Original LXSeries Forum

Im trying to get my new Enttec Open DMX Ethernet thing to work.
Not very successfully.

Im using a mac mini and the ODE connected both with ethernet cables into a time capsule.
As long as the time capsule is allowed to send a dhcp IP address to the mac mini the ODE device can be detected and seen as in the picture above.

As soon as I follow the LXConsole manual and configure the mac minis network to a manually given IP like 10.x.x.x.x I can no longer find the ODE device.

Do I have to change something in the timeCapsule as well?
What am I missing here?

Is there a reason not to connect the ODE directly to the Mac Mini instead of running through the time capsule?

Assuming that there is and that you want the Mac Mini to have both a TCP and an ArtNet connection, what you would do is to create two ethernet connections using the System Preferences->Network panel.

First, you may already have a DHCP ethernet connection. If not, create an new connection by clicking the + button at the bottom left of the Network Preferences. Choose "Ethernet" when prompted for the interface. You can give it a name such as "Internet". Click "Create". Select that connection from the list at the left of the window. Click the Advanced button and set the TCP/IP "Configure IPv4" to DHCP. (This is the regular internet connection.)

Then, add another ethernet connection as above. Name this one "ArtNet" Select ti and click the Advanced button. Set the TCP/IP "Configure IPv4" to Manually. Enter the ArtNet address shown in LXConsole's DMX Info tab of its Preferences. This number is generated from the MacMini's Mac Address and will be of the form: 10.aa.bb.cc.

Once you have an ethernet cable plugged in to the TimeCapsule, both of these connections should show connected in the System Preferences' Network panel.

In LXConsole, select the connection with the 10.aa.bb.cc address from the popup in the DMX Out tab as shown in your picture. And be sure that the DMX Output is set to ArtNet 10.n.n.n. (If your ODE's address was 2.x.x.x you would use the other option. But, it is not according to the NMU in your screen picture)

Once you have this configuration, power up the ODE and plug it's ethernet connection in. In LXConsole, enable ethernet using File->External->Ethernet. At this point you should be able to send DMX out through the ODE.

If not, power down the ODE, then power it up, plug its ethernet cable directly into the Mac Mini--bypassing the Time Capsule--to verify that it is working directly.

If it still doesn't work, There's probably a basic step missing. Sometimes when I'm doing a new setup I forget to be in Live mode in order to test the output... or, I'm using a blank file and haven't patched 1 to 1... etc.

If the ODE works when connected directly, but not through the Time Capsule, then you will need to open the UDP port using AirPort Utility. When you select the Time Capsule in the airport utility, there should be some kind of Advanced button that gets you to Port Forwarding or Port Mapping. I don't have a Time Capsule available for the exact steps. But you will want to enable port 6454 for the 10.x.x.x address. I'm not sure if it should be the 10.x.x.x address of the ODE or the Mac Mini (or both). If anyone has this information, or the steps needed, please post it.

I'm not sure but I believe that the ODE may connect to the NMU application using regular TCP for configuration. I don't think it would be possible to actually send ArtNet to it over a connection that did not have a UDP 10.xx.xx.xx address. Again, if anyone has more information about this, please post it.

I have a Linksys wireless router. The above technique of creating two network connections, one DHCP and one manually configured with a 10.xx.xx.xx address, allows me to control my ODE plugged into the router via ethernet cable. I can connect LXConsole to it using either the ethernet or airport on my MacBook Pro. In both cases, I also have regular internet connectivity as well.

I did not have to configure the router to allow this to work. That would probably not be true if you were trying to connect from the outside network into the local network. But, for the Time Capsule, it may be necessary to open the UDP port even on the local network.

Here's a link to some more step by step instructions for setting up ArtNet output for LXConsole

http://lx.claudeheintzdesign.com/LXConsoleArtNet.pdf

Been following all advice in this thread. Managed to create two ethernet connctions. Have got the NMU to connect with my MacBook Pro and discover the ODE. The ArtNet test program within NMU works and sends signals the my dimmer.
But can I make LXConsole have a conversation with the ODE. Nope!
I have not forgotten to set LXConsole to Live and Ethernet.

I used Wireshark to see what was going on.
With NMU sending ArtNet, the protocol is ArtNet all the time. Trying to have LXconsole do the same thing there are several protocols except ArtNet.

I'm on the latest version of LXConsole. ArtNet address is 10.49.187.108 and subnet 255.0.0.0. Do I have to have a switch between my computer and the ODE?

