Tim_L Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 I am having a problem where my machine doesn't find the RS485Badapter. I used this with no problems last year on my Win XP Pro machinebut nothing that I try is working. I even tried it on my laptop runningVista. Both machines see that it is plugged in, neither will find it inthe hardware utility. XP Pro machine is running LOR software 1.6.1Hardware version 1.6.6 is running on both machines.My Vista laptop is running 1.6.3 and Hardware version 1.6.6The only difference between this year and last is that I upgraded the LORsoftware 1.6.1 and Hardware version 1.6.6 and of course the normalMicrosoft weekly OS patches.Tthe XP machine is the one that did the shows last year. I wouldultimately rather get it running on the Vista Laptop.On the XP MachineThe device manager shows the 485B as being on Comm 3 which is in fact,what it was set to last year. In the hardware utility, it is set to Comm3. Auto Configure fails to find it, and it cannot find the 8 portcontroller that is connected to it. Just in case of a controller prob, Ihave tried 2 different 8 port controllers. Both had blinking red lights.Unable to locate the Light-O-Rama port.Check that controller is connected and that it is powered on.Because of access errors not all ports were checked.Using the Light-O-Rama control panel make sure that shows are disabled.I did in fact verify that shows are disabled.On the Vista MachineThe device manager shows the 485B as being on Comm 4In the hardware utility, it is set to Comm 4Auto Configure fails to find it, and it also cannot find the 8 portcontroller that is connected to it. Auto Configure returns the followingmessage.Unable to locate the Light-O-Rama port.Check that controller is connected and that it is powered on.Please help!. I need to get the firmware updated on my 12 controllers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medman2000 Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 longshot, but I had this prob at the beginning of the year and had to replace my network cat5 cable going from the adaptor to the LOR controller. That worked for me.Another time, I thought my controller was bad because only half of the 16-channel controller had the blinking red light. LOR support informed me I had to power both sides of the controller for the software to recognize it. It worked after I plugged in both sides of the controller.Beyond that, I wish you luck my friend! Certainly can be stressful trying to figure this kind of stuff out as the clock ticks away before Halloween and Christmas display lighting ceremonies!medman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim_L Posted October 24, 2007 Author Share Posted October 24, 2007 Cable works fine. I am using it on my laptop as I am typing this.Both controllers that I had plugged in were 8 channel controllers.Dan is sending me a new one so that we can at least rule that out as being the culprit.Thanks,Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LightORamaJohn Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 It seems that the USB485B may be damaged. Do you have another RS485 adapter that you could try to see if all other components are working properly?If not, you could try a complete removal and re-installation of the USB driver software on one of your PCs. Here is a troubleshooting note I wrote but haven't completely proofed yet:http://www.lightorama.com/Documents/RS485_Adapter_Troubleshooting.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim_L Posted October 25, 2007 Author Share Posted October 25, 2007 Hi John,No, I do not have another USB485B adapter so I can't try that.I followed the instructions for both my XP Pro machine and my Vista laptop and neither machine will find USB485B adapter. Also, no errors when removing or reinstalling the FTDI on either machine.Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LightORamaJohn Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 The USB485B is probably broken. Autoconfigure works by polling any attached controller. If it can write the poll or read the response then it won't find the port. Since you've tried two controllers, two PCs, reloaded the drivers and used the cable to connect to a LAN, that seems to leave the USB485B. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim_L Posted October 26, 2007 Author Share Posted October 26, 2007 Yeah, it sure does. I guess we'll know for sure tomorrow when the new one arrives.I'll keep ya posted!Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim_L Posted October 26, 2007 Author Share Posted October 26, 2007 Man, what the heck!!!!!!I got the new USB485B, plugged it into my xp machine after removing the old one.The new one goes to Comm 8 thought maybe that was a good sign.Brought up hardware utility and did an Auto Configure. Cannot find the USB485B however, the controller light went solid red.Set the Manual Select to Comm 8, did a refresh to find the controller, zero units found. :XI also tested to see if it would turn channel 1 on to no avail.Same exact deal on Vista except, that it goes to Comm 5 instead of Comm 8.9600, 8-N-1-N are the port settings.USB transfer settings = 4096 send and receiveBM options16Timeouts = 0Seriel Enumerator is the only thing checked under Misc. Options.I also used the new USB cable that was included with the new USB485BWhat in the #%*! is up with this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LightORamaDan Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 Tim_L wrote: Man, what the heck!!!!!!I got the new USB485B, plugged it into my xp machine after removing the old one.The new one goes to Comm 8 thought maybe that was a good sign.Brought up hardware utility and did an Auto Configure. Cannot find the USB485B however, the controller light went solid red.Set the Manual Select to Comm 8, did a refresh to find the controller, zero units found. :XI also tested to see if it would turn channel 1 on to no avail.Same exact deal on Vista except, that it goes to Comm 5 instead of Comm 8.9600, 8-N-1-N are the port settings.USB transfer settings = 4096 send and receiveBM options16Timeouts = 0Seriel Enumerator is the only thing checked under Misc. Options.I also used the new USB cable that was included with the new USB485BWhat in the #%*! is up with this?A couple of questions:Does the controller that you were trying to control have a Unit ID switch on it so that you know for sure what the Unit ID is?You said that you tried to turn on channel 1. At that time was the LED solid and had you set the unit ID to the correct value. If you have hardware utility 1.6.6 then you can use the Console and set the unit ID there when testing.Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim_L Posted October 27, 2007 Author Share Posted October 27, 2007 Dan,I again ran the ftclean this AM, reinstalled the driver and am now on Comm 3 instead of Comm 8. I entered the Hardware utility and viola, it found the USB485B and the controller. My test of turning on channel 1, works fine as well. Just for the heck of it, I put the old USB485B back in, it went back to Comm 8 and the Hardware Utility could not find it. Do you want me to ship it to you for a autopsy or do you want me to toss it?How often do these things go bad? Should I buy a couple to have on hand?Thanks for your help Dan and John. I really appreciate it.Now, I have to go update the firmware on all of these controllers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LightORamaDan Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 It is very rare that these units go bad. I would not think a spare is necessary.Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim_L Posted October 27, 2007 Author Share Posted October 27, 2007 Thanks Dan. I am going to grab one anyway. I would hate for something so trivial to take my show down. $39.00 is a small price to pay for that piece of mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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