Hardware utility issue

[PostmasterX]

I started the Control panel/comm listener to test out my lights before I set them all up and nothing runs. I tried opening the Hardware Utility to see if there's an issue with unit IDs, but it's giving me an error that the Comm Listener is using the port. It offers to request having the Comm listener stop using the port, so the HU can use it, so I click OK. Nothing happens. I click refresh on the HU, and that message continues to pop up. I'm at a loss trying to figure out how to get the lights to run for the show this year. 

[k6ccc]

Exit the control panel so the Comm Listener stops.

 

[PostmasterX]

May have solved part of my own issue here. The system had changed the Port number from 5 to 3. Once I changed it back to 5 it started working, kind of. Now half of my pixel ribbons, when testing via HU, are either partially turning on, or some are different colors. (They're all supposed be to red, but some are half red/half blue, one is just flickering different colors.)  

[dibblejr]

48 minutes ago, PostmasterX said:

May have solved part of my own issue here. The system had changed the Port number from 5 to 3. Once I changed it back to 5 it started working, kind of. Now half of my pixel ribbons, when testing via HU, are either partially turning on, or some are different colors. (They're all supposed be to red, but some are half red/half blue, one is just flickering different colors.)  

What controller do you have?

Also I have found that the Regular network like comm3 for the first comm port. Com 4 works as well however in my helping others I have found skipping to 5 or higher seems to be problematic. I would suggest  going to your Computers Device Manager and in USB devices and change the Comm 5 back to 3. Do not hit the Panic Button "Auto Configure Comm Port"

If you have a pixie controller look at the controller and ensure you did not or the factory did not install a jumper on JP3, JP4 or JP5. If there is a jumper on any of those remove it.

JP2 can have and I recommend placing a jumper on JP2 in case you ever need to use with a director.

what type of extensions are you using? Premade or purchased?

Let me know how that goes.

JR

[Orville]

8 hours ago, PostmasterX said:

I started the Control panel/comm listener to test out my lights before I set them all up and nothing runs. I tried opening the Hardware Utility to see if there's an issue with unit IDs, but it's giving me an error that the Comm Listener is using the port. It offers to request having the Comm listener stop using the port, so the HU can use it, so I click OK. Nothing happens. I click refresh on the HU, and that message continues to pop up. I'm at a loss trying to figure out how to get the lights to run for the show this year. 

Once you tell the comm listener to stop using the port and click OK, you should get a 2nd pop-up that you need to click "Yes" in.  Then everything should work in the HU, when the comm listener is running, as without doing both of those, the HU won't do anything, and you'll get that first pop-up all over again, asking if you want the comm listener to stop using the com port you want it to release, if you answered "No" on the 2nd pop-up, the 1st one will again pop up, got to click OK in 1st pop-up and Yes in the 2nd pop-up to get the HU to do anything, and have the comm listener let go of the "port" you're attempting to use, so the HU can do its thing.   Otherwise, you're just putting yourself in an endless, perpetual loop for those pop-ups to keep re-appearing.

[Orville]

5 hours ago, dibblejr said:

What controller do you have?

Also I have found that the Regular network like comm3 for the first comm port. Com 4 works as well however in my helping others I have found skipping to 5 or higher seems to be problematic. I would suggest  going to your Computers Device Manager and in USB devices and change the Comm 5 back to 3. Do not hit the Panic Button "Auto Configure Comm Port"

If you have a pixie controller look at the controller and ensure you did not or the factory did not install a jumper on JP3, JP4 or JP5. If there is a jumper on any of those remove it.

JP2 can have and I recommend placing a jumper on JP2 in case you ever need to use with a director.

what type of extensions are you using? Premade or purchased?

Let me know how that goes.

JR

Hmmm, always thought no jumpers in the Pixie controllers, especially since I do use a Director, and I don't know about the singing trees, as I've never removed any jumpers from them {don't even know if they have any, never paid attention to that since they worked as is, just turned off all the dip switches}, and the Pixie16 I got from you had no jumpers, so once I can get that PCB from the Pixie 16 back to you for diagnosis, I guess I'm going to need to find a jumper to put on JP2, since an N4-G4 Director does run my show.

[dibblejr]

3 hours ago, Orville said:

Hmmm, always thought no jumpers in the Pixie controllers, especially since I do use a Director, and I don't know about the singing trees, as I've never removed any jumpers from them {don't even know if they have any, never paid attention to that since they worked as is, just turned off all the dip switches}, and the Pixie16 I got from you had no jumpers, so once I can get that PCB from the Pixie 16 back to you for diagnosis, I guess I'm going to need to find a jumper to put on JP2, since an N4-G4 Director does run my show.

The one I built for you has a jumper on JP2.

JR

[dibblejr]

4 hours ago, dibblejr said:

The one I built for you has a jumper on JP2.

JR

Unless the V2 didn’t have pins at the data port. 
 

jR

[Orville]

7 hours ago, dibblejr said:

The one I built for you has a jumper on JP2.

JR

The only thing I see at the JP2 location is an unsoldered, large single hole with a design {looks like a stop sign type} around the hole.  No Jumper, nothing there.  I don't even know how you'd use a jumper on a single hole like that.  Unless you solder a wire from that hole to R46 that's near it.   So I see no jumpers on anything on the PCB, at least none that I can find.  And I just went and looked thoroughly over the board, no jumpers anywhere.

Edited November 5, 2021 by Orville
missed a few errors here and there, mostly incorrectly spelled words with added letters.

