I don't think I've ever felt like more of an idiot

[TheQueb]

I jumped in to the DIY market with the purchase of eight Smart String Controllers, an Active hub, a couple of Lynx dongles and some pixel base strings and modules during the off-season. 

After building everything I was pleasantly surprised that everything worked during testing. I can get blinky-flashy-color-changing goodness from my elements using any of the test utilities but damn if I can wrap my head around getting this hardware to work in LOR S3, Vixen and/or Xlights, Vixen being new to me I'm fumbling may way around it.  I haven't even started trying to get them to work with my existing hardware which consists of five AC d-light controllers and one DC d-light controller.  My preference, sequencer-wise, would be to use LOR S3 and maybe schedule and output through Xlights. My setup this year will be as follows:

5 - D-light controllers, non-dmx, running through a d-light dongle
8 - SSC v3's from RJ at diylightanimation, running pixelnet through a lynx pixelnet flashed dongle, controlling four-30 pixel arches, eight-8 segment fasteddy coro canes and some coroplast RGB lit gifts in front of my z-tree.

Can someone hold my hand through setting this up in LOR?

[caretaker]

One, make sure you have the latest version of LOR S3 (3.80)  Then see the last posting here You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login  Also check over at the LOR forums as there is a lot of information there (you have to dig a little) Basically I understand it now (Correct me if this wrong) that using Pixelnet in LOR S3 the pixelnet channels are just set to DMX channels.

[JonB256]

If you plan to use xLights to play your LOR sequences, you don't use DMX channels. You use regular non-DMX networks and xLights translates that to its own Network configuration. If you plan to use the Conductor, this is critical.

BUT

If you don't plan to play your show with xLights or use the Conductor, then LOR S3 3.8.0 Advanced License  can run just about any combination now. You just use DMX channels.


Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

[TheQueb]

I'm attaching a simple diagram of my setup. Maybe it'll help. All the DIY stuff will be a total of 600 channels (200 RGB) so I'm guessing I'll have to output through X-Lights. I don't have a problem with that. I just can't figure out how to setup in LOR. Jumpers here and there, SSC Utility, Channel names and numbers, etc...

Oh and I have a Lynx Express that I could throw in for good measure also. Can I use it via the DMX out on the Active hub? If not, I have another Lynx Dongle flashed with DMX firmware but I'll be running low on USB ports on my show'puter.

[n1ist]

You can plug an LE (or any other DMX device) into the DMX out of the active hub; that's what it is for.
/mike

[therealbigjim]

The d light boxes use the LOR wiring I believe, so the DMX will be on different wires then the Lynx uses. There is a cross over diagram in the wiki.  I have run the LOR and Lynx networks side by side and the LOR scheduler worked excellent. You will not see the non LOR boxes in the hareware detection. You have to go to networks and selected the dongles or adapters your using. I did use Xlights for testing my DMX tho.

[Mickpat]

The dlight boxes have the same pinout as LOR, but for dlight to support DMX, you need to replace the Dlight's PIC to use the dlight open DMX firmware.  (LOR boxes will auto switch when DMX is detected.) 

Your best option is to run xLights to schedule your show.  Run two networks.  One for Dlights and the other for PixelNet.

PixelNet
USB Lynx Dongle (Pixelnet) -> SSHub -> SSCs -> SmartStrings
                                                        -> DMX Out -> Lynx Express   
DLight (LOR Protocol)
LOR USB adaptor -> Dlight 

[TheQueb]

My d-light boxes aren't running DMX firmware so I'll be using my d-light dongle for those.  With help from JonB I've gotten a few thing accomplished today. I got some blinky flashy on my SSC's but my pixel count is 200 so 600 separate RGB channels. I'm running my d-light stuff as LOR on Regular network, Units 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9.  I'm running my lynx pixelnet dongle as LOR on Aux A, Unit 1, Channels 1 to 512. How do I get the 600 channels that I need to cover my pixel count? I tried Unit 2, Channel 1... and when playing through Xlights my 6th and 7th pixels lit up but not as I had sequenced. I had only sequenced 1 channel but the two pixels lit... 

