LOR 2.6.0 problem and D-Light DCx16

[bob_moody]

Hello All,

OK, here is the setup ...

I have a laptop running LOR 2.6.0 and the LOR RS adapter. This first feeds a LOR 16 channel controller at address 1 because the LOR adapter is powered by the LOR board.

Next in line at addres 2 is my DCx16 (Firmware Version 1.11). It is being powered by the 5vDC supply from a converted ATX PSU.

I am running channels 1,2,3,4 of the DCx16 to the coils of 4 DC reed switches. The switches are connected to the hacked Gemmy mother board from my 4' animated santa.

Here is the issue. When I run the DCx16 from the D-Light hardware utility, i can turn on and off each channel independently and each channel runs perfectly. As a test I slowed down the chase speed and I am running a 4 channel chase to santa. He will wiggle his hips, then open his mouth (it closes when power is removed) and turn his head left then turn his head right. (Channel 1 - Hips, Channel 2 - Mouth, Channel 3 - Head Left, Channel 4 - Head Right) Works like a CHARM !!!

When I close the D-light HW Util and open the LOR 2.6.0 sequence editor, I create a 4 second loop and assign each channel to the DCx16 controller.

If I only turn on Channel 1 (Hips), he wiggles back and forth just fine and none of the other features fire off. If I only turn on Channel 2 (mouth), his mouth will open and close with the sequence. If I turn on Channel 3(head left) and Channel 4 (head right) the only channel that fires is channel 2 (YES .. 2) and his mouth opens and close. This appears to be something in LOR since the D-Light HWU works perfectly.

Can anybody offer anthing to try? I have made sure the compatability switch is off. I dont understand why it works with the D-Light HWU, but does not work with the LOR sequencer.

Bob

PS. Sorry about the topic .. it should have been LOR AND D-light not LOR is D-light.. I can be such a dufus sometimes.

ADMIN: changed topic to AND rather than is

[Guest wbottomley]

Have you tried updating to the latest software?

Have you tried a different comm cable?

[LightORamaDan]

The Light-O-Rama protocol has a number of built in optimizations thus the command to turn on/off channels can be represented in more than one way.

Granted, this could be a problem with LOR but that is unlikely. It is more likely that non-LOR hardware does not support all variations of the LOR protocol. Non-LOR hardware working with non-LOR software is no indication that it will work with LOR software.

As recommended upgrade to the latest version of the LOR software. If you have a LOR controller, set it up to match the Unit ID you are using for the DC card and see how the LOR controller reacts to the same commands. If the LOR controller has an issue please let us know immediately at support@lightorama.com.

If you want things double checked by us then send your sequence to support@lightorama.com and they will verify that there is no issues with the commands generated by the Sequence Editor.

[bob_moody]

Okay, per instructions I tested the system. Here are the results:

Laptop upgraded to LOR 2.7.6 using my original 2005 LOR dongle going through a USB to RS232 adapter and both the LOR 16 channel board and the D-Light DCx16 board are set to Address 1:

In the sequencer with a 1 sec loop and 100 repeats:

I turn on channel 1,2,3,4 RESULTS: LOR channels 1,2,3,4 all light up. D-Light only lights channels 1,2

I turn on channel 1,2,3,4,9 RESULTS: LOR channels 1,2,3,4,9 all light up. D-Light only lights channels 1

I turn on channel 1,2,3,4,9,10 RESULTS: LOR channels 1,2,3,4,9.10 all light up. D-Light lights channels 1,2

I turn on channel 1,2,3,4,9,10,11 RESULTS: LOR channels 1,2,3,4,9,10,11 all light up. D-Light lights channels 1,2,3

I turn on channel 1,2,3,4,9,10,11,12 RESULTS: LOR channels 1,2,3,4,9,10,11,12 all light up. D-Light lights channels 1,2,3,4

The caveat to all this is that when 1,2,3,4,9,10,11,12 are turned on, the D-light will light 1,2,3,4 BUT, on the D-light board, channels 9,10,11,12 are in OFF (zero output)

Its acting like 1,9 and 2,10 etc etc are linked and dependent on the D-light board when running via the LOR sequencer. When I run just the D-Light HW Util, it checks out clean.

