16 Port Smart String Active Hub Issue

[TerryW]

The issue is I am not getting any signal to the light strand. I am using known good cables, known working USB Dongle, and known working uSC controller. When I output signal to the setup I can see that the USB Dongle is getting signal but nothing happens through the Hub. It is powered and when the light strand is plugged in I can trip the magnetic test strip on the uSC and the lights sequence through the test, so I have power to the lights. I have meticulously followed and rechecked the cables to make sure the signal path is correct and thus far I see no problems there.

What could be causing the Hub to not allow the signal through? The PIC is programmed and verified also.

I thought initially, "well this must be an issue with this Hub". So, I pulled out my second Hub and the same thing...nothing happens. I just built both of the boards about a month ago and again, I double checked that everything was in its proper place and soldered correctly according the the Wiki instructions. Both Pixelnet jumpers are set to position 1 and the DMX jumper is set to position 1.  I am at a loss here and don't know where to go from here. Can anyone help me troubleshoot these Hubs?

[caretaker]

Terry, a couple of quick things:

1. Is your USB dongle flashed for Pixelnet?

2. What software are you using to test the the pixels?

3. You are using the term uSC,  what are you referring to?

4. Have you set the stating number and string length on your Smart String Controllers?

[TerryW]

1. The dongle is flashed for pixelnet, it was tested on a pixelnet system.

2. I am using xLights 4.

3. They are Falcon micro string controllers with the magnetic test switch. You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login

4. Starting number and string length were set. The same configuration was used on a system that worked.

The only variable that was different from the system they were tested on and my system was the Hub so I was figuring that the Hubs were the issue, but I could very well be wrong. I hope the info about will help the diagnosis. Let me know if there is anything else I can provide to help put this together.

[tbone321]

How are you powering the hub?

[TerryW]

How are you powering the hub?

ATX power supply

[tbone321]

Does this hub have the 12V option installed?  I would also check your XLights config and make sure that it is set up correctly and is still outputting to the USB port and not E1.31 on the PC's Ethernet port.  What is the starting channel of the Usc?

[TerryW]

Does this hub have the 12V option installed?  I would also check your XLights config and make sure that it is set up correctly and is still outputting to the USB port and not E1.31 on the PC's Ethernet port.  What is the starting channel of the Usc?

No 12v option installed. Xlights is set to output to pixelnet on the USB Com port. I can see the dongle receive data by the led blinking. I believe the start channel was set to 1. It's the only uSC programmed and there is only one string of lights attached right now, I was just testing before I moved on with programming the other uSC's. I only have that one string of 78 pixels hooked up right now, so 234 channels active at the moment.

[tbone321]

Perhaps you should post a closeup and clear picture of the front and back of the hub so that we can take a look at it.  The hub is a fairly simple device and as far as pixelnet goes, the hub just distributes the signal to all of the ports and supplies power to the controllers connected to them.  The PIC is only used for pixelnet to DMX conversion and should have no effect on the pixelnet controller ports.  Make sure that the cable you are using to connect the USB dongle to the hub is a good cable and not a crossover cable.  I would also double check the dongle and make sure that it has the Pixelnet firmware on it.  If you performed the magnet test of the uSC while it was connected to the hub, that confirms that the hub is at least providing power to the uSC and that the nodes connected to it are functioning.  If the cables checkout ok, then the issue has to be either the hub or a configuration issue.  I believe that the USB dongle is capable of programming the uSC so I would setup the Falcon configuration software and see if it can connect to the USC thru the hub.  IF it does, then the hub is not the issue and I would reconfigure the uSC to the desired channel.  IIRC, the firmware for the uSC does NOT have any default configuration.

[TerryW]

Perhaps you should post a closeup and clear picture of the front and back of the hub so that we can take a look at it.  The hub is a fairly simple device and as far as pixelnet goes, the hub just distributes the signal to all of the ports and supplies power to the controllers connected to them.  The PIC is only used for pixelnet to DMX conversion and should have no effect on the pixelnet controller ports.  Make sure that the cable you are using to connect the USB dongle to the hub is a good cable and not a crossover cable.  I would also double check the dongle and make sure that it has the Pixelnet firmware on it.  If you performed the magnet test of the uSC while it was connected to the hub, that confirms that the hub is at least providing power to the uSC and that the nodes connected to it are functioning.  If the cables checkout ok, then the issue has to be either the hub or a configuration issue.  I believe that the USB dongle is capable of programming the uSC so I would setup the Falcon configuration software and see if it can connect to the USC thru the hub.  IF it does, then the hub is not the issue and I would reconfigure the uSC to the desired channel.  IIRC, the firmware for the uSC does NOT have any default configuration.

I will try to get a picture up sometime this afternoon if I can. I did not think about the cable from the dongle to the hub being cross over, I shall check that first thing. It is a commercially made cable and not one that I made. I will see if I can reprogram the uSC for a different start channel and see if that works. Do I need the hub to program the uSC or can the uSC be connected directly to the usb dongle and programmed? Thus far I have only seen the uSC programmed thru the hub.

[tbone321]

The problem with directly connecting the uSC to the dongle is that the uSC also needs power and that is provided by the hub.  If you have access to a 4 port passive hub, you can use that between the dongle and the uSC to transfer the signal and supply power.  You could also make your own custom cable for this but you really need to be sure that you connect the correct pins to the power and signal lines.