Raine Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 (edited) I am experiencing a strange thing with my controllers. For Halloween I only use 2 CTB16's for string lights (Unit ID's 01 & 02), and 2 CMB24's for dumb rgb strips(Unit ID 07) and rgb floods (Unit ID 08). When I connect the first 2, the controller LEDs turn solid green. All good. When I add the 3rd controller (the CMB24), the first 2 units blink again, but the CMB24 is solid? Any suggestions? I have a pro license and use the enhanced protocol for Christmas. Edited October 18, 2020 by Raine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDucks Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 You mentioned HU. Does the CMB24 respond (control lights) from there? Have you replaced the CAT5 between ID 2 & ID7? Inspect all RJ45 connector involved for bent or flattened pins (or twisted bodies) You did not mention Unit 8. What is it doing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raine Posted October 18, 2020 Author Share Posted October 18, 2020 The CMB24 does respond properly when ran directly to the RJ45, as does unit 08. For some reason when I add ID 07 to the mix, Units 01 & 02 start blinking. I have tried several different cat5 cables. Thank you for your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k6ccc Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 As TheDucks said, carefully inspect the pins on the connectors on Unit 07 and whatever it is connected to. My guess is that some wires are crossed. Those pins are not that hard to mess up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raine Posted October 18, 2020 Author Share Posted October 18, 2020 (edited) The pins look good. It seems to work just fine when I go from Unit ID 07 to the RJ45? That what I just can't seem to understand? For the sake of trial and error, 1, 2 & 8 work fine all together. 1 & 2 work together. 7 & 8 work together. Any time I add 7 to the mix, 1 & 2 start blinking. I have just upgraded to 4.4.6. I reset the CMB24. I have tried to use my RS485-HS instead of the reular 485. I have tried comm4 and comm3. Edited October 18, 2020 by Raine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDucks Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 4.4.6 runs fine with the AC and Dumb, so that is not an issue (My current net 'A" is AC, Pixie4,CMB24. on a Red 500K. I have a Gen 2 AC on Regular, Black 115k and 2@ Pixie4, 2@cmb24 on another Red) It is not a COM issue. Make sure your speed is below 500K. (are your AC's Gen 2? ) It could be a Noise issue: is the cat5 between 2 + 7 run alongside the power cords for more than a couple of feet? You may need a 120ohm termination at the far end (8). (some of the new Pixies include a TERM jumper position, but you may need to make your own the resistor is between 4 + 5 (the blue pair) Check the firmware levels on all (please report), specially 07 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raine Posted October 18, 2020 Author Share Posted October 18, 2020 Thank you for checking in with me! I am currently upgrading the firmware on the 16G3's to 1.11. The Unit ID 07 CMB24 is 1.05, so I think thats the latest firmware? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raine Posted October 19, 2020 Author Share Posted October 19, 2020 Update: I have updated my software to 4.4.6. I have the Pro license. All controllers have the latest firmware. All CTB16's are Gen 3. Firmware 1.11. Both CMB24's are Gen 3. Firmware 1.05. I'm using the black RJ485 on the Regular LOR network (comm3) with a 57.6k speed. I do not have "enhanced" checked in the Network Preferences. In the HWU, when I connect the first 2 16's (ID 1 & 2) and hit refresh, both controllers have a solid green led. Both controllers appear in the drop down menu to the right of the refresh. When I add a cat5 cable from ID 2 to ID 7(the CMB 24), the red led in 7 goes solid, but the 2 green leds in controllers 1 & 2 begin to blink again. When I refresh again, only Unit ID 07 shows up. I have gone directly from the RJ485 to Unit 7, and it reacts fine. Are there any other suggestions that I can try to troubleshoot the issue? Thanks again for all of your help so far!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgrant Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 As mentioned already, you might have grabbed a crossover cable instead of a standard patch cable therefore the wiring isn't right. Another possibility is to insure your CMB24 does indeed have ID7 set within and not 1 or 2. As suggested, look carefully inside the pins of the RJ45 connectors for a pin that's pushed back. It happens. If you find one pushed in or back, you need a very tiny or slim hook type tool to carefully pull it back up. If its damaged, you'll need to contact the help desk for a replacement and hope you know how to solder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDucks Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 1) I would bump the network speed up to 115K just in case (a black adapter will be fine at that speed. 2) Swap the network plugs between the 2 LOR network ports to see if the fault changes style 3) @dgrant what puzzles me is 7 works when connected, otherwise I would suspect the x-over cable (but they usually only had 2 pair and those are not pins 4+5) 4) Bad RS485 driver chip (not going tristate) in unit 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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