Author Topic: Smart String Active Hub Fuses & Channels/Universes  (Read 6693 times)

Offline Gary

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I'm considering adding pixels to my display in the next few years, and being the type of guy I am, I'm absorbing as much information as I can so I can plan my display before I buy anything. Sooooo many messages, wiki entries, and videos! I do have a few questions:

I remember that instead of unsoldering and re-soldering fuses from/to active hubs, somebody mentioned having a plug/socket. Where do you get those? Have there been any rumours of re-doing the circuit board to accept automotive-style blade fuses like the Zeus does?

Also, is there an article that explains universes in respect to DMX and Pixelnet? I'd like to know about Pixelnet channel limits regards to how large a channel range one Active or Passive hub can handle. I was also wondering how DMX is handled in Pixelnet so I can continue to use some of my older equipment (i.e. Are Channels 0-512 in Pixelnet reserved for older DMX devices? If so, how about multiple DMX universes to accommodate the people who had more than 512 channels in the pre-Pixelnet era?).
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Offline rrowan

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Re: Smart String Active Hub Fuses & Channels/Universes
« Reply #1 on: December 26, 2014, »
Hi Gary,

Quote
I was also wondering how DMX is handled in Pixelnet so I can continue to use some of my older equipment (i.e. Are Channels 0-512 in Pixelnet reserved for older DMX devices? If so, how about multiple DMX universes to accommodate the people who had more than 512 channels in the pre-Pixelnet era?).

Once you flash your DLA USB Dongle or EtherDongle to Pixelnet, the Smart String Active Hub can output DMX (reason why the active hub has a pic on it) universe. The universe is selected by the jumpers on the hub. i.e.: If the hub is on Pixelnet universe 1 then the dmx channels will be dmx universe 1, if the hub is set for pixelnet universe 2 then the dmx universe 2, etc. The wiki has a You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login showing how the Pixelnet universe and dmx relate along with channel numbers. The "reserving" of DMX channels is really only in our minds. For example if you decided that DMX channels will use  Pixelnet Universe 1. Channels 1 to 512 DMX and you have a Smart String Controller (SSC) with 50 nodes (50 X 3 = 150 channels) using Pixelnet channels 1 to 150 both the first 150 dmx channels will do exactly the same thing as the 50 nodes pixelnet channels. Clear as mud??

Quote
I'd like to know about Pixelnet channel limits regards to how large a channel range one Active or Passive hub can handle.
Each hub can do a full pixelnet universe. See if this document from RJ helps explain it some You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login

Both above links are in the Equipment Page Smart String Library You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login

At the end of the day Pixelnet is just a modified dmx string to handle larger channel counts.

Hopefully that helps some.

Rick R.

P.S. With doing RGB display hopefully you are using software design for it. Like NutCracker, LSP, Vixen 3, etc.
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Offline Gary

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Re: Smart String Active Hub Fuses & Channels/Universes
« Reply #2 on: December 28, 2014, »
Some things to get straight in my mind:

This question is more to satisfy my curiosity rather than being a problem I need solved/answered: In the "old fashioned" world of USB Dongles and Express controllers, if I was brave/crazy enough to have over 1000 channels, that would require 2 DMX universes, correct? The Express controllers' setup allows to set a start channel up to 512 (well, when I tried it, it goes up to 599... huh?). How does one access the second universe--do you need another USB Dongle for channels 513 to 1024, and therefore need a separate set of cables running around the yard to those controllers (which see channel 513 from the second universe as channel 1)?

Next question(s):

According to this document (You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login), 4 PixelNet universes allows up to 16384 channels. If I want more than that, I would need another Etherdongle and a set of data signal wires snaking around the yard? In order to do that, I would hook up a router/switch to the computer's Ethernet port, and hook up the Etherdongles to the router/switch? How much network bandwidth does an Etherdongle with all 16384 channels being used to transmit 30-ish frames per second for a typical 100 megabit network card?

Looking at photos of the Active Hub board, it looks like there are two sets of jumpers to choose between Universes 1 through 4. I suppose the option is there for because 16 strings of 128 pixels equals 6144 which is more channels than one universe of 4096 can accommodate. How do you determine which SmartString output jack is on which universe?

