Getting started with DMX in LOR

[JESonger]

I have 3 RGB wash lights on the front of my house, each driven by DMX-RGB controllers & connected to wireless DMX receivers, paired to the transmitter on my DMX board.  For Christmas, I naturally want to integrate those into LOR.  Following this picture at LOR, I bought another USB485 adapter for a second, DMX network, and connected the DMX transmitter to it. I've confirmed in Windows Settings that both adapters have been assigned COM ports.

And that's where I'm stuck.  How do I configure the other adapter for DMX in LOR like in the picture?  I see the DMX tab in Network preferences, but no option to bind Universe 1 to COM4.

Also, I've added the correct DMX channels to my preview, so I have R1, G1, B1, R2, G2, B2, R3, G3, & B3 channels.  Am I stuck with with making green by On-ing that channel and Off-ing the other two, or can they be bound into one colorspace like LOR channels?

[HADESWRAITH]

I am a newbie (2 years)....  But I have had a LOT of help on here, and figure if I can help someone else i will try.    Last year I ran everything on a LOR network.  This year I added DMX.  This sounds like what you are doing.  It also sounds like you are thinking how I thought in the beginning.  That I could run both LOR and DMX on the same "network cable"....  If not I apologize.  but anyway, I am running 2 parallel networks.  1 USB485 LOR and 1 "CAT5" DMX network off of the same laptop.  This is how I had to do it to run my LOR and DMX (alphapix) controllers in the same show/sequences.  Is this what you are trying to do?  Also, i configure my LOR network in the S5 Hardware Utility, and the DMX via the IP address of the DMX controller on the LAN network...  

[HADESWRAITH]

...................and oh yeah......  GO BUCKEYES!!!!

[k6ccc]

I've got to run real quick, but these two screen shots should help.  In my case I am using E1.31 (DMX over Ethernet), but this should give you the ideas...

For this screen capture, I selected Universe 5.  In your case, you would have the "Use Adapter" setting selected (instead of User E1.31), and Under Adapter, you would select your Comm port.  I don't remember if the protocol setting changes (I would assume it does) when you are using DMX over a comm port since I have never used DMX over a comm port and I don't have a computer here that has LOR installed, so I can't test easily for you.

Hope that helped.

 

[JESonger]

Please look at the picture I linked.  It shows one USB485 driving its own DMX-512 network, which is what I'm trying to do, not using E1.31.

[k6ccc]

1 hour ago, JESonger said:

Please look at the picture I linked.  It shows one USB485 driving its own DMX-512 network, which is what I'm trying to do, not using E1.31.

You have a very generic LOR graphic linked.  I did look at it.  Try reading what I inserted in between my screen captures.  It tells you what is different from my captures to what you need.

 

[JESonger]

Jim,

Sorry I missed that text before, but it happens to be exactly what I thought I needed to do in the first place.  But when I first click on the entry for Universe 1 Adapter, "LORNetworkConfig has stopped working" and terminates.  Every time.  Unless I unplug the second USB485; then I can access the settings and plug the USB485 back in.  But then, nothing is in the Adapter drop-down.  So I guess my question really is: why does a second USB485 crash Network Preferences, and how do I correct that?

John

[Steven]

On 12/5/2019 at 12:01 PM, HADESWRAITH said:

That I could run both LOR and DMX on the same "network cable"....

Actually, you could. LOR uses pins 3,4,5,6 and DMX uses pins 1,2,7 so you could combine both networks in one cable.

This would only work if your DMX devices passed pins 3,4,5,6 through without doing anything to them.

[Veuzni]

Hello sorry for my english i m french debutant. I have 2 controller and g3 mp3 director. This year i insert dmx with enttec dongle usb. Enttec run perfectly with pc usb but i don t anderstand the cable i need to connect enttec at g3 mp3 or controller...

[k6ccc]

On 11/12/2020 at 4:15 AM, Veuzni said:

Hello sorry for my english i m french debutant. I have 2 controller and g3 mp3 director. This year i insert dmx with enttec dongle usb. Enttec run perfectly with pc usb but i don t anderstand the cable i need to connect enttec at g3 mp3 or controller...

Can't help you - I've never used (or even seen) any Director.

