usb Pixelnet dongle/16 port hub/ssc major issues

[lawn patrol]

Ive built my first pixelnet dongle and cant get my smart string lights to work. I was having issues with the com port not working but got that working. Ill post pictures later today i need all the help I can get. I need advice on how to test the ssc for voltage and will voltage only be going when data is being sent or does it always have voltage going to it and how much? Below is how i am setup and what ive done so far.



lynx usb pixelnet dongle flashed with 613b firmware using pickit3
windows 7 using fdti drivers changed com port back to 6
baud rate set at 115200

rowewill 1000watt power supply using 24pin connectors and 3 4 pin connectors
16 port active hub green power light on
pixelnet and dmx universe set all to 1
pixelnet input ethernet patch cord to dongle
and ethernet patch to ssc from ss outputs
verified that all chips are facing the correct way

programmed pic on hub with 8196 firmware using pickit3
ssc is v2 programmed with 1a6b firmware
the shunt is only on 1 pin
from the pigtail the wire is solid not stranded not sure if that makes a difference
also I made my own ethernet patch cords and tested them with a meter to verify wires were not crossed
Question is does it matter which order the wires go in for the patch cord?

vixen ive added the output plugin for v2.1
addins dmx is not selected
enttec dmx pro is selected and changed to port 6 baud rate changed to 115200
also tried the pixelnet input not sure which one is correct but neither worked. pixelnet dongle led does flash when data is being sent

[mykroft]

i would change it to a different port - com3 or 4 in case your MB has a serial port on it...
Myk

[lawn patrol]

it was first assigned to port 6 so today i changed to port 1 and purchased another cable still same issues

[angus40]

So ive built my first lynx dongle flashed it with pixelnet firmware. Loaded the fdti drivers and it also shows up in device manager. Dongle is on port 1 changed the baud rate to 11500. Tried two different usb cables. When im trying to test the dongle in xlights or vixen it says access to port com1 is denied. Sometimes in xlights the green led will blink but nothing happens with the smart strings.

Your header says dmx dongle , is this a pixelnet dongle or usb to dmx dongle ?

the first link is for dmx firmware

the second is for a pixelnet dongle


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[lawn patrol]

its a usb pixelnet dongle...i think the firmware wasnt programmed right so i redid that and now in vixen when i play a sequence the green light will flash with music. Only problem is my ss lights still arent coming on. Ive tried rj's ss utility to try and program and the string but when i hit transmit nothing happens the string doesnt blink or anything.

[angus40]

did you load the virtual drivers for ftdi ?

[lawn patrol]

yes and it shows up in device manager...is there any way to test the ss hub i havent built a le yet but i have lor's can i use those to test the dongle. I think i would have to change the firmware back to dmx though unless the ss hub can output dmx.

[tbone321]

I think what would help is a little more information.  What settings have you set in Vixen?  What device are you trying to get the dongle to control?  How do you have them hooked up?  It sounds like you have a whole lot of new and untested equipment and that can make it very difficult to figure out what is and isn't working.

[rm357]

OK, I know you are frustrated, but let's make sure all the pieces are in place.

PC with driver installed
USB cable
Dongle flashed with pixelnet firmware
Strait through Ethernet cable
Passive or Active 16 port hub with PC power supply attached and all 4 power connectors have plugs in them from the power supply.
Strait through Ethernet cable - stranded wire - not solid wire
SSC
Smart string pixels, squares, rectangles, flex strips, or rigid strips ordered through the wiki - not ordered from somewhere else!

First, flash the ssc with the test firmware.
Connect pc power supply, hub, ssc, and nodes. With the program jumper removed, nodes should cycle through red, green, blue, and white (order may vary depending on the pixel type). If this is not happening, check node wiring to make sure pixels are connected properly. If the first node lights a very dim blue color, the ground and data may be backwards...

If you have a multimeter, make sure you have something close to 12 volts on both the input and output side of the SSC when the LEDs are off. When the LEDs are on and you are using a long cat 5 cable, you may see some voltage drop...

If all that works, flash the SSC with the appropriate SSC firmware. Versions 1 & 2 require different firmware!!!
Connect everything and use the address utility to attempt to set the start address.
After exiting the address utility, use the color picker utility to see if the pixels will respond to control data. The advantage of using the color picker is that it transmits data across the whole universe - if the address did not take or are wrong, the pixels will still respond to the color picker.

If the color picker works, you can move to other programs for testing.

[Dennis Cherry]

Here are some suggestions.

Comm 1 is normal used internally in you computer, sometimes for you mouse port. You can check that in your Window Device managers, Unplug your Lynx Dongle then check you Device Manager to see if Comm 1 is still showing up, if so it is being used for some other device.

It is not good to use Comm 1.

The error trying to use vixen or another program might be you have 2 programs running trying to access the same comm port.You cannot have that. Exit any program using the comm port and then start the other program.

While in Windows Device Manager, you can plug in your Lynx Dongle and see what comm port it assigns to the Dongle, You must plug you dongle into the same USB port all the time, if you just plug into any USB port the device manager can assign another comm port number to the Dongle.

[lawn patrol]

Ok so ive fixed the port error that i was getting when trying to run vixen or any other program and it seems is recieving data being that the green led flashes. Later today ill have to check the ssc to see if its getting voltage. I think the problem lies within the active hub or the ssc.

The smart string pigtail came with solid wires not stranded is that going to be an issue?

[lawn patrol]

ok so alittle more information on what i have

lynx usb pixelnet dongle flashed with 613b firmware using pickit3
windows 7 using fdti drivers changed com port back to 6
baud rate set at 115200

rowewill 1000watt power supply using 24pin connectors and 3 4 pin connectors
16 port active hub green power light on
pixelnet and dmx universe set all to 1
pixelnet input ethernet patch cord to dongle
and ethernet patch to ssc from ss outputs
verified that all chips are facing the correct way
programmed pic on hub with 8196 firmware using pickit3

ssc is v2 programmed with 1a6b firmware
the shunt is only on 1 pin
from the pigtail the wire is solid not stranded not sure if that makes a difference
also I made my own ethernet patch cords and tested them with a meter to verify wires were not crossed
Question is does it matter which order the wires go in for the patch cord?

vixen ive added the output plugin for v2.1
addins dmx is not selected
enttec dmx pro is selected and changed to port 6 baud rate changed to 115200
also tried the pixelnet input not sure which one is correct but neither worked. pixelnet dongle led does flash when data is being sent

[rm357]

If you have a voltmeter,checkout the ssc and make sure you have 12 volts DC. If a wire was crossed in the cable, it would pop the little green fuse (better the fuse than melting the wire...).

[lawn patrol]

If you have a voltmeter,checkout the ssc and make sure you have 12 volts DC. If a wire was crossed in the cable, it would pop the little green fuse (better the fuse than melting the wire...).

ok so ive tested to ssc and im getting 11 volts or so i think never really used a multimeter so hopefully im using it correctly.

[TexasStingray]

Looks like you are using it correctly. Just a tip. If your test for 12 volts then set your meter to 20 that is the setting just above 12. It will be more accurate.