16 replies to this topic

[JasonLyvers]

This isnt right. Should be a nice fading set of lights, not this random blinking nonsense. Not sure what to do to fix. Tried to reflow the joints in my Teensy/Octo boards, but didnt seem to change anything.
https://drive.google...B12tasG4D3xOjYh
Ideas?

Edited by JasonLyvers, 17 November 2017 - 02:03 AM.

[Outhere]

I noticed this line is missing from your in your GlobalConfig_B2SServer.xml file And you should have file named DirectOutputShapes.xml from the download site in your config folder, 

<ShapeDefintionFilePattern>C:\DirectOutput\Config\DirectOutputShapes.xml</ShapeDefintionFilePattern>

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Try the game Medieval Madness

[DDH69]

What effect were you expecting at this point in time?

 

You can define the fade curve for addressable LEDs in DOF.  Not sure what you've got set there.

[JasonLyvers]

Thanks.  Adding that line and switching to MM has mostly fixed my problems.  My strip is fading, and I was able to edit my cabinet.xml to get the lights positioned at the bottom of the strip correctly.  Only problem left is that the lights have a weird drop out - almost like there is a short in the power.  I tried to video it, but it doesn't show up very well.  Just imagine the fading as a curve - it looks like a curve still, but with random crashes in the middle of the curve.  The curve/fade still finishes correctly.

 

Anyway - that's a different problem, so - I'll mess with wiring and see if I can get that nailed down.  Thanks a ton.

[JasonLyvers]

I put a piece of paper on top to diffuse the light - these are so bright that the camera had a hard time picking up the problem without it.  

If you watch till the end, you'll see the lights blink several times intermittently.  I reflowed my Teensy/Octo joints, double checked my voltage at multiple points on the strip, and added a 2nd 5V connection on the opposite end of the strip.  I think I can rule out voltage drops - I've got a solid 5V at both ends of the strip.

 

Partially looking for suggestions, partially documenting in case anyone else has a similar problem later.  Going to swap light strips and see what happens.

 

https://drive.google...iew?usp=sharing

[DDH69]

I see what you mean.  I haven't seen this before, but then I've only setup one.  Do you have a second strip of LEDs that you can try?

[JasonLyvers]

Ok, I've tested with a 2nd led strip, I get the exact same blinking.  I changed the wiring out, adjusted voltage - still get the blinking.  Running out of ideas - thinking about wiping the teensy out and reloading everything, but I doubt that will actually do anything.  

[DDH69]

I can't quite see from the video, but where are your orange and orange/white connected?  How close to the LED strip?  Can you video your wiring?  I'm just wondering if you're somehow losing signal occasionally? (random thought)

[JasonLyvers]

My cat 6 cable is long - maybe 6 feet. Tried using an Arduino Sketch to re-Test the light strip, it works fine with no blinking. Id assume that means my cat 6 isnt too long, but probably need to shorten it and retest to be sure. The PWM/fading might require a shorter cable for some reason.
Also figured out that the strip configuration tool described in the link below doesnt run. Get an error about ftdi drives not being installed. They are, but something isnt quite right there. Will test that Sunday night and see where I end up.
http://pinball.weile...ontrollerV5.pdf

Thanks for the questions - hard to think through all the things I need to troubleshoot on my own!

Edited by JasonLyvers, 18 November 2017 - 03:12 PM.

[Outhere]

The temporary hookup I have is over 6 feet, I have no problem...
You mentioned a link below but I seeing no link

[JasonLyvers]

Sorry - added the link.

[Outhere]

I'm using a power supply out of an old computer to run these lights you should only need power from one end with a 144 lights...
I believe this is what I used for updating the board but it has been a while...

https://github.com/D...Teensy-Firmware

[JasonLyvers]

I've shortened the data cable from the Teensy to the strip - it's now about 2 feet.  The strip still flickers intermittently.

Have not been able to run Swiss Lizard's LedStripController Configurator.  I get an error about FTD2xx.dll ("Failed to load FTD2xx.dll. Are teh FTDI drivers installed?).  Have tried multiple times to fix - can't figure out how to get it to work.

Any ideas?

 

https://drive.google...iew?usp=sharing

 

Things I've tried so far:

• Re-wired everything
• tried multiple led strips
• tested voltage multiple times
• injected 5V at both ends of strip
• shortened data/ground cable
• Ran led strip test built into the Octo library via Arduino (which confirms the lights are capable of lighting up without flickering).

[DDH69]

Your fault finding seems sound.  I don't have much more to offer.  The only thing I'd still check (and perhaps change to another temporarily) is the fade curve - just in case.

[JasonLyvers]

Holy crap - I think I finally figured it out.

 

The problem was in my cabinet.xml file.  I was pretty sure it was software/code related - I had tested all of the wiring/hardware a lot.  I decided I would just live with the flicker in my right strip, hook up me left strip, and then deal with the flicker problem some other day.  Once I hooked up the left strip I started to see some issues.

 

The cabinet.xml file had my PF Right LedWizEquivalentOutputNumberas 4, and my PF Left LedWizEquivalentOutputNumber as 1, but they weren't wired that way.  I couldn't really figure out what was happening because my right strip was working, but, I had rigged my cabinet.xml LEDStrip>>Height LEDStrip>>FirstLEDNumber values to make it work.  None of this was intentional - I just made a mistake early on and managed to tweak the values just right so that it appeared to be mostly working.  When my right strip wouldn't light up correctly, I started changing my heights and first led values until I noticed a new problem - the fade that happens when the ball is in the plunger lane was showing up on my left strip (not my right).  This caused me to look at the code more closely, which led me to find the LedWizEquivalentOutputNumber issue.

 

Anyway - this is a complicated way of saying it was my error in the cabinet.xml, complicated by the fact that I was able to make it mostly work despite the error.  If you get something like this in the future, I'd follow the same basic steps - test the strips to make sure they are capable of lighting up correctly (via the LED strip tests available through arduino), then check your code.  I was just too stubborn to look at the code in detail, even though all of my tests basically told me that had to be the issue.

 

Thanks a ton for everyone's help.  Now that I figured this out, I'll be sure to pay if forward if someone else has an issue.  Thanks again.

[Outhere]

Nothing like good news

[DDH69]

Yay