Also, I was wondering how to plan channel numbers based on how data is transmitted over the wires. Here's a hypothecal situation: Let's say that I have a megatree using 16 100-pixel strands that will inevitably have pixels die during the season, but I want to have spare 128-pixel strands that could be used for multiple purposes (i.e. quick swap out of a 100-pixel strand in my megatree, a 50-pixel strand in a mini tree, a 128-pixel strand on my bushes, etc.). Does the Smart String Utility allow you to set up each controller to control only the first x number of pixels and leave the rest dark (i.e. I don't want the next first 28 pixels from the second strand in my megatree to be appearing on the first spare strand I installed)? (Note that I tried running the Smart String Utility to try to answer my own question, but I get an error message indicating that C:\Users\User\AppData\Roaming\DLA\Smart String utility\1.0.0.0\config.xml is missing)

I was also wondering how Pixelnet transmits its data. Let's say that I have a 100-pixel string of lights starting at channel 1 (channels 1-300), and I have another string starting at channel 1000 (channels 1000-1300) with no other strings in between. Does Pixelnet transmit data for all channels between 1 and 1300 about 30-ish times per second, or only the channels that are in use? Or is this more a matter of the software being used to run the show?

P.S. Yes, I was thinking about what newfangled software to use instead of Vixen 2.1... I was leaning towards Vixen 3...

P.P.S. And about the issue of soldered-in fuses... what workarounds have there been for allowing quick unplug/plug-in swaps of fuses?
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Offline caretaker

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Re: Smart String Active Hub Fuses & Channels/Universes
« Reply #3 on: December 28, 2014, »
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Some things to get straight in my mind:

This question is more to satisfy my curiosity rather than being a problem I need solved/answered: In the "old fashioned" world of USB Dongles and Express controllers, if I was brave/crazy enough to have over 1000 channels, that would require 2 DMX universes, correct? The Express controllers' setup allows to set a start channel up to 512 (well, when I tried it, it goes up to 599... huh?). How does one access the second universe--do you need another USB Dongle for channels 513 to 1024, and therefore need a separate set of cables running around the yard to those controllers (which see channel 513 from the second universe as channel 1)?
Yes you would require a seperate USB dongle on another com port to control channels 513 through 1024
Quote

Next question(s):

According to this document (You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login), 4 PixelNet universes allows up to 16384 channels. If I want more than that, I would need another Etherdongle and a set of data signal wires snaking around the yard? In order to do that, I would hook up a router/switch to the computer's Ethernet port, and hook up the Etherdongles to the router/switch? How much network bandwidth does an Etherdongle with all 16384 channels being used to transmit 30-ish frames per second for a typical 100 megabit network card?

Looking at photos of the Active Hub board, it looks like there are two sets of jumpers to choose between Universes 1 through 4. I suppose the option is there for because 16 strings of 128 pixels equals 6144 which is more channels than one universe of 4096 can accommodate. How do you determine which SmartString output jack is on which universe?
[/qoute]
I may be corrected here but I believe the both pixelnet jumpers must be on the same universe (number) although thinking about it you should be able to set the first 8 seperate from the second 8.

Quote
Also, I was wondering how to plan channel numbers based on how data is transmitted over the wires. Here's a hypothecal situation: Let's say that I have a megatree using 16 100-pixel strands that will inevitably have pixels die during the season, but I want to have spare 128-pixel strands that could be used for multiple purposes (i.e. quick swap out of a 100-pixel strand in my megatree, a 50-pixel strand in a mini tree, a 128-pixel strand on my bushes, etc.). Does the Smart String Utility allow you to set up each controller to control only the first x number of pixels and leave the rest dark (i.e. I don't want the next first 28 pixels from the second strand in my megatree to be appearing on the first spare strand I installed)? (Note that I tried running the Smart String Utility to try to answer my own question, but I get an error message indicating that C:\Users\User\AppData\Roaming\DLA\Smart String utility\1.0.0.0\config.xml is missing)

