Extra Controllers question

[Mike Anderson]

I have a few extra CCB Pixel bulbs with controllers sitting in my garage that I would like to incorporate into my show.  Is it possible to assign them the same controller number as something already sequenced to mimic it or do I have to assign it a new number and modify all of my sequences? 

Edited September 27, 2019 by Mike Anderson

[Mr. P]

1 minute ago, Mike Anderson said:

I have a few extra CCB Pixel bulbs with controllers sitting in my garage that I would like to incorporate into my show.  Is it possible to assign them the same controller number as something already sequenced to mimic it or do I have to assign it a new number and modify all of my sequences? 

Yes you can assign the same unit ID to different controllers, it's just not recommended as it makes troubleshooting more difficult when things go screwy. It's just as easy to add the controllers and copy &paste other portions of the sequence if you want certain props to do the same thing.

[Mike Anderson]

Thanks   I'm thinking about wrapping them around a bush just to mimic another controller.  Its not imperative that I do this, but i'd rather use them then let them collect dust!

[Orville]

The only way I know that would be possibly okay to do that {using the same ID ## on 2 controllers}, is if they were 2 different  {or the same type} controllers on 2 different networks. 

I have older CTB16PC controllers on my regular network and CC Controllers on a 2nd {AUX A} Network with a red HIS adapter.  If I wanted to I could give the CC Controllers the same ID ## as my CTB16PC controllers. I could have unit 01 on a CTB16PC on Regular network and the CC Controller could also be Unit 01 on my AUX A HS network.  

But to avoid confusion as Mr. P said, I didn't do that, I gave the CC Controllers  ID ##'s as Units 01 through 05 and my CTB16PC Controllers got re-Id'd as 06,07,08 and 09.   That way I know I have 9 controllers in my show, or however many I may use by the Unit ## of the controllers in my sequences.  As I always use them in in numerical order when placing them in the actual display set-up.  But not necessarily in that order in my sequences.

Just makes for better clarity using different ID ##'s, especially when looking for issues in a sequence that may not be functioning the way you think it should.

If I want one CC Controller to mimic another of the same family of controllers, I sequence one CC Controller and then copy and paste the same sequence of events to the other unit I want to mimic the 1st.    Sometimes I have all 5 of my CC Controllers mimic CC Controller #01.  And this is how I handle it.

Again, like Mr. P states, it helps avoid issues and confusion when trying to troubleshoot why one controller may not be working correctly, especially if they share thye same ID ##.

 

Edited September 28, 2019 by Orville

[Crimson Lane Lights Etown]

Mike, not sure what network speed you have chosen or adapter you are using, (both of which you can experiment with to get best results), but I have three CCB-II's working with the same unit id's.  One is a double arch, two are straight lines opposite direction runs.  Sequenced using copy and paste method.  Easy way to add color without much effort. 

[TheDucks]

I've tried with my 2 Pixie4's (same gen and FW) set to the same ID AND they MUST be on the same network.  That works without copying the sequence

BUT you MUST only have 1 of these devices connected when using HU device detection or setting phase  (2 replies really screws things up)

IF you do this: have on hand some 8 pin RJ couplers so you can take the 'extra' controller out-of-the-loop during debug

[k6ccc]

6 hours ago, Orville said:

The only way I know that would be possibly okay to do that {using the same ID ## on 2 controllers}, is if they were 2 different  {or the same type} controllers on 2 different networks. 

I think he is trying to have them respond to the same sequencing.  In that case, yes, they can be on the same network with the same Unit IDs.  The biggest confusion that can cause is while testing with the Hardware Utility, you have no idea which controller is responding.  However for your show, it will work fine.  In fact, quite a few people here have done that exact concept with two generally identical or mirror image props, or for props that face different directions.

 

[Orville]

23 hours ago, k6ccc said:

I think he is trying to have them respond to the same sequencing.  In that case, yes, they can be on the same network with the same Unit IDs.  The biggest confusion that can cause is while testing with the Hardware Utility, you have no idea which controller is responding.  However for your show, it will work fine.  In fact, quite a few people here have done that exact concept with two generally identical or mirror image props, or for props that face different directions.

 

I tried that once, what a nightmare and a headache that became!  Prefer to just copy the info from one controller to another unit if I'm going to have them do the exact same thing.   Just a lot easier on troubleshooting the sequence if something doesn't go exactly as thought when it runs.

[k6ccc]

One reason someone might want to do this is to limit the number of controllers.  For example their LOR software license only allows four controllers (Basic Plus level) and they already have four controllers in use.  You could assign a second controller to an existing ID.  Obviously the lighting channels would behave the same on both controllers that have the same ID.

 

[Orville]

12 hours ago, k6ccc said:

One reason someone might want to do this is to limit the number of controllers.  For example their LOR software license only allows four controllers (Basic Plus level) and they already have four controllers in use.  You could assign a second controller to an existing ID.  Obviously the lighting channels would behave the same on both controllers that have the same ID.

 

Never even thought about that.  I could've used that method when I first got into this {but didn't even think of trying that at the time}, but opted to upgrade my license instead.  Glad I upgraded the license, saved me even more issues and headaches down the road when I kept adding in new controllers and more stuff to my display at the time.