My show keeps restarting

[bearcats23]

I need help. This is my first year running light o rama products, I purchased the TSO signature series with editable SD card so I am running my show straight from the card. I have the main box/fm transmitter located in my garage. While running the show, it keeps randomly restarting all the way back to the beginning. I tried moving the FM wire around but that obviously didn't help much. Any advice as to what the issue may be? As far as the show goes, I did not change anything. It is as it was sent to me.

 

Thanks!

 

[Speedster]

Within the main box disconnect then reconnect everything.  I think the main box gets its power from the light controller that it's connected to.  So check the CAT5 cable connecting the main box to the controller to make sure both ends of the connection are good.  The CAT5 cable itself might be bad so try replacing it.  If possible plug the light controller into a different outlet in case the original outlet is bad.

[k6ccc]

What is the Cat-5 length from the director to the first AC powered controller?  Because the Director gets it's power from the nearest AC powered controller, that length is rather limited.

 

[Golfer]

I have been having issues with restarts due to SD card issues.  Ran several different shows last year on different cards and picked up a couple new cards last month. Those cards don't always read and when they do sometimes stop reading mid-song and then the system appears to try and read the card again and again, eventually starting the show over.  I use a mini director and the original SD card works fine...>Strangely enough, all the documentation says max 8GB sd card, but the one I got with purchase last year was a 16GB and works fine( Knock on wood)  The ones I bought were 32gb( before I saw the max 8gb) and they worked sometimes.  I just picked up a couple more cards from Walmart 16gb ones and they are running better on some trials this afternoon.  That is my restart story, nit sure if it relates to your issues.  So basically stick with smaller size SD cards from what I can tell but they do not HAVE  to be 8gb or smaller.  Good luck!

[Orville]

Maximum length I've ever used is 100' from the first CTB16PC Controller to my N4-G4 Director and my original DC-MP3 Director.  Although the manual says use 50' or less, but I've used 100' cat5 since 2010 and it always worked reliably.

Only other option is to use an adapter to power the Director unit, that cuts off the cat5 power supply, if you can't keep the cat5 short enough.

 

Edited December 2, 2020 by Orville

[Speedster]

24 minutes ago, Golfer said:

So basically stick with smaller size SD cards from what I can tell but they do not HAVE  to be 8gb or smaller.  Good luck!

And stick with Kingston brand SD cards because other brands don't work as well.  I think others have used Lexar SD cards with good results too.

 

19 minutes ago, Orville said:

Only other option is to use an adapter to power the Director unit, that cuts off the cat5 power supply, if you can't keep the cat5 short enough.

That's what I'm using with mine since it makes it easier to use a timer.   http://store.lightorama.com/12vowatr.html

Edited December 2, 2020 by Speedster

[Orville]

23 minutes ago, Speedster said:

That's what I'm using with mine since it makes it easier to use a timer.   http://store.lightorama.com/12vowatr.html

I use Cat5 to mine, but it's the more sophisticated N4-G4 Director w/Real Time Clock.  Beats the heck out of adding in an external timer to run my display.  But everyone has their personal preference.   I just prefer the Director all fit inside one weatherproof box.  Just easier for me.

[bearcats23]

It's a 50' cat5 cord going from the main director to the first controller

[bearcats23]

On 12/2/2020 at 3:46 PM, Golfer said:

I have been having issues with restarts due to SD card issues.  Ran several different shows last year on different cards and picked up a couple new cards last month. Those cards don't always read and when they do sometimes stop reading mid-song and then the system appears to try and read the card again and again, eventually starting the show over.  I use a mini director and the original SD card works fine...>Strangely enough, all the documentation says max 8GB sd card, but the one I got with purchase last year was a 16GB and works fine( Knock on wood)  The ones I bought were 32gb( before I saw the max 8gb) and they worked sometimes.  I just picked up a couple more cards from Walmart 16gb ones and they are running better on some trials this afternoon.  That is my restart story, nit sure if it relates to your issues.  So basically stick with smaller size SD cards from what I can tell but they do not HAVE  to be 8gb or smaller.  Good luck!

Thank you, I will try this

[bearcats23]

I appreciate everyone's help. I look forward to becoming more knowledgeable with LOR, the software, and actually running my own shows

[Orville]

18 hours ago, bearcats23 said:

It's a 50' cat5 cord going from the main director to the first controller

If the SD Card isn't the issue/problem, here is something else to consider, some folks do not know not to do this, are any of your cat5 cables running parallel and closer than 6" from a power cord/extension cord?  If yes, you need to separate out the cat5 cables away from any power/extension cords.  This can affect a show in various ways, one of them being the issue you describe.

Are there any cat5 cables that might intersect a power cord/extension cord crossing at an angle other than 90 degrees {+}?  If yes, same results could occur the same as the answer to the above question.   Cat5 cable must cross at a 90 degree angle to keep data flowing properly when intersecting with a power/extension cord.

And if intersected, is it a 90 degree{+} intersection? If it is 90 degree, this is the correct way to cross over a power/extension cord with a cat5 cable from your controller, any other run of the cat5 cable, parallel {running same direction and tied in with the power/extension cord bundle} or angled, id not the correct way, an again, could very well cause erratic behavior in your display, including stopping and restarting your show as you describe.

Surprised no one has brought this up yet!

 

Edited December 4, 2020 by Orville

[bearcats23]

34 minutes ago, Orville said:

If the SD Card isn't the issue/problem, here is something else to consider, some folks do not know not to do this, are any of your cat5 cables running parallel and closer than 6" from a power cord/extension cord?  If yes, you need to separate out the cat5 cables away from any power/extension cords.  This can affect a show in various ways, one of them being the issue you describe.

Are there any cat5 cables that might intersect a power cord/extension cord crossing at an angle other than 90 degrees {+}?  If yes, same results could occur the same as the answer to the above question.   Cat5 cable must cross at a 90 degree angle to keep data flowing properly when intersecting with a power/extension cord.

And if intersected, is it a 90 degree{+} intersection? If it is 90 degree, this is the correct way to cross over a power/extension cord with a cat5 cable from your controller, any other run of the cat5 cable, parallel {running same direction and tied in with the power/extension cord bundle} or angled, id not the correct way, an again, could very well cause erratic behavior in your display, including stopping and restarting your show as you describe.

Surprised no one has brought this up yet!

 

Other than the power cords needs to supply power to the controller or are you just talking about the show director? The cat5 isn't near any power cords in regards to the show director but of course it's near the power supply cords to the controller

[Orville]

24 minutes ago, bearcats23 said:

Other than the power cords needs to supply power to the controller or are you just talking about the show director? The cat5 isn't near any power cords in regards to the show director but of course it's near the power supply cords to the controller

Cat5 cables MUST be kept at least 6" away from ANY AC or DC power source.   This may be exactky what is creating your stop/start issues with your show.

I don't use an adapter to power my N4-G4 Director, it gets its power from the first CTB16PC AC Controller via a Cat5.  But if I did use an adapter to power it, I'd make sure no cat5 cables were within 6" of it.

[bearcats23]

6 minutes ago, Orville said:

Cat5 cables MUST be kept at least 6" away from ANY AC or DC power source.   This may be exactky what is creating your stop/start issues with your show.

I don't use an adapter to power my N4-G4 Director, it gets its power from the first CTB16PC AC Controller via a Cat5.  But if I did use an adapter to power it, I'd make sure no cat5 cables were within 6" of it.

I will look at the setup and rearrange things, thank you.