DiyLightAnimation
Software => Light Elf Software utilities => Topic started by: garyh on December 12, 2012,
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First off, Light Elf awesomely converts my LSP 1680 pixel matrix to xseq with no issues.
The problem I'm having is I'm trying to use Light Elf to convert my LOR (5 boards-channels 1-80) and DMX (channels 81-408--some gaps in channels) to xseq.
In the past, I did this, open the exported LOR S2 file using UltraEdit, search for channel 81, then do a find/replace:
deviceType="LOR" unit="1" ---> deviceType="LOR" network="1" unit="1"
That way the first 80 channels used the LOR USB dongle, and the next 81-408 channels would use the DMX Lynx dongle.
Light Elf picked up the right protocols for each controller so are the zones the problem? I've attached my log file, xlights setup and the sequence Light Elf created.
Thanks for any help
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Can you describe your channel and zone configuration for the LOR and DMX channels in LSP?
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First off, Light Elf awesomely converts my LSP 1680 pixel matrix to xseq with no issues.
The problem I'm having is I'm trying to use Light Elf to convert my LOR (5 boards-channels 1-80) and DMX (channels 81-408--some gaps in channels) to xseq.
In the past, I did this, open the exported LOR S2 file using UltraEdit, search for channel 81, then do a find/replace:
deviceType="LOR" unit="1" ---> deviceType="LOR" network="1" unit="1"
That way the first 80 channels used the LOR USB dongle, and the next 81-408 channels would use the DMX Lynx dongle.
Light Elf picked up the right protocols for each controller so are the zones the problem? I've attached my log file, xlights setup and the sequence Light Elf created.
Thanks for any help
Why all the Mulitcast Universes? I Do not understand why they are there from these posts?
If you only need 1 Universe then you just setup the 1 Universe in Xlights for the connection and dongle you are using and that is all.
If all the channels in your file are "Network 1" then you only need the above mentioned connection.
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frankr, everything is on the same zone, didn't know if xlights looked at the channel number.
--right now I'm just trying to get LOR 1-80 channels out the LOR dongle and channels 81-408 out the DMX dongle. If that's different zones in LSP then let me know.
--in the past I just added network=1 to all the DMX channels and xlights worked fine.
Dennis, the multicast are for the 12 universes of the matrix driven by an ECG-P12R. Xlights works fine to convert all 12 universes out on the matrix without me having the LOR/DMX stuff in there, but right now I'm trying to get the LOR/DMX side to work first so I can combine it all :-)
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Hi Gary,
So the LOR channels are literally numbered channels 1-80 inside of LSP and all in zone one? with the DMX channels being numbered 81-408?
Frank
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yes sir :)
I have 5 LOR controllers, then 5 DMX Lynx Expresses and various other RGB devices, but they are all DMX.
Usually I just put network=1 in manually editing the LOR S2 output from LSP, but that's gonna be tedious with a 12 universe matrix.
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I'll try and put the DMX on Zone/Network 2...
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doesn't work, guess I'll have to look at LOR S2 exports to see what difference Network/zone 2 makes
probably be easier to just do the crossover cable and switch LOR to DMX :)
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every year when I try DMX on the LOR boards I remember why I didn't do it before... LOR boards on DMX is just ugly... can't even get the tree to do good chases.
So I'm back to LOR 1-80 channels with DMX 81-408.
Wonder how the other guys do LOR and DMX dongles with LSP?
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http://diylightanimation.com/index.php?topic=6723.0
ran across this thread, it was the same thing I was doing manually before. I never set my LOR network to 0, so I'll try that and see how Light Elf works.
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http://diylightanimation.com/index.php?topic=6723.0
ran across this thread, it was the same thing I was doing manually before. I never set my LOR network to 0, so I'll try that and see how Light Elf works.
Yes, you have to remove the LOR dongle setup, but I thought you where using it from your posts.
When setting up XLights you have to pay attention to Matts information about mapping, it is very valuable.
You do not need any LOR dongles connected or assigned if using just DMX with LOR.