[PaulXmas]

bob_moody wrote:

Okay, per instructions I tested the system. Here are the results:

Laptop upgraded to LOR 2.7.6 using my original 2005 LOR dongle going through a USB to RS232 adapter and both the LOR 16 channel board and the D-Light DCx16 board are set to Address 1:

In the sequencer with a 1 sec loop and 100 repeats:

I turn on channel 1,2,3,4 RESULTS: LOR channels 1,2,3,4 all light up. D-Light only lights channels 1,2

I turn on channel 1,2,3,4,9 RESULTS: LOR channels 1,2,3,4,9 all light up. D-Light only lights channels 1

I turn on channel 1,2,3,4,9,10 RESULTS: LOR channels 1,2,3,4,9.10 all light up. D-Light lights channels 1,2

I turn on channel 1,2,3,4,9,10,11 RESULTS: LOR channels 1,2,3,4,9,10,11 all light up. D-Light lights channels 1,2,3

I turn on channel 1,2,3,4,9,10,11,12 RESULTS: LOR channels 1,2,3,4,9,10,11,12 all light up. D-Light lights channels 1,2,3,4

The caveat to all this is that when 1,2,3,4,9,10,11,12 are turned on, the D-light will light 1,2,3,4 BUT, on the D-light board, channels 9,10,11,12 are in OFF (zero output)

Its acting like 1,9 and 2,10 etc etc are linked and dependent on the D-light board when running via the LOR sequencer. When I run just the D-Light HW Util, it checks out clean.

It looks like D-light doesn't play mice with LOR.
Guess it is like putting a Chevy motor in a Ford, it can work BUT...lost of problems.

[tonyjmartin]

PaulXmas wrote:

It looks like D-light doesn't play mice with LOR.
Guess it is like putting a Chevy motor in a Ford, it can work BUT...lost of problems.

I would try updating to the more/most recent firmware for the DC16, as that's where bugs like this are usually fixed as they occur. In the off-season, I've missed firmware updates on more than one occasion that had already addressed what I thought were "new" problems.

[LightORamaDan]

tonyjmartin wrote:

PaulXmas wrote:

It looks like D-light doesn't play nice with LOR.
Guess it is like putting a Chevy motor in a Ford, it can work BUT...lost of problems.

I would try updating to the more/most recent firmware for the DC16, as that's where bugs like this are usually fixed as they occur. In the off-season, I've missed firmware updates on more than one occasion that had already addressed what I thought were "new" problems.

Per your results this does not appear to be a LOR problem. I agree 100% with Tony, seems like this is something that would be noticed and I would think that it would have been corrected. If the latest firmware does not fix the problem then I suggest you contact the card manufacture with the test information supplied above and based on their reputation they will provide a firmware fix for you.

Dan

[Annalisa]

bob_moody wrote:

Okay, per instructions I tested the system. Here are the results:

Laptop upgraded to LOR 2.7.6 using my original 2005 LOR dongle going through a USB to RS232 adapter and both the LOR 16 channel board and the D-Light DCx16 board are set to Address 1:

You need to set the LOR board and the D-Light board with different controller numbers. You have to use the D-Light hardware utility and the D-Light USB dongle to set the D-Light board number, change it to 3 and then program the channels in the sequence editor.

[bob_moody]

Hi Annalisa,

Long time no see.

The addresses were set to the same for teting per Dan and others. This was so I could see if the LOR board behaved the same as D-Light and as you can see from my test results .. its didnt.

Darryl will reflash my PIC since I dont have the D-Light dongle (By the way, I can set addresses and run the D-Light HW Util with my current (2005 model) LOR adapter). Another friend has offered the use of his D-Light adapter so I can flash the PIC myself.

I am currently at V1.11 and the current release is 2.0. D-light seems to think this problem was taken care of in 2.0

Thanks for the replies ...

Bob

[bob_moody]

Scraped DIY and D-Light. Sold D-Light Board ...

Staying with what I know is 100% compatable.... Light-O-Rama.....

[terrypowerz]

bob_moody wrote:

Scraped DIY and D-Light. Sold D-Light Board ...

Staying with what I know is 100% compatable.... Light-O-Rama.....

Good Call !

[vipzach]

.............and I am the sucker that bought it!

I figured it was a fairly inexpensive way for me experiment with a DC controller.

If it doesn't workout with my LOR, I will also just sale it to somebody that uses d-light.