PE / Pixcon Nightmare

[Rusty]

LOR PRO 4.3.14. I've been using LOR for 4 years so not a total newbie. Just new to pixels. Yes I'm running in enhanced mode.

First of all I'm having problems with my Pixcon16  board but I'll deal with LOR about that. I built an outline of a tractor on cattle panel. This will be in a remote location so running it with a computer is not an option. I plan to run it with a G3-MP3. (Is this possible?)

This is a pretty simple design. I'm using 12V Holiday Coro 2811 pixels.  Channel counts are as follows. OP1 - 49 pixels, OP2 - 37 pixels, OP3 - 25 pixels, OP4 - 58 pixels, OP5 - 47pixels, OP6 - 36 pixels, OP7 - 47 pixels, OP8 - 35 pixels, OP9 - 50 pixels, OP10 through OP15 will be a matrix each string having 81 pixels. Total pixel count is 870. Once I get the board problem solved I just need to know how to set up channels, universes, etc. I would like to use LOR "NOT" E1.31.

Can someone give me the pixels for dummies version on how to set this up?

[lkcubsrule]

This unique setup calls for a unique challenge, but it shouldn't be *too* difficult.  First for the controller setup:

Setup for the PixCon requires a (internet) network connection, NOT an RS485 connection. (But operation doesn't.) Open up your Network Configurations (through the SE, Programs, or the LOR Tray) and navigate to "Find/Configure Pixcon16" on the right-hand side.  Assuming the connection works and the computer finds your board, you can go into its configuration.  I'd check out the LOR Help file for this as it's pretty in-depth.  Inside the help, find "Network Configuration", and then skip down to "Pixcon16", or the last line on the help file page.  Here's a link to the online help.

First you need to let the controller know to activate it's LOR port.  Inside the PixCon Network Configurations dialog box, there are several options you need to specify.  This is the first page:

From the help file:  "Mode of Operation: The PixCon16 can be run in 2 different modes ->  As an E1.31 controller on an Ethernet network, or as an LOR device on an LOR RS485 network.  To run the board as an LOR device, select the check box labeled  'J3/J4 (DMX #1) are LOR RS485 Network IN/OUT, not DMX [use board in LOR mode]'.  Be sure to also move the jumpers on the board from the ESTA side to the LOR side near J4.

On the second tab, you need to setup your outputs to correspond to the lights you have:

You're going to want the "Advanced Configuration" so that you can set up each output to have it's own number of pixels.  Port 1 will have 49, Port 2: 47, etc. based on your given setup. See the LOR Help file here for more information.  (I don't have a PixCon yet, so I'm not sure how this ^ above image changes if controlled through LOR instead of DMX.  But it work similarly. I can help once LOR ships mine  ) 

Once that's setup, you need to then work on the programming side.  It again requires some work, but have no fear!  

Inside the Pixel Editor (I assume you're familiar with this) you need to create a new prop for your tractor.  You're going to want to use the "custom" tab.  With it setup as RGB lights a custom shape, select "LOR" as your control method on the right side.  To begin working on your design, start plotting out where your lights are.  The tricky thing here to note is that with different length strings, you can't use the default way of assigning strings (using the Max Circuit and going from 1 straight through 870 [or whatever # you have] in your custom numbering) -- you have to use a different method.  Light-O-Rama has nicely implemented a feature in that to move "up" a network ID, you simply add 1000 to it.  So, for Unit ID #1, your pixels will be 1-49.  And for Unit ID# 2, they will be 1001-1037.  Unit #3 is 2001-2025 and so on.  This way, as you can see in the photo below, you can begin to assign all your LOR-controlled pixels to their own Unit ID.  The photo should be pretty self-explanatory.  You'll keep moving until you've drawn out your tractor and achieved the correct number of pixels.

Once you've plotted all your pixels, go ahead and have fun programming them in the PE!  Remember to "export intensity data" so that they play out of the SE, and things should work!  Leave questions below.  I'd be happy to clarify if necessary.

[MattBrown]

Wow, Luke covered everything thoroughly. The only thing I would add is that, rather than entering the pixel numbers directly into the PE "custom" tab, you can enter them in Excel and then copy/paste them into the grid on the custom tab. This is briefly shown on pages 14-16 of this presentation:

http://www1.lightorama.com/PDF/PE_Previews_2016.pdf

Matt