Smart RGB lights will not stop blinking while Idle, no shows playing

[greenie95125]

David from Holiday Coro said that they expect to have a fix for the blinking by the weekend.

 

Mike

[dmoore]

David from Holiday Coro said that they expect to have a fix for the blinking by the weekend.

 

Mike

 

To clarify - we expect an answer as to the root cause of the problem, this could result in an immediate solution or it could be longer depending on the system involved.

[greenie95125]

To clarify - we expect an answer as to the root cause of the problem, this could result in an immediate solution or it could be longer depending on the system involved.

 

I stand corrected. Thank you.

 

Mike

[proaudioman389]

Same thing here with alpha pix 16  SE loaded with control panel running   blink  random node strings thru all 12 universes  I have all nights off at end checked  if I only have control panel running no light blinks only when SE is running,  pc and network switch  seem fine turned firewall off  , Norton 360 off still lights blink. sequences from Light O Rama Store  and pixel sequence from Holiday Sequence. I seen a post  the person said he changed the speed of his network  is this a option for the alpha pix 16 or does David from Holiday Coro need to be contacted

[xmasjam]

To clarify - we expect an answer as to the root cause of the problem, this could result in an immediate solution or it could be longer depending on the system involved.

 

proaudioman389 you need to open a repair ticket with Holiday Coro so they can see if you are having the same issue as myself and others. dmoore from Holiday Coro said that they will have the cause of the random blinking from the Alphapix 16 controllers this weekend which is today or tomorrow.

[proaudioman389]

Just Sent email to them . I have notice I get random Blinking before during and after the sequence, during is hard to see it but I think it is there.

[dmoore]

Same thing here with alpha pix 16  SE loaded with control panel running   blink  random node strings thru all 12 universes  I have all nights off at end checked  if I only have control panel running no light blinks only when SE is running,  pc and network switch  seem fine turned firewall off  , Norton 360 off still lights blink. sequences from Light O Rama Store  and pixel sequence from Holiday Sequence. I seen a post  the person said he changed the speed of his network  is this a option for the alpha pix 16 or does David from Holiday Coro need to be contacted

 

There is no "speed of the network" as there is with RS485, which is about 1% as fast as a fast ethernet connection - so there is no issue with the "speed" of the network.  

[dmoore]

We are getting closer to a root cause on this issue. 

[mhites]

Anything new with the issue??

[xmasjam]

We are getting closer to a root cause on this issue. 

dmoore any update on getting the random blinking resolved. I would think after 10 days you would know if it is an hardware problem or firmware issue. Can you provide some information on what your team has narrowed it down to.

[dmoore]

We narrowed the issue down to data that changes inside the E1.17 packet constantly output by LOR's "control panel", even when the show isn't "running".  All the packet data has been captured and provided to the firrmware author and he is going to work on it ASAP.  

 

I can assure our customers that we'll resolve the problem if it is specific to our firmware well before the season starts but should you have an extenuating situation (a production show in the upcoming few weeks, etc), please contact us directly at www.HolidayCoro.com/ContactUs

 

Thank you for your continued patience.  For customers that have opened a support ticket, we will notify you directly when the solution is available.  

 

Thank you,

HolidayCoro

[worksopian]

Thanks David

[dgrant]

Today, I confirmed the same thing here. Strange, very intermittent lights blinking all over. They do indeed stop once the LOR control panel is terminated. 

[LOR Staff]

Ok, so that sounds like a confirmed firmware issue with hardware that is not ours.  If anyone else experiences this issue with these controllers, please be sure to contact the HolidayCoro folks, as this is not an LOR software issue.  It sounds like HolidayCoro is now on the case.

 

I know it is very easy to first accuse software than it is to blame a piece of hardware.  We are used to having software issues on our computers and having patches pushed.  However please be aware that there is many times software running on your HARDWARE as well.  That software (called firmware) is not magical and can have bugs just like a program on your computer.

 

As more manufacturers come into the market, problems like this will likely increase.   For many 3rd party distributors who are just getting into selling things like controllers, this is their first experience into having products that may appear to be working but that in reality have hidden bugs/issues.  We (LOR) don't like playing hot potato with ANY issue, and so if something is reported to us we will always thoroughly investigate.  

