PIXCON 16 HELP

[cam308]

I recently purchased a Pixel String Starter Pack w/ PixCon16 controller.  When I go into the Network Communicator and hit the "Find/Configure PixCon16" button, the utility is unable to find the controller.  I can not detect or configure the PixCon16.  It is directly connected to my computer via ethernet cable.  I do not think these two devices are talking to each other.

I tried resetting the PixCon16 using the Factory IP button so that IP goes to 192.168.0.50, then back to factory default by holding both the Factory IP and Bootloader buttons, and also tried moving the Terminator Jumper.  None of these steps helped the utility recognize the controller.  The IP for the ethernet controller on my PC is 192.168.28.172.  Is this the reason they are not communicating?  How do I can he the address of the PixCon16 to be on the same subnet if that's the case?

Thanks

[Don]

You'd have to adjust the IP address if your PC to be on the 192.168.0.0/24 network. In english, that would mean setting your PC for an IP of 192.168.0.60, Subnet 255.255.255.0 - don't worry about anything else.

You'd then be able to talk to the PixCon, and change the IP to your current network, 192.168.28.x. I'd imagine that the setting is currently on DHCP, so change it to static when you configure the PixCon. You will be OFFLINE when you change the IP Address of your computer, so remember exactly how it's set up before you make the change.

[cam308]

Ok,

I did exactly that.  Changed IPv4 controller to 192.168.0.60, Subnet: 255.255.255.0.  Left everything else blank.  Restarted computer.  Reset Factory IP on PixCon 16 again and still having no luck with utility recognizing the device.  Any other suggestions?

[Don]

You shouldn't have to restart the PC.

Can you communicate at ALL with the PixCon?

Ping - https://iihelp.iinet.net.au/How_to_run_a_ping_test - 192.168.0.60 with the controller connected.
Also from the command window type: (no quotes) "ipconfig /all" 

What results do you get?

[cam308]

Ran ping test.  Getting reply from PC at 192.168.0.60.  Not getting reply from PixCon16 at what is supposed to be 192.168.0.50.  Just to be clear I have ethernet cable connected to silver ethernet port on board.  Got solid green light and flashing red light on board.

Edited November 25, 2017 by cam308

[Don]

@k6ccc - Could you provide some input here?

[k6ccc]

I don't have a Pixcon, so only general stuff.  If you open a command prompt and type ipconfig, you should get something that starts something like:

Windows IP Configuration

 

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :

   IPv4 Address . . . . . . :  192.168.101.42

   Subnet Mask . . . . . . :  255.255.255.0

   Default Gateway . . . .:  192.168.101.250

 

Of course your IP addresses will be different.

What do you get?

 

[cam308]

Thanks guys.  I get:

IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.60
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

When run ipconfig/all I get:

Ethernet adapter Ethernet0:

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) 82574L Gigabit Network Connection
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0C-29-AE-F5-03
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
   Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::ec9e:bce9:87ac:54c6%6(Preferred)
   IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.60(Preferred)
   Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :
   DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 50334761
   DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-1D-E2-F7-22-00-0C-29-AE-F5-03
   DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : fec0:0:0:ffff::1%1
                                       fec0:0:0:ffff::2%1
                                       fec0:0:0:ffff::3%1
   NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Ethernet adapter Bluetooth Network Connection:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Bluetooth PAN HelpText
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 54-E4-3A-EF-7A-76
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter isatap.{7C825C8C-2550-4F54-9EE0-764CD7AD2383}:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter #2
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

 

Do I need to enable DHCP?  If so, how would I do that? Windows 10.

 

[cam308]

Should I have to change any of the jumper settings?  Everything is back to the default way it was sent from LOR.

[k6ccc]

40 minutes ago, cam308 said:

Do I need to enable DHCP?

No.

 

25 minutes ago, cam308 said:

Should I have to change any of the jumper settings?  

I really don't know.  as I said, I don't have a Pixcon, so other than reading the manual, I cna't help you.  General IP stuff I'm pretty good with.  Your IPCONFIG looks fine.

 

[dollar4bill]

I didn't have to change any jumper settings and i'm using a windows 10 laptop with the pixcon.  

to summarize,, when you run ipconfig, you still get the following?

IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.60
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

and you're sure you've reset the pixcon such that it should now have an ip of 192.168.0.50?  

if you've confirmed the above, maybe try a different ethernet cable.  You computer should be able to communicate/find the pixcon with the above settings.  

Edited November 25, 2017 by dollar4bill
add additional info

[Mr. P]

The thing with the Pixcon is that it comes set as default to DHCP so the ip address will be whatever is assigned to it. The ip address 192.168.0.50 is not set by deault, you can force that ip address by pressing the Factory IP button on the controller as you power up the board. This should make the Pixcon easier to find in your network.

Edited November 25, 2017 by Mr. P

[cam308]

Guys,

Thanks for all the help and suggestions.  I was finally able to figure this out!!!!

I am using VMware Fusion running on MAC hardware.  This software allows me to use MAC as a "PC" running Windows 10.  So inside this environment I had to go into Virtual Machine Settings --> Network Adapter --> Bridged (Ethernet) to force machine to use static IP set for that ethernet adapter back in MAC environment.  The PixCon16 came right up when searching in the Network Configuration Window.

For those interested, the most confusing part is when inside the Window 10 environment, if I run "ipconfig" here's what I get:

 Autoconfiguration IPv4 Address. . : 169.254.84.198
 Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
 Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

But for some reason this does not matter because the Virtual Machine Settings --> Network Adapter --> Bridged (Ethernet) setting is overriding this somehow telling the system to use the static IP set for the adapter back in MAC environment.  So setting the IP manually in Windows 10 environment was not controlling the adapter.  Had to be set in MAC and use Bridged Setting.  Hope I gave clear explanation on fix.

Thanks again!

[cam308]

Clarification...

The reason I was getting:

Autoconfiguration IPv4 Address. . : 169.254.84.198
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

in Windows 10 when running "ipconfig" was because the IP address 192.168.0.60 was already in use on the MAC side of the system.  So DHCP or VM must have automatically assigned Windows 10 with IP of 169.254.84.198.  That was still causing a conflict once I clicked on the PixCon16 in the LOR Network Configuration Window.  So in addition, I had to set a manual IP address for the adapter in Windows 10 environment of 192.168.0.65 for everything to play nice with each other.  So in conclusion, to avoid some headaches either use a standalone PC machine to communicate with PixCon16 or be sure to set the IP address of both MAC and WIN environment to be on same subnet, and use Bridged Setting on VMware.

[PhilMassey]

4 hours ago, cam308 said:

I am using VMware Fusion running on MAC hardware

And you didn't think we needed to know this?