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LOR Serial Port Failure


lightchaser01

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Hello to all. First off....I'm a Newbie.

So here's my problem.

I just finished my first CTB16pc controller from kit form. Everything was hooked up and I was able to have a sequence work through the controller. No problems. I then disconnected my USB controller from the PC.

However, when I reconnected the USB connector a second time, I received an error message that reads "open of serial port failed". The Trace message is: lnit Light-O-Rama port/LOR channelIO

I rechecked all my connections; I checked my Comm port on the PC and it says port is working. I went into LOR hardware utility; re-entered my Comm port as well as controller ID. The controller LED went from flashing to solid ON. My lights work when I place them in a test mode. However, when I close out the Utility program, the LED blinks and therefore is not communicating with my PC. I also took the jumper connection off JO; powered up for a few seconds, then powered off and replaced the jumper. I retried the process again and still no luck.

I'm a little frustrated seeing everything worked well the first go around. But since then, I'm in the dark.

Can anyone help?? :?



Bill

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I also am having trouble, I hooked up my new 16d cards and connected to pc. When I do a comm port auto config it will not find it, I set it to comm 4 and the unit works dureing test but can not be found when I hunt for units. Any advise..

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There may be two separate issues here...

First, remember that only one program on the PC may communicate with the LOR bus at a time.. If the hardware utility is open, the sequence editor will error out when it attempts to open the com port. By the same token, when the program that did successfully get the com port (for example, the hardware utility) releases the com port, it doesn't matter what other LOR programs are running, none of them will have access to the com port to talk to the controllers and they won't gain access until they are stopped and restarted. There might also be issues if the USB connector is unplugged, and reconnected to the PC while any of the programs are running.. I have often found myself in a state where rebooting was the only way to get things working correctly again...

On the second one, my first thought only applies to cards without ID dials. My second thought is that if manual configuration works, and you can detect the cards and firmware versions by refreshing the units to configure, I wouldn't really work about autodetect working or not..

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When I closed the hardware utility the first time (and everything worked), the LOR board's LED stayed on and did not flash. However, when I closed the utility the second time around, the LED DID NOT stay on and began flashing upon closing the utility program.

I will shut everything down and reboot my system to see if that will work.

Maybe another question to ask is....

Once a controller has been assigned a unit ID and the Comm port has been recognized....does the PC recognize that configuration each time the system is started, or do I need to reassign the controller each time I run the system? And in conjunction with that question...when I close the utility program, and open the sequence editor (for example), will the controller recognize the signals being sent to it by the sequence editor?

Your help is deeply appreciated.

Bill

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Any idea how long you noticed the LED staying solid after the hardware utility closed the first time? As a rule, it should not stay solid for more than a few seconds after the hardware utility closes, unless the sequence editor is launched right away, or the control panel control of lights is enabled quickly..

In general, the controllers without ID dials keep their programmed ID with no issues. The only cases I have experienced of incorrect ID's on a controller is where I reprogrammed it for other purposes, and forgot that I had done it.. Also, the com port setting for LOR can be programmed by the sequence editor, or the hardware utility. The hardware utility, sequence editor, and control panel will all use the same registry setting for that data, and it should be retained.

As for switching from one program to another, generally there is no problem there. I commonly disable the LOR control panel, and load a sequence in the sequence editor to test, then enable the control panel control of lights again..

I think where I get the biggest issue is when I have hibernated the laptop, and then resumed the PC later. That often requires a reboot to get the USB com port to behave correctly again...

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-klb- wrote:

Any idea how long you noticed the LED staying solid after the hardware utility closed the first time? As a rule, it should not stay solid for more than a few seconds after the hardware utility closes, unless the sequence editor is launched right away, or the control panel control of lights is enabled quickly..



To expand on this a bit more, the LOR controller status light is not responding to communication from your PC, but rather it is responding to data from the LOR applications..

The USB drivers do not interact with the controllers at all. They only allow the RS-485 bus to appear as a com port on the PC...
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Jeff:

I checked the preferences tab in the sequence program. Low and behold...the Comm port did NOT match the Comm port set by the hardware program. So I made the necessary change and who-ahhhhhhhhh...There Be Light's Captain!!!



Thanks so very much for the guidance. I'll sleep better tonight!!



Bill

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