[TheQueb]

I should have been more clear. How do I get above 512 when assigning channels in LOR S3?

I was playing around in S3, outputting with Xlights and I setup a basic 3 RGB channel sequence to test with and see if I could figure out how to get just 3 pixels to do what I wanted. 

I set up the first one as Device Type: LOR, Network: Aux A, Unit: 01, Channels 1,2 and 3 for the RGB. 
I set up the second one as Device Type: LOR, Network: Aux A, Unit: 01, Channels 4,5, and 6 for the RGB.
I set up the third one as Device Type: LOR, Network: Aux A, Unit: 02, Channels 1,2 and 3 for the RGB. 

I then put a 5 second fade from red to blue in all three channels and saved it. Exited S3 and went in to Xlights to play the sequence.
I have 3 SSCs hooked to my active hub but when playing this test sequence I only get output to one of the SSC strings and it's on Pixels 1,2, 6 and 7.     Pixels 1 and 2 do the same thing: fade from green to blue.    Pixel 6 fades from red to off and pixel 7 fades from dim green to bright green 

[rrowan]

Normally when over 512 dmx channels you then start a second DMX universe channels 513 to 1024

Not a clue how its done in LOR.

Rick R.

[TheQueb]

i editted my post and added while you were posting... Don't know if you saw that

[JonB256]

I should have been more clear. How do I get above 512 when assigning channels in LOR S3?

I was playing around in S3, outputting with Xlights and I setup a basic 3 RGB channel sequence to test with and see if I could figure out how to get just 3 pixels to do what I wanted. 

I set up the first one as Device Type: LOR, Network: Aux A, Unit: 01, Channels 1,2 and 3 for the RGB. 
I set up the second one as Device Type: LOR, Network: Aux A, Unit: 01, Channels 4,5, and 6 for the RGB.
I set up the third one as Device Type: LOR, Network: Aux A, Unit: 02, Channels 1,2 and 3 for the RGB. 

xLights channel # = ((LOR Unit Number - 1) * 16) + LOR Circuit Number

Your first line should be DMX channels 1, 2, 3
Your second line should be DMX channels 4, 5, 6
Your third line should be DMX channels 17, 18, 19

[TheQueb]

Ok I can calculate the channel numbers this way.  Is each ssc considered a different unit number? Or could I set each element as a different unit number? ie Could I set my 4 arches, which are all on the same ssc, as 4 different unit numbers? My 8 canes, all on the same ssc, as 8 different unit numbers? My 8 RGB presents, all on the same ssc, as 8 different unit numbers?  Or... Are the ssc's each a unit number? Am I making sense or am I just rambling? Lol

[TheQueb]

I guess what I really need to know is which software recognizes and addresses what commands go to the Smart string controllers? With the SSC utility I set one of my controllers up starting at channel 1, the next one starting at 401 and the third one starting at 601.

[Mimir]

Arch 1 will have starting address of 1
each node requires 3 channels (1 each for Red Green Blue) x 30 Nodes = 90 channels per arch.
   Arch 1 Node 1 Red (address 1)
   Arch 1 Node 1 Green (address 2)
   Arch 1 Node 1 Blue (address 3)
   Arch 1 Node 2 Red (address 4)
etc. etc. etc.

Arch 2 will have starting address of 91
Arch 3 will have starting address of 181
Arch 4 will have starting address of 271

Candy Cane 1 starting address 401   (these only use 24 channels each 8 nodes x 3 channels)
Candy Cane 2 starting address 425
Candy Cane 3 starting address 449
Candy Cane 4 starting address 473
Candy Cane 5 starting address 497
Candy Cane 6 starting address 521
Candy Cane 7 starting address 545
Candy Cane 8 starting address 569

Present 1 sa 601 (These will only use 6 channels per present)
Present 2 sa 607
Present 3 sa 613
Present 4 sa 619
Present 5 sa 625
Present 6 sa 631
Present 7 sa 637
Present 8 sa 643

Hope that helps you some.

John