pathports have a mind of there own

control

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DOES ANYONE have the pathport networking system for there dmx control
at my school we have two unirverses and during shows the txo unis fight and make us loose control of the dimmers and the only way to solve this is to go to the dimmer room and flip the main circit braker for the intire lights and making the audiance sit in total darkness. then wate a min. to turn it back on then another min and we have control agein. and i konw that its not the board its some thing else so if any one uses pathport control and has any advice it would be greatly appreciated
 
do you have different IP addresses on all nodes?... and are they connected to each other through a switch OR a hub?.... what it sounds like to me is you are getting collisions on the wire....
 
Footer4321 said:
do you have different IP addresses on all nodes?... and are they connected to each other through a switch OR a hub?.... what it sounds like to me is you are getting collisions on the wire....

I'm not familiar with the Pathport system, but, in the event of a colission the devices involved will try to retransmit several times. Look up CSMA/CD - Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Colission Detection.
 
go around to each unit, make sure that they all have unique IP address, then go the the switch or hub and make sure you are getting lights on everything.... also make sure that on each unit is configered correctly, IE you dont have two nodes that have dmx ins, i would sudgest unplugging the two roveing nodes and run with the board to dimmer situation and see if that takes care of your problem, and if it doesnt you know where the problem isnt... gl
 
You are not giving us enough useful and correct information to solve the problem.

1) Having 2 universes is a separate issue from having 2 units conflicting. You can have up to 64 universes on a Pathport system.

2) Is there a staff member who's conversant with the system and have they been notified of the problem ?. Or, have you tried calling the company that did the install and initial setup ?. Has the system been modified since turn-on ?.

3) Are you comfortable enough with lighting over ethernet to proceed with troubleshooting ?. Do you have Pathport Manager ?, which is the off/on line configuration software that configures the network ?.

4) Are the portables plugged in to the system when you get a conflict and problem ?. If so, maybe take them off-line as an initial step.

5) Is there only 1 console sending DMX and are there any additional controllers such as a house light system on the 2nd wall node ?. This may be part of the problem.

More information would be helpful

SB
 
sorry i dont know to much a bout or light system to answer or probaly give you all good info all that i know is what was stated and that we lose control at the worst time.......

or school is two years old and the wiring sucks and our sound board was droped on instilation and so much more is wrong with or theater so any advice is very helpful and i think that i am going to call tech support
 
i dont think i can even thought this a new school we've had two directors one for each year so little is known but i will try and see what i can do.
 
Call/e-mail Pathway Connectivity, they are terrific folks. They probably have some records of your job and might be able to help out.

1 403 243-8110 tel - note that they're in Calgary, Canada
www.pathwayconnect.com

Explain the situation, including your "newness" to this kind of gear and the problems you've encountered

Some things to answer:

- What kind/whose console.
- Is it sending 1 universe ?, 2 universes ?.
- Is it connected to a Pathway node ?, where ?, with what type cable - 5 Pin DMX ? (likely), E-Net (not likely)
- Is there a node at/near the dimmer racks that breaksdown DMX for the racks ?
- Whose dimmers ?, multiple racks ?.
- Is there an electronics rack somewhere with an ethernet switch and patchbay, where all the ethernet Cat5 cables from the fixed and portable come in and merge ?.
- Are there multiple e-net taps around the space ?

SB
 

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