Guest guest Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 I received my LOR order about 3 weeks ago and have been set up in the basement testing the system with some sequences I had been working on. My plan was to have ELL's with "islands" of wire linked controllers near power feeds (6 controllers total). This way I did not have to run data cabling except for short runs.Well, here is my problem. It seems the ELL's have some sort of timing issue that I just cannot figure out. If I run direct wire, the sequences run fine. When I insert the ELL's I get missing parts of the sequences or certain channels stay locked on until the channel is again turned off. When I run the test mode in fast chase they never miss a beat. There does seem to be some sort of repetition of the errors when running a sequence, which leads me to believe it might be some sort of timing issue. I've tried using 2 different computers, changed RF channels, adjusted data speed, and different power levels. The best results I've had so far is having the ELL connected to the computer USB-485B interface at max transmit power, and the 3 other receivers set in lowest power mode. I also occasionally see one of the receivers go offline (flashing LED on LOR triac boards). After a few seconds it rejoins the sequence. I do not see the overload LED flash on the ELL. The animation screen also does not show a problem when I have it visible.Anybody else have any experience with the wireless links yet? I know they are new to LOR this year. I am an electronics engineer by day and this will be my first year with LOR. I previously had home built sequencers for a number of years animating my holiday display, but when I saw the sync to music capability of LOR it was an immediate conversion for me.Thanks in advance for any suggestions.Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 Hi Mike,Cannot tell where you are in the world from your profile?I too have noticed the same with my ELLs, but I was putting it down to the prescence of a cellphone mast some half a mile away. I haven't tinkered with speeds and / or transmit levels yet but the symptoms I have experienced are the same.I'm also running a wireless network here, if that is relevant. (2.4GHz)I was running the DC-MP3, with a power brick attached into an ELL (transmitter) and the controller-powered ELL (receiver) some way away (in the garden) No overrun LED on the DC-MP3 or the ELLs. Same symptoms with my PCs running the sequence.I'd be really interested in the replies to this one.Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 Martin,Sorry about the location, but I'm in the Milwaukee area in Wisconsin.I don't believe the cell tower or wireless network has anything to do with the problem. Frequencies are way too different. I at first thought of interference from cordless phones in my house, but they too are 2.4G ones, so no go there.Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 radioguy1007 wrote: Martin,Sorry about the location, but I'm in the Milwaukee area in Wisconsin.Ah! I just wondered if you were here in UK 'cos I believe the cell network frequencies here are around the 900MHz region. Hence my suspicion. Don't know what they are where you are.Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 Hi,If you believe that there is a pattern them we would be very interested to get the sequence and run tests here..... There is always the possibility that we have some sort of data sensitivity in the ELL units. That is to say that a particular series of commands causes a problem. In general we have had great results with the ELL with solid performance.Any information you have would be appreciated.One thing that did happen was that one person had placed a standalone sequence into a controller. That controller was sending out messages whenever it was plugged in. It caused problems like you are describing.ThanksDan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 Dan,I was doing more testing of the system tonight and although I am not positive, I might have an issue with the USB-485B. To really push the test, I adapted Carson's sequence to my setup and let it crank. I then disconnected one of the RF receivers and wired it direct to the second port on the adapter. It did the same channel freezing, but it also actually froze up completely a couple times. I then saw the activity light go dark during the freezes on the module attached to the computer. I have used USB to serial adapters in the past with some performance issues, but it was typically with the units that contained the "Prolific" brand of IC inside. The FTDI device you have on your design seemed to be a lot more stable.Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 We have pushed the USB485B to its limits with software that sent data at the maximum data rate continuously for days at a time. We did not see this happen. It is really hard so say what is happening now. The pause in data could be actual or a manifestation of the ELL...If you could get us the exact sequence you are using and tell us the configuration we can set up a test to see if we can understand what you are seeing. I sent you a PM with the direct email address for the engineer that worked on the ELL. If you have time so send info it would be much appreciated. d Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 2, 2006 Share Posted August 2, 2006 Dan:I sent the sequence to the engineer. I'm sure you will get the answer to this.Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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