DiyLightAnimation

Hardware => Lynx Smart String => Topic started by: lashbyrn on November 19, 2013,

Title: SSc v4 "do I understand this right?"
Post by: lashbyrn on November 19, 2013,

I am hooked up to my pixelnet dongle, connected to my smart string active hub. Powered up my 750w Thermaltake single rail ps.  One of the 16 smart string outputs is connected to a SSC that was successfully programmed with my picket2.   Jumper is in program mode on SSC.  Pixelnet universe 1, dmx 1 jumpers are in place on Smart string hub.  SS utility opened, start channel selected, string length selected, etc. Transmit....NOTHING!!! Checked known working lights, nothing. Checked known working cat5 cable, smart string hub output, nothing nothing nothing...I programmed 10 SSC v4 successfully now nothing.  I have repeated this 6 times on 6 more SSCv4 now without any response.  I have gone back and re flashed.  erasing memory has led to this message "program memory is not blank starting at address 0x000000."  Now not allowing me to program.  any ideas??? <fp.

Title: Re: SSc v4 "do I understand this right?"
Post by: lashbyrn on November 19, 2013,

Once the smart string utility is ran, what is required to modify start channel settings.  Just re running the utility?

Title: Re: SSc v4 "do I understand this right?"
Post by: combustionmark on November 19, 2013,

Sounds like you may have blown a fuse. It is easy to swap wires on the pigtale when soldering them, and if you soldered regular cat 5 cables to the ssc, sometimes they use a different color pattern and this will also cause problems. If you can try one of the programed ssc on a different port and see if it works.

Title: Re: SSc v4 "do I understand this right?"
Post by: tbone321 on November 19, 2013,

You need to slow down a little.  Are you sure that the port that you are using didn't blow its fuse. 

Title: Re: SSc v4 "do I understand this right?"
Post by: lashbyrn on November 19, 2013,

The "port" meaining the cat5 output on the SS hub?

Title: Re: SSc v4 "do I understand this right?"
Post by: tbone321 on November 19, 2013,

Yes, the port that the SSC is connected to.

Title: Re: SSc v4 "do I understand this right?"
Post by: lashbyrn on November 19, 2013,

Duh....sorry.  just ran thru all 16 ports.  All of them output

Title: Re: SSc v4 "do I understand this right?"
Post by: arw01 on November 19, 2013,

So problem solved?

Title: Re: SSc v4 "do I understand this right?"
Post by: lashbyrn on November 19, 2013,

No all 16 ports on hub are functioning.  I am still getting nothing when using the utility on 6 of my 16 SCv4's.   

Title: Re: SSc v4 "do I understand this right?"
Post by: tbone321 on November 19, 2013,

How are you connecting the light strings to the controller?  If you are using the waterproof 3 pin connectors, run a continuity test between the connection to the board and the pin on each wire of the connector.  There has been an issue with those connectors with broken wires.

Title: Re: SSc v4 "do I understand this right?"
Post by: lashbyrn on November 19, 2013,

I'm connecting with waterproof connectors.  I will check continuity.

Title: Re: SSc v4 "do I understand this right?"
Post by: lashbyrn on November 19, 2013,

I haven't found any issue with continuity. I have reheated all solder.  Checked for correct placement of parts. Re flashed.  i have to be missing something... 

Title: Re: SSc v4 "do I understand this right?"
Post by: CW on November 19, 2013,

Double check the cat 5 are correct on the SSC. Sounds like the data is not getting to the controller on those 6.

Title: Re: SSc v4 "do I understand this right?"
Post by: arw01 on November 20, 2013,

Although it can be hard, checking continuity on the cat 5 cable might be a good deal as well right to the pads on the ssc.

You might also try scraping the contacts on the pigtail, could be some oxidation preventing data transmission.

Title: Re: SSc v4 "do I understand this right?"
Post by: lashbyrn on November 20, 2013,

Just to make things more complicated...my brand new Thermaltake 750 w ps just died.  Wonder if it was the source of all my issues???  Off to Microcenter in Dallas to replace it

Title: Re: SSc v4 "do I understand this right?"
Post by: taybrynn on November 20, 2013,

Just be careful because if you happen to have a faulty SSC and you plug it into every port on your SS HUB ... you may have just blown every fuse on the hub.  Probably not, but I always use the first good port on the hub.  One year I had a shorted SSC and I blew the first port fuse before I stopped and tried another SSC (one I knew was working on another hub) on the first port and then it didn't work.  THen I tried the second port and realized my faulty SSC was blowing the fuse on any port I put it on.  So I ended up reworking that SSC and that particular hub has two blown ports on it which I will fix some rainy day.

Title: Re: SSc v4 "do I understand this right?"
Post by: arw01 on November 20, 2013,

Or in my case I have a "special" port #4 that I blew and now will use that for passive hub connections with their own 12v power supply and don't have to worry about anything else besides the passive now.

Alan

Title: Re: SSc v4 "do I understand this right?"
Post by: caretaker on November 20, 2013,

For those of you that may have missed it a "tester" was designed using a 470 ohm resistor and a LED with a RJ45 plug to test to see if you have power on a SS hub port.  Steve Case then updated the idea in this post: http://diylightanimation.com/index.php?topic=9096.msg127112#msg127112

Title: Re: SSc v4 "do I understand this right?"
Post by: arw01 on November 20, 2013,

oh sure, AFTER I put in the mouser order..  But know I know what i can do with all these pigtail ends!

Thanks for the link.

Title: Re: SSc v4 "do I understand this right?"
Post by: wwwgator on November 27, 2013,

here is a simple tester I made a while ago

http://diylightanimation.com/index.php?topic=10564.msg142059#msg142059

http://diylightanimation.com/index.php?topic=10564.msg142215#msg142215