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FIrefly questions

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mmciver View Drop Down
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  Quote mmciver Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: FIrefly questions
    Posted: 02 Dec 2008 at 5:05pm
I am having major frustrations with firefly:(  I am fine with running in RGB mode as i want to build a leaping arch for this year and 3 colors is fine.
my problem is this.  I added firefly to aurora as a firefly and tried to add it to my sequence.  According to the sequencer, it appears that i have 48 channels, 16 red, 16 green and 16 blue.  I then put a simple sequence on them to have them chase color after color.  I tried to use the leaping arch piece of the visualizer and everything went south.  The sequence does not show up on visualizer as a leap, the different colors don't show up, I am stuck!

Any Advice?

Mike.

Mike


What do you mean I have enough lights?
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Jonathan View Drop Down
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  Quote Jonathan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Dec 2008 at 12:44am
Hi, Mike.

A quick bit of history four you.  Back when firefly first came out and before Aurora had been updated to include it, you had to use "Generic LOR 1 Protocol", and make three controllers to get the 48 channels needed.  To get say a purple, you would have to send an on command to the red and the blue ID's at the same time (red + blue = purple).  That is actually how legacy mode is supposed to work.  Aurora was then updated to recognize firefly, and while still firefly still runs in legacy mode, Aurora itslef runs firefly in "semi-native" mode in that a firefly controller is now seen as one 16 channel unit and is programmed via the RGB tool. 

Now as you maybe aware, firefly is experiencing some major hardware issues that D-Light is trying to address.  The folks over here at Aurora are also trying to figure out how to successfully control the units.  Right now there is just not a lot of information available, however there are a few thing you can try. 

1.  Import the firefly unit again and select "D-Light Firefly" as the unit type.  Choose "D0" as the controller ID.  (Update the unit with the HW Utility to reflect that change).  This is important because lower numbered ID's are causing some issues.  This should result in one 16 channel controller.  While you are at it, make sure you are running the latest firmware on your unit; it is now v1.13.  This firmware update is necessary to proprly run the unit.  If you haven't already done so , see the D-Light homepage or forums for more info on how to update firmware as well as learn more about firefly itself.

2.  Now, in the visualizer, instead of drawing out an arch, draw the pixels out individually.  I know it's a pain to do this 16 times, but for now ignore the arch option.  There were issues in the past with folks using arches in the visualizer, and while those issued have been fixed, I'd like to avoid having you do anything that once created problems as it helps us troubleshoot better.  I'd recommend using the C7/C9 setting and drawing just enough to get by.  (Remember, if you are using a non firefly controller setting (such as Generic LOR 1 Protocol), the parts arch will show up as whatever color was assigned to the channel.  When using RGB channels, whatever color is generated will show up.) 

3.  Sequence a few commands and then send them out.  If the unit appears to not receive the commands or if the unit is displaying random commands, read this thread, then update to Aurora v1.0.33 and use the "safe haven" option. 

If your unit still experiences issues, then chances are that it is hardware related.  A lot of us are in that same boat. 
~Jonathan
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  Quote LightsOnLogan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Dec 2008 at 7:01am
What Jonathan said, but...
 
I believe the latest FF firmware is 1.3-b4 not 1.13.
 
The arch does now work properly (after assigning the channels you will need to choose the center point, hold down the left button, then drag the mouse up, then right/left to achieve the desired shape.
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mmciver View Drop Down
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  Quote mmciver Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Dec 2008 at 9:11am
I appreciate the guidance.  ONe other question?  What is the RGB tool?
Mike


What do you mean I have enough lights?
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mmciver View Drop Down
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  Quote mmciver Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Dec 2008 at 5:03pm
Please disregard last post.  I upgraded firefly to 1.3 and tried with an existing sequence.  I was able to get it running.  PRetty cool stuff.  Now to modify my 9 sequences to add in the firefly as an arch this year:)
Mike


What do you mean I have enough lights?
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