huskernut Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 I am interested to know if anyone else has had this experience. This is my first season and I am setting up my controllers in the basement. I have 3 16 channel boxes and although I am trying to plug in to every channel, I have no more than one string of lights per channel so I wouldnt be loading the system too much, I wouldnt think.Everything runs perfect until I flip off a set of small flouresent lights above the sink. When I do that I loose my data link. all the lights go off and the controller LED blinks. I end up having to restart the PC.Anyone else experience this type of noise trigger? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin N Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 More details of your setup would be helpful. Are you using the usb interface? If so, are you using a filtered usb cable? This was a problem I was experiencing last season (not necessarily the result of flipping on/off a light) but my show would stop. Dan told me to try a filtered usb cable (available at the LOR store). This completely solved my problem.I hope others will chime in here as well...but this is something to consider.Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ponddude Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 Hold on, I am a little confused and will need some clarification.By "small florescent bulbs" do you mean CFL's, or compact florescent lights? These are the bulbs that fit into a standard socket but are a twisted tube.Also, is the circuit that the controllers are plugged into the same circuit that this bulb is on?Here is the problem with CFL's. LOR has been working on this issue for years and have never been able to get is resolved. CFLs do not function with LOR. However, every time I hear of an issue with CFL's, people are trying to control them with an LOR channel. That really doesn't work. I will bet almost anything that the circuit and the CFL's are causing problem with the controllers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huskernut Posted October 22, 2009 Author Share Posted October 22, 2009 Ok, I will clarify. The florescent lights are not being controlled by the controller but yes they are on the same electrical circuit as the controller. I was trying to isolate it to one or the other of the 2 lights but it didnt matter. They are under the counter type florescent tube lights, probably about 16 inch single tube per light.No the USB is not filtered. That is interesting because I assumed the problem to be the line voltage to the controllers and not the data into them. By filtered are we talking about the type of cable that loops through what looks to be some type of core or coil? I have a gillion USB cables but most have nothing that looks filtered. I did find one, I will check the LOR store and see if this looks like what I have.Thanks for the suggestions, I dont want this installation to be buggy.Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ponddude Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 Hmmm...this is gets even more interesting. My thinking is that the voltage drops a little too low that the RS485 chip loses power and disconnects. But, the issue is that most fluorescents don't draw a tremendous amount of power.I would try what Kevin said first. A filtered USB cable has a ferrite core on it, sometimes on both ends. The cables that come from LOR, at least the ones I have gotten, has been filtered.Next I would try isolation. Can you move the controllers to another series of plugs that also have a switch or something else on the circuit? I would try that and see if the issue is repeatable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-klb- Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 This does sound very similar to the issues that caused LOR to start using the ferrite filtered USB cables. Interference on the RS-485 side just causes a short term misbehavior, not something persistent that requires a reboot.Especially if the show controlling PC is on that same circuit, a power line filter between the fluorescent fixtures and the power line might be a good idea.Any idea if the ballasts on these fixtures are magnetic, or electronic? They may easily be doing something different than the CFL ballasts, which usually use an extremely minimal electronic ballast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin N Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 Try these links:http://store.lightorama.com/usbcausewius.htmlorhttp://store.lightorama.com/cableusbusb485.htmlThis is the filtered cables I was referring to. (If you purchase one...make sure you get the one for your application). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huskernut Posted October 23, 2009 Author Share Posted October 23, 2009 Thanks for the input from all, I will change the usb cable tonight when i get home form work and let you know if that fixes the problem.Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huskernut Posted October 23, 2009 Author Share Posted October 23, 2009 Tried it out over lunch and it seems to have done the trick, adding the filtered USB cable. Funny I dont remember getting one with the conversion box although it says it comes with the cable. It probably got jammed in a drawer.I will shake it out more tonight and make sure it is consistent.Thanks again to all who offered advise, this is still a great place to learn and get help.Have a nice weekendRick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-klb- Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 It depends when you got your adapter. I think this is the first year I've received the filtered cable with the adapter, and we ordered new filtered cables for the older adapters. Some may well have shipped with the adapters last year as well, but I don't know for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin N Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 I'm glad it worked for you. Good luck this season (and other seasons, as well). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huskernut Posted October 28, 2009 Author Share Posted October 28, 2009 Thank you. I am pretty excited about this first year, I dont know what to expect, what it will look like, will people come to see it or not, will the neighbors be bothered. How many more controllers will i want to add next year .But I appreciate all the experience that is shared on this forum.RP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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