I was also wondering how Pixelnet transmits its data. Let's say that I have a 100-pixel string of lights starting at channel 1 (channels 1-300), and I have another string starting at channel 1000 (channels 1000-1300) with no other strings in between. Does Pixelnet transmit data for all channels between 1 and 1300 about 30-ish times per second, or only the channels that are in use? Or is this more a matter of the software being used to run the show?
Yes the SSC is what determines how many nodes to turn on, if you put a 128 count string on a SSC programed for 100 nodes the last 28 will not light up (dependent on other programing settings ie: the first 28 nodes may not light up)
Quote
P.S. Yes, I was thinking about what newfangled software to use instead of Vixen 2.1... I was leaning towards Vixen 3...

P.P.S. And about the issue of soldered-in fuses... what workarounds have there been for allowing quick unplug/plug-in swaps of fuses?
There are several out there, use the one you feel comfortable with.  As far as fuses, there have been a couple of work arounds and we don't know what the future design of the Active hub will be, RJ may redising it or come up with something new.
Jeff Squires
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Offline Steve Gase

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Re: Smart String Active Hub Fuses & Channels/Universes
« Reply #4 on: December 28, 2014, »
Regarding fuses...  I've been repairing my hubs by soldering the replacement fuse to the BACK of the board.  You can leave the original fuse in place on the front of the board, it has no function once blown.


to solder on the back, I position the first lead against the 'stub' of the original fuse as it protrudes from the back, and solder against it.  then I position the other lead and solder against the original fuse's other protrusion.  then I trim off the leads.
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Offline arw01

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Re: Smart String Active Hub Fuses & Channels/Universes
« Reply #5 on: December 28, 2014, »
The fuses are not that big of a deal, I've blown 1 in 2 years of running.  It is just that you cannot fix it out in the field, you pretty much have to unplug everything and pack it to the soldering station to fix em. Most of the time you can just fix what caused the fix to blow and move the cord to another spot and fix it after season.  If you have 16 items plugged into a single hub, time for a  second hub to spread the love a bit.

Offline Gary

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Re: Smart String Active Hub Fuses & Channels/Universes
« Reply #6 on: December 30, 2014, »
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Looking at photos of the Active Hub board, it looks like there are two sets of jumpers to choose between Universes 1 through 4. I suppose the option is there for because 16 strings of 128 pixels equals 6144 which is more channels than one universe of 4096 can accommodate. How do you determine which SmartString output jack is on which universe?
I may be corrected here but I believe the both pixelnet jumpers must be on the same universe (number) although thinking about it you should be able to set the first 8 seperate from the second 8.

Anyone else to comment on the usage of the jumpers and/or how multiple Pixelnet universes are handled on one Active Hub?
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Offline Gary

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Re: Smart String Active Hub Fuses & Channels/Universes
« Reply #7 on: December 30, 2014, »
I guess that asking a million questions in one post makes it hard to find all the questions to answer. Anybody have an answer to this one(s)?

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According to this document (You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login), 4 PixelNet universes allows up to 16384 channels. If I want more than that, would I need another Etherdongle and a set of data signal wires snaking around the yard? In order to do that, I would hook up a router/switch to the computer's Ethernet port, and hook up the Etherdongles to the router/switch? How much network bandwidth does an Etherdongle with all 16384 channels being used to transmit 30-ish frames per second for a typical 100 megabit network card?
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Offline Gary

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Re: Smart String Active Hub Fuses & Channels/Universes
« Reply #8 on: December 30, 2014, »
Oh, and an answer to this one would be great too. I was wondering how "dead space" in my channel numbering scheme would affect me...

Note: My question has been altered slightly to make it a bit less ambiguous:

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I was also wondering how Pixelnet transmits its data. Let's say that I have a 100-pixel string of lights starting at channel 1 (channels 1-300), and I have another string starting at channel 1000 (channels 1000-1300) with no other strings in between. Does Pixelnet transmit data for all channels between 1 and 1300 about 30-ish times per second, or only the channels that are in use? Or does it transmit all 4096 channels in the universe no matter what? Or all 16384 channels in all 4 universes?

