Addressing DMX to SPI Decoder (Alitove SP201E)

[R45glasses]

Hi folks,

I'm attempting to control a string of LED pixel lights via DMX and an ETC console. The decoder we purchased is the Alitove SP201E, which should be compatible with both the WS2811 chips in the lights and regular ol' DMX. The manual leaves much to be desired. Reviewers on Amazon say they've gotten it to respond to DMX, but unhelpfully neglect to mention what settings they did or didn't change.

On the console end, I have my test patch set up Channel (1) at Address (1-3) with each channel as a generic RGB profile, since each light on the string should just have the three color parameters. I'm currently testing on an Element, but will run on an Ion eventually. Currently, when I plug in the power supply, the string lights up white, with some occasional variation in the first pixel, but when I plug in DMX the only change is that the pre-programmed functions on the decoder no longer work. I assume that means it's at least recognizing something...

Has anyone used this particular decoder successfully? Any thoughts on what I might need to change in my setup?

Many thanks!

 

[Amiers]

Take some pictures of how you have it wired. Then make sure your patch is right on the console and the box. I will agree that once you plug your signal cable in and the lights shut off that you now have control.

Generally with pixel dots it’s 3 leds per dot so 3 channels per dot, you could also think of each dot as a mini fixture. So a string of 50 would be 150 DMX channels used.

Best way to test is back up your show. Start a new clean show with a 1 to 1 patch set your DMX decoder to 1 and all should be good granted you wired it properly.

 

[sk8rsdad]

Caveat: I have never used the Alitove SP201E, preferring DMXkings (wired) or ESPixelStick (wireless) and sACN instead of DMX.

• Have you managed to get the display to show C -- 01?
• Have you wired your pixel string as shown in the manual
• Have you patched several RGB (or possibly BGR) 8-bit generic LEDs in the show file with an address that matches C -- 01 as the start address, on whatever universe your DMX cable is connected?

 

[R45glasses]

I got it! The wiring and the patch were alright. The decoder itself has a whole bunch of profile/control options. I had been assuming that the "512" option was the setting I wanted. Turns out it's "---" instead.

Thanks so much for your responses! I hope this helps someone else who decides to take the budget route with a pixel project.

 

[Amiers]

Yeah you gotta set the box to the address you want . Congrats on the quick fix.

 

[Tutoradnik]

Hi, can anyone tell me what pc program to use to control sp201e? I have ws2812b tape, dmx and usb connecting cable and sp201e. And I have no idea what to do next. I have Freestyler but I haven't found a single thread in this topic on the internet.

 

[Mac Hosehead]

Hi, can anyone tell me what pc program to use to control sp201e? I have ws2812b tape, dmx and usb connecting cable and sp201e. And I have no idea what to do next. I have Freestyler but I haven't found a single thread in this topic on the internet.

Wow, way too little information provided here. I have not used this interface but I see it on Amazon. You can use it in standalone mode or control it with DMX. You say you have Freestyler and maybe one of the DMX interfaces that it uses with USB. Can you confirm that DMX is coming from the PC interface? Have you wired DMX to the input terminal of the pixel interface? Do you have a 5 volt power supply wired to the interface and pixel tape? Have you made the data connections to the pixel tape? I assume the interface must be configured to control the specific pixels you are using. Has this been done? Can you control the pixels in standalone mode without DMX?

 

[Crisp image]

I have used one or 2 of these boxes to control pixel tape and found that the VCC GRD and Data connections are what were needed. Then the DMX address needs to be set as well as the type of pixel that is to be controlled. In my case it was ws2812b. I patched it as each pixel was an individual RGB fixture and off it went. I was connected to my Nomad (ETC) which has 1024 addresses. I can control 300 individual pixels and a few other things with the left over addresses.
Regards
Geoff

 

[Craig Hauber]

Hi, can anyone tell me what pc program to use to control sp201e? I have ws2812b tape, dmx and usb connecting cable and sp201e. And I have no idea what to do next. I have Freestyler but I haven't found a single thread in this topic on the internet.

For starting out, something free to experiment with is XLights software. It's definitely intended for those massive christmas lights displays but I have used it for a show once and it's a great free testing platform if your building pixel mapped set pieces and don't have the exact control system that will be used with them for shows. -and they have lots of tutorial video and user forums.
Many of the pro console companies have pixel mapping software available (for additional licensing costs).
One standalone one I've used that's affordable is ELM by Enttec It allows you start small but can grow with you to handle the multiple dozens of Universes you will eventually need for large complex effects. You get free licenses if you buy their pixel driving hardware but you can just buy licenses standalone and use it with other brands of hardware. it runs Art-Net, sACN, some others I can't remember and even standard DMX. It also can be automated from any DMX console as one large fixture that uses a minimum of 16ch (and up depending on your configuration) so the pixel elements can be self contained as a package that can be integrated easily into any existing lighting control system.
There are several others like it too, you just have to start googling a bit.

 

[BlackDolly]

Hi, sorry to reopen the conversation about SP201E. I'm just trying to get it to work and there are very few places on the internet that talk about this decoder.

I hope someone has gone through my situation and can help me.

I want to control a WS2812b strip
My DMX controller is an Arduino shield.
And as a decoder I have the SP201E

For the sake of simplicity I will only talk about one pixel, channels 1, 2 and 3. Both the decoder and the DMX start on channel 0001.

The decoder is in -2811 mode (recommended by the manufacturer for WS2812B control).

Indeed, if I raise and lower the value of channel 3 (blue) (from 1 to 255) I can notice that the blue tone of the LED changes.

My problem is... I can't manage to turn off any LED. By setting the channels to 0, the LED glows white quite brightly.

I thought that there might be a connection or mounting problem, but if I put the decoder in Program mode with the DMX controller off, I can see how it correctly performs the default colour and off sequences. So the decoder has the capacity to control the strips, but I don't know the values that the channels have to take to turn off the leds.

I hope I have explained myself clearly, I leave this Christmas mystery unsolved pending for some wise man who can help me.

Thank you very much and happy holidays
Julia


****
EXAMPLE
****

#include <Conceptinetics.h>
#define DMX_MASTER_CHANNELS 30
#define RXEN_PIN 2

DMX_Master dmx_master ( DMX_MASTER_CHANNELS, RXEN_PIN );


void setup() {
dmx_master.enable ();
for (int i = 0; i < 30; i++) {
dmx_master.setChannelValue ( i, 0);
// All channel set to 0
}
}
void loop() {
for (int i = 0; i < 250; i++) {
dmx_master.setChannelValue ( 3, i);
//blue tone of first led fade up
delay(200);
}
}

 

[Mac Hosehead]

My DMX controller is an Arduino shield.

Since the decoder appears to work the pixels correctly in the non-DMX mode, I would suspect something in the communication of DMX. Has this Arduino shield been used to control other fixtures reliably? Maybe it would be good to provde more information about it.

 

[BlackDolly]

Since the decoder appears to work the pixels correctly in the non-DMX mode, I would suspect something in the communication of DMX. Has this Arduino shield been used to control other fixtures reliably? Maybe it would be good to provde more information about it.

Thank you very much for your message, I was able to solve it... it was an absurd mistake.

When I read your message I thought I would try the Arduino controller with another DMX spotlight I have. When I took the Canon terminal to solder it to the cable I realised that I had connected it wrong.... DMX+ and DMX - were reversed.

Thank goodness nothing was broken. It works perfectly now.

Thanks a lot for the inspiration
Best regards
Julia