Pcastain Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 Hello all, new to the forum here so hopefully this is the right place. Second year using LOR S4, last year Christmas and this year Halloween, I had no issues with two ctb16pc controllers (besides the usual learning curve). This year I added three more controllers so I upgraded to standard last week. Now, when I connect a second controller, I get a flashing LED and it won't find it in HU. no matter which one I put first, I can't get a second one (ANY second one) to read. I tried multiple cat5 cables, reset controllers, shut down my computer, no luck. So frustrating when I finally got all the lights up and the controllers wont work! Any ideas? I really have a feeling it's on the software end at this point, since I've configured the hardware so many different ways. Thanks in advance for any help, and sorry if I left out any vital info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDucks Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 19 minutes ago, Pcastain said: Hello all, new to the forum here so hopefully this is the right place. Second year using LOR S4, last year Christmas and this year Halloween, I had no issues with two ctb16pc controllers (besides the usual learning curve). This year I added three more controllers so I upgraded to standard last week. Now, when I connect a second controller, I get a flashing LED and it won't find it in HU. no matter which one I put first, I can't get a second one (ANY second one) to read. I tried multiple cat5 cables, reset controllers, shut down my computer, no luck. So frustrating when I finally got all the lights up and the controllers wont work! Any ideas? I really have a feeling it's on the software end at this point, since I've configured the hardware so many different ways. Thanks in advance for any help, and sorry if I left out any vital info. Test each controller by itself connected to the dongle. Does the Green LED stay steady? Can you test that controllers outputs with HU? If the answer is thaey all test alone. Then You may have a bad jack (the one you are daisying from. Change the controller order on the chain. That does NOT need to be in ID order Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pcastain Posted November 25, 2019 Author Share Posted November 25, 2019 Thanks for the reply. Each controller works when it's first in the line. I only have red LEDs on mine but they say steady. I have tried it in multiple orders and no matter what order I try, the first one works and second one does not Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k6ccc Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 Sounds like either a bad cable or a bad port on the first controller. It should not make any difference which port you plug into. Try both ports on each controller with the cable from the the USB adapter. If you find that on one particular controller, only one port works, you have found the pad port. Put that controller last in the circuit so only one port is needed.. If they all work on the cable from the USB adapter on both ports of each controller, most likely a bad cable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDucks Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 6 minutes ago, Pcastain said: Thanks for the reply. Each controller works when it's first in the line. I only have red LEDs on mine but they say steady. I have tried it in multiple orders and no matter what order I try, the first one works and second one does not Works? Lets get the basics going, then we will thing about the show. ALL controller LEDS need to be steady. Until that happens the rest does not happen. If #2 POSITION is bad, then the cable has problems because you proved each controller works by itself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pcastain Posted November 25, 2019 Author Share Posted November 25, 2019 3 minutes ago, k6ccc said: Sounds like either a bad cable or a bad port on the first controller. It should not make any difference which port you plug into. Try both ports on each controller with the cable from the the USB adapter. If you find that on one particular controller, only one port works, you have found the pad port. Put that controller last in the circuit so only one port is needed.. If they all work on the cable from the USB adapter on both ports of each controller, most likely a bad cable. I've swapped cables and controllers and no matter which of my 5 controllers goes first, HU only finds one controller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pcastain Posted November 25, 2019 Author Share Posted November 25, 2019 2 minutes ago, TheDucks said: Works? Lets get the basics going, then we will thing about the show. ALL controller LEDS need to be steady. Until that happens the rest does not happen. If #2 POSITION is bad, then the cable has problems because you proved each controller works by itself I've tried 4 different cables to link the first and second with no luck. Its like HU will only allow me to find one controller at a time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDucks Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 (edited) 10 minutes ago, Pcastain said: I've tried 4 different cables to link the first and second with no luck. Its like HU will only allow me to find one controller at a time What is the Number in the upper Right corner (Max ID) of HU? Set it to 10 minimum (16 controllers) Edited November 25, 2019 by TheDucks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pcastain Posted November 25, 2019 Author Share Posted November 25, 2019 2 minutes ago, TheDucks said: What is the Number in the upper Right corner (Max ID) of HU? Set it to 10 minimum (16 controllers) It was originally F0, I had set it to A0. Just changed it to 10 but still just finding the one controller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDucks Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 7 minutes ago, Pcastain said: It was originally F0, I had set it to A0. Just changed it to 10 but still just finding the one controller It just had to be bigger than the BIGGEST ID to be found. You did set all the ID's below 08 ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pcastain Posted November 25, 2019 Author Share Posted November 25, 2019 2 minutes ago, TheDucks said: It just had to be bigger than the BIGGEST ID to be found. You did set all the ID's below 08 ?? Yes, all IDs are 01-05. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDucks Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 1 minute ago, Pcastain said: Yes, all IDs are 01-05. I am at a loss. You have replaced cables, tested units stand alone. Have you tried switching which jack is in vs out? Do you get a solid click from the CAT5 plug. Better yet. Do you have a CAT5 cable test tool and have verified the cables are wired correctly (Yes, commercial cables are not exempt (100' foot strung at work, in some perilous locations, only to find it was WRONLY terminated ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibblejr Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 Here is something, not sure about the AC controllers but on all of my pixies next to the ethernet ports there are jumper terminals. If they are not jumped then the terminal does not let data pass through. Look at the manual and see if this could be the case. If so place a jumper and it may clear up your problem. You said last year the two worked. Will they work together this year? If they are G1/ G2's this could also cause you problems but I would try looking to see if the AC controllers have the network jumper pins. Just a thought since it happened with one of my pixies I built. JR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pcastain Posted November 25, 2019 Author Share Posted November 25, 2019 11 minutes ago, TheDucks said: I am at a loss. You have replaced cables, tested units stand alone. Have you tried switching which jack is in vs out? Do you get a solid click from the CAT5 plug. Better yet. Do you have a CAT5 cable test tool and have verified the cables are wired correctly (Yes, commercial cables are not exempt (100' foot strung at work, in some perilous locations, only to find it was WRONLY terminated ) Yea I've gotten plenty of faulty things out of the box, I plan on bringing home my tester tomorrow and double checking. I opened a ticket to see if maybe it was an issue with my license upgrade. Other than that I'm at a loss! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pcastain Posted November 25, 2019 Author Share Posted November 25, 2019 3 minutes ago, dibblejr said: Here is something, not sure about the AC controllers but on all of my pixies next to the ethernet ports there are jumper terminals. If they are not jumped then the terminal does not let data pass through. Look at the manual and see if this could be the case. If so place a jumper and it may clear up your problem. You said last year the two worked. Will they work together this year? If they are G1/ G2's this could also cause you problems but I would try looking to see if the AC controllers have the network jumper pins. Just a thought since it happened with one of my pixies I built. JR I *think* they're all g1 but I will double check the jumpers tomorrow. I did remove the jumpers to reset the controllers, so assuming they are in the correct spot, that should be fine. The two I used last year (and last month for Halloween!) won't even work together now. The only thing I can think of is an issue with my license upgrade, that's the only thing that has changed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibblejr Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 2 minutes ago, Pcastain said: I *think* they're all g1 but I will double check the jumpers tomorrow. I did remove the jumpers to reset the controllers, so assuming they are in the correct spot, that should be fine. The two I used last year (and last month for Halloween!) won't even work together now. The only thing I can think of is an issue with my license upgrade, that's the only thing that has changed. The jumpers Im talking about would be dif from other jumpers. If it was earlier I would ask my friend to look since I gave him all of my gen1 and gen2 controllers. JR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pcastain Posted November 25, 2019 Author Share Posted November 25, 2019 Yea it's after 10pm here so I am picking it up again tomorrow morning. Should either port give me a solid red light? Some controllers only get solid red on one port Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibblejr Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 4 minutes ago, Pcastain said: Yea it's after 10pm here so I am picking it up again tomorrow morning. Should either port give me a solid red light? Some controllers only get solid red on one port If there is communication between the computer and controller the red light should come on with any port. Id check the jumpers since you stated you removed them to reset the controllers. Sometimes best to take a rest. Clear minds are better. JR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDucks Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 5 minutes ago, Pcastain said: Yea it's after 10pm here so I am picking it up again tomorrow morning. Should either port give me a solid red light? Some controllers only get solid red on one port There are 4 jumper on some models (and 5 pin sets) that are labeled DMX<>LOR. Not only do the jumpers go to the other side, but they shift to use the other pin row. But G2 and 3's don't have this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pcastain Posted November 25, 2019 Author Share Posted November 25, 2019 2 minutes ago, dibblejr said: If there is communication between the computer and controller the red light should come on with any port. Id check the jumpers since you stated you removed them to reset the controllers. Sometimes best to take a rest. Clear minds are better. JR Yea my cardinal rule is to not troubleshoot while tired. Im wondering if I have multiple units with bad ports? What are the odds.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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