...Or... is this more a matter of the software being used to run the show that determines what is transmitted over the wire?
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Offline Steve Gase

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Re: Smart String Active Hub Fuses & Channels/Universes
« Reply #9 on: December 30, 2014, »
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Looking at photos of the Active Hub board, it looks like there are two sets of jumpers to choose between Universes 1 through 4. I suppose the option is there for because 16 strings of 128 pixels equals 6144 which is more channels than one universe of 4096 can accommodate. How do you determine which SmartString output jack is on which universe?
I may be corrected here but I believe the both pixelnet jumpers must be on the same universe (number) although thinking about it you should be able to set the first 8 seperate from the second 8.

Anyone else to comment on the usage of the jumpers and/or how multiple Pixelnet universes are handled on one Active Hub?


The Pixelnet and DMX communication is done using 2 wires --  a Pixelnet+ and a Pixelnet-   or a DMX+ and a DMX-.


RJ designed the board to use one jumper to select the Pixelnet+ source... and another jumper to select the Pixelnet- source.  When you configure the Pixelnet universe, be sure to move each jumper so that they match the selected universe.


If you didn't get the overall way that pixelnet is transferred....  the EtherDongle (EtD) will generate 4 pixelnet universes.  Each universe is transmitted over one twisted pair of wires.  A Cat5 cable has 4 pairs of wires (8 wires altogether), so the EtD can send its 4 universes over a single cat5 cable.   


The SmartHub receives the 4 pairs as input, and can pass all 4 pairs on to another hub using the pixelnet output connectors.


BUT the smart hub only delivers ONE universe of data to the attached smart string controllers (SSC).  Using these jumpers you select which ONE of the 4 pairs that the hub provides to the SSCs. 


So, to recap... a pixelnet universe has 4096 channels over 2 wires (a pair)... and the cable can send 4 universes (4 pairs) for a total of 16,384 channels.  The hub only serves on universe -- one of the 4 availalble, and has 4096 channels for the SSCs.




What about the other row of jumpers, labelled 1-8?  This selects one 'page' of channels in that 4096 block of pixelnet channels and exposes them as DMX channels.  The DMX port can mirror 512 DMX channels that are pulled form the 4096 used by the SSCs.  using them as DMX channels does not prevent you from using the same channels as pixelnet with the SSCs.


An SSC connected to the hub only knows about its world of 4096 channels...  even though the hub can select from more universes, the SSC will ONLY be configured to use a channel in the range of 1-4096.


Similarly, a DMX device will only be assigned a channel in the range of 1-512 -- it doesn't know anything about the other channels in the pixelnet universe, or even the presence of other pixelnet universes.
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Offline Steve Gase

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Re: Smart String Active Hub Fuses & Channels/Universes
« Reply #10 on: December 30, 2014, »

For convenience/simplicity RJ designed the EtherDongle to be zero-config.  It listens over the network using multicast traffic, and it doesn't need to be assigned an IP address.


This means that if you put another EtD on the network, you will have the SAME channels seen by both EtD devices.  THese are E1.31 universes #1-#32


What's that...? you want more? :)  Well... RJ did create some alternate firmware images that will allow the EtD to listen to E1.31 universes #33-#64 and another for #65-#96.  You need a Pickit3 to replace the firmware in your EtD to listen over these new universes.




And, yes... with additional EtDs introduced, you'd have new cables going out to your display.  Many people will assign channels based on the layout of the display to minimize overlapping the controllers, and the EtD universes.  In my display, I have 32-universes driving the lights on my house, arches, meteor tubes, etc.  And I have another 64 universes driven by separate devices located with my large pixel tree and the ground lights around that tree. 


Since the EtD gets its data from an Ethernet network you will need to connect the EtD back to your show computer (PC, Conductor, Falcon Pi Player, etc.)  Switches are used to join these devices together.


Regarding the speed of the network... wireless is not recommended to send data... but a wired connection will work well.


Normally, we use 50ms timing (20 updates/sec).  Each E1.31 universe is 512 bytes plus some header overhead.  With (2) EtD and 64 universes, you have 20 updates * 64 universes * 512 bytes
... about 700K/sec.   That is about 7mb/sec.    So, you have plenty of bandwidth on a 100mb/sec wired connection, even with 2 EtD being used.


