Lisa Kennedy Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 My show with 15 LOR controller boxes has been operating with no problems since late November. Then suddenly yesterday I had some lights on and fading in the middle of the day when no show was scheduled.When I 'refreshed' in HU to check on things and turn off the lights, it was only showing some of the boxes -- 8 the first time, 10 the second, 14 the third, 3 the next and so on and so forth -- no consistency. Some of the LED red lights on the boxes it is finding were flashing while other were solid. And while refreshing, some of the lights in the yard would randomly come on.We had to shut the show down last night and need to try to get it fixed as we are doing a donation drive for our local Humane Society this weekend.My current plan is to try to again replace my long run (less than 100 feet) CAT5 lines and check each box one by one to be sure the computer sees it and go from there. But I feel like this could be something bigger and wanted to get some additional ideas from everyone. I also have made sure none of my CAT5 lines are running near my electrical lines so that is handled too.Just odd to have all this happen when the show has been running just fine.Please help with suggestions!Lisa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Are you running your show from a PC or an MP3 Director unit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa Kennedy Posted December 14, 2011 Author Share Posted December 14, 2011 I am running the show from a laptop with Window's Vista. It is the only thing the laptop does -- strictly running my show and nothing else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wbottomley Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 It sounds like a bad cable somewhere. Are you running and CFL's? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa Kennedy Posted December 14, 2011 Author Share Posted December 14, 2011 I hate to say that I am not sure what a CFL is...I am sure that I should... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Hans Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 CFL- compact florescent light.I would look into the cat 5 cables as the source. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TGabriel Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 I run my show on a laptop (3 years now) with window's vista with no problems. I will say I do reboot it everyday before the show starts.I agree with the others could be bad cat 5 cable or connection somewhere Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Belcher Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 What version are you running? Assuming it is not either of these listed below then...1) upgrade to 3.1.4 or 3.0.4 (read which one will apply to your situation on the LOR website) firstTHEN2) Take a known good Cat5 cable and check each controller via the HU one at a time.3) After all controllers are recognized in this manner4) Add the other controllers back in one at a time with your existing supply of Cat5 cables and run the HU each time you add a controller to the system5)Even if the HU doesn't recognize a particular controller at this stage of the test, type in the controller in the HU and turn on the lights. Sometimes the controller ID is not recognized yet the red light is solid and the controller will receive commands.6) After you finish this process, you should either have a working system that the upgrade fixed or a working system that replacing bad Cat5 cables fixed.7)Then reboot every so often.Charles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa Kennedy Posted December 14, 2011 Author Share Posted December 14, 2011 So I have tested all of the boxes and Cat5 cables. What I have come up with is that in box 4 and box 11, if I close the door of the box, the Cat5 connections must get loose or something and then the LED light goes off and the connections and communication gets messed up.Any ideas on a fix for that type of problem -- of course I need to be able to close the boxes, but worried I will have to retest everytime to determine the fix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Simmons Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Lisa - I've worked around that by using a pair of wire cutter pliers to CAREFULLY snip/trim the heavy plastic or rubber strain relief near the plug of the comm cable so it will bend closer to the plug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seankovacs Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Ironically one of my boxes is lighting up a channel when its not supposed to. Similar situation. I'm away and the wife just doesn't care to help out, so I'll have to fix it when I get home. It's almost always either the CAT5 or the USB cable going to the USB to CAT5 converter. Check that USB cable - mine went bad and caused the boxes to do some crazy stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale W Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 wbottomley wrote: It sounds like a bad cable somewhere. Are you running and CFL's?This - a bad cable will cause your show to act very goofy. I had to change out one in mine.To fix your cable, install a strain relief in the box to take the tension off the cable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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