DiyLightAnimation
Fun => The Porch => Topic started by: UncleBuck on March 22, 2012,
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So I built my dongle, built my LE, purchased LOR software (S2 Advance) hooked it all up but can't figure out how to get the LOR software to talk to the LE. HELP PLEASE <fp.
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Using a lynx DMX dongle?
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S2 really ? The latest is s3 ...
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Yes using a Lynx DMX dongle and S3 sorry.
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I actually have only done this using xlights ... But if you want LOR to control it directly you have to set up the controller in LOR as a entec pro DMX I think.
I would use xlights so you could expand easier down the road ...
Just write the sequence in LOR to s 16ch pc LOR controller, unit 1 ,.. then have xlights play those 16 ch to the dongle and use DMX 1 on the express
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Xlights just replaces the scheduler and show player ... You have to put the sequence in a xlights folder and optionally convert it from lms to xserve format
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Did you go into network preferences and choose the dongle from the drop down? You also need to close the sequencer and reopen it after selecting the dongle in order for it to control the lights.
I can type out all the steps...just need to know where you are at in the process.
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I have the LE powered, the dongle connceted to the computer and the LE connected to the dongle. The LE shows that everything is ready to go (three led's on). I have opened LOR and from that point I'm lost. Where do I go to find the network preferences drop down box?
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In the LOR S3 sequence editor, go to Edit -> Preferences -> Network Preferences
Then under DMX Universes, for Universe 1, select the adaptor and select "Lynx" from the drop down list of Protocols.
Then under tools -> channel configuration ... you'll map our your 16 channels to type of DMX universe and then under a
network of UNiverse 1 and circuit will be the DMX channel# (1 thru 16).
Hopefully that gets your started.
To be honest, using xlights is a lot easier, IMHO.
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It's pretty darn easy in LOR. Never used x-lights though.
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Steve would you be so kind as to type out the steps. I tried the steps taybrynn posted but no success. Is there a manual somewhere?
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Before I hooked everything up the little box in the lower right hand corner of LOR was red. Now that I have hooked the Lynx stuff up and tried to do the steps above the box has turned blue. Any idea's what that means?
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Before I hooked everything up the little box in the lower right hand corner of LOR was red. Now that I have hooked the Lynx stuff up and tried to do the steps above the box has turned blue. Any idea's what that means?
Yes, the blue light means you clicked the "enable schedule" and your show is ready to run. Just click the disable show immediately to turn it off. For testing purposes, you want the sequence editor opened and a sequence you can test with. As mentioned above be sure to check the "control lights" under the play tab.
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I've done nothing to the LE. Do I need to program the LE as controller #1. If so how? It currently displays 001
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If it says 001 it is programmed as Channel 1 through 16. Nothing needs to be done.
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That was my understanding. The next controller would be 017 for 17 through 32 ext. ext. I still can't get my leds to blink.
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That was my understanding. The next controller would be 017 for 17 through 32 ext. ext. I still can't get my leds to blink.
Curious, wouldn't the next controller be 002?
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Not unless you want to overlap 15 channels (2 THRU 16).
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Interesting, I guess I'm so used to my Animated Lighting controllers, so if I have 9 controllers they could/would be numbered 1, 17, 33, 49, 65, 81, 97, 113, 129 ?
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Ok, lets not get overly confused here. Some systems number the controllers and send the commands to those controllers baes on the "controller number". True DMX doesn't care about controllers. All it cares about are channels and there are 512 of them in a DMX universe. Because of this with a DMX controller all you need to do is set the channels that you want it to respond to. This is done with the Express (and other Lynks DMX controllers) by setting the starting channel. It really is as simple as that. If your 9 controllers were all Expresses then your order would be correct.
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Interesting, I guess I'm so used to my Animated Lighting controllers, so if I have 9 controllers they could/would be numbered 1, 17, 33, 49, 65, 81, 97, 113, 129 ?
You would be better off calling them "Roof Left" and "Roof Right" and "Lawn"
Calling them by "Unit Numbers" is a holdover from LOR, D-Light and AL schemes.
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I have never used LOR, but do you have to assign the com port somewhere for it to output to the Dongle?
