Support Forum

Hi All,

I'm uber new to the DMX way of life and I'm having some trouble getting started. I just purchased an interface (http://www.junetrading.com/product_info ... ts_id=5812) soldered a male connector to it, downloaded the driver they have posted on the page, but I'm unable to get anything working or even recognized.

Am I missing something here? I put USB-DMX512 in the FreeStyler setup and I get this error: "DHC_OPEN-DHE_ERROR_NOTOPEN"

I see someone else on this forum received this error but ti looked like it was due to his interface not being setup in FreeStyler (http://www.freestylersupport.com/fsforu ... f=6&t=1870)

Could this be my issue? Did I purchase a worthless interface?

Thanks,
Allen

allenspins wrote: soldered a male connector to it

Well, it should be a female connector ofcourse.
But that won't solve the real problem you are haveing.

Somehow you should test if the driver is seeing the interface and if applicable you selected the proper comport.

Sorry! I meant female.

I'm clueless onto how to test the driver or change the comport (does this mean, just change the USB plug-in location?).

Changing the USB plug-in location normaly results in changing the comport. But what you need is to find out which comport your interface is connected to and select that port in FreeStyler setup.
Not all interfaces requires to set the comport. If you select your interface from the dorpdown list in FreeStyler setup and no additional dropdown to select the comport is shown you do not have to set it up.
The link you provided seams to be broken. I can not see what interface you linked to and can not check if you have to select the comport.

Here's a tinyurl version of the link. Hopefully this will work: http://tinyurl.com/2bdqak5

I'll check to see if there are any options when selecting my interface, but I don't recall seeing any.

By the way, the driver I have was given via that website I posted above. It doesn't seem to be the common drivers that I've been reading about. Is it usually this difficult to setup? Should I return this or fight it out?

I've decided to return the unit and get a Open DMX USB. This thread can be closed.

If you can possibly spring the extra cash, get an Enntec Pro. The Pro version creates the DMX stream and doesn't rely on the PC for timing. It's a better solution for more complex shows and requires less horsepower from the computer.

Mh... Link was not brocken, but side it reveres to... Just get an Error when opening it. But since you decided to return the interface and purchase a new one we do not have to deal with that problem any longer

I don't mind using my PC to run the lights. In fact I prefer it since I would like to run my lights via my iPhone.

Once I can get a working interface I can start working out how that's exactly going to work. From what I can tell, FS can be controlled via MIDI. This option, along with an app I've used called TouchOSC, I think I'll be able to do this.

The great thing about TouchOSC is that I can connect it directly to my computer without having to hook-up a router or connect to the internet. I can create a custom user interface, sliders, knobs... Yeah, I'm kind of anxious.

The point about the Pro versus the Open is that the Pro generates the DMX stream for the lighting and the Open doesn't. With the Open, the more you've got going on with the lights the harder the PC is working to maintain the data stream. You may see delays. The main advantage of the Open is it's open source nature. I'm no programmer, but I like that people can get in a tweak stuff. I admire all those that can and do. Not so with the Pro. It is what it is.

I use a minimal PC for lighting control. I was getting glitchy mouse movement such that I had to dial down the rendering options in Magic 3D. Even through that the Pro kept chugging along, the lights went where they should, when I wanted them to.

wardomon wrote:The point about the Pro versus the Open is that the Pro generates the DMX stream for the lighting and the Open doesn't. With the Open, the more you've got going on with the lights the harder the PC is working to maintain the data stream. You may see delays. The main advantage of the Open is it's open source nature. I'm no programmer, but I like that people can get in a tweak stuff. I admire all those that can and do. Not so with the Pro. It is what it is.

If something isn't open source, than it doesn't mean you can't tweak it.
De Pro has an excellent and well documented API (thats the software interface programmers can use to control the Pro). And Enttec delivers a tool on their site for the Pro to tweak some timings of the interface.
But; those tweaks should not be needed as the Pro assures you the output is -always- DMX compatible.
The Open can't. Not even with the biggest tweak in the world - as the Open relies on software (as many cheaper (also non-open source) interfaces does).
The Pro is what it is. It doesn't need tweaking to begin with.
And, as long as it gets power through the USB bus, it keeps on sending DMX signal. Even when your computer died completely (except, the power source should stay on ofcourse)!

