MonstrousMike Posted December 23, 2013 Share Posted December 23, 2013 I have a CTB16D commercial controller (firmware 4.40) that keeps blinking on channel 16. It is the 8th segment of a leaping arch. It does this when the show is not running, and when there is nothing sequenced to that segment. I checked the firmware, which seems to be up to date. I updated the RS-485 driver. I disconnected the CAT5 cable --- no effect. I restarted the controller --- no effect. The segment in question seems to work fine via the Hardware Config tool. After reading some other posts, I was going to replace the CAT5 cable with a store-bought cable. I made my own cable, which seems to be working fine. I tested the cable on a desktop computer before I used it in the LOR network. I got blazing fast download and upload speeds, so I figured all was well. I made the cable using the standard CAT5 pinout: white/orange, orange, white/green, blue, white/blue, green, white/brown, brown. Here's my setup:Unit 1 = CTB16D ver 4.40Unit 2 (not used)Unit 3 = CTB16D ver 4.40Unit 4 = CTB16D ver 4.40 <<< This is the problem controller. Channel 16 is the only one that is acting up.Unit 5 = 16PC-G3 ver 1.04Unit 6 = CTB16PC ver 4.40 Laptop with RS-485 >>> Unit 1 >>> Unit 2 >>> Easy Light Linker (Transmitter) >>> Unit 4Easy Light Linker (Receiver) >>> Unit 5 >>> Unit 6 I suppose I should swap out Unit 4 with my unused Unit 2 and see what happens. I'll try that tomorrow afternoon --- I'm only 15 minutes from tonight's show starting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max-Paul Posted December 23, 2013 Share Posted December 23, 2013 Ok, on the surface of what you are saying. I have to tell you, that just pulling the plug or switching off power. Does not reboot these controllers. Had a problem a few years back, dont remember what it was. Removed power for about 30 seconds and plugged it back in. Same problem as before. Ok, then I did the reset and this fixed it. I believe you said that you have the commercial board. This would be a board that has the two address switches, right? Going to presume you said yes. In this case, remove power and dial both switches to zero "0". Apply power and notice that the LED is now blinking twice the normal blink rate. Remove power again and return the switches back to past setting (would presume the left switch was zero already. So, change the right to "4". Now reapply power and lets see if that blinking goes away. BTW how fast is that thing blinking would you say, once a second? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonstrousMike Posted December 25, 2013 Author Share Posted December 25, 2013 It was blinking about once a second or two. I swapped it today for another controller, which solved the problem for my display. I'll try a "real" reset of the controller and see if that corrects it. I was about to contact LOR to see about sending it back for repair. I'll cross my fingers and hope the reset works. Thanks a bunch for the suggestion! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max-Paul Posted December 25, 2013 Share Posted December 25, 2013 Once a second is normal if LOR is not running (missing LOR network like cable unplugged). But the blinking will double march twice a second while doing a reset. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonstrousMike Posted December 25, 2013 Author Share Posted December 25, 2013 Hmmm.... Assuming I did the reset correctly, I still have the problem. Here's what I did... BTW, the unit is disconnected from the network.Turned off power and remove power cables from outlets. Changed Unit ID to 00 Plugged in and turned on power: LED on controller board blinked twice the normal rate. Turned off power and remove power cables from outlets. Changed Unit ID back to 04 Plugged in and turned on power: LED on controller board blinked at the normal rate.The lights plugged into Channel 16 still come on, at low intensity. I tried it several times, but no luck. Once I tried resetting it to 02, but that made no difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max-Paul Posted December 26, 2013 Share Posted December 26, 2013 Ok, two last things to try and they dont cost anything but a wee bit of time. If you have a volt meter and can do a wee bit of electrical trouble shooting try this. with one lead on the case ground (green wire) or if your outside with it, put one test probe into the dirt. Now take the meter and set it to read A.C. voltage. Remove the plastic cover from the fuse for the P.C. controllers or locate the hot lead terminal on the pro grade board. Take the second lead to the fuse holder in the PC models or to the hot terminal on the board. If you dont see 110 - 120VAC. Then somewhere the hot and neutral have been swapped. Might need to work from the outlet that the controller is plugged into, thru any extension cords and input cords up to the board. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max-Paul Posted December 26, 2013 Share Posted December 26, 2013 Oh, forgot 2nd thing. If you have dongles that the lights plug into. I have heard some have luck by unplugging and turning the plug 180 degrees. I think I have heard that this helps with half wave strings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonstrousMike Posted December 26, 2013 Author Share Posted December 26, 2013 Thanks for the suggestions! I'll try those when I get home from work today. BTW, channel 16 has issues with incandescents and LEDs. My leaping arch uses incandescents. I've been testing the unit (reset, etc.) with some LEDs connected, but I'll try again with incandescents to see if it behaves any differently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonstrousMike Posted December 31, 2013 Author Share Posted December 31, 2013 The LOR help desk thinks it may be a bad triac. They're sending me one so I can replace it. I hope that settles it! Thanks for all the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a31ford Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Mike, I just posted an issue with channels blinking, you might find the reason very interesting..... http://forums.lightorama.com/index.php?/topic/30707-yet-another-weird-problem/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonstrousMike Posted January 8, 2014 Author Share Posted January 8, 2014 a31ford, thanks for the info! My CAT5 runs are much shorter, the one in question was only about 30'. And it has the same problem with a short CAT5 connected directly to the LOR dongle. Plus it misbehaves regardless of the outlet I plug it into --- always channel 16. I deleted also deleted any stand-alone shows, to no effect (there should not have been any, but I deleted anyway.) LOR sent me a new triac (actually 3 --- very nice of them), which I hope to replace this weekend. I'll post my results once I swap the triac. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonstrousMike Posted January 12, 2014 Author Share Posted January 12, 2014 I just spent a couple of hours replacing the triac for channel 16. Everything seemed to go well --- no extra washers, nuts or screws when I was done. Then I tested the unit... I am sad to report that I am still having the same old problem. It looks like I'll be opening another ticket with LOR and sending it to the professionals for repair. At least I have 9 months until Halloween! I'll post the fix once I get the unit back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonstrousMike Posted February 10, 2014 Author Share Posted February 10, 2014 I got the controller back from Light-O-Rama. (It arrived a couple of weeks ago, but I've been pretty busy and travelling a bit.)They replace the "bad triacs" --- plural. Hmmm... I need to pug it in and give it a quick test. Fingers crossed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indi Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 Last year I had a problem with one of my 16 channel controllers and pixel tree. On the 16 channel controller I had channels 1 -8 come on and flash randomly as long as the controller was plugged in. And had different pixels stay on after it would go through different sequences, not the same pixels.Question: I found that I had used a number of Cat5 cables that where crossed (not 1 on 1 at both ends. Could this have effected my controllers and pixels and made them do strange things. I have bought new Cat5 cables throughout and replaced the crossed cables. I have not done any testing yet. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonstrousMike Posted April 28, 2014 Author Share Posted April 28, 2014 Sorry I haven't posted in a while. The replacement of several triacs seems to have done the trick. I tested the controller and it seems to be working fine --- no crazy flashing lights on channel 16 when the controller sits idle! As to my CAT5 cables, I'm 99.99% sure that they are fine. I tested them with different controllers, and even used them to connect a computer to the internet. They worked flawlessly.indi: I imagine that bad CAT5 cables could cause problems. Testing them out should be the proof in the pudding. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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