MagicQ PC Set Up

[Wolfpeach]

Greetings,

I am having a challenging time with getting our new DMX universe operating. Specifically, I have been unable to get MagicQ PC to communicate with the DMX dongle, which is the Enttec Pro, to operate the LEDs. I've tried all the settings in the DMX I/O window that I can think of and have been unsuccessful with the connection.

The equipment of our DMX universe includes:
- 9 Chauvet color LED washes (6 - Rain64 and 3 -152Splash)
- DMX cable throughout at 110 ohm impedance
- DMX Terminator
- Enttec Pro USB to DMX dongle
- MagicQ PC control software

I know that the LEDs, cables, and dongle are connected and work since I am able to sent a signal to change the LEDs using the test software for the dongle. So the problem seems to be with the MagicQ control software linking to the dongle.

Some other information that is pertinent to the problem:
- Installed the recommended FTDI driver to the port (in this case COM7).
- Installed the DMX universe onto the s/w's Universe 1 for 3rd party dongles.
- All the LEDs are patched in as well as in various groups.

So if there is anyone out there who can provide assistance on this problem, I'd greatly appreciate it.

YBIC,
Barry

[petereit]

Make sure all your universes are set to Enttec not Artnet.

[Wolfpeach]

Universe 1, where all the LEDs are patched, is set to Enttec Pro, so that's not the hang-up.

[cw4u]

You also have to make sure that the dongle is plugged in while the computer is booting up or after. I can't remember off the top of my head but I know that will cause you some issues.

[daver2]

Welcome to CMN Woolfpeach.

If I remember correctly, our Enttec Pro came with some software that could be used to test it out. The first thing to do is ignore MagicQ and get the Enttec dongle working with the PC and lights (or at least a minimal subset of the lights). If I remember correctly there is a package of software to check that communication with the dongle is possible and another one (or maybe the same package) that enables you to set individual DMX channels to specific values.

I will have a look next time I am at Church (probably Sat) and let you know what I find out (i.e. give you some more concrete directions).

Once you know which port the dongle is appearing on the PC as and you know that the PC can (a) communicate with the dongle and (b) communicate over DMX to some lights then you can start work on MagicQ.

Dave

[Wolfpeach]

Dave,

I was able to locate the testing software that came with the Enttec Pro dongle and was successful in linking the PC to the dongle and control 16 channels of lighting. So it seems that the problem lies with the inability of the MagicQ PC to communicate to the dongle through the USB port.

Thanks for the insights,
Barry

[waynehoskins]

I've used the Enttec Pro with MagicQ PC many times on several different computers (under Win7 and Ubuntu Linux) and never had any trouble. It was plug-and-play for me. What OS are you using?

[Wolfpeach]

Windows Vista. Both the dongle and MagicQ are supposed to be compatible with Vista.

[Esoteric]

I have had a glitch before where if you do not install the ENTTEC box correctly the first time, it does something to the COM port and you have to use a different port.

What you are going to have to do is uninstall the driver completely (I think there is a guide how to do that out there somewhere), and I mean completely, and then reinstall.

[daver2]

Did you get anywhere further Barry?

I have just fired up our MagicQ PC and hooked it up the Enttec Pro and this is what I did:

Setup button -> View DMX I/O

Universe 1 set to Enttech Pro and enabled.

I have disabled all of the other universes.

Patch button -> View Channels

Choose a "generic Dimmer" and hit "Patch It" to create a 'dumb dimmer channel' on Universe 1. Do this a few times to create (in my case) 6 dimmers on DMX channels 1-6.

You should now be able to select a channel in the patch window and use the "chan test" soft button on the left-hand side of the screen. This should turn the selected channel on and then off when you select it again.

From the "Patch -> View DMX" window you can name the channels - and give the lamps a gel colour if you wish...

From the "Patch -> View DMX" window you should be able to select "AUTO GROUPS" which should create a set of groups with the names that you have defined above.

Poke the "Groups" and then "View Heads" button and this should give you the auto group names you created above.

You should now be able to select one of the dimmers in the group that you created and use "DIM @ ZERO" or "DIM @ FULL" or use the "set heads intensity" control on the lower right-hand side to adjust the brightness in a more smooth manner!

Hitting the "Int" (intensity) button allows you to use the PCs mouse on the window to control the intensity of the dimmers within the group.

Hope some of this makes sense?

Dave

[Wolfpeach]

Dave,

I followed your set-up instructions below and patched 7 dimmers for addresses 1-7 to cover the 7-channel LED head.

When I selected the "test chans" encoder to "on - 100%" and then one row and then all of the dimmer rows, nothing happened with the head. Does this encoder only test one and have just one channel on at a time or can it be used to turn on/test all of them? I have to ask because I attempted to test them individually and collectively and nothing happened.

Could I be using the wrong driver for the dongle? I installed the FTDI from the Enttec website and the Utility Pro v2 test application has no problem sending a signal trough the dongle to all the heads. I think I read somewhere that MQPC has its own set of drivers and so I don't need to install the FTDI one. Is this so?

I've been trying to resolve this issue for about 6 weeks now and I'm still stumped with getting MQPC to communicate with the dongle.

Thanks everyone for your guidance to this point.

Barry

[cw4u]

You did set the output on MQPC to Enttec DMX, set the universe to 1, and set the patch to a generic dimmer for channels 1-7? Then typed 1, >, 7, @, 99 in the programmer?

Do you see dimmers 1-7 show output on the output window?