Steve
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Ok, lets not get overly confused here. Some systems number the controllers and send the commands to those controllers baes on the "controller number". True DMX doesn't care about controllers. All it cares about are channels and there are 512 of them in a DMX universe. Because of this with a DMX controller all you need to do is set the channels that you want it to respond to. This is done with the Express (and other Lynks DMX controllers) by setting the starting channel. It really is as simple as that. If your 9 controllers were all Expresses then your order would be correct.
Thanks Tbone, without asking I would have hooked all my controllers up as 001,002,003,004,005,006,007,008,009 and been wondering what the hell was going wrong!!!! <fp. LOL
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Your very welcome, glad that I could help.
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Still can't get my LE leds to dance with LOR.
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I have never used LOR, but do you have to assign the com port somewhere for it to output to the Dongle?
Steve
Good question.
Unclebuck have you set the dongle up on the computer with the drivers needed?
Read the bottom of this page..
http://www.diylightanimation.com/wiki/index.php?title=Dongle_Manual_v2
Also dumb question: did you buy the software from LOR or are you using the demo mode? Demo does not control lights..
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Before opening the sequence editor you need to start another LOR program called "Control Panel" this is a patch right now to make DMX output.
All you have to do is start "Control Panel" nothing else, then start the "Sequence Editor" and your sequence should operate the Lynx Controller.
All the above post recommendations have to be met also.
The most common mistakes made is starting the "Control Panel" first then making sure the "Control Lights" option is checked, from there and mistakes made will be in the proper configuration of channel assignment values.
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Thanks, I was going to mention the need for the control panel ... thanks Dennis.
Hopefully that gets you going.
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Control panel is what gets the red light bulb on the desktop right?
I just assumed he was already there when he mentioned the blue bulb.
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Let me just say that I appreciate all the help so far BUT,
I opened the control panel and then open my sequence and tried it, nothing.
I have no idea if the dongle drivers are installed on my computer. I followed the above link and it redirected me to FTDI Chip. At that point I have no idea what drivers to install.
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Let me just say that I appreciate all the help so far BUT,
I opened the control panel and then open my sequence and tried it, nothing.
I have no idea if the dongle drivers are installed on my computer. I followed the above link and it redirected me to FTDI Chip. At that point I have no idea what drivers to install.
Did you check that the USB com port speed is 115K?
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Download these drivers from here: http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/CDM/CDM20814_Setup.exe The before installing read the install guide fro your operating system: http://www.ftdichip.com/Support/Documents/InstallGuides.htm Run the file you downloaded THEN plug in your LYNX dongle. When your plug in your dongle your your computer should say "Found New Hardware and Installing drivers". When it has finished your will need to go to the Control Panel ---> Device Manager ---> Click the little plus sign (or triangle) by "Ports COMM & LPT" and you should see "USB Serial Port COM X" (X will be a number, right click on this and select properties ---> port settings. Under "Bits Per Second" select "115200" the rest should be "8", none, "1", none. Hit OK.
Now start LOR S3 control panel (you should see a Red (or blue) Light bulb in your system tray. Right click on it and select Sequence Editor. If you have already created a sequence load it now otherwise select EDIT ---> Preferences ---> Network Preferences and a pop up box should open where it says Regular Network select NONE then go down to the DMX Universes and under number one click the arrow beside "Adapter" and your should see None with a number letter combo below like "DPE00RNB" Select that then using the arrow by Protocol select Lynx. Hit OK and the right click on the first channel of your sequence and select "Change Channel Settings". Under controller type you should have "DMX Universe" Selected, Under Universe it should show "1", under address it should show "1". Now do the same for the rest of your channels. After that you should have blinky.
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Let me ask the stupid question: How are you connected to the DMX universe? Are you using LOR's DMX connector? (I assume yes). If you are not, don't forget you have to cross-over the signal from LOR's proprietary DMX signal to a standard ENTEC DMX signal (simple cross-over cable will do the trick.) But I am guessing that you are using the iDMX from LOR.
Kurt
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Let me ask the stupid question: How are you connected to the DMX universe? Are you using LOR's DMX connector? (I assume yes). If you are not, don't forget you have to cross-over the signal from LOR's proprietary DMX signal to a standard ENTEC DMX signal (simple cross-over cable will do the trick.) But I am guessing that you are using the iDMX from LOR.
Kurt
He has a Lynx dongle. No cross over cable is needed. LOR S3 works with Lynx now.
