Problem with New LOR 16x25 Pixel Tree Kit with the Pixie8 Controller

[tikaice]

I have the Light O Rama S5 v5.5.10 Pro  40 CCR software and the USB485-HS adapter and when I run the Light O Rama Hardware Utility I click on Auto Configure and the program sees that I have 1 controller on the network, so I then on the refresh button and it finds my pixie8 as unit ID 40. The first problem I seem to be having is in the box “Change Existing ID” I click on 40 as the Old Unit Id and I put in 41 as the new Unit ID and click on the “Change Unit ID” Button. I can then click on refresh and it shows the controller with the new unit ID. But the problem is if I unplug the controller and plug it back in or even just close the Hardware Utility and reopen it then my UNIT ID reverts back to the old and doesn’t seem to be saving the UNIT ID.

I also can not get the Hardware Utility to light up any of the lights at all. When the Pixie8 Controller is first plugged in it does a short test and then just the first light on each string remains lit but I can not get the Hardware utility to do anything with the lights.

Am I missing something??

[TheDucks]

11 minutes ago, tikaice said:

I have the Light O Rama S5 v5.5.10 Pro  40 CCR software and the USB485-HS adapter and when I run the Light O Rama Hardware Utility I click on Auto Configure and the program sees that I have 1 controller on the network, so I then on the refresh button and it finds my pixie8 as unit ID 40. The first problem I seem to be having is in the box “Change Existing ID” I click on 40 as the Old Unit Id and I put in 41 as the new Unit ID and click on the “Change Unit ID” Button. I can then click on refresh and it shows the controller with the new unit ID. But the problem is if I unplug the controller and plug it back in or even just close the Hardware Utility and reopen it then my UNIT ID reverts back to the old and doesn’t seem to be saving the UNIT ID.

I also can not get the Hardware Utility to light up any of the lights at all. When the Pixie8 Controller is first plugged in it does a short test and then just the first light on each string remains lit but I can not get the Hardware utility to do anything with the lights.

Am I missing something??

The ID was set in the switches, so it reverts next boot.

If you want to use HU to set ID, turn all the ID switches OFF.

Also.  40 CCR? Is this the SuperStar.add-on.   Someone will have to chime in on how the License count works for that.  Anything but Pro, the ID's allowed are sequential up to the License level (Basic can only use 1 and 2)

[tikaice]

Thank you for the quick reply. I missed one of the dip switches and that fixed that problem. Now my other problem still exists. Using the Light O Rama hardware utility I can not get any of the pixel lights to light up at all. The Hardware utility is recognized by the program but I can not get any lights to come on.

[TheDucks]

13 minutes ago, tikaice said:

Thank you for the quick reply. I missed one of the dip switches and that fixed that problem. Now my other problem still exists. Using the Light O Rama hardware utility I can not get any of the pixel lights to light up at all. The Hardware utility is recognized by the program but I can not get any lights to come on.

Your wording has me confused.

HU is a tool to configure the device.

Your sequence need to use the same ID (in the case of ID, you use the actual Port ID (same as HU), each additional port gets the next one in sequence.

eg you set 41 on a Pixie2. The second port is 42   And remember these arE HEX. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,A,B,C,D,E,F

[tikaice]

Yes, I am using the HU tool and I have set the unit ID to what I want (41), in the sequence I have it set to use (41).

I have other controllers that work just fine. In the HU Tool you can test the controller and make sure it controls lights before adding it outside to the display. The HU tool can not make my pixie8 light up and pixel lights. It does do anything. After the pixie8 boots up the first pixel light on each of the 8 strips, it is the only pixel light that comes on and it stays lit as blue, it doesn't turn off, doesn't flicker, doesn't change colors. I bought the 16x25 pixel tree, so there are 50 lights per strip and only 1 actually comes on. The HU utility when testing does nothing. When running the sequence it does nothing to the pixel lights. I wonder if the controller is bad?

[TheDucks]

16 minutes ago, tikaice said:

Yes, I am using the HU tool and I have set the unit ID to what I want (41), in the sequence I have it set to use (41).

I have other controllers that work just fine. In the HU Tool you can test the controller and make sure it controls lights before adding it outside to the display. The HU tool can not make my pixie8 light up and pixel lights. It does do anything. After the pixie8 boots up the first pixel light on each of the 8 strips, it is the only pixel light that comes on and it stays lit as blue, it doesn't turn off, doesn't flicker, doesn't change colors. I bought the 16x25 pixel tree, so there are 50 lights per strip and only 1 actually comes on. The HU utility when testing does nothing. When running the sequence it does nothing to the pixel lights. I wonder if the controller is bad?

All 8 first lights come on (blue)? I would guess the color order is wrong set.

This is with the same strings that came with the Ready to Play tree?

Edited October 22, 2020 by TheDucks

[tikaice]

Yes,  I bought the 16x25 black pixel tree ready to go kit

 

[TexasLights]

In the hardware utility, in addition to the controller id is a port setting.   Each pixel strip is a different channel id.   16 X 25 is actually 8 channels at 50.  You should be able to set port 1, port 2 and then select a color and turn them on and off.    When controlling from a sequence, these are channels 41, 42, 43, etc, 

It should also say 50 pixels per port.  

[TheDucks]

26 minutes ago, tikaice said:

Yes,  I bought the 16x25 black pixel tree ready to go kit

 

You might open a trouble ticket to see what Chip the bullets use (unless it as in the documentation that came with you kit)

If you have a DVM, do check the 12V feed terminals.  12-13V is within spec  (IMHO you don't want to start out at 11V at the board)

[TexasLights]

agree, if its a new controller, i would contact them.   For example, there are various firmware versions, but if its new, you should not have to update it. 

The only other things that comes to mind to check is that all connections are secure.  Something could have shaken loose during shipping? 

[dibblejr]

If you read this/ watch the video all of your problems will be solved!

 

[dibblejr]

Note ***** with a couple firmware update after I created that tutorial now you have to go in to the ccr/ pixie config tab where you now can set the number of pixels per port. They are set to 1 at the factory. 

Its the same place to set the color order. There is absolutely nothing wrong with your board. Out of the many hundreds I have helped, built over 75 pixies I have never found a bad board. All problems came from not understanding how they work. The pixie series controller is by far the easiest pixel controller to set up and use. (by far)

I just helped another member new to pixies with this 2 nights ago.

In previous times I had to configure the pixie series controllers as if it was a pixcon16 to get the number of pixels needed. 

Combine that with my tutorial above and you will have lights.

Remember the HU does not have anything to do with running a show. It is just the tool to configure and test the controller/ Lights at the controller level.

JR

Edited October 23, 2020 by dibblejr