Oliver Blatt Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 After using ELLs in many shows (including live performances that had the lights synched to live performers) suddenly, I'm losing connectivity at a specific point in the show. They will maintain a connection until the first really heavy programming starts, then I get the blinking green LEDs in the light packs. The only way to get connectivity back is to disable the schedule, unplug and replug the adaptor from the USB port, and enable the show again. I've checked the network speed (which is at the default setting of 56k), and I've reset the frequencies of the ELLs. I have the two ELLS about 10 feet apart, with a pane of glass in between. What is so weird about this is that they were working fine one night, and the next night the problems began! The only thing I didn't do is update the firmware, but I've had no issues for three years with all the same hardware (and the computer is not on a network so there is no issue of Windows doing an update). I'm hesitant to update firmware in the middle of the season because I don't have a lot of time to troubleshoot. After trying to fix the problem for a few days, I gave up and ran CAT5 cable until I have time to find the problem and thoroughly field test. I'm dealing with 32 channels of LOR control. Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Benson Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 Did you try changing the Channel they (the ELL's)are using ? perhaps one of your neighbors has a new WiFi router. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oliver Blatt Posted December 9, 2014 Author Share Posted December 9, 2014 Yup, I tried switching channels. And they were rock solid last year in a theater setting with multiple channels of wireless and wifi floating around. I would think it was something like that, but the connection is dropped at the same spot in the same song every time, no matter when in the order of songs it's being run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasmadrive Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 I would love to know what the cause is if you figure it out after all this. I have run ELLs for the last 3 years without issue.. and I am running some pretty fast hits on some of the songs without issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oliver Blatt Posted December 11, 2014 Author Share Posted December 11, 2014 That's what worries me! I've used them as well for 3 years in critical situations. They've always been rock solid. Suddenly this year, something is making them unhappy. I'll let you know when I figure this out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daryl Hurd Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 When you updated the firmware, did you change the speed of the ELL's? If you did not, see if bumping up the speed or down fixes your issue. With the new hardware util, you can double their speed.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasmadrive Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 (edited) Daryl, if his speed wasn't set correctly it wouldn't work at all. He just has one spot that is giving him issues. He said he was set at 56k which is the most reliable. His issue is something completely different.. There is an LED in the ELLs that will tell you if they are in data overload. I think it is LED 3 but I don't remember for sure.. However, I can't imagine that causing you to lose the link... Edited December 11, 2014 by plasmadrive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oliver Blatt Posted December 11, 2014 Author Share Posted December 11, 2014 Just to clarify, I didn't update the firmware at this point. I want to wait until after the show comes down for the year before doing that. I'll have to investigate the LEDs on the ELL, but I can't imagine that 32 channels should overload the ELLs and cause the connectivity issue. And I've run the exact same channel count with the exact same hardware and chain of equipment before with no issues. Granted the show was different, but there was some pretty heavy programming in that show as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasmadrive Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 Oliver, I did update my ELLs and they run fine with the update. I have 16 AC controllers and 2 iDMX units. The iDMX don't like the 115k, they drop cues. I went back to 56k and have zero issue. 32 channels should have no way to overload the ELL and even if they did it would not disconnect. This is a very weird thing.. Watch the LEDs when this happens.. see if you may have some sort of power issue.. (can't see that either) but you have a weird one.. BTW, did you open a ticket with LOR? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oliver Blatt Posted December 12, 2014 Author Share Posted December 12, 2014 I'll have to reconnect the ELLs and watch the LEDs. I'm not sure how soon I'll be able to do that since my "real" job is in a theater, and we're cranking out 9 Christmas shows a week right now! I will also update the firmware when I have a few hours (just in case I have a problem). I didn't open a ticket yet, I was hoping it was something silly that y'all knew that I didn't! Just to clarify, I'm assuming I should watch the LEDs on the receiving ELL? If updating firmware doesn't solve the problem, I will open a ticket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasmadrive Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 Look at the transmitting ELL. That would be the data bottleneck, but I doubt that is the issue. BTW, did you try using the other RJ45 jack in the ELL? I had an intermittent issue with one of mine and that was the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oliver Blatt Posted December 12, 2014 Author Share Posted December 12, 2014 Yes, I tried using the other RJ45 jack. I did not try a different cat5 cable though, so when I have the ELL apart to watch the LEDs I will also try a different cable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indi Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 Can the ELL's be out in the weather? Or do they need to be protected? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oliver Blatt Posted December 12, 2014 Author Share Posted December 12, 2014 While I don't have the manual in front of me right now, if I recall, yes, they are designed to be used outdoors. I've used them outside many times, but my issue started with them inside, and continued once they were set in place outside too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oliver Blatt Posted December 28, 2014 Author Share Posted December 28, 2014 Update: I came home tonight to find none of my lights were on (I run a static display 6 nights of the week). Both controllers had lost connectivity. At this point the system is wired with cat5 cable, so I'm wondering if my ELL issue isn't down stream at either the USB adaptor or an issue with the software. I disabled the schedule, and re enabled it, and got back connectivity. I will troubleshoot next week, but wanted to add this issue to the mix...it may all be connected! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasmadrive Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Update: I came home tonight to find none of my lights were on (I run a static display 6 nights of the week). Both controllers had lost connectivity. At this point the system is wired with cat5 cable, so I'm wondering if my ELL issue isn't down stream at either the USB adaptor or an issue with the software. I disabled the schedule, and re enabled it, and got back connectivity. I will troubleshoot next week, but wanted to add this issue to the mix...it may all be connected!good question.. my worked for the last 3 seasons without issue.. just this season in this spot seems to be the issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oliver Blatt Posted January 26, 2015 Author Share Posted January 26, 2015 Ok, time for an update! It's a snow day here, so I thought it would be a good time to pull everything out and see if I couldn't figure out what was going on. I first tried running a sequence from my other computer, and immediately had the same issue (the controllers were losing the signal...ie blinking green light). Before resorting to upgrading firmware, I popped the back of the transmitting ELL. No LED's were lit. As soon as I unplugged and replugged the cable, I immediately got signal back to both the ELL and the controllers. To make a long story short, either I have a funky jack in the ELL or it's just dirty/corroded since this is the first time I've opened it since plugging in the cable when I first bought it. I have lost connectivity a few times while bench testing today but it seems the more I plug/unplug the cat5 cable, the less issues I'm having with the ELL. I'll keep everyone posted, but at this point, ELL's are back online and hopefully ready for a trouble free 2015! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasmadrive Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 wound up with one that showed good on the HU but that was as far as the signal got. My other one was intermittent and surely the RJ45. Sent both back to LOR a few weeks ago. I haven't heard anything yet but they said it would take awhile since they were just now off the busy season. I will wait to see what they say back there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zman Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 (edited) A few things. First these run 900Mhz, so older cordless phones. From USB485B to Tx ELL, that Cat5 can be no longer than 25' Next they are line of sight, so if any large object is in the way, it can cause issues. Usually the Tx ELL is higher than all the rest, but someone told me once that the Rx ELLs should be close to 8' high. I have ran ELLs now for 9 yrs no major issues except this year, I had a new yard set up this year, and ELLs where thy have never been before. with the injury to my wrist, I was not able to adequately debug the issue, but I suspect it was because that Rx ELL was not high enough. Also the antennas should all be oriented pointing up. I did have some issues with some Rx ELLs pointing sideways. Lastly swipe a small amount of dielectric grease on the gold contacts to displace water/moisture. Edited January 29, 2015 by zman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasmadrive Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 OK.. finally heard back from LOR. They replaced the RJ45 on the one unit and it is good to go.. the other one still won't communicate and they said they can't fix it because they can't do board level repair on the ELLs. They can only replace the ant and jacks.. other than that, it means a new ELL. They do replace it for $90 but seems a shame for what could be a $1-2 part.. but no way to find out.. So, that one lasted 3 years and took a dump... that is about $50 a year in cost. The others seem to be doing fine.. I have many of them.. and I do like em. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts