Author Topic: Teach me the ways of SS  (Read 7927 times)

Offline NickWaka7

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Teach me the ways of SS
« on: February 11, 2015, »
Hey guys! I have been looking into smart strings lately and I decided Id like to give them a try. I've spent some time in the wiki researching all of the information in there, but I am still not quite sure what I will need to have an operating SS system. Here is how I think it works:

Computer > USB Pixelnet Dongle > Active Hub >  SSC > SS

Did I miss anything? Any information I should know? Also, what is the difference between active and passive hubs, and do WS2811 SSs work with the SSCs found here on the forum? I noticed it said it could be compatible, but I do not understand the chipset part.

Offline lawn patrol

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Re: Teach me the ways of SS
« Reply #1 on: February 11, 2015, »
Your configuration is correct you could however use an etherdongle instead of USB pixelnet dongle.

If your doing mega trees or a bunch of smart strings very close you will want to use a Zeus instead of the active hub.

The passive hub doesn't have Dmx output and I'm pretty sure it connects to the active hub and adds another 16 ports for SSC.

The ws2811 chip works with the SSC on the strip you can only control every 3 LEDs which works perfect for arches, roofline and outlining the house. If you get the ws2811 string each node is controllable

Offline lawn patrol

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Re: Teach me the ways of SS
« Reply #2 on: February 11, 2015, »
Here is the link for the comparison chart for equipment which will help you decide if you need to use Zeus or active hub.

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PC>dongle>Zeus>ss

With the Zeus you don't need a SSC but the ss must be within 8ft for pixels and 15ft for strips

Offline tbone321

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Re: Teach me the ways of SS
« Reply #3 on: February 11, 2015, »
There is nothing wrong with using the USB dongle but it will only supply 1 PixelNet Universe which consists of 4096 channels.  This would allow you to control up to 1365 nodes.  The smart string system that we use runs on 12V so make sure that the SS that you use is a 12V string.  The WS2811 will work with our SSC.  The difference between the active and passive hub is that the active hub has a PixelNet to DMX converter and the passive hub does not.  Power for the nodes and the SSC's is supplied by the hub and it can get its power from either a single rail ATX computer power supply or a regulated 12V only supply with an add on kit for the hub.  As stated above, the Lynks smart string equipment runs on a protocol knows as PixelNet so if you use a UXB dingle, make sure that it can support and output PixelNet. 
If at first you don't succeed,
your not cut out for sky diving

Offline NickWaka7

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Re: Teach me the ways of SS
« Reply #4 on: February 11, 2015, »
Thanks for the clarification guys! A few more questions. Can and active hub be hooked up to another active hub? And can a zeus and a hub daisy chain as well? Im trying to figure out my setup. I want to use smart strings on my roof with caps so they look like traditional c9/c7, but since you can only have a maximum of 128 nodes per ssc, im going to have to have at least to hubs; one for the left side of the house and one for the right.

Now since usb pixelnet is a single universe, if I went with the ethernet option, could I still use my laptop to program the show? The ethernet option is still pretty alien to me as well.  Im not quite sure how it works.

Offline jnealand

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Re: Teach me the ways of SS
« Reply #5 on: February 11, 2015, »
You can daisy chain multiple hubs and zeus devices together without a problem.
Jim Nealand
Kennesaw, GA

Offline tbone321

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Re: Teach me the ways of SS
« Reply #6 on: February 11, 2015, »
Yes, as Jim said, both the Hubs and the Zeus can daisy chain. You can have multiple active hubs in the chain if you need them.  One nice thing about the SSC is that you can reverse the channel order.  This will allow you to put the SSC's on opposite ends of the run but still sequence the nodes in sequential order which makes things much easier at times.  Most sequencing software today supports E1.31 so you should have no problem using your PC to program and run the show.  The EtherDongle  (EDT) is a E1.31 device and outputs 4 PixelNet universes. 
If at first you don't succeed,
your not cut out for sky diving

Offline NickWaka7

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Re: Teach me the ways of SS
« Reply #7 on: February 12, 2015, »
Ok sounds good.

so If I wanted to go with the Ethernet option just to have those more channels for the future, how would I go about hooking all of this up? Like I said, I create my shows on a laptop, so how would I connect it? What unit(s) do I need to get up and running? Ive estimated that my roof alone will need 1500+ channels because I have a 2 story home, and I want to create some smart arches and pillars which will be a few more thousand. The ethernet thing still confuses me. Im just use to my dmx dongle doing the work for me haha! Can I push play on my computer and watch it live like with a dmx dongle?