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Dennis, due to LSP adding crazy timing marks for imported LOR files, running LOR via DMX just doesn't seem to work out. But I'm making progress with Frank's script.
Frank, can you attach the setnet.py script that looks at circuits? SavedIndexes only work if you use that channel. On the matrix I don't use a lot of channels. Yes I thought about turning them all on black at the end, but sometimes I don't use all my LOR/DMX items in a sequence.
So circuit="7" would work much better than savedindex if I didn't use the 3 things above it :)
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color me a little confused... Can you post your LSP file for me to look at? Also, your xlights_networks.xml file would be helpful as well. This should work through light elf so I am a little confused as to what is going on.
I think the attached script should work with circuits rather than savedIndex. since I started workign on Light elf I have not payed much attention to the old method as is kludgey.
On thing to note. You will need to update another part of your LSP export file as well (at least to my knowledge this has not been fixed in LSP)
See this thread:
http://diylightanimation.com/index.php?topic=9233.0
Frank
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frank, light elf works great for LOR/DMX dongles. Since I've always manually edited the LOR file for network="1" for the DMX part, I never zoned anything in LSP. Without zoning Light Elf would just put the DMX in the LOR dongle.
So I believe everything is OK now, haven't got to the matrix part yet (12 universes) but zoning was the issue.
Thanks again guys for the help!
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If the 12 universes start there numbering in LSP at 1 then you will want to put each controller into zone3 to get light elf to map them right.
Frank
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that's funny, Frank, because that's where I'm at. All the E1.31 is in zone 3, but do I sequentially number all universes? In other words, if I start at Channel #1 on my first E1.31 controller (zone 3), go up 420 channels (140pixels), does the next controller start at 421 and keep going up until I reach the top of 12 universes?
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yes exactly. With e1.31 just number your circuits 1-16,000 or whatever the top number is. Whether using LSP or xLights to playback this is the right way to number e1.31 channels.
Frank
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well the matrix by itself in LSP maps fine with Light Elf, at least I have a nice scrolling output, this was all on zone 1 with the 1st line in my xlights of an E1.31 multicast, so it all started on 2. (Matrix3)
When I add the matrix to the LOR/DMX files and zone out LOR as zone1, DMX as zone2, and E1.31 matrix as zone 3, only the 1st universe seems to work on the matrix... near the end universe 11 and 12 will flash.
If I could decipher the xseq I'd already have this solved, but it's binary or something. :-\
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Well here is the file format:
512 bytes -- Header
1byte for everyperiod on channel 1
1byte for everyperiod on channel 2
1byte for everyperiod on channel 3
.
.
.
1byte for everyperiod on channel n
I use a hex file reader and an excel spreadsheet to see where data ends up. using that you can do things like turn on channel x at time 0 and make sure it ends up where you expect.
.
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I want to walk you through this mapping to see if it helps.
I opened your screenshot of the xlights network configuration. based on that this is what lightelf will do. Remember that the layout of an xseq file can be thought of as a collection of x channels where each channel has y events (an event is a 50ms time period with the value that channel will hold for that time).
so based on your network items in zone 1 in LSP will be mapped to channels starting at channel 1. For this you should have no LOR units greater than unit 5.
Items in zone 2 will be in xlights channel = defined LSP circuit + 80
Items in zone 3 will be mapped into xlights channel = defined LSP Circuit + 499
All the e1.31 universes should be in zone 1 so a e1.31 channel of 421 should be placed into xlights channel 920.
Any of that make sense?
Frank
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the channels build up. yeah I can see that. I'll look at the log files and try to figure it out. Since the matrix will work fine when I don't have LOR/DMX in there, I must be sending data out on another network.
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it is about what 'logical' channel it is in your sequence. LOR is 80 channels so the first channel in the DMX realm is logical channel 81. From the screen shot you sent the first logical channel of e1.31 is logical channel 500.
so in LSP you treat e1.31 universe 1 channel 1 as circuit 1 that represents logical channel 500.
If you are programming your DMX channels as channel 81 in LSP then you are making a mistake there. they should start as channel 1.