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Let me ask the stupid question: How are you connected to the DMX universe? Are you using LOR's DMX connector? (I assume yes). If you are not, don't forget you have to cross-over the signal from LOR's proprietary DMX signal to a standard ENTEC DMX signal (simple cross-over cable will do the trick.) But I am guessing that you are using the iDMX from LOR.
Kurt
He has a Lynx dongle. No cross over cable is needed. LOR S3 works with Lynx now.
Thanks, didn't realize this. I am old school LOR user (S2) but have since converted to Lynx completely. Sounds like LOR is making improvements in the completely correct direction and going to the open standards. Nice.
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Thanks for all the suggestions but still nothing. Two of the three boards that I built from the first coop need to have the pic reprogrammed so I'm taking them to the Zman this afternoon. He also uses LOR and I'm sure will be able to answer some questions.
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Thanks for all the suggestions but still nothing. Two of the three boards that I built from the first coop need to have the pic reprogrammed so I'm taking them to the Zman this afternoon. He also uses LOR and I'm sure will be able to answer some questions.
Zman, will get you on the right path for sure. Good to hear.
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You must get the lynx working first.
You can always try xlights .... It's easier than using LOR, IMHO
You sequence in LOR just like you own a LOR controllers .... But they can in reality be anything that xlights supports .... Much more flexible.
Sequence in LOR, use xlights to play things.
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You can always try xlights .... It's easier than using LOR, IMHO
I'll second that.
I'm a large LOR user but I like xLights to test my LE's first. The LOR/LE setup works well, but it's complex to get setup the first time. I wish LOR would get the hint and make a good how to video on getting DMX setup for first timers.
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I went up to Zman today and everything up there (As in connecting the dongle to the LE and playing a show) worked perfectly! But now I am trying it on my computer and it is not working. It is all the same except for one thing. In the LOR Sequence editor program, I go into Edit, then preferences, then network prefrences. On Zman's computer, he set (under network, regular) to none, which I can do fine. But I think the problem is that under Universe, Adapter 1 (see picture) he set it to some number. After he did that, it all worked fine. But mine only displays None! And now it's not working. How do I get anything other than none in that dropbox? Suggestions??
P.S. I have uninstalled and then reinstalled drivers (to the best of my abilities) and read the user manual and everything seems to be in order with the drivers.
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Set Network Regular Port to none. After this the you may have to save and exit, restart the sequence editor and go back in. Then try to set the DMX port to the ID that shows up as you Lynx Dongle. I remember that window acting goofy. Seams like after each change I had to save and restart the sequence editor. Once change at a time. The other thing that works if you have a USB485 adapter plug that in as well as your Lynx dongle and get it setup in the hardware utility first. Then go in and setup the Lynx adapter.
Its finicky to get setup the first time.
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Ok, I got the numbers to come up in the Adapter. I closed it and opened a sequence and the led's started to blink. I was so excited until a screen popped up show errors!!!(see pic) It continued to freakout and I was unable to make it go away until I rebooted the computer. Now everytime I open LOR the window pops up and I can't close it without rebooting the computer. <md..
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First thing you want to do is only set 1 of those protocols to Lynx, the way you have it set, it's probably trying to open your Lynx dongle multiple times. When I got my dongle working I only used 1 and it worked fine.
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Yes, use only one ... And make sure your LOR control panel is set up to run on reboot (it's a setting) .... LOR relies on the control panel as a listener process (?) for using DMX ... Not obvious. But it won't work without it and you'll get those errors your seeing.
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Wow! and people say out stuff is complicated.
RJ
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The problem is LOR makes using their regular adapter so easy, yet DMX is a pain. To me; I don't understand why these tools setup the networks in the sequence editors. They should have a separate tool for hardware configuration.
Given the explosion of hardware over the past year, this will become even more of an issue for software developers as everyone has a menu of hardware options to choose from.
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I did not find it to be so difficult. And I am sharp as a marble.
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The problem is LOR makes using their regular adapter so easy, yet DMX is a pain. To me; I don't understand why these tools setup the networks in the sequence editors. They should have a separate tool for hardware configuration.
Given the explosion of hardware over the past year, this will become even more of an issue for software developers as everyone has a menu of hardware options to choose from.
