etherdongle setup

[ratroder]

Can someone point me in the direction of a "set up guide" for the etherdongle or a video? I am attempting to hook my etherdongle to my network switch which is run from my router. When i log into the router configure utility the etd does not show up, should it? The show computer is also hooked to the same network switch.

thanks   

[Mickpat]

No network configeration should be required.  You can simply connect both your etherdongle and computer to the same switch.  Or, you can connect your Etherdongle directly to your PC.

[Steve Gase]

the EtD will have a mac address, but not an IP address.  it does not query for an IP address via dhcp either. 

i belive the thread below has a good pdf on the software setup:
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things to watch out for:
=> using an old NIC card that does not auto-detect/correct for cross-over
=> cables check out your patch cable first, but don't use a cross-over

[tbone321]

In most cases it will not show up.  If you are looking at the DHCP table which shows the devices that have a lease on an address, it will not show up because the Etherdongle has fixed addressing.  If you are looking at the NAT table (most routers don't show this) you still probably wouldn't see it because many home routers will not translate multi-cast addresses to the public address that the Etherdongle uses and even if it did, since multi-cast addresses are one way, it still wouldn't need to record it since nothing would be coming back on that address for the router to translate back.

[ratroder]

Ok. Then how can I go about pinpointing the address that the Etherdongle uses on my network. The lights in the etd all function (power on and data light blinks) so I believe the cables are correct (no cross over cable) and I know the cable I am using is a regular patch cable.

I should also mention I am using the new version of lor so I need to know the address of the Etd so I can configure the network.

[Steve Gase]

the etherdongle does not send any packets

the etherdongle listens for packets using multicast addressing.  if you have 5 etherdongles on the network, they would all receive and act upon the same packets.

if you see activity lights on the EtD... if you are sending data from LSP, xLights, or another compatible piece of software -- then you problem likely is how are sending the packets.  the pdf files with the multicast addresses, and the channel counts are the next lightly spot to check.

[tbone321]

While the EtherDongle may not send out data on the Ethernet port, he still needs to know the multicast addresses that the Etherdongle is listening to so that he can configure LOR to send data to them.  While some of our plugins already know what they are and have them entered, more generic E1.31 implementations do not and need to have them entered in their configurations.  These addresses REALLY need to be placed in the WIKI for this purpose and if someone wants to create a version of their own drivers or software.  I know that is was discused in here in the past but I don't remember the thread it was in. 

[caretaker]

The multicast address starts at 239.255.0.1 and goes from there depending on whether it is DMX or PixelNet  IE:

I have the show currently running with two Pixelnet dongles.
After following the directions for setup in the thread you referenced I had no output on Active hub 1 or hub 2, so I switched back to the USB pixelnet dongles.

Just out of curiosity does the order in the network choices for Xlights matter?
I just left the 2 usb dongles and left the unassigned as #1 and 2 and the filled in the network ones after. My show is running so I will have to try the order thing tomorrow, but I don't think it will matter.

Network order is very important in xLights. This was likely your problem. Either you needed to move the pixelnet dongles to the end of the list, or set their channel counts to 0 (or delete them entirely).

Merry Christmas,

Matt

Matt thank you, you were correct that was the problem, I placed the E.131 network choices at the top of the list and if fixed the problem.

Thanks to everyone for the help,
Merry Christmas!


Help for others in setting up Xlights with Etherdongle
I used Rick's Vixen sequence builder to do my 24 string SS Mega Tree, so at channel 3441 I am on the second active SS hub.

To end and start the next pixelnet universe at a number other then the full universe (4096), calculate the number of 512 groups you need and then on the last set of 512 groups used set the last channel. Any unused channel groups after that set as a channel count as 0.

Example: Every 8 groups of 512 channels is a different pixelnet universe selectable on the SS active hub.

In my case my first universe of pixelnet had 3440 channels.
3440 / 512 = 6 with 368 left over.
So I setup Xlights with

IP Address     Universe   Last Channel
239.255.0.1    1           512
239.255.0.2    2           512
239.255.0.3    3           512
239.255.0.4    4           512
239.255.0.5    5           512
239.255.0.6    6           512
239.255.0.7    7           368
239.255.0.8    8           0
--------------------------------- End of first universe
239.255.0.9     9          512
239.255.0.10   10        512

and so on from there.

This started the second universe of pixelnet at 3441.
Hope it helps someone else too.

[rrowan]

Does this help?

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Rick R.

[tbone321]

Does this help?

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Rick R.

Yes it does but it also shows that "Channel Chart" may not be the best name for the document.  I can't speak for everyone but I wouldn't and didn't think to look there for IP addreses.  Perhaps a better name would be "IP Address and Pixelnet Channel Chart"

[tbone321]

One more question and I'll be the first ti admitt that it may just be me here.  Where exactly in the WIKI is this document?  I have spent about 20 min looking for it and opened every document in the Library section of the PixelNet area and can't find it.  It works great from the link provided above but that's the only I can find to get to it.

[jnealand]

Here is a pdf file I created of the information.  You can download it and save to your computer.

[rrowan]

Well its in the Pixelnet library

Documents - Right column and it says Online Chart

The pdf that jnealand is nice until the chart gets updated and then its outdated

Rick R.

[jnealand]

Well its in the Pixelnet library

Documents - Right column and it says Online Chart

The pdf that jnealand is nice until the chart gets updated and then its outdated

Rick R.

Then we can just create a new pdf.  no problemo, But I do understand the problem of dual maintenance.  I wonder what could change in this data.

[rrowan]

The chart started off with RJ creating a excel file that is posted along with the online version. Then I have changed that chart and just today added the E1.31 info. So basically you created a pdf for a file that started out as a excel file.

Rick R.