Is there a reason you started your e1.31 universes at 2 instead of 1?
| LSP Channel | Zone | logical (Vixen) channel |
| 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 1 | 2 | 81 |
| 1 | 3 | 500 |
| 420 | 3 | 920 |
If on the otherhand you are numbering your channels in LSP assuming that the DMX channels are just universe 1 such that you start universe two as channel 419 then you just need to switch controllers in zone 3 back to zone 2. Otherwise we are pushing some of the data out of range.
One thing to do to test is to do a simple alternating pattern of off/on/off/on in a boundary channel (what you think is the first channel in given network) knowing which channel actually lights when you do that can help us narrow in on what we are missing.
Frank
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Frank I guess where I'm losing it is I am doing the LOR and DMX in LSP the way described as incorrect for a few years now, manually edit the file and put "network=1" on all DMX channels. I have Lynx Express boards that start at channel 81 and the entire thing is running right now on the show computer.
The E1.31 is new, and I have a 1680 pixel matrix I'm trying to add in. So based on what you said about zones earlier, all the LOR became Zone 1, DMX Zone 2, and E1.31 Zone 3. I think what I'm gonna do is put all the E1.31 on Zone1, setup the ECG-P12R to start at Universe 1, then put in the LOR/DMX after all the E1.31 stuff in the xlights network file. The matrix is a fixed channel scheme, but the DMX I use has some items at 81 and goes up to 130 then a gap up to 300. In the past, xlights didn't seem to care if I didn't use any channels before 81, slap network="1" in there and out it went to DMX channel 81.
Maybe I got by since my non-network was zero (LOR) and my DMX was network 1.
I guess what's so confusing is the LOR S2 file from LSP with a few manual edits works fine and I'm not starting the DMX addy at channel 1. Maybe that's a difference in the xlights versions?
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So you're saying renumber the DMX starting from channel 1. So on my first lynx express on the actual controller am I setting it for DMX 1, or am I setting it for DMX channel 81 (since I use 80 channels of LOR on the network above my DMX as defined in xlights config)? Since I have gaps in my DMX range I could have problems it sounds like.
I've never worried about the logical channels, but I'm guessing that's my problem...
So let's make it easy for me so I can work through this. I go into xlights config, place Universes 1 - 12 in with 420 channels each (140 pixels on each universe). I go in to LSP, change all those to Zone 1 (they should already be Zone 1). Then I add my LOR USB dongle at the bottom, last channel is 80. Then I add my DMX USB dongle which has gaps and goes to DMX Channel 406. I"m guessing that won't work?
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Hi Gary,
So I finally had a chance to open up the sequence and look at it to see how you are numbered. You should not have to do massive channel changes in LSP to make this work we just have to figure out the proper mapping.
Your LOR is working fine so I would not mess with that. The DMX from what I see should work if it is in Zone 1. Now with the matrix it matters how your controllers are configured. I do not know the controllers you are using but if you use the xlights test tool and pixel 1 on your matrix turns on when you turn on the channel in the xlights tester then the matrix should work fine on zone 3.
when we had DMX in zone2 we were adding 80 to each channel number. so channel 81 would have been 161 on the wire which was not what we wanted.
Can you verify the matrix works as expected with xlights tester and get back to me?
Frank
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Frank, found some errors on my part in E1.31 mapping that caused the matrix to put things in the wrong rows.
Probably the biggest problem is I split my ECG-P12R into 12 separate controllers and replacing those 12 with one 5040 channel monster in zone 3 got all of that working.
The LOR like you said never has a problem, but on the DMX side I was still dead even though the xlights tester lit up Arch segment Ch 81 fine, but DMX never went out during sequence play. The fact the xlights tester does Net#2 DMX channel 81 fine, and also the RGB Aether 2 on 400 to 402 channels, but the sequence doesn't output DMX playing a sequence is a mystery still.
So the "DMX is 80 channels off on the wire" got me to thinking about the ONLY problem I really have is DMX never maps correctly with my setup. So I put my DMX first in the xlights setup with 406 channels, then I listed the LOR, then all the E1.31. DMX is set for Zone 1, LOR is set for Zone 2 (it never maps wrong), and E1.31 is Zone 3.
