scheduler not starting a show

[fyb2000]

I just got a conductor yesterday, to try to save my show, and it is mostly working. I have a few problems that someone here might be able to help with.
The first one, and definitely the one I am seeking help with is the scheduler not starting shows. The setup itself went great, and I exported files from LSP, loaded them (8 characters long filenames maximum, for both the song and the sequence) on the card, connected the conductor application and read the card. It found it, I created a password, then created a show and tested it in the application (by selecting the show and the button 'play selected'). It works fine like that and the music is broadcasted on the radio and the lights are doing what they are supposed to do, when there are supposed to.Next step was to create a schedule which would use this show, and no matter how and what I try, it is never starting (successfully) the play back. If the application is connected when it comes time to start the play back here is what I see:
-both clock closing on the scheduled time, system saying the next show will be at XX with correct values
-when the scheduled time arrives, the window of the application looks like it is trying to start the show, but right away, the display changes to say 'not connected' and all the info about the conductor status are disappearing.
-after a reboot, it reconnects to the conductor, and shows the next show time being already passed (I didn't have other scheduled after) and does nothing. Of course, if I try to start the show 'manually' it works fine.

I tried to have a show starts while not being connected to the network, and it didn't work either. Couldn't tell if the conductor had crashed or not, but the show never started.
I'll appreciate any help or thoughts you guys have.

[dcwehw99]

I'd try offloading the files from the CF card, then reformatting and reloading the files to the card first.  See if that takes care of it.

Denny

[fyb2000]

I did reformat the card a couple of times, and started from scratch. Same result though

[MrChristmas2000]

I had the same thing happen to me today. I even tried 2 different cards.

The information about the show was on the screen. The Time came and went and no show started.

I got it to manually play when I only had 2 sequences in a test show but when I added 6 to a show it wouldn't even play.

I noticed that it took quite some time before the program info whould show in the configuration program when connecting to the Conductor.

[sjb]

Are you able to send screenshots of your conductor control panel and conductor show setup. It might shed some light on it.

[fyb2000]

not at the moment, but will do tonight.

[MrChristmas2000]

I'll record it's behavior in a video tomorrow.

[dcwehw99]

When you recreate the CF card after a reformat, are you also recreating your *.sho, password.dat and playlist.dat files with the Conductor Control Panel(CCP) software?

The next step I would do would be to create your show in steps and test the scheduler in steps by doing the following:
1. Save your *.seq and *.mp3 files off the CF card.
2. Reformat the CF card.
3. Copy your first sequence and MP3 file to the CF card.
4. Recreate your password.dat, *.sho and playlist.dat files using the CCP.  Your show should only have the first sequence and MP3 in it.
5. Test it!
6. Copy the next sequence and MP3 file to the CF card.
7. Update your show to include this next sequence.  Reschedule this show.
8. Test it!
9. Repeat steps 6 thru 8 until the complete show runs or it fails on the sequence you just added.
10. If it fails check out the sequence and MP3 it failed on.

Denny

[fyb2000]

Can't talk for MrChristmas, but I did recreate the password, show and scheduler files after reformatting.
What's really hard is that if this is launched manually, it is working fine. Starts when the button is pushed and plays the show correctly.
I tried it again tonight with the scheduler and same result (as soon as the time to start hits, the GUI of the CCP freezes for about 4 seconds, and the status changes to 'not connected', with no show running).
To get something going, I created a show with all my sequences, repeated randomly a bunch of times, saved it and started manually. When it will reach the end, I will restart it.

[twooly]

Do you have something connected to the audio?  If so try disconnecting it and trying.  This happened to me with transmitter doing something

[fyb2000]

I have the transmitter connected, and it works great when starting manually. Music is broadcasted on the channel it is supposed to, and the show plays correctly. It just happens when I am trying to play the exact same show, using the exact same box, but with the starting condition being the scheduler, not the 'play selected' button.
I just tried with the transmitter not connected to the etherdongle, and it does the same (i.e.:it doesn't start and the status changes to 'not connected'

[MrChristmas2000]

Here is a video of my experience with attempting to connect and run the conductor.

You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login

Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.

I actually got it to run yesterday but only once and that was manually.

[rdebolt]

MrChristmas2000 just as a test rename both the mp3 and the .seq (The ones in the video) to a simple 1 character name such as A or 1 and see what it does. I have very similar issues as per a post that I have here.

[fyb2000]

MrChristmas,
The problem showed in your video is a little different than the one I am seeing. That being said, I have experienced the same kind of issue, and I do have a (ugly) workaround.
In my case, almost everytime I remove the vard from the conductor (and I am extremely careful in the way I eject those, either after turning the power off on the conductor, or ejecting the device from the PC before removing it), almost everytime, when I start the conductor again, it will loose the network in very short order or right away. I can see that it is not connected anymore, as the yellow LED on the magicjack goes dead. From that point on, no matter what I try, I just cannot get it to get back on. Powering the conductor down, unplugging the cat5 cable...nothing works. The only way I found to work is (if you are using a router):
-on the router side, change the physical port to which the conductor is attached to. From the moment that problem happens, the port on which the conductor is connected to, will not control the conductor anymore. Any other port on the router will work, unless it has already been used and flaked.
-power reset your router.

I have had no time to investigate further than that, and even though the work around (in my case) is not very convenient, I can wait till next year to investigate further. The system itself is working fine, and, without ejecting the card from it in the past 24 hours, as been running without flaking.

As far as the problem I have with the scheduler, I just created a show with my sequences repeated a number of times (didn't count how many times, maybe 10 each), and I start it manually and it goes for almost an hour. When it is done, I start it again. Again, not too convenient, but also something I can manage for the time being. ( I am looking for a windows automated, that can record mouse event, and replay them on a schedule. If anyone has a trusted software they could recommend that would be great. I am a MAC guy)