Add USB / Renard Output - channel mapping lost

[Tory Street Lights]

Ok, so I have setup 1000+ channels of Renard as well as 6,000+ of Pixels, all E1.31.  I decided to change the three Renard chains at the start from E1.31 to USB / RS485 adaptors by inserting USB adaptors with the same channel configurations and deleting the E1.31 from the list.  Once I had done this I was alerted to the fact that the program could no longer map the renard channels. The layout on the network setup page looked OK, so what have I done wrong, it will be a "Newbie" mistake for sure!!

Thanks

[Gilrock]

Once I had done this I was alerted to the fact that the program could no longer map the renard channels.

And how were you alerted?  I have no idea what that statement means.

[Tory Street Lights]

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And how were you alerted?  I have no idea what that statement means.
[/quote]

By a large white box that appeard when I moved from the setup screen to the layout screen containing a complete listing of all the "models" that were created to transfer my Vixen sequences into xLights, the page announced that the "system" could no longer map the listed "models" The layout scrren looked OK but when I ran a sequence on the preview it was totally scrambled. At this stage I haven't sequenced any pixels, I just have the converted Vixen sequences to "play with".

When I re-load the backup files and return to the original setup, all is fine, thankfully.

[Gilrock]

Ok so that's just the warning that the start channels are messed up.  Same thing can happen if you daisy chain model start channels and delete the first one in the chain.  So however you were specifying the start channels was no longer valid after you made the change.  What syntax were you using to specify your start channels?

[Tory Street Lights]

  What syntax were you using to specify your start channels?

Not quite sure what you mean by that, sorry.  The layout setup box is using start Channel, universe No. - "Any" and universe 1, this is for the first channel heading out to the No 1 Renard chain, if that makes sense

The method i used to attempt to swap out the E1.31 block was to add a USB, use the same numbers, then delete the E1.31 block of channels.  I had hoped that I could just swap the E1.31 on the setup page for a USB, but that option is not apparent.

[Gilrock]

I mean I wanted to see what the line looks like in the Start channel field for one of the models that isn't working.  There are many different ways to enter the start channel.  If you used absolute channel numbering it would probably work.  If you used something like #32:1 and don't have actual universes in setup then that's a problem.  I've never used Renard so I don't know the restrictions for using them.  Maybe it requires absolute numbering.  Maybe one of the 3 Renard users could speak up.

[Tory Street Lights]

Hi Gill, thanks for your reply, I have all the start channel numbering associated with my Renard chains addressed as "#1:from 1 to 1,000+", the universe No as "any" with it's pulldown box with a 1 in it, which is the default, if that makes sense.  I have had the setup running under E1.31 wireless, but would prefer the Renard chains to be cabled if possible.

I will await any comment from your Renard users to see what they think, I suspect that it is finger trouble on my behalf though, but the problem being  which finger!!

[Gilrock]

If you have "#1:" that means "Universe 1".  That "Any" field applies to something else.  I'd have to see a screenshot to remember.  It should be a way to target a universe to an IP address.  I don't know how Renards work.  Do they take a universe number?  If not then the "#1:" syntax is invalid for Renard.

[keithsw1112]

As renard does not support universes you need to use one of the following start channel formats:

Absolute - just specify the channel number listed on the setup tab ... but dont insert anything before that point later or you will need to go back and renumber the models start channels.
output:start channel - Where output is the number in the left hand column on the setup tab. Again dont insert anything or reorder anything on the setup tab after this point or you will need to renumber things. In this mode the start channel is the start channel within that output.
>modelname:channel offset - This chains the model to the end of the prior model ... this is great when models are physically chained to each other ... it can also be used when you know exactly the order models are plugged in ... but once that changes you will need to go back and fix the chains. Breaking the chains also generates annoying errors when you switch tabs.

Unfortunately for renard we dont have a simple #universe:start channel format as there is no universe number to specify. I have thought about letting you specify an optional ID which would be unique which would allow you to use the #universe:sc format but have not gotten around to it.

[Tory Street Lights]

Hi Keith,

Many thanks for your insight, it seems as though I'm have gone awry from the start  :-( I was planning on using E1.31 as a distribution method  going via Shelby's ESPixelsticks to convert the E1.31 to either Renard or Pixel format.  I was intending to attach a couple of screenshots of the setup, but I cannot figure out how to, so I will Email you directly and take this "noise" off the bulletin board  :-(

Terry

[keithsw1111]

Please don't email me. Others get value from these conversations

[keithsw1111]

If you are hanging your rewards off e131 controllers then you must configure them as e131 in xlights. We don't care what the controllers subsequently do with the data.

[Tory Street Lights]

Thanks Keith,  In which case I will leave everything alone and run with the wireless option for now - fingers crossed  :-)

Sorry about the email, it went before I saw your post  :-(

Terry

[Tory Street Lights]

For the benefit of "us" Renard users, could the knowledgable please advise "us"/"me", for future reference, how to initially organise both the setup page and the numbering convention required for the actual channels/models involved when setting up the layout page should we want to possibly run wired/USB/RS485 cable from the computer as that choice is available.  The options available on the layout channel allocation screen to the uninitiated are confusing when coming from a Renard environment.

 It appears from Keiths comments I have done both incorrectly without realising it as the preview screen of 1,000+ channels appears fine to me, a duplicate of what I previously had on my Vixen 2.1x AP but setup, sort of, as E1.31.  And correcting my error at this late stage is time prohibitive.

Many thanks for the excellent help thus far  :-)

Terry

[Ebuechner]

Have you considered flashing your Renard controllers with DMX firmware and setting static start numbers?
I don't have as many Renard controllers as you do but I prefer my start numbers to follow the controller and prop that I built rather than it changing depending on where it ends up in the daisy chain if I change things around.
Plus with my Renard controllers running DMX I can use the serial port to drive the Renard and dumb RGB off the same wire.