Enttec Open DMX USB

Bruno · Post by **Bruno** » Wed Jun 22, 2016 12:41 am

Hi, I have an upcoming theater show where I'll be controlling lights with LX Console 4.5 via MIDI and QLab. I bought this Generic Open DMX USB interface and I was wondering if you guys could help me set it up. It's based on Enttec Open DMX USB design, at least that's what I've been told.

By default, LX Console was trying to use this VCP driver:

This was making the app crash consistently. Cues would freeze and it would never quit properly. So I have unloaded the com.apple.driver.AppleUSBFTDI kext and selected the D2XX one. LX Console is stable now but I have no way at the moment to test if the interface is outputting DMX signal. It looks like everything should be OK.

Here's the "widget info" message:

Can you tell if it's working by this message?

Also, is anyone using this interface with LX Console successfully? How?

FYI, here's the system profile report of my interface:

THANKS A LOT!

Post by **admin** » Wed Jun 22, 2016 3:43 am

LXConsole does not support Open DMX interfaces. It requires an ENTTEC DMX USB Pro, a clone that supports the DMX USB Pro api, or an ENTTEC DMX USB Pro mk2 (or LXConsole v4.5 and later also supports DMX King ultraDMX Pro).

The difference between Open and Pro is more than just drivers. The widgets supported by LXConsole all have MCUs with memory that hold levels and send DMX independently of the main computer. Open DMX is just a USB serial to EIA-485 converter cable. Open DMX requires the main computer to continuously send serial output. With the ENTTEC Pro widgets, the main computer can send levels to the device only when they change. The MCU in the widget does the job of repeatedly sending the actual DMX signal.

The ENTTEC DMX USB Pro uses an FTDI USB to serial converter chip. This is likely the same chip found in your Open DMX cable. It is possible for the D2XX driver to open a USB connection with the FT232R chip. But, that alone is not enough to create actual DMX.

Bruno · Post by **Bruno** » Wed Jun 22, 2016 3:58 am

I feared that would be the case

They don't sell the Enttec DMX USB Pro where I live. I'll have to make it with another lx software for this show, and maybe for another one I'll be able to buy it from ebay or something. Thanks for the quick answer anyway!

Post by **admin** » Sun Jun 26, 2016 5:41 am

There is now a beta version of a new small utility that interfaces Art-Net with and OpenDMX FTDI interface. All this does is allow you to listen for one universe of Art-Net and send levels from ArtDMX packets out to the OpenDMX serial converter. This is a first draft and there are no options. Only the first Art-Net universe from any network connection to the first FTDI D2XX device found. However, it does allow you to connect LXConsole with Art-Net output to an OpenDMX interface.

https://www.claudeheintzdesign.com/down ... X0_0_1.zip

Post by **admin** » Mon Jun 27, 2016 3:51 am

The Net2OpenDMX utility now has some error checking and its own page:

http://www.claudeheintzdesign.com/lx/lx ... about.html

(No icon yet , but it works!)

Bruno · Post by **Bruno** » Wed Jun 29, 2016 12:36 am

WOW!

It works!

This is amazing, thank you so much! I tested it today on the theater and everything is doing what's supposed to.
I did have an issue with the lights flickering though. I didn't install the FTDI D2XX driver as you instructed on the page, could this have anything to do with it? Anyway, I'll do some further testing and report back.

Thanks again!!! I hope others can enjoy this software now as well!

Post by **admin** » Thu Jun 30, 2016 2:26 am

When you install LXConsole, the FTDI D2XX driver is included. The D2XX helper however, is not. LXNet2OpenDMX will not work without the D2XX driver.

The latest versions of OS X require that the Apple FTDI driver be disabled or the D2XX Helper kext is installed. LXNet2OpenDMX was tested with 10.11.5 with D2XX Helper installed. OS X 10.9 and earlier may not need the D2XX Helper, so check the OS X version before downloading and installing it.

In testing, LXNet2OpenDMX produced legal but slightly non-standard DMX. It ran for quite a while without any noticeable stability problems.

There are many potential causes of DMX flicker bad cables, using mic cable instead of DMX cable, lack of proper termination, to name a few. Does the flicker happen only with LXNet2OpenDMX or is it present when using other software such as QLC+ on the same computer, using the same OpenDMX box?

Bruno · Post by **Bruno** » Thu Jun 30, 2016 3:55 pm

With QLC+ there was no flicker under the same conditions. Would changing the "output speed" setting on LXConsole make any difference? A lot of people have this issue with the Open DMX USB and changing the frequency seems to be helping some of them.

I went through a major pita to compile and run the OLA on my macbook as well. I'll be running that against the LXNet2OpenDMX today to see if it helps. I'll let you know!

Post by **admin** » Thu Jun 30, 2016 8:29 pm

Can you explain what conditions cause the flicker and what system (type of Mac and operating system version) you are using?

Output speed from LXConsole controls the maximum number of Art-Net packets per second. This should not effect LXNet2OpenDMX's serial DMX.

Bruno · Post by **Bruno** » Fri Jul 01, 2016 2:42 am

I have a Mid 2012 i5 Macbook Pro running OS X El Capitan. I had the Apple FTDI kext disabled already, but I installed the D2XX helper just to make sure.

The most important detail I could observe is that the flicker can only be noticed when I'm changing DMX values. If all the dimmers are on a set level then there's no flickering. If I try to increase or decrease a level on a channel then I start to get random flickering even on channels I'm not using at that moment.

Also, I have to say that when using the OLA there was absolutely no noticeable flickering. LXConsole interfaced perfectly with it as well. They use libftdi instead of D2XX.

Post by **admin** » Sat Jul 02, 2016 1:44 am

That sounds like your description points to a dmx timing issue. I'll be able to work on that with an analyzer after the 4th, hopefully on Tuesday.

Are you controlling dimmers or LEDs? And what brand? DMX timing has a range of acceptable timing values. However, some equipment is more sensitive to variations in things line the length of the break and the mark after break.

Its a little hard to catch random flickering by looking at every single dmx frame (roughly 40 per second) But, I'll see if I can reproduce the issue. I had looked for variations in the timing around the break while running a continual fade last week and every thing appeared fine. But, from the symptom, a misplaced or mis-interpreted break could cause a frame to be off for an instant and then resume its normal value. Which may be what you are seeing.

Bruno · Post by **Bruno** » Sat Jul 02, 2016 11:28 pm

I'm controlling dimmers. I'm not sure which brand, I'll take a look and update you asap.

Sounds like you know your stuff!

Let me know what your tests say, thanks!

Post by **admin** » Wed Jul 06, 2016 1:35 am

There is now a 0.2.0 (B5) version available for download. This version has improved DMX timing and appears to eliminate the possibility of a misplaced break in the DMX serial stream.

( Note that the download link has changed. So be sure to refresh the page to get the current link: https://www.claudeheintzdesign.com/lx/l ... about.html )

Bruno · Post by **Bruno** » Fri Jul 08, 2016 7:00 pm

Smooth!

Works like a charm! I've been playing with the lights for the last hour and there's no flickering! Thanks a lot! If you need any other feedback let me know!

Post by **admin** » Sun Jul 10, 2016 11:46 pm

I'm glad its working for you.

There's a new version available, 0.2.3, which adds on option to convert sACN as well as Art-Net.

On the principal of Keep It Simple, the app is pretty much done. It needs an icon and a bit more use/testing and it can move to release. The code needs to be cleaned up and documented as well. Once that happens, the source code will get posted to github.