Kindest regards
Harry

The NMU may have a way of communicating with the ODE over a TCP connection. If you are seeing that it is sending Art-Net over the 10.x.x.x connection, then the problem is most likely in LXConsole's preferences settings.

Is the Mac connected directly to the ODE, or is the signal going through a router? If so, connect the Mac directly to the ODE and eliminate the router as a possible source of problems.

Are the DMX output settings in LXConsole's preferences set correctly? See step #7 in the PDF:

http://lx.claudeheintzdesign.com/LXConsoleArtNet.pdf

It is unfortunate that Art-Net uses two class one address families 2.x.x.x and 10.x.x.x. This has to do with the history of Art-Net. Basically, the 2.x.x.x family should not be used except for backward compatibility. The ODE was probably configured for a 10.x.x.x address when it was new. LXConsole supports both but the address of the service you create in Network Preferences, the output protocol selected in LXConsole Preferences, and the address of the ODE (which you see in the NMU) must match in terms of the first number in the address. If your ODE is set to a 2.x.x.x address, make sure that all the addresses follow that pattern (and keep that in mind if you read 10.x.x.x in the instructions to replace it with 2.x.x.x).

You must select the correct network interface from those available. LXConsole's DMX Out preferences has a popup that shows the available network interfaces. There's almost always one that is 127.0.0.1 which is the local computer. If you have a service for DHCP, there will be one with that IP address. You should be able to find the one that matches the service you created for Art-Net.

When you change any network settings in LXConsole's preferences, it is necessary to re-enable ethernet. Most changes will turn it off and you then need to turn it back on.

ODE is connected directly to the MacBookPro.
LXConsole preference is set at Art-Net 10 with address 10.49.187.108 as suggested be DMX info. Send channels is checked. Universe and Subnet are both 0. In the main window Live and Ethernet is on.

On the MacBook ethernet interface is IPv4 manual with ip address 10.49.187.108, as in LXConsol, and Subnet is 255.0.0.0.
The ArtNet connection is the first in the service list.

I have turned the ODE off and on again.
The activity led on the ODE blinks a little then has a nice steady shine.

Hmmmmm

In the System Preferences Security tab, what are the settings for your firewall? Click the lock, enter your password and then click the advanced button. Check to make sure that you do not have "Block all incoming connections" checked.

Second, what is the IP address shown in the NMU? If you click the configure button, is the DMX set to output? Is the protocol set to ArtNet?

(I have had the NMU sometimes ask me for the network connection to use to find the ODE, sometimes not. I have had to shut off the AirPort on my MacBook and restart the NMU for it to find the ODE.)

NMU says ip for ODE is 10.7.112.83
Protocol ArtNet
Subnet 0
Universe 0
Port direction Output DMX
On computer Firewall is turned off.

With the networktool that comes with Mac OS I can ping both 10.49.187.108 and 10.7.112.83.

Is it possible to read the network output from LXConsole in some way?
Also I have tried to use an older version of LXConsole. Two versions back or so.

Wireshark will show you the ArtNet packets even if no device is listening to them. It shows me packets even when the firewall is set to block incoming requests. On my MacBook Pro, wireshark shows two ethernet type interfaces. en0 is the one that you plug into, en1 is the airport. It is critical that the appropriate IP interface be selected in LXConsole's preferences. And, if you make a change to the popup that selects the interface, you turn the ethernet off and back on for the change to be applied and the connection changed. As long as System Preferences->Network shows that the 10.n.n.n ethernet connection is active, you should see packets on that interface with Wireshark. If you don't see packets, you can look in the Console (Applications/Utilities/Console.app) to see if there are any error messages from LXConsole. There may be some other thing that is causing a problem.

The latest build of LXConsole, 2.3.7 puts more information about ArtNet errors into the messages window rather than just writing them to the console log. This may help figure out connection issues more quickly.

The latest build of LXConsole, 2.3.9 is more flexible in its connection settings. It also will display the address of an Art-Net device that responds to its polling and allow you to unicast specifically to that device.

All output connection errors, including details provided by the system, are displayed in the Messages window. (Formerly, details were written to the log file.)

I got my mojo working. Cant remember how really, but it works...

Now i´ll take a long holiday away from that thing and when I return I´ll maybe have strength enough to make it also respond to some remotecontrolling over wifi. Right now the bare thought of it makes me frustrated!
Networking sure aint fun