Author Topic: Missing 16 channel using X-Lights.  (Read 2653 times)

Offline Dennis Cherry

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Missing 16 channel using X-Lights.
« on: January 09, 2012, »
First off I like the new 2012A version of XLights, it has a lot of grest improvements.

But using XLights with LMS files you lose the first 16 channels of DMX. Since LOR states ID-01 as being channels 1-16 for DMX and ID-02 as 17-32 but in X-Light you will not be able to use DMX channel 1-16 as you cannot program a LOR device as ID-00.

It is a great pain changing all my channel numbers (806) by shifting them up +16.

Was hoping to convert my display in 2011 from using a LOR director card the last few weeks of the season, but saw that my display was not working right and could not put my finger on the problem, now I know why.

Is there anyway when using any LOR device that the translation is correct in XLights?

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Offline taybrynn

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Re: Missing 16 channel using X-Lights.
« Reply #1 on: January 09, 2012, »
Hmm ... I have heard about this, but didn't experience it myself.  But probably because I generated the XML myself and just pasted it into my config file, thus getting around all the LOR limitations and busy work.

Your not setting the channels up as DMX in LOR, right?  Your just setting everything up as a regular 16-ch controller, right?

Also, do you have the latest version of S3 ?  I thought they might have removed that problem in a December release? 

I've thought about creating and application or utility that would read in your LOR config file, and then allow you to generate your additional pixelnet channels ... because its just simple XML additions.  The nice thing about generating your XML for the LOR config files is that you can make the names a lot more descriptive and helpful, vs. in LOR the default channel name is always "New Channel".  On mine, I put the pixelnet ch# and the LOR network and unit# and circuit# ... really helpful when making a group to represent a SS Item with 120 RGB nodes.

The thing I found out was the LOR doesn't always build the XML in a consistent manner.  I've had 16 new channels added to the bottom, but sometimes it interleaves the channels was pre-existing ones ... and then eventually starts adding at the bottom.  So that the squirrely part.  I ended up added the first 16-32 manually ... then edited those, then put in my generated XML after that ... since at that point, LOR was done interleaving sequence numbers and I was into the NEW sequences numbers that it assigns for the new channels.
Scott - Castle Rock, Colorado   [ 2 homes, 100% RGB in 2016; since 2008; over 32k channels of E1.31 ]
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Offline Dennis Cherry

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Re: Missing 16 channel using X-Lights.
« Reply #2 on: January 09, 2012, »
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Hmm ... I have heard about this, but didn't experience it myself.  But probably because I generated the XML myself and just pasted it into my config file, thus getting around all the LOR limitations and busy work.

Your not setting the channels up as DMX in LOR, right?  Your just setting everything up as a regular 16-ch controller, right?


I am setting up the DMX in S3 and have looked at the XML file generated to make sure it is correct

Also, do you have the latest version of S3 ?  I thought they might have removed that problem in a December release?

See above

I've thought about creating and application or utility that would read in your LOR config file, and then allow you to generate your additional pixelnet channels ... because its just simple XML additions.  The nice thing about generating your XML for the LOR config files is that you can make the names a lot more descriptive and helpful, vs. in LOR the default channel name is always "New Channel".  On mine, I put the pixelnet ch# and the LOR network and unit# and circuit# ... really helpful when making a group to represent a SS Item with 120 RGB nodes.

The thing I found out was the LOR doesn't always build the XML in a consistent manner.  I've had 16 new channels added to the bottom, but sometimes it interleaves the channels was pre-existing ones ... and then eventually starts adding at the bottom.  So that the squirrely part.  I ended up added the first 16-32 manually ... then edited those, then put in my generated XML after that ... since at that point, LOR was done interleaving sequence numbers and I was into the NEW sequences numbers that it assigns for the new channels.


Yes the LMS and config file are all over the place, not very organized But MATT  did post in XLights that there is a shift of 16 channels and that is my problem. I just cannot take the existing LMS with all the changes need to convert to DMX and then use it.
I have 806 channels and last year it was configured as follows for using the LOR director Card

Director to IDMX-1000 to 11 Lynx Controllers (1-176) and 10 DMX Corostars (209-238)
Director to 4 CCR's (600 LOR channels)

New configuration using the Lynx etherdongle was to be:
Universe 1: 11 Lynx Controller (1-176), 10 MDX Corostars (209-238), and 1 CCR (LOR ID-10) DMX (241-400)
Universe 2: 3 CCR's (ID's 01h, Obh, and 15h) that would give me 480 channels

This should make the transition from the director to DMX the easiest. It would mean changing the four CCR's ID's and and make the necessary changes in the config file for the new channel assignments, it took a few hours to complete this step

But read Matt's explanation in the Network Setup for LOR and that will elemiinate the first 16 channels in you LMS file

If I am wrong please explain to me my error
« Last Edit: January 09, 2012, by Dennis Cherry »
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Offline taybrynn

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Re: Missing 16 channel using X-Lights.
« Reply #3 on: January 09, 2012, »
It makes me wonder how my first 16 channels in both 'Regular' and 'Aux A' networks are working.

They are, but maybe because I edited the .lms for the LOR config file ?
Scott - Castle Rock, Colorado   [ 2 homes, 100% RGB in 2016; since 2008; over 32k channels of E1.31 ]
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Offline dowdybrown

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Re: Missing 16 channel using X-Lights.
« Reply #4 on: January 09, 2012, »
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First off I like the new 2012A version of XLights, it has a lot of grest improvements.

But using XLights with LMS files you lose the first 16 channels of DMX. Since LOR states ID-01 as being channels 1-16 for DMX and ID-02 as 17-32 but in X-Light you will not be able to use DMX channel 1-16 as you cannot program a LOR device as ID-00.


