aussienewbie Posted October 13, 2012 Share Posted October 13, 2012 Hi all, I am new to LoR, i recently aquired 2x 16 channel DIY plugs, USB booster etc etc ... everything is working beautifully except i can't get my laptop and controller talking to each other :S ... No matter which commport i change it to it continues with a comm error, i have tried refresh, properties, manual etc and its not working Im a big kid with a new toy and im desperatley excited to get started but have hit a brick wall, any help would be greatly appreciatedThanks Kathy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Posted October 13, 2012 Share Posted October 13, 2012 Did you install the drivers for the USB adapter first?If you open the Device Manager in Windows, do you see the USB adapter there? If not, then you need to double check the drivers and make sure you installed them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max-Paul Posted October 13, 2012 Share Posted October 13, 2012 Also be aware, once you get this working. Usually a USB port is a USB port. But in this case each USB port will be a different comm port number. So be mindful of which USB port you are using when you get it working and then return to that same port later. Another little thing about this software/hardware. When working with serial devices, ONLY ONE program can talk on the serial port. So, you cant have the hardware utility and the sequencer running at the same time. Same holds true for the show builder. Just one program at a time. This will also give you a comm error if you do not follow the above rule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussienewbie Posted October 21, 2012 Author Share Posted October 21, 2012 Thank you all so very much problem was with my laptop ... so problem now fixed, and max-paul i discovered this problem when i tried to do my first test :S but do i have to use hardware utility everytime i turn my LoR controllers on ? or is there another way i can do it to save myself 10 min of initiallizing ?regards kath Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max-Paul Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Been doing this for now 4th year and I was doing some testing of my new to me mega tree. Did the HWU to make sure all of the channels where working right and that I had everything wired right (3 controllers for Red, Green, and White) Then closed this and ran the seq ed to check it out better. Went inside with Laptop and did some editing. Came back out and it would not work going straight to the seq. ed. Seems that my "Control Lights" under the "play" was not turned on. But the lights did work the first time just fine in the seq. ed. Even though "Control lights" was not turned on. Seems that the HWU does something to make this possible, once.So, everyone, make sure that if you are testing and using the seq. editor that you make sure that under the drop down for play. That the control lights is checked.Maybe your problem is the same as the one I had tonight Kath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJ Hvasta Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Kathy, welcome to the addiction! Once the controllers have been unit number assigned, you wont have to (well, should naught have to) assign them again. Jus' plug them in, and with the Sequence Editor (or HU) opened, the "I'm listening" LEDs on each board (red or green) should be steady On. If one is blinking, then it isnt listening, and should be tapped on the shoulder (get a unit number reassigned to it). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LORisAwesome Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 (edited) Been doing this for now 4th year and I was doing some testing of my new to me mega tree. Did the HWU to make sure all of the channels where working right and that I had everything wired right (3 controllers for Red, Green, and White) Then closed this and ran the seq ed to check it out better. Went inside with Laptop and did some editing. Came back out and it would not work going straight to the seq. ed. Seems that my "Control Lights" under the "play" was not turned on. But the lights did work the first time just fine in the seq. ed. Even though "Control lights" was not turned on. Seems that the HWU does something to make this possible, once.So, everyone, make sure that if you are testing and using the seq. editor that you make sure that under the drop down for play. That the control lights is checked.Maybe your problem is the same as the one I had tonight Kath.I wouldn't recommend testing with the sequence editor. I tried this a few years ago, and it didn't work correctly. It kept missing events. When I set it up in a show, it ran fine. I think the sequence editor has more overhead than just running a show.Since then, I've discovered the show on demand feature, which is almost as easy as running from the sequence editor.I was using an old Windows 98 maching with a slower processor, so maybe it works better with a faster computer.Just my .02Jerry Edited October 23, 2012 by LORisAwesome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Maue Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 I wouldn't recommend testing with the sequence editor. I tried this a few years ago, and it didn't work correctly. It kept missing events. When I set it up in a show, it ran fine. I think the sequence editor has more overhead than just running a show.Since then, I've discovered the show on demand feature, which is almost as easy as running from the sequence editor.I was using an old Windows 98 maching with a slower processor, so maybe it works better with a faster computer.Just my .02JerryYour mileage may vary. The sequence editor definitely adds some overhead, but with enough oomph in your PC, it can be overcome. I test with the editor all the time with great results, but I have a beefy PC that I'm using. