problem with dmx usb pro mk2: no output on universe 2

Poplinski · Post by **Poplinski** » Tue Feb 13, 2018 8:22 pm

Hello,
we are using enttec dmx usb pro mk2 on 2 laptops running 10.12 and 10.9 and we cannot get universe 2 working. I managed to do it a long time ago on different versions of lx and osx but now it doesn`t work. The enttec shows green/yellow and white leds, so its working fine. We manage even to output dmx through universe 2 with enttec pro manager. Just via lx nothing comes out. Is there anything that needs to be enabled or has it something to do with the port driver? We no longer need the ftdi helper on these machines.
Cheers
Uli

Post by **admin** » Tue Feb 13, 2018 10:38 pm

Have you checked the Preferences' DMX Info tab to be sure that the MKII is selected in the USB DMX API popup?

Poplinski · Post by **Poplinski** » Wed Feb 14, 2018 9:16 am

Hi,
yes I have. I will send you a screenshot. What happens is that I get only the green LED on the enttec when I start up LX console. When I shut down LX the yellow LED appears.[/img]

Poplinski · Post by **Poplinski** » Wed Feb 14, 2018 9:17 am

can I somehow email the screenshot to you, don`t know how to embedd it here

Post by **admin** » Wed Feb 14, 2018 1:28 pm

You might e-mail the file you are using to test this with along with your screen shot. It sounds like there might be an issue with the patch.

Its worth checking Window->Messages... to see that you get confirmation of the port settings on the MKII. When LXConsole is set to the MKII api, it sends a message to the widget confirming that it is capable of 2 universes. If it is not, or it does not get a response, LXConsole will only output a single universe.

Poplinski · Post by **Poplinski** » Thu Feb 15, 2018 9:26 am

Hi, thanks, I just sent the files. Hope this will make things clearer.

Post by **admin** » Thu Feb 15, 2018 6:17 pm

I tested your file on 4 computers and it worked on all of them. Here's a breakdown of OS versions and drivers:

10.13, D2XX
10.13, Apple FTDI USB
10.12, Apple FTDI USB
10.8.5 D2XX

Although LXConsole allows the Apple driver to be chosen and it works, it is not 100% reliable and is slower than using the D2XX driver. Depending on the version of OS X, to use the D2XX driver, you may need to either disable the Apple driver or to install D2XX helper so that the FTDI Driver will work properly. A VCP (non-D2XX) driver should only be used if there is no way to make the D2XX driver function.

Poplinski · Post by **Poplinski** » Thu Feb 15, 2018 8:04 pm

thank you,
you mean it`s actually outputting signal on dmx line 2?
because for us the file also works fine, jus tno output on 2.
On my computer I have 10.12 and can only choose d2xx.
As described before, there is no yellow led when I start up lx, but it lights up when shutting down lx.
It seems like the driver somehow holds it back, can that be possile?
I will try with the ftdi helper tomorrow

Post by **admin** » Thu Feb 15, 2018 8:58 pm

In my test, all machines output from channel 7 on the MKII's second universe connector. On the 10.12 machine, it took several tries of plugging and unplugging to get the Apple driver to show up. Once it did, the output worked. I have not gone back to install the D2XXhelper on that machine to see if it makes a difference. However, without it, the Apple driver will prevent D2XX from working at all.

Poplinski · Post by **Poplinski** » Thu Feb 15, 2018 9:36 pm

OKay,
I shall try to use the apple driver then!
Thanks a lot for your (outstanding!) support.
Cheers
Uli
(devoted LX user)

Post by **admin** » Thu Feb 15, 2018 10:37 pm

I think I wasn't clear, its the D2XX driver you want to use, not the Apple Driver. I went back and installed the D2XXhelper on the 10.12 machine. After restarting, it worked much better with D2XX selected. You'll be able to tell the difference in how fast the widget responds when you click the "Widget Info" button in the Preferences' DMX Info tab.

Post by **admin** » Fri Feb 16, 2018 11:23 pm

The latest build of LXConsole 5.3.0 (12115.1) installs and uses the newest version of the FTDI D2XX driver, 1.4.4. The release date for this driver is March 2017. See http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/D2XX.htm for information about the driver and the D2xxHelper required to prevent the Apple kext from claiming the serial post and thus keeping it from the D2XX driver.

Poplinski · Post by **Poplinski** » Tue Aug 07, 2018 9:03 pm

Hi again,
we got one system working but still having troubles with universe 2 on another.
We suspect it has to do with the Enttec dmx usb pro mk2, the one that works has firmware version 4.10 and the one that doesn`t 4.12. Upgraded it to 4.14 today but still not working so we think it would have needed to be downgraded instead.
We have tried everything on all computers in terms of d2xx reinstallations, d2xx helper etc. There is no way to get an outout on uni 2 from that interface.
I have been asking Enttec about sending us a firmware file in order to downgrade it.
Have you heard of such an issue and is it possible to fix that maybe in future lx updates?
Cheers
Uli

Poplinski · Post by **Poplinski** » Tue Aug 07, 2018 9:06 pm

when I press the widget info button in preferences (dmx) it says something about port 1: 0 or 1 , port 2: etc what does that mean? Would it say which universe it`s outputting here?

Post by **admin** » Sun Aug 12, 2018 1:26 pm

The port information shows information about the mode of the port. It will tell you if the port is enabled. But won't really indicate if it is actually working or not.