What would interfere with daisy chaining?

[Bizywk]

I called LOR, but they said they'd call back and never did.      I need help in figuring out why I can't daisy chain after controller 4, have 6.   How many controllers can be linked in a series?     

 

Background:  Using Residential CTB16 Gen 3's new, dry.  The cards were soldered by LOR.   Using S3 advanced and patched all the way to the newest version 3.10.12

 

I had to reset #5 because I could control it in test mode, but sequencer dropped it like a sour fruit.   Now it works well with sequencer hooked up as the only controller but wont daisy chain.   Rebooted all controllers and computer many times.   Using factory made cables right out of the package and they test fine.  

 

Any ideas?    

[TonyD]

Does the reset change the unit ID? Did you set it back to what it was before?

[plasmadrive]

I had a problem once where my signal stopped at a specific controller, and it turned out to be a bad RJ45 jack on the LOR board..  Come to think of it, I never did fix that darn thing.. oh crap..

 

Anyway, I just swapped it with the one at the end.  Perhaps you have a bad jack?  perhaps as TonyD said, maybe you address is at issue. 

[EARLE W. TALLEY]

What is your license level??  This could be the problem. If it's basic +, max is 4 controllers.

Edited October 26, 2013 by EARLE W. TALLEY

[Bizywk]

Using advanced license.      I found the problem - yes, it was a not only a bad RJ45 output socket right from the factory, but I found that wiggling the wires on the next controller fixed what I thought was a repeatable failure.  I swapped the controller for the one on the end of the line, and positioned the cables on the next controller in the right spot to put a slight downward and inward pressure as I closed the lid.    All the controllers are working like a champ now.

 

Thanks Guys!

[dgrant]

Whenever running into something like this, its a good idea to look closely at the RJ45 contacts themselves. Those small wire fingers can be easily damaged. To answer the question about the number of devices, understand that this is RS485 communication which is limited to 64 devices on the communication path. I'm not saying you can run 64 controllers out there and have it run smoothly so whatever LOR states is the limitation would be, is what I would go with. To add additional info, many people with high controller count/channels such as RGB, CCP, CCB and CCR's, most create multiple data "universes" to handle the extreme amount of data flow. Universes are essentially just extra data paths but separate of each other.

[Marty Belisle]

Yep, I encountered the same problem. RJ45 output socket on the board failure.  I ordered a new socket but have not been brave enough to attempt replacing it (my soldering skills are useless).  I cheated the issue and just moved it to the end of the line too.  Hope I don't get another failure on one of my other controllers or else I will need to attempt a repair.