I just tested it and DMX, LOR, and the matrix worked fine. Perhaps it's the fact I'm starting my DMX at channel 81 instead of channel 1 that's throwing it off, but with the coroflake devices and reprogramming them all would be a lot of work once I got them off the house.
Now to throw another sequence in and see what happens. I'd like to understand why LOR listed first with DMX second doesn't work, but when I reverse them and rezone them accordingly it works?. I attached a screenshot of the working xlights config.
Frank, I can attach the working and non-working xseqs if you want... I'm guessing it's the DMX 81 channel start?
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I don't set any of my Universes with anything other than 512 as the last channel. I see so many screen shots with them at custom values but I don't see the reason.
Is there one?
Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2
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I guess the answer would be dependent on whether Light Elf uses the LSP E1.31 output configuration or xlights channels.
Since my 12 universes of E1.31 are for a matrix, each universe has exactly 140 pixels which is 420 channels.
Frank would have the answer :)
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It comes down to what you chose to do as teh designer. Since Gary is using sequential channels this setup works great. Each universe starts in the right spot. If you go the other route than you need to change channel 421 in LSP to be channel 513 and 841 would be 1025. By setting max channel to a custom value you can ignore that mapping and just number the channels sequentially.
Light elf and xLights know nothing about how LSP is setup. We are simply workign from the information in the sequence and the information in the xLights_network file. If you configure xLights to send channels 20-100 out as 80 channels of LOR we blindly will do it...
The first DMX controller is it configured to read channel 81 or is it configured to read channel 1?
Frank
PS: Very happy to hear it is working! I am glad we at least have a solution now.
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1st DMX controller is set for channel 81. That's all because I've tried a few years in a row now to get LOR boards over to DMX. Unit 3 does not like DMX from what I can tell--doesn't want to do the megatree spins under DMX but works fine with LOR. The boards are 6 to 8 years old so that's probably the issue.
Frank you are pure genius. As I went through all of this troubleshooting, I got a good idea of the complexity of Light Elf. Personally, I think the display visually looks better using the xseq files versus the LOR S2 files I've been using for 20 days now--better timing.
The log files for Light Elf say a lot once you understand what they are trying to tell you. Maybe a tutorial on that would be good?
Thanks again Frank, you've got the display and matrix working and I was near failure... Merry Christmas!
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With all the post, did you update the firmware on the LOR Controllers?
Also what controller models do you have.
Last year had a new G3 unit and it did not like DMX at all, you could not set it higher than ID01 (1-16) and actually get a steady indicator light. Was not mine, borrowed to make some tests.
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Updated them about 2 years ago when I first tried DMX. What's so weird about it is I can do 100% on and fade down to nothing with LOR protocol, but the LOR boards running on DMX don't get anything like the LOR protocol fades.
Also the megatree, I like to do spins and really get the lights spinning across it, but DMX across the LOR boards barely spins if the one board will even pick up the DMX.
As far as the models, the oldest is the heavy-duty residential model with the big heatsink and it can run it's own program--it was the first one I bought. It's a PC-CTB16PC but not a Gen-3, probably first gen. my other 4 LOR boards are the CTB16KS. If LOR made an E1.31 dongle so I could get away from USB, I'd probably buy it ;)
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Frank, can you explain to me why putting DMX first and LOR second in the xlights network config produces different results versus having LOR first and DMX second?
Seems the whole problem was a DMX mapping problem, but why does LOR map fine or is it because I start with channel 1 on LOR?
Just trying to figure it out now that it's working.
Also saw some slowdowns on the DMX and LOR networks tonight, swapped in the wife's much quicker laptop and we're back to running good. Maybe the older laptop was having a bad night, but I make it start with MS services only for the best performance. So the two biggest changes from before is I moved from xlights 2012b to 2012c and of course adding E1.31 which is only used at the beginning of songs since I haven't had time to sequence it yet.