 

When it comes to our software working with our hardware, we test end-to-end to ensure everything works.  Yes we occasionally make mistakes, but since we are the mfg as well as the software creator we can quickly fix the issue.  When it comes to third party hardware or software, we 'test to the edge' and ensure that we are correctly following accepted industry standards.  It may turn out that the issue is indeed on our side, or it may be that it is something outside of our control. 

 

Unfortunately for the consumer that can sometimes devolve into one side blaming the other with you caught in the middle.  Thankfully this story appears to have a happy ending.

[dmoore]

Mike - 

 

We are sorry if the perception was that it was an LOR issue - we do not have a conclusive answer at this time as we are still researching the issue so we cannot confirm a root cause at this time.  We work hard to remain factual in the information we provide and we of course always want our customers to state factual information.  

 

In the years we've been working with disparate hardware and software combinations, we have always found a solution to issues and we expect this to be no different.  

 

The firmware author is getting ready to start repo on this issue after we narrowed down the specific driver behind the issue.

 

Yes, we would prefer that customers work directly with us instead of on a competitor's forum but we've come to understand that we need to communicate with the customer in the format and location that they feel comfortable with.

 

Thank you,

David

HolidayCoro.com

[dgrant]

Rather than all of us, contacting the vendors of the products and just making issues for them, this forum is to discuss things and find out if we're screwing up on our end first! In this case, its really weird in that it really looks like its an LOR problem and not that of HolidayCoro "because" when the LOR listener is terminated, the problem goes away. So in this case, the proper forum for this issue, was this forum. Hopefully both LOR and HolidayCoro programmers can work together to resolve this. The goal is to figure out what's causing it and fix it for everyone.

[LOR Staff]

Mike - 

 

We are sorry if the perception was that it was an LOR issue - we do not have a conclusive answer at this time as we are still researching the issue so we cannot confirm a root cause at this time.  We work hard to remain factual in the information we provide and we of course always want our customers to state factual information.  

 

In the years we've been working with disparate hardware and software combinations, we have always found a solution to issues and we expect this to be no different.  

 

The firmware author is getting ready to start repo on this issue after we narrowed down the specific driver behind the issue.

 

Yes, we would prefer that customers work directly with us instead of on a competitor's forum but we've come to understand that we need to communicate with the customer in the format and location that they feel comfortable with.

 

Thank you,

David

HolidayCoro.com

 

It's not your fault that is what this particular OP decided was going to be the problem.  Even then, we don't place any blame on the OP since it has to start somewhere.  I am personally happy that this didn't turn into a finger pointing match.  I am happy that in the end whatever the cause the customer is working properly.  

 

Unfortunately, it is all to easy to point fingers at software developers.  It was my intention to point out that sometimes we (us programmer types) are actually the good guys.  We (LOR) take any bug report seriously.  We will either fully own up to and fix our errors, or will provide the data necessary for 3rd parties to locate the issue.

[dgrant]

Sorry to keep bringing this up, but I've previously verified the issue on my AlphaPix16 but today, I swapped out to my P12S controller and its doing the same thing. It only stops the random blinking if I unload the control panel. Just for grins, I uninstalled 4.1.2 and reinstalled 3.12.2. Its doing the same thing and it for sure was not doing this last season. So something else is going on here. Maybe its a Windows update that took place or other strange issue. I cabled direct to the P12S from the GB Switch and same issue. I disabled the AV programs just in case, with no change to the pixels all still blinking randomly. I was beginning to think that possibly the change to using the tray.exe to command the visualizer for DMX items was the cause but going back to 3.12.2 disproved that theory. This computer is a Windows 7. 64bit machine as opposed to last year's Windows XP machine. Worse comes to worse, I can swap back and see if its still present. 

[proaudioman389]

Just wondering  has anyone tried the light o rama   Pix con pixel controller  to see if blinking lights are  present

[dgrant]

I purchased one and it'll be here in two days. I'll test again with it and find out! FYI, I didn't see anything happening like this on my E682 card using LPD6803 strips. These other controllers, I am using WS2811's. I'll probably get out the E682 controller again and those associated strips and test it again too.