Somewhere there has been a misunderstanding. xLights uses the exact same DMX mapping as is stated on the LOR web site. The formula is: (UnitIdNumber - 1) + CircuitNumber = xLightsChannelNumber. So for LOR id #1, circuit #1: (1 - 1) + 1 = xLights channel #1.

Matt
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Offline rdebolt

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Re: Missing 16 channel using X-Lights.
« Reply #5 on: January 09, 2012, »
I don't know all of the technical stuff, but I am running LOR controllers in DMX mode 1-256 are all LOR and all are working.

Offline Dennis Cherry

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Re: Missing 16 channel using X-Lights.
« Reply #6 on: January 09, 2012, »
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First off I like the new 2012A version of XLights, it has a lot of grest improvements.

But using XLights with LMS files you lose the first 16 channels of DMX. Since LOR states ID-01 as being channels 1-16 for DMX and ID-02 as 17-32 but in X-Light you will not be able to use DMX channel 1-16 as you cannot program a LOR device as ID-00.


Somewhere there has been a misunderstanding. xLights uses the exact same DMX mapping as is stated on the LOR web site. The formula is: (UnitIdNumber - 1) + CircuitNumber = xLightsChannelNumber. So for LOR id #1, circuit #1: (1 - 1) + 1 = xLights channel #1.

Matt

I will try some more testing to see if My setup is wrong. Will add a couple of Lynx controllers to verify the DMX addresses are shifting or not.

Did try both the Etherdongle and Lynx Dongle and they both have the 16 channel shift. This is using just your XLights Lighting Test in the RGB test folder.

Matt where is the formula on the LOR website, just curious.

Here is the LOR document I used: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login

One other thing is all this testing is using Universe 2 will try tomorrow on Universe 1
« Last Edit: January 09, 2012, by Dennis Cherry »
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Offline taybrynn

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Missing 16 channel using X-Lights.
« Reply #7 on: January 09, 2012, »
If you try try to set up the LOR channels as DMX in LOR, that 'may be' where the problem comes from, not xlights.  In LOR, you don't mention DMX or pixelnet anywhere ... You just sequence to LOR 16ch controllers (and lots of them if using pixelnet!)
Scott - Castle Rock, Colorado   [ 2 homes, 100% RGB in 2016; since 2008; over 32k channels of E1.31 ]
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Offline Dennis Cherry

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Re: Missing 16 channel using X-Lights.
« Reply #8 on: January 09, 2012, »
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If you try try to set up the LOR channels as DMX in LOR, that 'may be' where the problem comes from, not xlights.  In LOR, you don't mention DMX or pixelnet anywhere ... You just sequence to LOR 16ch controllers (and lots of them if using pixelnet!)

There really isn't anything to setup in LOR for DMX except making sure the LOR ID number assigned represents the DMX channel numbers you want it to recognize.
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Offline rdebolt

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Re: Missing 16 channel using X-Lights.
« Reply #9 on: January 09, 2012, »
Dennis what dongle are you using? USB or EtD?

Offline rdebolt

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Re: Missing 16 channel using X-Lights.
« Reply #10 on: January 09, 2012, »
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If you try try to set up the LOR channels as DMX in LOR, that 'may be' where the problem comes from, not xlights.  In LOR, you don't mention DMX or pixelnet anywhere ... You just sequence to LOR 16ch controllers (and lots of them if using pixelnet!)

There really isn't anything to setup in LOR for DMX except making sure the LOR ID number assigned represents the DMX channel numbers you want it to recognize.

If using LOR in DMX need cables adapted. I'm sure you know that though.

Offline dowdybrown

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Re: Missing 16 channel using X-Lights.
« Reply #11 on: January 09, 2012, »
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First off I like the new 2012A version of XLights, it has a lot of grest improvements.

But using XLights with LMS files you lose the first 16 channels of DMX. Since LOR states ID-01 as being channels 1-16 for DMX and ID-02 as 17-32 but in X-Light you will not be able to use DMX channel 1-16 as you cannot program a LOR device as ID-00.


Somewhere there has been a misunderstanding. xLights uses the exact same DMX mapping as is stated on the LOR web site. The formula is: (UnitIdNumber - 1) + CircuitNumber = xLightsChannelNumber. So for LOR id #1, circuit #1: (1 - 1) + 1 = xLights channel #1.

Matt

Matt where is the formula on the LOR website, just curious.

Here is the LOR document I used: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login


There is no formula on the LOR web site, but the table in the document you reference matches the formula I have posted.

I happen to have an LOR controller with unit id 01 right next to me.

1) If I connect it using the LOR dongle and tell xLights it is an LOR network, then channels 1-16 (labelled "Unit 1.01", etc) in xTester trigger the 16 outputs.

2) If I connect it using the LOR dongle and tell xLights it is an Open DMX network, then channels 1-16 in xTester trigger the 16 outputs.

3) If I connect it using a Lynx dongle (swapping wires 1-2 with 4-5) and tell xLights it is a DMX Pro/Lynx network, then channels 1-16 in xTester trigger the 16 outputs.

In all cases, LOR unit id 01 is controllable via the first 16 channels in xLights. No channels are "lost". Cheers,

Matt
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Offline taybrynn

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Missing 16 channel using X-Lights.
« Reply #12 on: January 09, 2012, »
Dennis, I hope this is not sounding insulting in any way, but I was just making sure that on the LOR software side you are not setting it up as DMX in any way.  If you were setting up a 16ch LOR pc controller that is the way to do it. If you let LOR know it's DMX at all, then it would be incorrect.  Your last comment still makes me think you set it up as DMX on the LOR side ...
« Last Edit: January 09, 2012, by taybrynn »
Scott - Castle Rock, Colorado   [ 2 homes, 100% RGB in 2016; since 2008; over 32k channels of E1.31 ]
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