Its Alive - I think

[scharbon]

I got my etherdongle in the first ETD coop that closed in Feb 2012 - I finally built it today and think it works.  But I do have some questions

I loaded the DMX firmware, plugged it into my computer's ethernet port, and then connected it to a Lynx Express.  It took a few tries, but I got my LE to work through the ETD.  I did not need to upload the PK2DeviceFile.dat file from the wiki to make this work.  Is that file necesary for everyone and I am missing something and just haven't figured it out yet?  What is that file for anyway?

I assuem the fact that I got it to work with an LE in DMX means that I built it correctly and that if I ever build my Active hub and SSCs, the ETD should work in pixelnet since it works in DMX.  Is that a good assumption?

I also assume that means that if I plug it into an open port in my router, I should be able to find the correct IP address and I should be able to get that to work too since it actually passes DMX.  Is that a good assumption or is that a stretch because we are talking about two differnt components of the board and I should run the DMX through the router for a complete test? 

Finally, how do I connect to the IP addresses? Through vixen or is there some other software I am supposed to load and run to make sure I can find the IP addresses on the router and link them to Vixen?  Thanks in advance for your help.

Steve

[rm357]

I have no clue what that file is for.

At least the first universe output works. On the etherdongle, each wire pair outputs a different universe. That gives you 4 universes of either DMX or pixelnet. No mixing of universe types at this time though... If it works for DMX, it should work for pixelnet.

As long as your router is set to pass multicast,you should be able to plug the etherdongle in anywhere on your home network. I have successfully used a wifi bridge setup with no issues, but some others had issues with the wifi router blocking the multicast packets.

Just to be sure... Do not connect the dmx output to your router. The protocols are different and it will probably burn out the port on the router.

IP address. We use multicast addresses. Each dmx universe has a unique address. Each pixelnet universe is 8 contiguous DMX universes. The IP info should be in the wiki.

Congratulations on a successful build!!!!

[scharbon]

rm,
Thanks for the good info.  I found the IP information (that is how I knew there were a number of IP addresses to map) it just doesn't say how to do it.  I'll figure it out once I get some pixelnet stuff working.  In the meantime, I'll figure out what multi-cast means.  Maybe I'll post the results of my work here as I trouble shoot and expand, then others can see what not do to (that is how I tend to "discover".

Steve

[RJ]

Steve you should not need o worry about the ip stuff. Just hook it up and setup you software for e1.31

If your software ask for ip put in the address for the channels as listed in the wiki. If using vixen just put the etd plugin in and use it. No settings needed.

RJ

[scharbon]

Thanks RJ

I appreciate the guidance.  BTW, building the Etd was simple - it is a very nice design.  I was shocked I got it to run pretty much right away.  I thought it would be more complicated.  A testament to your design philosophy and ability to stick to it.  Thanks for keeping all of us in mind when you make these toys.

Also, I don't who managed the coop for that one back in Feb 2012, but the bagging and tagging made it so easy that even I knew what part went where without having to think too hard (that is always a plus).  Thanks to you too.  I can only imagine how much more work that was, but it really made a difference.

Steve