[TheDucks]

23 minutes ago, Orville said:

The only thing I see at the JP2 location is an unsoldered, large single hole with a design {looks like a stop sign type} around the hole.  No Jumper, nothing there.  I don't even know how you'd use a jumper on a single hole like that.  Unless you solder a wire from that hole to R46 that's near it.   So I see no jumpers on anything on the PCB, at least none that I can find.  And I just went and looked thoroughly over the board, no jumpers anywhere.

A V2 board is Pixie16 Gen 1, no JP2

[Orville]

3 minutes ago, TheDucks said:

A V2 board is Pixie16 Gen 1, no JP2

I guess JR was thinking the Pixie16 was one of the newer boards and just didn't recall this was a V2 board at the time of my questioning about the JP2 jumper.  So he thought one was there, but isn't.    Happens to the best of us. LOL

But, your answer is exactly what I was thinking, but I had to ask, as you just never know.  Thanks for clearing the mystery jumper up. :)

 

[PostmasterX]

18 hours ago, dibblejr said:

What controller do you have?

Also I have found that the Regular network like comm3 for the first comm port. Com 4 works as well however in my helping others I have found skipping to 5 or higher seems to be problematic. I would suggest  going to your Computers Device Manager and in USB devices and change the Comm 5 back to 3. Do not hit the Panic Button "Auto Configure Comm Port"

If you have a pixie controller look at the controller and ensure you did not or the factory did not install a jumper on JP3, JP4 or JP5. If there is a jumper on any of those remove it.

JP2 can have and I recommend placing a jumper on JP2 in case you ever need to use with a director.

what type of extensions are you using? Premade or purchased?

Let me know how that goes.

JR

I have the Pixie 16 controller that came with the Pixie16 Ribbon Tree package. I'm not exactly sure what a jumper is, but I don't see anything on JP2,3,4 or 5. (I have pictures I could email). It is set up in the same configuration LOR sent to me last year, and it basically worked for my show last Christmas season. And the extensions are what came with the package. 

I changed the Comm back to 3, and getting the same results. Port 2, 5, 7, 9, 13, and 14 all work fine; 1 doesn't work at all; 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11 and 15 all work for only about 1/2 to 1/3 of the lights and port 12 & 16 work halfway, and the rest are flickering on other colors (I had set all as red to test). 

I'm connecting directly to my laptop to test, but the actual show I've used a director with an SD card in years past

[TheDucks]

6 minutes ago, PostmasterX said:

I have the Pixie 16 controller that came with the Pixie16 Ribbon Tree package. I'm not exactly sure what a jumper is, but I don't see anything on JP2,3,4 or 5. (I have pictures I could email). It is set up in the same configuration LOR sent to me last year, and it basically worked for my show last Christmas season. And the extensions are what came with the package. 

I changed the Comm back to 3, and getting the same results. Port 2, 5, 7, 9, 13, and 14 all work fine; 1 doesn't work at all; 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11 and 15 all work for only about 1/2 to 1/3 of the lights and port 12 & 16 work halfway, and the rest are flickering on other colors (I had set all as red to test). 

I'm connecting directly to my laptop to test, but the actual show I've used a director with an SD card in years past

1) Check the green connector plugs for insulation caught in the screw clamp  (applies to all Pixies). Loosen the screw a bit, ease the wire out a bit, if the insulation was flat-nailed it. tighten the screw with just the wire.

2) check the channel fuse (ch#1) also AND the plug is lined up with all pins 😐

Edited November 5, 2021 by TheDucks

[PostmasterX]

31 minutes ago, TheDucks said:

1) Check the green connector plugs for insulation caught in the screw clamp  (applies to all Pixies). Loosen the screw a bit, ease the wire out a bit, if the insulation was flat-nailed it. tighten the screw with just the wire.

2) check the channel fuse (ch#1) also AND the plug is lined up with all pins 😐

I'll check those in more detail. I did try swapping Pixel Ribbons that I know are working (Like port 2 above, with Port 1) Then when I turn on port 1 in the HU, the strand of lights that was on port 2, lights up fine. It seems to be something with the ribbons, not the controller.

[dibblejr]

3 hours ago, PostmasterX said:

I'll check those in more detail. I did try swapping Pixel Ribbons that I know are working (Like port 2 above, with Port 1) Then when I turn on port 1 in the HU, the strand of lights that was on port 2, lights up fine. It seems to be something with the ribbons, not the controller.

Rather than swapping the lights it is much easier to just move the green terminal lug from the string that doesn't work and move it over to one that does work. If the lights work then at least you know its not the lights. If they act the same more than likely you have some bad strands or bad extensions.

As my friend TheDucks states above, the green terminal lugs could have loosened up causing theissue. But I would start by simply disconnecting a non working terminal lug to a working. Then trouble shoot from there.

Let me know how that goes.

BTW a jumper is a small black plastic piece. You may have received a couple spare in the fuse and terminal lug bag that was included in your controller.

JR 

[dibblejr]

6 hours ago, Orville said:

I guess JR was thinking the Pixie16 was one of the newer boards and just didn't recall this was a V2 board at the time of my questioning about the JP2 jumper.  So he thought one was there, but isn't.    Happens to the best of us. LOL

But, your answer is exactly what I was thinking, but I had to ask, as you just never know.  Thanks for clearing the mystery jumper up. :)

 

No, I just couldn't remember if it had jumpers on the 2nd series. I sent you the only one I had so I had no reference. That's why i made my second reply just in case there were no pins for a jumper. Sorry about the confusion.

JR

 

[Orville]

On 11/5/2021 at 10:41 PM, dibblejr said:

No, I just couldn't remember if it had jumpers on the 2nd series. I sent you the only one I had so I had no reference. That's why i made my second reply just in case there were no pins for a jumper. Sorry about the confusion.

JR

 

No problem.  At least we got that one cleared up. :)