But, what if you want MORE???!!  Use a conductor or Falcon Pi Player...  these devices have the sequence data stored locally on a flash card, and the sequence data never moves across the wire.    You synchronize with small packets that CAN operate over a wireless network...  this solution is hugely scalable!

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I guess that asking a million questions in one post makes it hard to find all the questions to answer. Anybody have an answer to this one(s)?

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According to this document (You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login), 4 PixelNet universes allows up to 16384 channels. If I want more than that, would I need another Etherdongle and a set of data signal wires snaking around the yard? In order to do that, I would hook up a router/switch to the computer's Ethernet port, and hook up the Etherdongles to the router/switch? How much network bandwidth does an Etherdongle with all 16384 channels being used to transmit 30-ish frames per second for a typical 100 megabit network card?
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Offline Steve Gase

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Re: Smart String Active Hub Fuses & Channels/Universes
« Reply #11 on: December 30, 2014, »

I wouldn't worry about dead space.  Extra channels will not affect performance.  The EtD, conductor, etc. are all designed to send the same sized packets of data regardless of whether the data has anything useful.  Pack the channels close together if you are trying to share the same hub for a tree... or reserve space for future growth, it works well in either case.


I prefer to reserve blocks because it is often a pain to reassign channels to each device (each SSC, LE, MR16, etc.) if I want to move things around each year.

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Oh, and an answer to this one would be great too. I was wondering how "dead space" in my channel numbering scheme would affect me...

Note: My question has been altered slightly to make it a bit less ambiguous:

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I was also wondering how Pixelnet transmits its data. Let's say that I have a 100-pixel string of lights starting at channel 1 (channels 1-300), and I have another string starting at channel 1000 (channels 1000-1300) with no other strings in between. Does Pixelnet transmit data for all channels between 1 and 1300 about 30-ish times per second, or only the channels that are in use? Or does it transmit all 4096 channels in the universe no matter what? Or all 16384 channels in all 4 universes?

...Or... is this more a matter of the software being used to run the show that determines what is transmitted over the wire?
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Offline Gary

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Re: Smart String Active Hub Fuses & Channels/Universes
« Reply #12 on: December 31, 2014, »
Thanks, Steve! Your info is sooooo helpful... is this all this documented anywhere? I poked around in the Wiki and found most of the info I was looking for, but you filled in all the blanks for me for me to plan my layout.

P.S. Is anybody allowed to update the Wiki? I'd be willing to place this treasure trove of info on there.
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Offline Steve Gase

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Re: Smart String Active Hub Fuses & Channels/Universes
« Reply #13 on: December 31, 2014, »
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Thanks, Steve! Your info is sooooo helpful... is this all this documented anywhere? I poked around in the Wiki and found most of the info I was looking for, but you filled in all the blanks for me for me to plan my layout.

P.S. Is anybody allowed to update the Wiki? I'd be willing to place this treasure trove of info on there.


I think everything is available in bits and pieces throughout the forum.
sometimes the info is inferred by a knowledge of how other pieces work.
so I can't point you to a wiki page.


anyone is free to create a wiki account and update the wiki.


i keep thinking I'll spend time working in the wiki... but I limit myself to creating/updating tables of data based on available time.
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Offline rrowan

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Re: Smart String Active Hub Fuses & Channels/Universes
« Reply #14 on: December 31, 2014, »
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Thanks, Steve! Your info is sooooo helpful... is this all this documented anywhere? I poked around in the Wiki and found most of the info I was looking for, but you filled in all the blanks for me for me to plan my layout.

P.S. Is anybody allowed to update the Wiki? I'd be willing to place this treasure trove of info on there.

Yes you can edit the wiki once I change your wiki account to real dla user. I had to do that to stop the spammers.

I would be happy to see folks updating the wiki. Plus I can help out with any questions or problems.

Rick R.
Light Animation Hobby - Having fun and Learning at the same time. (21st member of DLA)
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