ) when I reset the power, the scheduler would not automatically restart the show or pick it up at a certain time until the next day. I purchased another CF card, and would make a new schedule with the same show and change oput the CF card to get the show to play.
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What screen resolution were you using on the computer?
RJ
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What screen resolution were you using on the computer?
RJ
I have multiple monitors, the first is my Dell 2410 screen res 1920X1200 and the second is LG TV 1920x1080 landscape. I also tried it on my 19 inch Dell laptop but don't have it with me to verify the screen res.
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What screen resolution were you using on the computer?
RJ
I have multiple monitors, the first is my Dell 2410 screen res 1920X1200 and the second is LG TV 1920x1080 landscape. I also tried it on my 19 inch Dell laptop but don't have it with me to verify the screen res.
Do you have the text at regular (100%) size or larger to make it easier to see the text?
At that res it shouldn't be a problem so it sounds like a setting was change.
Rick R.
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It is definitely a screen resolution issue as I have seen that with other programs and changing the screen res fixes the issue. However, I still think stuff like this should be addressed with programming.
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I have multiple monitors, the first is my Dell 2410 screen res 1920X1200.
Strange since this is the same screen and resolution I am programming on and I also run dual monitors. You would think it would be at least right on the same setup.
RJ
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In the screen resolution screen select make text and other items larger or smaller. Make sure it is set to 100%. My Win 7 HD gaming laptop came defaulted to 115% at 1633 X 768.
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Ok anyone with the transmitter issue that wants to try this out. It should fix it according to the people that designed the VS1053 chip.
I have attached a picture. please bring it up so you can see while you read this next information.
imagine the VS10XX square on the picture as the Conductor.
You need to cut the three wires going to your audio jack from the conductor in the middle to give you length to work with and as shown insert a 100 ohm resistor and 10uf capacitor (C1 & C2) on line of both the left and right wires to your jack. They need to be in the order shown so the Capacitor goes closest to the Conductor pcb and the resistor is toward the audio jack. Make sure if they are polarity type capacitors that the + side goes toward the Conductor and the negative side is toward the jack.
Then connect a 10K resistor from them to the ground of the jack and the ground gets hooked to the trigger ground connection on the conductor to get you an easy place to pick up analog ground. If you have trouble following this and the image do not hook this up. if done wrong it can damage you audio board on the conductor.
When you are done there should be nothing attached to the Ground pad on the conductor for the audio out. So where the ground on the jack was before you began should not be connected to anything. We are moving the jack Ground to the analog side ground with the additional circuit to isolate it. I could not test this as my system worked fine as is. So please let me know how you make out with this done.
RJ
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In the screen resolution screen select make text and other items larger or smaller. Make sure it is set to 100%. My Win 7 HD gaming laptop came defaulted to 115% at 1633 X 768.
Thanks that fixed that issue, My font selection was set to "Larger" once I set it back to normal it worked. So this can be removed from the conductor issues and be labeled as " Freebird's Duh Moment"
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In the screen resolution screen select make text and other items larger or smaller. Make sure it is set to 100%. My Win 7 HD gaming laptop came defaulted to 115% at 1633 X 768.
Thanks that fixed that issue, My font selection was set to "Larger" once I set it back to normal it worked. So this can be removed from the conductor issues and be labeled as " Freebird's Duh Moment"
glad to hear it was a simple fix.
RJ
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Verified the sync issue is resolved with a know trouble unit on a seqence I could replicate it with on it.
Added the ability to jump to the new song in a show.
Added the ability to jump back one song in the show.
Added the ability to restart the current song from the beginnning.
Modified the Volume control system to allow volume to be adjusted while the show is playing.
Working on the ability to create different schedules and choose which one you want to be used from the control panel.
RJ
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Anyone tried the circuit I posted here http://diylightanimation.com/index.php?topic=11445.msg150682#msg150682
to see if it resolved their fm transmitter issues?
RJ
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Anyone at all? Need someone to try it for me so I know if this solves the issue.
