Author Topic: Custom Models with Individual Start Chans  (Read 5191 times)

Offline SLIMaxPower

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Custom Models with Individual Start Chans
« on: October 15, 2014, 04:35:08 AM »
Hi peeps new to the forums and my first year in pixels.

I have a problem with custom models.

I need to set specific channels for certain strings. I have done with my megatree but the option isn't available in custom models.

ideas ?

cheers

Brad

Offline jnealand

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Re: Custom Models with Individual Start Chans
« Reply #1 on: October 15, 2014, 02:15:31 PM »
I have a similar problem posted in another thread.  Bottom line is you can't do it today and probably not this year.
Jim Nealand
Kennesaw, GA

Offline CaptainMurdoch

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Re: Custom Models with Individual Start Chans
« Reply #2 on: October 16, 2014, 05:29:31 PM »
Have you tried skipping pixel numbers in your custom model?  That might allow you to align to your string start channels as long as you don't have anything else using the channel numbers that would correspond to those skipped channels.

Offline jnealand

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Re: Custom Models with Individual Start Chans
« Reply #3 on: October 16, 2014, 07:56:27 PM »
That might work, but I do not have any spare in the channel ranges where those elements are and reworking the numbers would entail reworking a bunch of imported files.  Now if that was only NC sequenced elements that would be easy.
Jim Nealand
Kennesaw, GA

Offline sean

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Re: Custom Models with Individual Start Chans
« Reply #4 on: October 22, 2014, 12:48:17 AM »
Hi peeps new to the forums and my first year in pixels.

I have a problem with custom models.

I need to set specific channels for certain strings. I have done with my megatree but the option isn't available in custom models.

ideas ?

cheers

Brad

Adjust your controllers so strings start on a multiple of 3. if you are using models in xlights you just change one number for each model.

for whole house models, you enter nodes . To make life easy on yourself make sure all models start on a multiple of 3.

Example
3 rgb lights would take channels 1-9, if you want the 4th light to start on channel 18, your are good.

channel 17 or 19 wont work in the whole house model.

You can skip nodes, they just need to be in multiples of 3
in the above example you could place nodes 1,2,3,6
starting channels

1=1
2=4
3=7
6=18

So as i define my 30 models, i am making sure that they start on a multiple of 3

Sean
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Offline CaptainMurdoch

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Custom Models with Individual Start Chans
« Reply #5 on: October 23, 2014, 12:41:32 AM »
You can skip nodes, they just need to be in multiples of 3
in the above example you could place nodes 1,2,3,6
starting channels

1=1
2=4
3=7
6=18

So as i define my 30 models, i am making sure that they start on a multiple of 3

It is really the end channels of pixels that need to be multiples of 3, not the start channels. The start channels are still spaced evenly by 3 but your example above needs to be corrected for pixel 6.  The 6th pixel would start on channel 16 and end on 18.

1 = 1-3
2 = 4-6
3 = 7-9
4 = 10-12
5 = 13-15
6 = 16-18

So pixel X always starts on channel (X-1)*3+1

(6-1) = 5
5*3 = 15
15+1 = 16

Depending on the user, some may just prefer to remember that pixel X ends on channel X*3 so pixel 6 ends on 6*3 = 18.

Edit:  Just one more calculation that might be easier since I've seen this post linked to elsewhere.

The start channel for pixel X can also be defined as (X*3)-2.  In the case of pixel #6 above, we would have the following:

6 * 3 = 18
18 - 2 = 16

That's slightly simpler than the original formula above and essentially the same as the end channel if you know that the start channel is always 2 below the end channel.
« Last Edit: October 30, 2014, 02:45:25 PM by CaptainMurdoch »

Offline sean

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Re: Custom Models with Individual Start Chans
« Reply #6 on: October 23, 2014, 01:41:41 AM »
Yeah, thanks capt. I had the right idea
Sean
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Offline JonB256

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Re: Custom Models with Individual Start Chans
« Reply #7 on: October 23, 2014, 12:21:25 PM »

It is really the end channels of pixels that need to be multiples of 3, not the start channels. The start channels are still spaced evenly by 3 but your example above needs to be corrected for pixel 6.  The 6th pixel would start on channel 16 and end on 18.

1 = 1-3
2 = 4-6
3 = 7-9
4 = 10-12
5 = 13-15
6 = 16-18

So pixel X always starts on channel (X-1)*3+1

(6-1) = 5
5*3 = 15
15+1 = 16

Depending on the user, some may just prefer to remember that pixel X ends on channel X*3 so pixel 6 ends on 6*3 = 18.

After reading this about 5 times, it finally made sense and I understand the "whole house" method, all based on a Start Channel of 1.

Offline sean

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Re: Custom Models with Individual Start Chans
« Reply #8 on: October 23, 2014, 01:51:53 PM »
yeah, a light is 3 channels. Matt could have had people enter channel number into the Custom models, he chose to use nodes.

So
Node   Channel
1         1-3
2          4-6
3          7-9
..
6          16-18


Since you are typing node numbers into the custom model and those nodes expect channels in groups of 3, make sure strings start on a even multiple of 3.
This only applies to how data is entered into the whole house model.
Sean
Littleton, CO
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