CONTROLLER NOT DETECTED IN HWU

[bajantechie]

I am no longer seeing one of my controllers in the HWU even though the status LED is solid red. LOR1602W 

Things I have done so far:

Reset the controller - no success 

Change CAT5 cables - no success 

Shut down all other controllers and Plug main CAT5 cable into this controller - no success

All other controllers are working even the ones down stream from the bad one

Any help is appreciated my friends.

Ronald.

P.S. - I have just realized that when I run a sequence the lights on the no show controller is working. (weird) Any ideas why this is happening?

Edited December 28, 2017 by bajantechie

[Mr. P]

Play a sequence and see if they respond. I have had two controllers not show up all season but they still work when I play my show.

[bajantechie]

Thanks Mr. P

I have just realized that exactly. The lights responds to the sequence even though the controller not showing in HWU. (weird though isn't it)

Ronald.

[Bigfrog 59]

I have the same problem, 3 of my controllers do not show up in the HWU but they all work when I run my show. I have a pro license and running ver 4.3.24. ?

[bajantechie]

Wow Bigfrog 59

Surely there must be some reason this is happening. I was hoping someone here may have dealt with this before and had the answer. Guess we will have to talk to LOR to get an answer on this because it's very frustrating not being able to access the unit to make any changes.

Ronald.

[Mr. P]

I personally think that the HU is flakey. I mean I use good quality pure copper cables that I make myself and not that store bought CCA junk. When connected individually they are detected and the only time they become an issue is when I start linking a bunch of them toether. In my case it is my 9th and 11th controller in the line that doesn't show but they play and that is really all that matters to me.

[Santas Helper]

I agree with Mr P on the flakey HU. Because I use Gen1 Controllers, I haven't even opened the HU in years. And yes, I had the same results with HU not seeing all Controllers since 2006. If controllers are working, it's not an issue.

Edited December 28, 2017 by Santas Helper

[bajantechie]

Fair Enough Santas Helper,

But what if you want to change the ID #, or  upgrade the firmware, or run a standalone sequence etc.

 

Ronald.

 

[Mr. P]

50 minutes ago, bajantechie said:

Fair Enough Santas Helper,

But what if you want to change the ID #, or  upgrade the firmware, or run a standalone sequence etc.

 

Ronald.

 

As I stated, I only run into the issue when I link a bunch together. I've never had an issue with just one linked and you are only supposed to have one linked when setting the ID.

[bajantechie]

I Got You Mr. P,

But my problem exist even with only one controller connected. No show...  So we have a flaky HU then?

 

Ronald. 

[TheDucks]

1 minute ago, bajantechie said:

I Got You Mr. P,

But my problem exist even with only one controller connected. No show...  So we have a flaky HU then?

 

Ronald. 

What is the maximum ID set in the upper right corner of HU?  Was this good enough?

[bajantechie]

The Ducks Good Evening

I have 10 controllers and my network is set to 15 Units to save time searching.

Ronald.

[TheDucks]

1 hour ago, bajantechie said:

The Ducks Good Evening

I have 10 controllers and my network is set to 15 Units to save time searching.

Ronald.

Sounds fine as long as they are all controllers for dumb nodes.  

FWIW mine is set to '1F', I have 4 dumb and 2 Pixie4 , so there is a few future spares    (I want another CMB24 for 2018)

[Orville]

Still using older version of LOR Suite 3.8.2, but I have had this happen too, sometimes if I click on the refresh button several times it will finally show up, even had to do this with just one controller connected.  One thing I did and didn't catch and liked to drove me crazy, is I had 2 controllers with the same ID #, and so when you go into the HWU, it would only show me 4 of my 5 controllers.  That liked to drive me insane trying to figure why all the controllers weren't showing up as they should.

Maybe, somehow, one of your controllers got it's ID changed in error and you have two with the same ID?   just a thought and something else to look at. 

BTW: my controller also worked in SE, but it was just mirroring the other controller with the same ID number, but the HWU couldn't locate it, and the HWU isn't smart enough to show you or know there are 2 controllers with the same ID connected, it will only show 1 unit with ID #01 for example if two units share the same ID number, you won't see two separate units with an ID of 01, just one even though 2 are connected and sharing the same number ID, it will only display ONE unit!

  Again, just something you might want to check.

[Al Saunders]

I know this is an older thread but I'm having the same issue. I have a total of 5 controllers on at this time with 3 more about to be connected. I ran the Hardware Utility and it only found #3 and all other 4 controllers were not detected. But the strange thing is for a very short time the undetected controllers flashed through while I was testing the one found controller. The missing controllers are for a mega tree, 3 channel topper and 4 bells. Several channels flashed around the tree and the star flashed a but then stopped. At one point it seemed as though the mega tree was mirroring the found controller. The found controller is the usual metal pro series 16 channel controller and the mega tree is using 3 of them (48 channels) plus 3 channels a 4th one. I'm going to check the "missing" controllers tomorrow evening to make sure their unit id is correct then try running the Hardware Utility again. If it doesn't see all of them I'll try running a sequence to see it they work but don't she in HWU for some reason like above.

Al

[Al Saunders]

In case anyone is wondering, No I was not drunk when I made the above post. LOL

I just read it at work and thought, WOW I made a bunch of grammatical errors!

Sorry if anyone got confused reading it.

Al

[Mr. P]

12 minutes ago, Al Saunders said:

In case anyone is wondering, No I was not drunk when I made the above post. LOL

I just read it at work and thought, WOW I made a bunch of grammatical errors!

Sorry if anyone got confused reading it.

Al

I was drinking when I read it so it sounded perfect to me.  😁

[Orville]

That more than likely sounds like a bad cat5 cable along the chain.  I invested in a Cat Cable tester and wouldn't be without one, as it's nearly impossible to know if a cat cable is bad or not without one.  

Also make sure the connectors{Cat cable jacks on the inside of the controller on the PC Board} on the first controller not being found isn't loose, also check the inside of the cat cable jack for bent pins, this could also cause that problem.  Only other issue could be a possible firmware update is needed.

Other than these not sure what the issue could be causing the problem.

Edited November 26, 2018 by Orville

[Al Saunders]

6 hours ago, Orville said:

That more than likely sounds like a bad cat5 cable along the chain.

Hey Orville,

Thanks for the info! I'll definitely check the cat5 cables. When my electrician brother-in-law and I made one years ago I kinda remember checking it with a multimeter. I think we were checking for continuity per pin. I don't have one of those checking devises so I'll try this old school way.

Thanks again for the great info.

Al

[k6ccc]

14 minutes ago, Al Saunders said:

I don't have one of those checking devises so I'll try this old school way.

Invest the eight bucks:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OUFX38W/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1