Remco_k: I stand corrected. I should have said that the "Pro is what it is, fantastic!" I haven't seen a need to change anything away from the default. It's like a little armored tank that just keeps shooting out data.

On the other hand, I love open source. I dual boot between Ubuntu Linux 10.10 and Windows XP. I would love to see a Linux version of Freestyler. Kindly put, lighting control software on Linux is awful. I don't have the time, patience or knowledge to wrestle it into functionality.

wardomon wrote:On the other hand, I love open source. I dual boot between Ubuntu Linux 10.10 and Windows XP. I would love to see a Linux version of Freestyler. Kindly put, lighting control software on Linux is awful. I don't have the time, patience or knowledge to wrestle it into functionality.

I agree, but, the same problem will arise with "FreeStyler for Linux" (or should we name it LiStyler then?).
FreeStyler will need tons of dependicies, and more for each DMX interface it wants to control.
Ofcourse 'you' run a version of Linux that don't have a ready built one version of all that dependicies, so you need to 'make' it yourself using the source. Then you get a error, google for 2 hours, need to edit some source file, add *something* on line 23 of some source file, retry, another error, google again...
In my opinion its a general Linux problem which shoots away any starting user (and sometimes advanced users).

Haveing said that, Windows isn't the best nor the worst. Same goes for Linux. What is the best, depends on your world and what you want to achieve. (I manage several servers; mixed Windows and Linux, mixed real hardware, mixed virtual machines - everything has its own problems).
But there's one thing: if there's any operating system is working really predictable and easy with drivers and related stuff, its Windows (I don't mean W95, W98 but I mean >=W2K and newer). They get too less credit for that.

I agree. Linux can be a nightmare for dependencies. I haven't "built" anything from source in years and don't plan on it anytime soon.

Well, I'm going with the Open DMX for the time being. I'm only running 3 lights:

ADJ Revo Xpress
(2) Chauvet Pinspot 360

I finally got the unit talking with my computer using FS, but damned if I'm stuck.

Maybe someone could point me in the right direction. What I'm trying to do is to run the Revo without the spots, and just let it flow through it's preset patterns. Then every once in a while I want to have the pin spots turn on, maybe rotate, then point towards a disco ball. Maybe some other variations of that, but that's basically what I'm going for. Do I have to program everything manually through FS? Is there a way I can just tell FS to run Revo's preset patterns?

Ok, I'm starting to figure things out.

I had to put the Revo Xpress into 4 channel mode in order to run it through certain patterns. It's slowly starting to make sense. For those who are running though the same issue, in the back of the manual there are three different descriptions on how you can setup the light. In my case, I created a fixture in FS's fixture creator that allowed my unit to have 4 channels. Once I created the fixture, I opened FS, added the fixture, and started adjusting the settings using the slider. I used the description in the manual to tell me what I should go to in order to get the effect I want. Simple as that.

I do have one remaining questions through. Will I be able to use "Sound 2 Light" within FS to sync the light to the music? If I find out, I'll be back with a how-to. Otherwise, any suggestions would be helpful.

Ok, after reading the post i have yet to fix my problem. I too am running Freestyler with windows 7 and the freestyler usb to dmx512 interface. The problem is i cant get anything to sync up and i keep getting the DHC_OPEN - DHE_ERROR_NOTOPEN message. Please help me!

Make sure your USB-dmx device is good . I don't know of a 'freestyler' branded dongle I don't think there is such a thing, just beware of a lot of the cheap fake ftdi chip devices (eBay for example is flooded with them) because a while back FTDI released an update through windows for the genuine chips that left a lot of fake ones bricked or not fully working properly.
If I'm wrong and you brought a proper branded device from a trusted supplier then the first step would be to check the manufacturers website for up to date drivers and firmware.