Pixel Help

[JSchadewalt]

Last year I purchased the ST-SP-Residential-16 channel starter package, I was able to connect it and sequence the lights and it looked great for the first year. This year I had the bright idea to go RGB pixel so I didnt have to switch lights on the house from Halloween to Christmas. My entire theme is Nightmare Before Christmas and I plan to just swap some things out for Christmas and keep the core theme.

For pixels I ordered 

12V - 16x100 Square Pixel  12Volt-16x100 Square Pixel Package with Pixie16 Controller

Black Pixel Tree Kit - 16  BlackPixelTreeKit-16x25 

 

 

Some of the issues I am having is when connecting the Pixie16 inline with through the 16 channel via cat5 and usb485 it does not detect the pixie 16 in HU. The pixel tree is detected if done in the same manner.

I have hooked direct to the pixie 16 and bypasses the 16 channel and it works but not all pixels light. I have gone through several sequences but of 1600 pixels only 20 or so actually light. I have tested the strands in the HU and they all light, the sequences just are not lighting them. The pixel tree does nothing unless turned on manually through HU.

 

Im doing something extremely wrong, but dont have the experience to figure out what, Help!!

 

 

[TheDucks]

18 minutes ago, JSchadewalt said:

Last year I purchased the ST-SP-Residential-16 channel starter package, I was able to connect it and sequence the lights and it looked great for the first year. This year I had the bright idea to go RGB pixel so I didnt have to switch lights on the house from Halloween to Christmas. My entire theme is Nightmare Before Christmas and I plan to just swap some things out for Christmas and keep the core theme.

For pixels I ordered 

12V - 16x100 Square Pixel  12Volt-16x100 Square Pixel Package with Pixie16 Controller

Black Pixel Tree Kit - 16  BlackPixelTreeKit-16x25 

 

 

Some of the issues I am having is when connecting the Pixie16 inline with through the 16 channel via cat5 and usb485 it does not detect the pixie 16 in HU. The pixel tree is detected if done in the same manner.

I have hooked direct to the pixie 16 and bypasses the 16 channel and it works but not all pixels light. I have gone through several sequences but of 1600 pixels only 20 or so actually light. I have tested the strands in the HU and they all light, the sequences just are not lighting them. The pixel tree does nothing unless turned on manually through HU.

 

Im doing something extremely wrong, but dont have the experience to figure out what, Help!!

 

 

Remember Pixies gobble a LOR ID PER PORT

A Pixie16 ID set to 20 will use al the way to 2F.  (I like to start at 0 HEX, That way a single controller has the same MSB.  Gaps are permitted between controllers, just no ON the same one)

Your Tree (assumes Pixie2/CCB2 )uses 2.  eg 30, 31.  So is it the lights on the second port . You probably have the wrong ID

[dibblejr]

Watch the videos and if you have questions feel free to message me and I will walk you through it

 

[JSchadewalt]

Out of curiosity, If I purchased LOR or WOW sequences and all I have plugged in is the pixie16 and pixels, would it work or is the premade sequences not set up for that?

I followed along with the video, turned dip switch off, went through the HU and programed as Unit 2 as I will have Unit 1 as the 16 channel controller. In the HU test all the lights worked, RGB is correct and the sparkle and twinkle if I want. I also set it to 500 and enhanced but when I enable schedule I get nothing now, where prior I had 20 or so lights flashing with the music. just wondering if the sequences are not supported.

going to go through the videos some more, the sequencer in 5.6.6 looks different than what you have so following along is difficult because I do not see the same options.

[dibblejr]

The old video was made in S4. The sequencing is different but basically the same in the HU.

If you are S5 you have to build your preview and copy paste any outside sequence.

If you purchase LOR protected sequences your unit IDs must match yours.

If you purchase LOR YCM - You Can Modify 

You can do as I mentioned above and copy paste from theirs to yours.

The Virtual Summit was made in S5 however there are so many variables as far as setting props up there would be no way to go through any of them in an hour.

If you need additional help feel free to Mesaage me and we can go from there.

JR

[tlogan]

You really shouldn't have to copy and paste any sequence from WOWLIGHTS. You should be able to open the sequence as installed from WOWLIGHTS and assign your preview and import the channel config. You should be good to go. Any ADDITIONAL changes/additions you made in your preview beyond what WOWLIGHTS provides may need to be copy/pasted or have their channels re-assigned. You shouldn't need to copy/paste the entire sequence. Getting the preview right S5 is the key.

[dibblejr]

2 hours ago, tlogan said:

You really shouldn't have to copy and paste any sequence from WOWLIGHTS. You should be able to open the sequence as installed from WOWLIGHTS and assign your preview and import the channel config. You should be good to go. Any ADDITIONAL changes/additions you made in your preview beyond what WOWLIGHTS provides may need to be copy/pasted or have their channels re-assigned. You shouldn't need to copy/paste the entire sequence. Getting the preview right S5 is the key.

That would depend on the configuration and your props.

Buying a sequence not sequenced for your specific layout will always need to be copy/ pasted unless you are happy 100% with something not looking good in your display.

What looks good on someone else house outline may look bad on another.

JR

[tlogan]

18 minutes ago, dibblejr said:

That would depend on the configuration and your props.

Buying a sequence not sequenced for your specific layout will always need to be copy/ pasted unless you are happy 100% with something not looking good in your display.

What looks good on someone else house outline may look bad on another.

The thing about WOW Lights is that they are all sequenced to the same preview props and channel configs. EVERY sequence from them has AC Controller 2 as a 16 channel Mega Tree. So, in your preview, you create a 16 channel mega tree and assign it to Unit 2. Then EVERY sequence from them will work for that Mega tree without your doing anything other than installing the sequence, opening it , assigning it to your preview and importing the channel config.  They are very explicit about the props and channel configs. 

You're right that not everything will look great on your house. So far, the only thing I really changed is that they program a group of 5 stars that they expect to go from a roof down to the ground.  MY roof is too high to get up on and I'm too old to get up there anyway. So in MY Preview, I changed the stars into candy canes that I put on the ground. They maintain the same sequencing and channel config as the stars, so every time I add a new WOW sequence, it works without my doing anything.  I do sometimes think that we overlook the fact that this hobby DOES require a certain amount of creativity. 

I would agree that if you can not match up the WOW preview and sequencing to your house, than yes, you have a lot of work to do. But I think for most people, particularly beginners, it will work for you. Once you get comfortable with how everything works from them, and get more experience with S5, it becomes a lot easier to start expanding and adding props, etc. Once you purchase a sequences from them, you can download the version with the most number of channels for your license. That is, if you buy the starter package with two AC controllers, you can still download the sequences with, I think, up to 128 channels with more props to choose from and use to match up to your house. And in that 128 channel sequence, Unit 2 is STILL the Mega Tree.