I almost have the multiple schedule setup done in the Conductor. Then we can test this and I can get the slave firmware ready.
RJ
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Ill see if I can do it for you, need to order the parts so give me a little bit
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Other members who said they had problems- zwiller, duane.mosley, rm357, sebjsan in case you want to pm them. I remember one said their problem dissapeared when they moved the transmitter away from the ED. Another said their radio in the garage got interference without the ED being connected to a FM transmitter. Other people said when they connected an FM transmitter the scheduler would malfunction. These are what I saw when I searched transmitter and radio on the site.
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No need to PM me. I have the parts (RS had them) and plan to try today.
Hope this works since I have a huuuge St. Patrick's display I am waiting to fire up. j/k ;D
Singing Shamrock anyone?
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Would someone care to check my work on this mod?
Sarcasm encouraged...
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As best I can tell (can't tell the values of the resitors) it looks correct. If it works I will make some little pcbs to clean it up.
RJ
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Any report on the outcome of the test?
RJ
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Of course I know why you spec'd the parts in the middle, the resistor leads broke loose when trying to mount back in case. <fp. Got it fixed and mounted and tried using files already on card and no matter what I tried it would not play. As I reformatted card and went to load from scratch I had some surprise visits and the rest of my free time was spent entertaining... ::)
On a positive note, no magic smoke, all lit up and appears to be working. Should be able to get to it tonight.
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Make sure to turn the volume up. The people who make the chip created the circuit and said it would lower the volume some so it could require a higher volume.
RJ
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Will do. I wonder if the audio quality will be effected too...
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No, the resistor just attenuate the signal a little, it is just a circuit to prevent ground loops and feedback. No one that needed it on their projects had any issue with sound quality that I read.
RJ
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I am almost done with the firmware upgrade for the conductor that adds the ability to create multiple schedules and name them. Then you can change which one your conductor is using from the control panel or android.
RJ
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Success! After some head scratching and finally remembering to use my crossover cable on an older test pc I got it working. Tested with headphones first, then later with the transmitter. You will need to bump up the gain as RJ says. Sounds is not affected.
FWIW, I think the real problem might be from the cable shipped with the transmitter and the jack from the kit. They seem like they just don't play well together. I occasionally could get it to kick off the lan wiggling the jack until I switched cable ends.
Thanks RJ! IF there is a some other tests you want conducted let me know.
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So do you think it helped with the issues?
I did notice that you and Mickpat are using the same fm transmitter and having the same issue. I think one other told me they were having this issue and were using the same one.
http://www.dagcoelectronics.com/manuals/rangestar_500_mw_instruction_manual-czh-05b.pdf
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No doubt it helped. I just put my whole 2012 show files on it that were giving me issues and it running fine a 2nd time. (gimme a minute and put all my lights back up ;D) For purely academic and scientific purposes ::) I connected my northstar. To my surprise I saw it shimmer for the first time since LSP scheduler outputted shimmer as sparkle!!! 8) I will be using it more now...
I agree there is definitely a correlation here. Especially with my show running fine for a week then failing, another member talked about moving the transmitter made it not work, etc. If there was feedback or whatever with the transmitter, can it measured or tested? It would be nice to remove the uncertainty behind this but it does seem that issue is resolved.
Thanks for taking the time fix this!!! <res.
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One thing you guys with that transmitter can try is this, Since it is a very powerful transmitter (as in <yk.. not legal!) it has a power setting for a lower level that is still higher than the ramsey I use as I remember. Try the lower power setting. It may have a strong but slightly dirty output that is inducing RF into the conductor. the circuit is to prevent the ground loop that some transmitters will create. the guys that make the VS1053 chip have run into that alot and knew what I was talking about when I explained it. they say when you have a ground loop it will make the audio unit stop random, skip, play fast, ect.
RJ
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Mine is actually turned down all the way. I know it was the transmitter but the only thing I did in my case was move the audio cable (just moved it away from the power cords). The conductor and transmitter didn't move (they actually were inches apart still). I'm sure this will fix it for my case.