Pixelnet and dmx issues

[CourtBard]

I have 4 expresses and 4 SSRs in my show this year. I had them all wired up to use DMX until I could get my RGB strings ready to go. Everything was working fine using the lynx usb dongle with the dmx chip installed. I added the RGB strands and hooked up the pixelnet hub. Now I can get the rgb strands to light up, but none of the dmx strands will light. I have checked all of the expresses and they are all showing a dmx signal. I have checked all of the wires, and have gtried just plugging on express in to eliminate any other possible issues down the line. I have double checked the jumpers on the hub to make sure that they were set for the first DMX universe, which to my understanding means that channels 1-512 of the pixelnet data will be sent to the dmx out port on the hub. My DMX channels are set for channels 1-88. i can turn on all of the RGB string channels, but none of the dmx channels will work at all. Has anyone seen this? I am using vixen 2.1 with the pixelnet plugin. I have programmed all of the smart strings to be on the correct starting channels. Does anyone know about some other settings in Vixen that I might need to make? Any other things I could check? I have checked and double checked everything I can think of. I have even unhooked everything except one express, and still no dmx even though the dmx data light is on when I plug in the cat 5 cable to the express from teh dmx port on the hub. I have tried different cat 5 cables as well. I am really stumped and disappointed because my lights won't turn on.

[holland lights]

I am thinking you need additional equipment to get the dmx out of the pixel net data

[RJ]

Are you running the expresses off of the Pixelnet hub DMX out or just hooking them to the pixelnet data just as ther where before?

RJ

[rrowan]

Did you program the pic for the SS Hub?

The pics purpose on the SS Hub is to take the pixelnet info and convert it over to the dmx. I assume you are using the DMX output on the Hub to the LEs and SSR4s

Rick R.

[holland lights]

Im thinking hes just hooking the express to the dongle with pixelnet firmware loaded and trying to run the express still with it.

[CourtBard]

I had everythign working with the dmx firmware on the lynx usb dongle. Then I added the RGB strands, so I switched the dmx chip in the dongle for the pixelnet chip. I took the cat5 cable that was going to the first LE and plugged that into the Pixelnet hub. I took another cat5 cable from the pixelnet hub DMX out and plugged that into the DMX in on the LE. When I plug in the cat 5 cable to the LE the DMX data light on the LE comes on, but none of the channels will do anything.

I had not thought about the pic for the pixelnet hub. I will check that and try reprogramming it. I built the hub quite a while ago and I am not sure if I had my pic programmer at the time.

I will post back once I am able to check that.

[CourtBard]

Checked that the pic on the ss hub was programmed and it was. I got the right checksum when I read in the program from the chip, but just to be safe, I erased it and wrote it back out to the chip again. No change 

I can't think of anything else that it could be. I have the jumper on DMX universe 1, All of the RGB strings work fine, just the  DMX stuff that won't do anything.

When the pixelnet chip is in the lynx usb dongle, the data light only flashes on when it is sending data. With the DMX chip in, the data light was on constantly.

Any other thoughts?

[rm357]

Just the usual - double check the orientationof the chips on the hub.

Are you using a PC power supply for the hub?

If you are using a 12v only supply, you need the voltage regulators in the corner of the board. If you are using a PC power supply, it should be providing the 5V needed for the '485 chips and the 3.3V needed for the PIC.

If the hub is passing pixelnet, the problem ismost likely one of the '485 chips or the PIC. You can try swapping them out - The same type PIC and '485 chips are used in the SSCs and the expresses - just need to reprogram the PIC with the hib firmware...

RM

[jnealand]

I had that same problem and going back and re-heating all the solder joints esp around the dmx out, the dmx selector, and the PIC fixed my problem.

[CourtBard]

I have looked at the solder joints and none of them look like cold solder joints and there doesn't appear to be any bridges. I will try switching the chips for ones out off a spare ssr. I wouldn't think that it would be the pic if I was able to program it successfully, but I could try swapping that out as well. If that doesn't work, I will try redoing the solder joints. Thanks for all the suggestions. If anyone has any other ideas or had this happen to them please let me know.

[caretaker]

What channels do you have your Smart String controllers set to?  They should be set to above 88 ( I would set to start at 513)  If you have your SS channels set to start above 88 then you will need to go over your SS hub and check solder joints and 485 chips.  One common mis-perception about the Smart String hub is the the splitting of DMX channels of it. Simply the SS hub will take a total of 4096 channels so what ever used for DMX (in your case 88) must be subtracted from the Pixelnet count and the Pixelnet channels need to start after the DMX channels (if you start your DMX channels at 1) or before your DMX channels then your DMX channels will start with the next channel after your SS channels. 

[rmp2917]

If you are running all your channels through the pixelnet hub, make sure that it is the only plugin used in Vixen. Set the pixelnet plugin channels to 1 through 4096 or whatever your last channel is.

The hub simply takes the first 512 channels (assuming you have the jumper set to universe 1) and sends them to the DMX out. If you set the pixelnet plugin to start at 89, the DMX out will be channels 89 to 600. The first 88 channels will not be sent to the hub. If you want channels 1-88 on the DMX out of the hub, the plugin must be set to start at channel 1. There will be some overlap between the DMX out and the pixelnet, but that will not be a problem. You will have to program the SSCs to start on the correct channels (first SSC will start on channel 89).

This is how I have mine setup and it works fine.