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Trouble initializing 1602W w/Showtime director


Tim Storey

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1602W w/Showtime Director that I have had since 2007 - No issues - I initialized inn 2007 and have ran show off SD card ever since.

 

First  year to upgrade to S3. I am adding (6) CTB16 controllers this year.  I checked one of them by initializing it and named it 02.

 

Now, for Halloween show, I have tried to initialize my 1602W and it finds one controller on network - CTB16-04. I have never done a 04.

So, I renamed the 1602W from "any unit" to 01. It still only finds the CTB16-04.

 

I am able to run my current show just as is from the laptop or the SD card, but channel 8 is off and channel 16 is supposed to be on all the time but is doing other functions.

I checked through the Hardware utility and all channels come on except channel 8.

 

At first I thought I just had a burnt out string on 8, so I replaced it and when I first plugged it in it did an initial blink on (very fast sequence in the show) but then didn't come on again.  Checked voltage at the cord where I plug a pumpkin into 8; It looked alright - 120 briefly, then would jump around to different voltages according to what the show was doing. (incandescent lights) Then I plugged an LED string in at that cord and it seemed to be doing what the show was calling for.

 

This seems like it could be a controller issue or it could be that because it's not recognizing the actual controller, but perhaps another one, that it's doing crazy things. 

Also, I went by the help section in S3 and tried initializing and checking the "ignore errors" box and still got the same results.

 

Any suggestions what to try next. I will be away from my computer for a while but will read any possible answers later on.

 

Thanks,

Tim

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Addresses on the 1602x series of controllers are set via the board itself, not the HWU. Being the older 1602 controller, it would be the rotary dials on the controller. Use that to set the address. One may have worked itself loose, and it thinks it's something other than what you want it to be. Set the address on the controller, the power off/on. With only the 1602 controller connected, run the HWU again and see what controller # it comes up as.

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Per what Don was saying. If your old enough you might remember when T.V.s had a rotary channel know. Just like some of the LOR controllers do. And just like the knob on the T.V. the contacts can get dirty. Sometimes just twisting the address knob around a few times might clean it. Or you might need to go to Radio shack and get that tuner cleaner if they still carry it and with power removed from the controller give it a few light squirts of the cleaner and twist the knobs again. Either or above should get the things cleans out and working again.

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My own description of what I'm trying to do may be part of the problem. I'm not really trying to configure. I'm trying to test 16 channels on the 1602W through Hardware Utility. In "Select Unit to Configure..Download..test"

it says "Found 1 unit".

But it is not the 1602W. It says CTB16D-ver 4.01. (I had the exact number wrong in original post also) I have tried the suggestions and refresh in the select unit to configure and I'm still only showing CTB16D-ver 4.01.

I have removed power, tried it with just the 1602 (MP3 showtime director not plugged in, I've tried it after removing power with the Showtime director plugged in.

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The problem with channel 8 was the extension cord I had going into the lights string. It wasn't holding the male plug tight. Therefore, I was able to read the correct voltages at the cord but wasn't getting the light string to work whenever I wasn't putting it in place. And I also had channel 16 (which is supposed to be on all the time) doing off/on synching things. I found that on two songs, it was correctly staying on at all times, but on three others, it was doing what the beat track was doing which is directly beneath channel 16.

 

All I can figure out at this time is that it has to do with the controller somehow recognizing a non-existent controller, CTB-16D ver. 4.01.

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Anybody have any ideas on why my 1602W would only find a non existent "CTB-16D ver. 401" when I try to test the unit through Hardware Utility? Maybe when I plug other units in the problem will clear up, but right now I'm just running the 1602W for my Halloween show and channel 16 is not doing what the sequence is telling it to do on some of the sequences.

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