 

[Veuzni]

Ok thanks

[spinedoc1108]

I am not sure what to do. I am trying to include the new DMX to my show display which I have had for years. I have done everything possible that I know to set this up this the correct IP addresses for the holiday coro box, to the network ethernet contectiion, closed all the firewalls or anything in task menu that may cause conflict. Have pinged the box. ipconfig shows connection, comm listener seems to be connected.  Yet I cannot get my matrix to work. I have ribbon tree that is new also....yes I was one of the last to use the old CCR ribbons. I am desperate and need help. I have alot of traffic around my display and this is disappointing to me and the spectators....especially in this pandemic

 

[longhorn]

On 11/12/2020 at 6:15 AM, Veuzni said:

Hello sorry for my english i m french debutant. I have 2 controller and g3 mp3 director. This year i insert dmx with enttec dongle usb. Enttec run perfectly with pc usb but i don t anderstand the cable i need to connect enttec at g3 mp3 or controller...

So, first off, you need to have firmware v5.28 or greater on the G3 MP3 Director for DMX output.  Then, when you create your SD card in Hub, you will need to setup the correct network port (1 or 2) to be DMX.

After that, you just need to connect the CAT5 cable from the correct MP3 Director network port to your DMX controller.  But here is the tricky part, the DMX data signal out of the MP3 Director uses pins 4 & 5 (so, the blue wire and the blue/white wire) whereas most DMX controllers assume the data is coming in from pins 1 & 2 (orange/white and orange wires).  So, you will either need to connect the blue wire to DMX+ and blue/white wire to DMX- on the controller, or you will have to create a section of CAT5 where one end (the end that plugs into the MP3 Director) has the orange wire on pin 4 and orange/white wire on pin5, and leave the other end normal (orange/white on pin 1 and orange on pin 2).  That way everything downstream will work correctly.

[dibblejr]

1 hour ago, longhorn said:

So, first off, you need to have firmware v5.28 or greater on the G3 MP3 Director for DMX output.  Then, when you create your SD card in Hub, you will need to setup the correct network port (1 or 2) to be DMX.

After that, you just need to connect the CAT5 cable from the correct MP3 Director network port to your DMX controller.  But here is the tricky part, the DMX data signal out of the MP3 Director uses pins 4 & 5 (so, the blue wire and the blue/white wire) whereas most DMX controllers assume the data is coming in from pins 1 & 2 (orange/white and orange wires).  So, you will either need to connect the blue wire to DMX+ and blue/white wire to DMX- on the controller, or you will have to create a section of CAT5 where one end (the end that plugs into the MP3 Director) has the orange wire on pin 4 and orange/white wire on pin5, and leave the other end normal (orange/white on pin 1 and orange on pin 2).  That way everything downstream will work correctly.

Actually the G3MP3 cannot run DMX.

Its the N2 G4 that can.

JR

[dibblejr]

On 11/29/2020 at 9:00 AM, spinedoc1108 said:

I am not sure what to do. I am trying to include the new DMX to my show display which I have had for years. I have done everything possible that I know to set this up this the correct IP addresses for the holiday coro box, to the network ethernet contectiion, closed all the firewalls or anything in task menu that may cause conflict. Have pinged the box. ipconfig shows connection, comm listener seems to be connected.  Yet I cannot get my matrix to work. I have ribbon tree that is new also....yes I was one of the last to use the old CCR ribbons. I am desperate and need help. I have alot of traffic around my display and this is disappointing to me and the spectators....especially in this pandemic

 

How are you connecting it? What software? Have you set it up in NP DMX tab with the correct universe?

This does not piggyback off LOR controllers nor connect to a LOoT adapter.

Your computer must be connected to the network switch via cat5/6 cable and the controller connected to That switch.
 

If using a director must be N2 G4  ( this statement has been corrected below)

JR

Edited January 27, 2021 by dibblejr

[longhorn]

31 minutes ago, dibblejr said:

Actually the G3MP3 cannot run DMX.

Its the N2 G4 that can.

JR

Not true, the G3 MP3 can run DMX if you have v5.28 or newer firmware.  The G4 directors definitely work as well.

Here is screenshot from the LOR help (http://www1.lightorama.com/downloads/3.12.4/help/light-o-rama_mp3_directors.htm):

[dibblejr]

10 minutes ago, longhorn said:

Not true, the G3 MP3 can run DMX if you have v5.28 or newer firmware.  The G4 directors definitely work as well.

Here is screenshot from the LOR help (http://www1.lightorama.com/downloads/3.12.4/help/light-o-rama_mp3_directors.htm):

Yep, I stand corrected.

I could have gotten this one instead of the N2 to run my golf cart. I read the mab=nuals and the only one I could find tat would run dmx was the N2.

Good find, to late for me.

Thanks

JR

[MichRX7]

Is there a chart that shows which CTB16 gens can run the updated firmware for DMX? I know the Gen3 can run it out of the box, but can you put firmware on a gen2 or gen1 and do it as well?

[k6ccc]

Hi Mitch,

http://www1.lightorama.com/network-speeds/

Fifth column lists DMX capability.