Lights turn off when they want to

usb to dmx (2003 - 2010)

Lights turn off when they want to

Postby clcwebcast » 16 January 2012, 01:19

I am having an issue with my Sweet light box that has started recently. We have had it for 2yrs and 8 months and have never done this till recently. We have it connected this to 2 different machines with the same issue. We will have them running and they will turn off and I have to close the software and reopen it to get the lights back up. It seems to have no pattern to when it does this, sometimes its hours and sometimes it’s minutes with recently only 30 seconds between lights on to lights off. We have LEDs, and dimmer with par cans. I have checked all cables, ensured all connections are good and updated the software on the main PC we run the software on. The normal PC is an AMD Phenom II x4 with 4Gig Ram and Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit and the other PC is a AMD Phenom II X2 with 2gig ram and Windows 7 Pro. My gut tells me it’s the Box but I don’t want to assume that till I look at any other issue it could be. What else could it be?
clcwebcast
 
Posts: 3
Joined: 16 January 2012, 00:53

Re: Lights turn off when they want to

Postby support » 16 January 2012, 08:13

Did you change recently the computers ?
If yes, was the interface working well with the old computer ?
The Lighting Controller
support
Administrateur
 
Posts: 10538
Joined: 07 December 2009, 16:32

Re: Lights turn off when they want to

Postby clcwebcast » 16 January 2012, 15:40

Nope, same PC, same cables, same scenes, even the same person running the PC
clcwebcast
 
Posts: 3
Joined: 16 January 2012, 00:53

Re: Lights turn off when they want to

Postby support » 16 January 2012, 17:50

In conclusion:
- always same pc
- always same dmx cables
- always same dmx fixtures
So absolutely no change in the complete chain from the computer to the lights.
- was working well during more than 2 years
- and now dmx randomly stops (sometimes after 30s and sometimes after 1 hour)

When this happen, you just have to close and restart ControlBoard to make the light working again.

Could you please confirm this ?
The Lighting Controller
support
Administrateur
 
Posts: 10538
Joined: 07 December 2009, 16:32

Re: Lights turn off when they want to

Postby clcwebcast » 17 January 2012, 02:29

Yes that is all correct
clcwebcast
 
Posts: 3
Joined: 16 January 2012, 00:53

Re: Lights turn off when they want to

Postby support » 17 January 2012, 08:30

Please try this: run the computer + software + interface, with only the usb line plugged to the interface (no external power unit, no dmx line to the dmx output and no dmx line to the dmx input). And let us know if the problem still exist.
(we suppose that when the lights go off, the "stand-alone" led of the interface comes on)
The Lighting Controller
support
Administrateur
 
Posts: 10538
Joined: 07 December 2009, 16:32

Re: Lights turn off when they want to

Postby Henning » 02 August 2012, 07:00

Hi Clcwebcast

Have you recieved a solution to this problem?

I have exactly the same problem.
Microsoft XP
ShowExpress
USB XFactor interface.

Ours worked perfectly also for about 3 years now, and then it started giving us the same problem.
Lights will be working fine, then all of the sudden the lights turn off.

@support: your thought of the stand-alone LED coming on is 100% correct. When i noticed it, i realised why I had to close the program. But now, I need to restart my PC as the program doesnt want to open after i closed it.

Do you have any suggestions for me?

Kind regards
Henning
 
Posts: 3
Joined: 02 August 2012, 06:54

Re: Lights turn off when they want to

Postby support » 02 August 2012, 07:41

Henning,

Is this problem coming just after upgrading our software ? Or after a Windows upgrade ?
What is your software version ?

Please try this: run the computer + software + interface, with only the usb line plugged to the interface (no external power unit, no dmx line to the dmx output and no dmx line to the dmx input). And let us know if the problem still exist.

Please note that, after crash, if you switch off/on the interface, you should not have to restard the PC.
The Lighting Controller
support
Administrateur
 
Posts: 10538
Joined: 07 December 2009, 16:32

Re: Lights turn off when they want to

Postby Henning » 02 August 2012, 07:55

Hi Support,

Thanks for the reply.
As of yesterday i was still running Showexpress V5.14. We never upgraded to a newer version.
I have downloaded V6.30 from Chauvet's website. Once i get that up and running I'll see if the problem persists.

To answer your other question, no, we didn't upgrade or anything. Same computer with same software has been used for the last 3 years.

I'll try your advice and see if the problem persists.
It wasn't constant like Clcwebcast said. One day it would work perfectly, and then the next day it would do it 3,5,6 times.

Another problem I also encountered was that the lights would start flickering almost as if it wants to loose connection but then doesn't. Like the main DMX signal that is sent from the XFactor box looses connection, and connects, and looses and connects. very strange.

Thanks for the support :)
Henning
 
Posts: 3
Joined: 02 August 2012, 06:54

Re: Lights turn off when they want to

Postby support » 02 August 2012, 08:31

Noted.
After the test "with only the usb line plugged to the interface", we could certainly make some conclusions.
The Lighting Controller
support
Administrateur
 
Posts: 10538
Joined: 07 December 2009, 16:32

Next

Return to Box

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 7 guests