Author Topic: What is a Lynx Smart String?  (Read 175819 times)

Offline Gary

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Re: What is a Lynx Smart String?
« Reply #420 on: February 24, 2011, »
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With all these cool changes down the pipe, I feel like holding off on buying Smart String stuff

Your missing the point. The smart string controller stays the same we add new equipment to give the whole system new abilites the smart string controller is like the wheel, it hasn't changed but boy the rest of the car has.

The new stuff does not replace items it adds choices and abilities for the users that need or want them.

If you do not need 16,000 channels or do not mind doing it as 4 dongles then you keep doing that way. If you want a single ethernet dongle to do 16000 channels you use it.

RJ

I was originally planning in my head on how to use 16 strings on my house and yard from one hub, but with rumours of mini 4-port hubs, I'm changing the layout plans and possibilities in my mind.
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Offline RJ

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Re: What is a Lynx Smart String?
« Reply #421 on: April 25, 2011, »
I created the manuals for the SS controller and hub this weekend so we will be posting them in a few days. The passive 4 port hub is done and it fits in the TA200 housing like the SSR4. Soon as I get the updated pcb back I will post pic's of it and start a coop for it and the combiner.

The Smart String Utility and installer is getting cleaned up for the pubic and will be ready in a few days.

The EtherDongle proto pcb is being redone to fix a few issue I found on the first try. I have a deal worked out to have the smd chips on the pcb when you get it. The cost is going to be really attactive and surprise everyone. I am sending out the proto to have the case milling design work done so we have cases ready when we are.   

RJ
Innovation beats imitation - and it's more satisfying

Offline rrowan

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Re: What is a Lynx Smart String?
« Reply #422 on: April 25, 2011, »
Sounds Awesome RJ

Please send me the manuals when you are ready :)

I can't wait to get the E-Dongle

Many thanks for all of your hard work

Cheers

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

Offline Rainlover

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Re: What is a Lynx Smart String?
« Reply #423 on: April 25, 2011, »
SS Controllers
SS Hubs
EtherDongle
Passive Hub
Pixelnet software
TX/RX

I am learning a whole new vocabulary.
I hope there is enough time to get all of this built, learned and programmed in the next  7 months.

John
Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain!

Offline hbomb341

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Re: What is a Lynx Smart String?
« Reply #424 on: April 26, 2011, »
RJ - THANK YOU for all of your hard work!!!!

Harrison

Offline caretaker

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Re: What is a Lynx Smart String?
« Reply #425 on: April 26, 2011, »
Yes RJ, thanks for all the hard work you do to help us less qualified in electronic design have awesome blinky shows.   <res.
Jeff Squires
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Offline Steve Gase

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Re: What is a Lynx Smart String?
« Reply #426 on: December 02, 2011, »

Reviewing this thread and either I am not understanding, or there were some slips with the numbers being used.

First...

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So in other words you can have channel 3684 of PixelNet be your DMX Start and it would be DMX channel #1 on your expresses for example.

I think that is wrong.  As I interpret the behavior, using a jumper, the DMX address range can be mapped to the larger Pixelnet range.  There are 4096 channels in pixelnet, and 512 channels in DMX.  By using a jumper you can select which of the 512 blocks of pixelnet channels will ALSO be replicated to the DMX output connector.

So...  the DMX channels should be on even 512 boundaries.

Jumper 1:  1-512
Jumper 2: 513-1024
Jumper 3: 1025-1536
Jumper 4: 1537-2048
Jumper 5: 2049-2560
Jumper 6: 2561-3072
Jumper 7: 3073-3584
Jumper 8: 3585-4096

So, when RJ says channel pixelnet channel 3684 can be made to be DMX channel #1... I think it should have been 3585 can be made DMX channel #1 using Jumper #8.  Right?  I think there were 2 mistakes, a mistype in the hundreds place, and also not starting the new range with an offset of 1.



The same problem seems to be made in another response:
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But if you say needed one universe of (DMX 512 ch) and only 3684 ch of pixels or less





One final item on semantics...
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PixelNet is the protocol for the SmartStrings. DMX is still DMX. So you can use one dongle to control 512 ch of DMX things, and at the same time run a PixelNet dongle to run 4096 ch of Pixels.

But if you say needed one universe of (DMX 512 ch) and only 3684 ch of pixels or less, Then you can run one pixelnet dongle and on the hub is an DMX out port. It will steal 512 channels of your pixelnet data and make DMX data out of them.

"Steal" does not sound right, based on my understanding.  To steal something means to take it away so that it can't be used for another purpose.  Let's say that I want to light a 9-channel DMX star at the top of my smart pixel megatree...  I do not want to waste 512 channels for only one star.  And I don't want to put in service another dongle and run another cable.  Instead, I'd like to reserve the first 99 channels for DMX on the hub for the star and other things, and use the remaining 502 channels in that DMX range as Pixelnet channels.

Just trying to clarify this for others, and have people correct me if I'm wrong.  "Steal" should be changed to "mirrored" because (in my example) the Pixelnet channels 1-512 still exist and can be used for pixelnet -- I just choose not to use the first 1-99 and start my pixelnet channel usage at 100.  I have that first 512 also mirrored to the DMX connector, and I choose not to map and DMX elements outside of the 1-99 range.

Thanks everyone for reviewing (and correcting) my comments!
Steve
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Offline chrisatpsu

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Re: What is a Lynx Smart String?
« Reply #427 on: December 19, 2011, »
the point about "stealing" to show that the DMX channels came from the pixelnet channel range, instead of also being a seperate dmx source independent of the pixelnet.

and yes, the dmx address would have been a typo.

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