Renard "data" channels mixed up when output to lights

[Tory Street Lights]

I have converted 1,000 channels of Vixen data to xlights, created the preview, and added Pixel data to the sequences, When output to the lights using ESP8266 Rensticks the pixel output is brilliant, but I must have screwed up the addressing setup for the converted Renard channels, which also are carried by the Rensticks in Renard Mode, because they are all over the place.  When I ran a sequence using a Vixen setup the Renards perform brilliantly, everything  as it should be.

The setup is as in the pics:-

Could someone with experience in xLights please tell me where I have gone wrong. ??  Do I need to go through all the converted channels and re-number them/re-allocate their addressing because I am now at a complete loss as to which way to turn, my show is setup, but will not run at all.

The hover "Mapping" looks OK, but the allocation shown when using the test utility appears to give a completely different story.  I would be happy to send a sequence for someone to "peruse", if that would help, just tell me the files to email!!

Terry

[keithsw1111]

Happy to help. I know a bit about XLights but nothing about renards. Can you explain how the controllers are meant to receive and handle their data.

[Tory Street Lights]

Hi Keith,

Thank you for being able to comment, Yes I think you just may know a little about xLights  :-)

The Renards I am using require an RS485 input, hence the adaptor. From my understanding of the Renard system, it accepts serial data into the first Pic in a chain.  This Pic, a PIC16F688, "gobbles" the first 8 bits of data, then passes the rest on to the next one, which does the same, and so on right down the chain, in this case 64 Pic's.  The Baud rate I am using is 115200 so that the delay between the first and last Pic is only "minimally" visible as far as timing is concerned.  It is because of this that I am running a second chain, this time only 448 channels because I didn't have enough of the Ren64XC boards at the time to go to the maximum.  Each Pic in the chain then decodes the data and outputs these eight channels on eight of it's output pins as pulse width modulated 5 volt outputs which then go to a standard dimmable optocoupler coupled Triac switch, of which I have about 1,200, all in groups of eight.

I posted this description on the Brian's site last night to describe the mixup's I am seeing when using the Xlights test utility to check the setup :- 

"I don't know enough to figure out what is wrong, my addressing, the hardware, or......... The results are weird, I can "talk" to some individual lights from the xlights test tab, for example Ch169 - 174 work fine, but what should be Ch175 to 200 I find at Ch 255 to 280 and in between virtually nothing!" 

Any observations will be more than welcome complimentary or "otherwise" as I am totally stumped, a display all setup, but not operational!!!

Terry 

Addendum,  the Renard protocol etc is in the Wiki at  :- http://www.doityourselfchristmas.com/wiki/index.php?title=Renard, if you can make sense of it  :-(

[keithsw1111]

Yeah but it seems this Reynard device is hanging off an e131 device. Is that true?

That device would be extracting data and outputting it.

[keithsw1111]

This is one of those things that would be easier to discuss in zoom. That way we can work the problem out rather than tick tacking with partial information here.

[Tory Street Lights]

You are correct, it is hanging off an E1.31 device!

How do I get to "Zoom"  ??

Terry

Addendum:-

Found it, I am on there now  :-)

Terry

[Tory Street Lights]

Thanks to the brilliant help on Zoom this afternoon from Keith and others, we resolved that the problem was in the data transport method ie. E1.31 - wireless from the PC via a Ubiquiti Nano Loco M2 AP, to a couple of ESP8266 "Pixelsticks" one for each Renard chain, it seems the TCPIP overhead was conflicting with the Renard data and scrambling it.  Please correct me if that observation is wrong!!

Keith guided the "Dummy" - (Me) to re-map the appropriate channels out via Serial data to the Renard chains, and the result was perfect.  I have now just run a few test sequences through the complete system very late at night here, 2.00am, 12 x E1.31 wireless Pixelsticks driving 2,575 Pixels, along with the serial Renard data, it looks  brilliant, one very happy camper to say the least.

Thank you guy's very much for your assistance - it is more than appreciated.

Cheers,

Terry