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New to Dumb RGB


colelini00

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Hello fellow forum members. I have used 32 channels of LOR for the past two years and for the 2017 season I would like to start adding some dumb RGB. I plan on converting my two mega trees over to dumb RGB along with adding 6 dumb pixel mini trees. My question is this: what is the easiest way to connect the controllers to my computer? I know that the LOR USB485 dongle will not work but what is the easiest way of doing this? I plan on buying the 30 channel dumb controllers from Holiday Coro but read that the acti-dongle only uses 1 universe. Keep in mind that I would like to add more dumb RGB in the future so I would need to run multiple universes.

Thanks in advance!

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They plug right into the Ethernet port on the computer. When you add more universes, you will need a router and or a switch.


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Make sure to NEVER connect a LOR controller directly to your PC, router, or LAN.  Serious and costly damage might be your immediate reward.

The ONLY lighting controllers you can connect directly to your PC/router/switch/LAN are those that are running in E1.31 protocol.

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3 hours ago, colelini00 said:

So can I use e1.31 for dumb RGB?

Yes.... And.... No

If you have a smart controller that has DMX outputs then (Yes) if not (No).   Then you'll need to use a DMX adapter 

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Let's make this far easier for him.  Forget DMX and E1.31.  Most of us run DUMB RGB with a LOR DC controller such as the CMB24D.  It will connect via Cat-5 cable just like your existing LOR AC controllers (on the same network).  If you REALLY insist on going with the Holiday Coro controller, you would be entering the world of DMX.  It's not a difficult world, but then you would need a DMX dongle for each DMX universe.  You are quite a ways from needing more than one universe.  The other option would be to go with E1.31 from the computer via ethernet and use an E1.31 controller that can output DMX (most of them will).  This adds another layer of complexity that you may well get into some day, but for what you are trying to do today, it's massive overkill.  BTW, I'm not trying to put down E1.31 - I have five E1.31 controllers that are driving thousands of RGB smart pixels.

 

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20 hours ago, colelini00 said:

Hello fellow forum members. I have used 32 channels of LOR for the past two years and for the 2017 season I would like to start adding some dumb RGB. I plan on converting my two mega trees over to dumb RGB along with adding 6 dumb pixel mini trees. My question is this: what is the easiest way to connect the controllers to my computer? I know that the LOR USB485 dongle will not work but what is the easiest way of doing this? I plan on buying the 30 channel dumb controllers from Holiday Coro but read that the acti-dongle only uses 1 universe. Keep in mind that I would like to add more dumb RGB in the future so I would need to run multiple universes.

Thanks in advance!

Keep in mind that each universe is 512 DMX channels,  I run several dumb RGB elements consisting of (3) 27 channel  controllers,(10) 3 channel controllers and (1) EasyPix Controller / DMX to SPI Smart Pixel Decoder all off of one DMX universe. I also have an acti-dongle that I no longer need. If you are interested PM me and let me know.

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I don't use a dongle for my dumb or smart ribbons. They are HC items and plug straight into the E1.31 port.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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So I guess this would be a great place to ask this question. I'm also adding RGB next year so I was looking at cmb24d but when I go into the computer to add that controller it's not an option. Guessing it's my software. I'm running 3.5.0 advanced? Need to upgrade? Strange tho if that is the case because I can add dmx universes.


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3.5 is getting pretty old. Off hand, I'm going to assume that the CMB24D did not exist when that version of software was released. You can still add multiple RGB channels and run a CMB24D just fine.


Sent from my Droid Turbo via Tapatalk, so blame any typos or spelling errors on Android

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It is probably easiest for you to use something like the CMB24D, then, when your feeling up to it, expand into basic DMX (It isn't much more complicated than LOR). Don't worry about DMX universes and E1.31 yet.

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Like most there are a number of ways to go about this.   A dongle will give you 170 dub stings worth of room. Depending on how many different addressable strings on the dumb mega trees you could use 1or a few of the 9 channel controllers (daisy chained) and if the small trees are a single addressable string(s), it might be best to use the small 3 channel controllers on each of the mini trees.  

Many of the newer smart string controllers have dmx outputs (eliminating the need for a dongle) and allowing future expansion to smart strings.

LOR's newest RGB controller can still be sequencer and set up like a standard controller making the move to DMX a little easier. Other smart controllers (E1.31) also do not need a dongle as they are connected to your network plug on your computer.

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Thank you everyone for your help. I think I have decided to go with the Acti-dongle for now since I don't need multiple universes right away and don't plan on venturing into the world of smart RGB just yet. As far as going with the CMB24D and sticking to LOR's protocol, I believe it will benefit me more to use Holiday Coro's controllers, in terms of cost. Again thanks everyone!

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  • 4 weeks later...

Here's another option that doesn't cost much: I use an ELOR from SanDevices for all my dumb RGB (2 RFX's, 3 RGB floods, 3 RGB strips around windows, and an 8-RGB_channel mini tree made with dumb RGB pixel in a spiral configuration). The ELOR looks like an iDMX1000 (actually, it looks like 4) to the LOR software, so you don't have to change any connection to your computer. I also use the ELOR to drive an E6804, which is connected to 100 GE ColorEffects pixels. 

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On 1/16/2017 at 4:12 PM, colelini00 said:

Thank you everyone for your help. I think I have decided to go with the Acti-dongle for now since I don't need multiple universes right away and don't plan on venturing into the world of smart RGB just yet. As far as going with the CMB24D and sticking to LOR's protocol, I believe it will benefit me more to use Holiday Coro's controllers, in terms of cost. Again thanks everyone!

I highly recommend reading LOR's documentation on RGB, found on their website.

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