Do you really think that there isn't a reason for that? Of course they are going to make using their stuff as easy as possible. That is the easiest way to justify the cost of their commercial (and high quality) equipment to those that can afford it and don't want the issues that come with any DIY controller. I give them credit that they set up for DMX and included the "Lynks" protocol. Now lets see how long it will be before they release a pixelnet protocol.
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I understand both of the past issues.
1). Dan at LOR is a smart person and where possible will duplicate or buy whatever good inventions people come up with.
2). Steve is smarter than he leads us on. :)
Now to get back on track; is this thing working yet? I don't want to have to walk to the kitchen to fire up my show PC that should have been put away by now.
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Yes, use only one ... And make sure your LOR control panel is set up to run on reboot (it's a setting) .... LOR relies on the control panel as a listener process (?) for using DMX ... Not obvious. But it won't work without it and you'll get those errors your seeing.
Ok, in the Network preferences, I have only one set to Lynx. (see pic) Does everything in the picture look right and as it should be? And how do I set LOR Control Panel to run on reboot?
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Not sure about the reboot. But everything is correct in your screen shot.
The only thing you will have to do is close the sequencer and re-open it on order for it to control the lights.
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The led's are dancing but I still can't get the information box to go away. I'm pretty sure it has to do with setting the reboot but I can't figure out how to change the setting. Also I tried to set up three LE's in a row without success. Each LE works fine individually. I set the first LE at 001, the second at 017 and the third at 033. Cat5 from the dongle to the first LE input, cat5 out of the first LE to the second LE input and cat5 out of the second LE to the third LE input. See pics
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Here's a pic of the screen that won't go away. Also how do you post more then one pic at a time.
Once again thanks to everyone for the help. I'm sure you all have nothing better to do. <fp.
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Does your test sequence include channels above 16? You may also need to see where LOR defines it's DMX universes. The default size may be only 16 channels. To check for cabeling issues, all you need to do is set th third Express back to 001 and see if it follows the first Express. If it does then you know that the problem is not in the cables.
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The LORComListener window will not go away. Unfortunately that is normal. As long as there are no errors you are good to go.
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8) SUCCESS!!!!! Everything is working except for that stupid window. It was all in the channel configuration. I still had most of the channels set to LOR not DMX. <fp. Now that window! I don't care that it is open the problem is it is messing with my computer. If I shut everything down even LOR the window stays up and if I try to close it it pops up and freaks out. I then have to reboot my computer because it takes over all my apps.
Thanks again for all the HELP!!
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I had the same problem with the DMX window going crazy when not in use. I think the secret is to disable when your not using it. I know its no big deal, but it annoyed me and I ended up going with xlights instead (not just for this reason).
Apparently if you have BOTH LOR and DMX mapped in your sequence, you cannot just test the DMX channels/hardware ... without an LOR adaptor also connected.
Right click on the Light-O-Rama icon in the toolbar to select the Launch at startup option ... that starts the LOR Control Panel at startup.
The LOR Comm Listener only comes on if all of the following are true:
(1) You have the LOR Control Panel running.
(2) You have at least one DMX adapter set in the Sequence Editor's Network Preferences dialog.
(3) You have the DMX Listener Port set to something other than 0 in the Sequence Editor's Network Preferences dialog.
So, if you don't want the LOR Comm Listener to run, then change one of those three things. However, be aware that you won't be able to use native DMX devices while the LOR Comm Listener is not running.
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The Comm listener is always on and it is normal. To make it go away when you are done "playing" with the lights, Go back to your network page and undo the "DPB3lICZ". Just set it back to none and close the listener, and it will be gone. When you are ready to "play" again, just set it back.
Glad you got it all worked out. 8)
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Thanks Steve, that worked. Now I just need six more LE's. I was the last one in on the 3rd LE coop. Pulled off the side of the road and on my phone typed in 3 please. Gotta love this place.
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Ok, back to the comm listener. I know it is always on when running the LEs but is there away to have it hide on start up? Also with the two songs that I had already sequenced before figuring out the channel configuration I had to reconfigure every channel to DMX, Universe 1 and change the channel. When I sequence the next song is there away to have the channels automatically configure themself as DMX?
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Once you get one song just the way you want it, you EXPORT the configuration to a file.
When you start a new song or edit an old one, you IMPORT that configuration file. It will change your channels to DMX.
Plus - if you are really going to use LOR S3, you will find the LOR Forums a lot more informative. ALL the questions you have asked in this thread were answered months ago there.