Also, I noticed someone used a Rasberry Pi B+ to run their show and they used smart pixels. How does this work?

Once again thanks for all of the help! It's a lot to learn.

Offline lawn patrol

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Re: Teach me the ways of SS
« Reply #8 on: February 12, 2015, »
The etherdongle puts out 4 universes on a single cat5 cable which is then connected to your hub depending on what universe you want to be on you would just change the jumper on your hub.

Offline jnealand

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Re: Teach me the ways of SS
« Reply #9 on: February 12, 2015, »
Just to be clear the etd puts out 4 pixelnet universes which is equivalent to 32 dmx universes.  The Raspberry Pi can support more than 64000 channels and is just a player, you sequence in your choice of software and then convert to the pi using xlights or some software will actually create the format that the pi needs to play such as Vixen 3.  To use the etd you go PC to network to etd - active/passive/zeus - sscs/lights.  Really very simple.
Jim Nealand
Kennesaw, GA

Offline tbone321

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Re: Teach me the ways of SS
« Reply #10 on: February 12, 2015, »
You also need to include the fact that the Falcon Player is not really all that different than the PC.  While it may handle more than 64000 channels, it DOES NOT have the ability to directly control anything.  It, like the PC, still needs to be connected to some type of dongle to output to the controllers such as an ETD, a USB dongle, or the Falcon Controller. 

Hooking it up is not all that big of a deal.  The ETD is an E1.31 device and uses Ethernet to connect it to the PC running the show.  The issue is that most implementations of E1.31 is a multicast protocol which means that the packets will flood your network since switches will need to send these packets to all ports on the switch.  You can get around this by either directly connecting the PC to the ETD or getting low cost 10/100 switch and creating a separate network for the controlling the PC and ETD(s).  The connection between the ETD and the controllers is NOT Ethernet.  It uses the same wiring as would be used between the USB dongle and the controllers.  As already said, the ETD puts out 4 PixelNet universes, 1 on each of the 4 pairs of wire in the Cat5 cable and the hubs and Zeus have jumpers to select which universe it is working with.
If at first you don't succeed,
your not cut out for sky diving

Offline NickWaka7

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Re: Teach me the ways of SS
« Reply #11 on: February 12, 2015, »
So from the wiki diagrams, ive (hopefully) concluded that it goes:
Pc > ethernet dongle > hubs/zues... so on.

-The dongle needs its own power supply?
- Can I use a USB-> Ethernet adaptor?

Offline tbone321

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Re: Teach me the ways of SS
« Reply #12 on: February 12, 2015, »
Not only does it need its own power supply, it needs a big one.  The hub is what distributes power to the SSC's and smart strings as well so you could be pulling over 50A on a well loaded hub.  I think that is just a little above the recommended max output from a USB connection.   ;)  ATX PC power supplies are very powerful for their cost which is why both the Hubs and Zeus were designed to use them.  It is recommended that you get a single rail supply.
If at first you don't succeed,
your not cut out for sky diving

Offline NickWaka7

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Re: Teach me the ways of SS
« Reply #13 on: February 12, 2015, »
So the dongle and the hubs need power? I knew the hubs need one, but according to a diagram in the wiki, the EtherDongle needs an AC power supply.

Offline tbone321

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Re: Teach me the ways of SS
« Reply #14 on: February 12, 2015, »
LOL, sorry, I read dongle and saw hub.  Yes, the dongle uses a separate power supply and not a USB connection.  The reason are that the dongle doesn't need to be anywhere near the PC and if you install the conductor daughter card, then it doesn't need a PC at all.  I don't think that a USB adapter would supply enough voltage for the built in 5V regulator and if it drops out, then so does the 3.3V regulator that supplies the voltage for the PIC's.
If at first you don't succeed,
your not cut out for sky diving