Sequences Play, Music works, Lights don't work

[jerrylcooper]

A few years ago, I built a mega tree using a 25-foot flagpole in my front yard.

I patterned my tree using Brian Bruderer’s instructions for a 24 x 50 Tree with a Globe on his website at www.Superstarslights.com

I have hung 24 strings of 25-foot 50-RGB bulbs from a mega tree 24-hook head screwed in at the top of the flagpole. I then connected the 24 RGB strings to 12 CB100D controllers placed in a circle around the base of the flagpole and daisy chained them together. I the ran connecting cat5e cables to both of my 16 Channel controllers that are mounted on my inside garage wall.

I am also using Brian’s globe containing 2 more sets of controllers and another 200 bulbs for a total of 1,400 RGB bulbs.

Using  Light-O-Rama Hub software, I built a show using 16 different sequences that starts every evening at 6:00 PM and ends at 11:00 PM and saved it to a SD card. There is a 30-minute start-up amination period from 5:30 PM to 6:00 PM and a 30-minute shut down animation period from 11:00 PM to 11:30 PM when all the lights are on solidly with no blinking.

I use a FM transmitter to broadcast the songs to a FM station that is not used locally so viewers can tune their car radios to the FM station shown on my yard signs. This way, they don’t have to rolldown their windows when it’s cold outside to hear the music and enjoy the show. Plus, there isn’t any noise to bother my neighbors.

I have been using this setup for years and usually have some snags each year when I set it up, but I have been able to work them out with some occasional professional help.

Last night, I plugged the SD card into my Light-O-Rama Pro Series LOR1602Wg3-MP3, set the clock and tested it.

The sequence music plays, but the lights don’t come on until the very end when they all come on solidly for a 30- minute shut down animation period. Now they stay on continually with out blinking until the show starts at 6:00 PM and they all turn off until the 30-minute shut down period at 11:00 PM to 11:30 PM.

Does anybody have any suggestions as to why the lights won’t come on per the sequences,  but the sequence music plays from 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM ?

[dibblejr]

SD Card mfg?

Perhaps a fw update is in order

One last thing. Not sure what controller you are using however you may want to upgrade to a newer version of S4

In some cases you need to have 4.3. or higher.

S4 is very stable so Id recommend 4.4.4 or the latest 4.4.6

JR

 

[Orville]

Are those 16 channel controllers G3 or earlier versions?

If G3, then is that network set to 500K and enhanced as most RGB controllers need that speed and an Enhanced network to function correctly.  Not sure if this is your issue or not.  Also not sure if the Director in your main controller is capable of multiple networks, is it the G3 that only has 2 networks?  Or is it the newer G3 or G4 that supports up to 4 networks.  

I'm thinking you need to set up your AC Controllers on one network, Regular and your RGB Controllers on an Enhanced, 500K Network {Aux A} and maybe this might resolve your issue.

Or there is something not set up correctly in the sequences themselves or some kind of configuration issue between the sequence configuration and how the SD Card was configured for the show.

Only things I can think of the look at for the moment that might create something like this.

 

[jerrylcooper]

Thanks, I am looking into those issues.

[jerrylcooper]

3 hours ago, jerrylcooper said:

Thanks, I am looking into those issues.

Not sure how it got fixed but I updated the Network speed to 500, used a new 16 GB SD card and prepared a new program using the Hub feature in my SuperSports v4.4.4 software.

Thanks for all of the help!

[Orville]

6 hours ago, jerrylcooper said:

Not sure how it got fixed but I updated the Network speed to 500, used a new 16 GB SD card and prepared a new program using the Hub feature in my SuperSports v4.4.4 software.

Thanks for all of the help!

I think your changing the network speed to 500 is more than likely what corrected the problem.   Of course using a New SD Card was also a good idea.  

Now if it works on your New SD Card, to see if your other SD Card could have also been the issue, do the following:

Copy and paste the working show off the NEW SD Card that is working to a folder on your computer, then I'd reformat the original card that didn't work, then copy and paste the files from this folder to the original SD Card just as they are, since they function in the Director. 

Once the SD Card has completed the pasting of the files, try it in your Director again.  If it works, you know it wasn't the SD Card, but more than likely the network speed setting was the culprit, but if it doesn't work, you need to find a zip lock baggie, put that SD Card in it and write on the bag: "Doesn't work in Director".   Then you'd know that SD Card won't function in your Director and not to use it again for that purpose.

This is what I do when I have SD Cards I find won't function in my Director.

 

 

Edited November 16, 2020 by Orville

[jerrylcooper]

6 hours ago, Orville said:

I think your changing the network speed to 500 is more than likely what corrected the problem.   Of course using a New SD Card was also a good idea.  

Now if it works on your New SD Card, to see if your other SD Card could have also been the issue, do the following:

Copy and paste the working show off the NEW SD Card that is working to a folder on your computer, then I'd reformat the original card that didn't work, then copy and paste the files from this folder to the original SD Card just as they are, since they function in the Director. 

Once the SD Card has completed the pasting of the files, try it in your Director again.  If it works, you know it wasn't the SD Card, but more than likely the network speed setting was the culprit, but if it doesn't work, you need to find a zip lock baggie, put that SD Card in it and write on the bag: "Doesn't work in Director".   Then you'd know that SD Card won't function in your Director and not to use it again for that purpose.

This is what I do when I have SD Cards I find won't function in my Director.

 

 

Will do