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LOR Staff Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 The overhead with the SE is generally caused by having 'play options' enabled that you don't need. Turning off things like 'Vary Channel Button Color', etc can increase the performance dramatically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussienewbie Posted November 16, 2012 Author Share Posted November 16, 2012 Been doing this for now 4th year and I was doing some testing of my new to me mega tree. Did the HWU to make sure all of the channels where working right and that I had everything wired right (3 controllers for Red, Green, and White) Then closed this and ran the seq ed to check it out better. Went inside with Laptop and did some editing. Came back out and it would not work going straight to the seq. ed. Seems that my "Control Lights" under the "play" was not turned on. But the lights did work the first time just fine in the seq. ed. Even though "Control lights" was not turned on. Seems that the HWU does something to make this possible, once.So, everyone, make sure that if you are testing and using the seq. editor that you make sure that under the drop down for play. That the control lights is checked.Maybe your problem is the same as the one I had tonight Kath.I just checked and it was only ticked for one of my sequences so i will see how i go now ... thank you .however im now ready to throw my hands in the air in defeat i did everything as normal it checked both lor units, tested fine all lights worked great however, when i ran the show through simple show builder (im a newbie so any better ideas welcomed) i seemed to have lost 4 channels :S they all worked fine with test and when i plugged a different light into it they didnt work either so its definatly the something i just cant figure out what it is So if you can i really NEED HELPkindest regardskath Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwertz Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 So running the same hardware (without disturbing it) your sequence plays fine in the Sequence Editor, but has channels out when ran through a show? If so there shouldn’t many things that can cause that.It’s possible that the sequence in the show is pointing to a different sequence than you are running in the Sequence Editor. You might want to check your file paths (or maybe just reopen them) in the SE and the Show.Also, you could be running a background sequence that is conflicting with you main sequence. It might be helpful to run the LOR Verifier and see if there are any significant errors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussienewbie Posted November 17, 2012 Author Share Posted November 17, 2012 best way to explain it it ,I have 6 trees in a v shape .. the 2 front are channel 2 & 3, the middle 2 are channel 4 & 5, and the back 2 are channel 6 & 7 ..... all trees/channels worked when i tested both LoR units but when i started the show only trees 3 & 5 lit up :S this was for 6 songs/ sequences that i have . i unplugged the 2 that worked and plugged in my 2 back trees and then they were the only 2 trees that worked .... there was nothing running in the back ground and i can only have 1 thing running at a time .... i run my show through Simple Showtime Builder as i am not sure how to run it through Sequence editor ? ... if i used the master control to turn all lights on then all the trees light up ...any ideas would be appreciatedkindest regardskath Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CLD Kevin Posted November 17, 2012 Share Posted November 17, 2012 I always tested my sequences running from the SE. This is because i can start and stop anywhere within the sequences. But I do first verify with the HWU that all channels/controllers are connected correctly. To run you show through the SE, click on Play (at the top) and make sure the " Control Lights" is checked. And as DevMike stated, you would want to uncheck all the other feature in the Play options...but since your only 32 channels, I don't think you need to do that. Try leaving them checked. 1000 channels...then yes, uncheck them all. So me it sounds like you have something incorrect in the sequences. Possible a bad cat5 cable. If you HWU recognizes the correct unit ID and turns on the correct channels, but does not work when playing, then good chance it's the sequence. To eliminate a cat5 cable problem, take your laptop and network adapter and plug in directly to the controller one at a time. Use a new or different cat5. Disconnect the cat5 to the other controller. And run the seq from the SE. If you like, you can send me one of your problem sequences and I will look at it real quick to make sure I don't see anything that could cause your problem. Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwertz Posted November 18, 2012 Share Posted November 18, 2012 I think Kevin is probably right. It sounds like maybe you don’t have the channels assigned correctly in the sequences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussienewbie Posted November 18, 2012 Author Share Posted November 18, 2012 i have gone through all the channels and though i only went through and checked them prior to doing my last test ... turns out there were exactly 4 channels that were set to unit 1 :S ... I am so glad it wasnt any worse seen as i have spent hours souldering to bypass all my flashers ... thats 12 arches, 6 trees, 3 for the roof etc so i am so very excited to give them a test again tonight ....Thank you to everyone for all your help .. may seem like a simple problem but for a first timer everything is very overwhelming so when the simple things go wrong it feels like a huge dissapointment.Many many many many thanks again to everyone and i will let you all know how the test goes tonight kindest regardsKathy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CLD Kevin Posted November 18, 2012 Share Posted November 18, 2012 Glad to hear. Please let us know if your test is successful.Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwertz Posted November 18, 2012 Share Posted November 18, 2012 That's good to hear. Thanks for the update. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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