Author Topic: Aether II using Ex/Rx Wireless and LOR Software  (Read 2559 times)

Offline JimWright

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I built and have been using 13 Aether II Floods since 2012. I am interfaced to this universe using the Lynx USB DMX dongle connected to a TX/RX transmitter and using an Ex/Rx receiver in each flood. I have had very few issues over the years and everything has worked well and all of the floods have produced the proper colors as sequenced in the files. I am using, and have used LOR to sequence my shows since 2009. I am using DMX Universe 1 for these floods.

However, I just noticed that all of the floods are currently producing incorrect colors. It took me a while to find the source of the issue, but it turns out that DMX channel 1 seems to be missing. Channel 1 is there, and seemingly properly assigned as channel 1, but instead of red on flood 1, I get Green. Channel 2 gets blue instead of green. Channel 3 gets white instead of blue. Channel 4 gets Red on Flood 2! Here is another way to tell the story:

Channel Number               I Should Get               I get
           1                            Flood 1 Red                 Flood 1 Green
           2                            Flood 1 Green              Flood 1 Blue
           3                            Flood 1 Blue                Flood 1 White
           4                            Flood 1 White              Flood 2 Red
         Etc.

Therefore, all of the floods now produce the incorrect colors and/or the wrong flood activates it's red when the previous flood calls for white. Please remember that this used to work just fine. I am not sure when the problem started either late last year or this year, but at this time all sequences are now providing the commands on the wrong channels of DMX Universe 1, again because Channel 1 seems to be controlling the wrong pixel on Flood 1.

I have even tried building a new sequence and adding only DMX 1 to it. The problem still exists. I have also gone into Network configuration and deleted the interface for DMX U 1, rebooted the computer, and then reactivated the interface. The same problem exits.

I think that software is the cause of the problem. When I look at DMX U 1, Channel 1 in channel config, it says that it is channel 1 on DMX 1. Yet it turns on channel 2 in the flood (green) and all following channels are shifted by 1, thereby causing all of the devices to produce unexpected results.

I got to thinking that it could be flood 1 that might have a hardware problem and that it might be dropping the first channel. But that won't wash. Each flood is assigned a specific set of channels and responds only to those channels, such as: Flood 1 is channels 1-4 (RGBW), and Flood 2 is channels 5-8, etc. These floods don't work like an RGB string where the first node strips off the first 3 channels and sends everything along to the next node - and the next node strips off the first 3 channels and sends everything else on to the next node, etc.

I am at a complete loss as to what is happening. I think that I have determined that this started on January 2nd of this year, after I finished running my Christmas show and went back to my "landscaping Lighting" show that I run the rest of the year.

Does anyone have any ideas on what the problem might be and how to fix it?

Thanks.
Jim W
Jim Wright

Offline caretaker

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Re: Aether II using Ex/Rx Wireless and LOR Software
« Reply #1 on: May 09, 2016, »
Jim,  since you are using a Lynx USB dongle try installing X-lights and setting up a simple 512 channel DMX universe in it then use the built in channel tester and see what happens. If you get the same results I would put my guess as to either you need to reflash the USB dongle. If everything works fine with XLights then I would say it is something with LOR.  If you have any Lyxn expresses you could hook one up to the USB dongle (no wireless) and see what the results are.
Jeff Squires
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Offline JimWright

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Re: Aether II using Ex/Rx Wireless and LOR Software
« Reply #2 on: May 09, 2016, »
Jeff and all:
Jeff, thanks for the reply. I found the problem. Somehow I had changed the protocol on the DMX 1 output to Entec Pro instead of Lynix. When I changed the protocol back to Lynix, everything again worked correctly.

Thanks to all. Jim W
Jim Wright