Greetings -
All of the ARE got shipped last Saturday and all but two of the USA got shipped Monday. The last two are shipping today.
One or two, that live near here, may receive their units today!!
I wanted to give these quick notes and photos to explain a few things. I'll work them up into a real manual ASAP.
I will first show a link to a photo and then explain it:
www.j1sys.com/assets/DSC0268.JPG
This is the photo of the unit in its protective wrapping.
www.j1sys.com/assets/DSC0269.JPG
Here the unit and accessories packed inside with it have been pulled out. The baggie contains additional jumpers that won't be needed until the DR4 starts doing RDM along with some rubber feet if you want to put them on the bottom of the unit. There is also a hex wrench for opening/closing the case and some male/male adapters for the programming cable.
The DR4 uses a special split signal ICSP cable which has been provided. Examples of how to connect it to the board for firmware upgrades are included below.
Most importantly put these in a safe place for future use.
www.j1sys.com/assets/DSC0270.JPG
In order to access the jumpers for DMX/REN signal selection or to update the firmware you will have to remove the unit from its enclosure. All units come with ALL slave connections setup for DMX wiring. If you don't need to change them you won't have to open the case until we send a new firmware release.
To open the case we recommend the procedure shown in this and the following photos. First remove the 4 screws from the back of the case BUT leave the rear plate in place. It will be held by friction with the RJ45 and power connector.
www.j1sys.com/assets/DSC0273.JPG
Next gently push the board out a small way by gently pressing on the 4x RJ45 slave connector on the front. If all four screws have been removed it should pop out a small way with just a little pressure.
www.j1sys.com/assets/DSC0274.JPG
Next gently pull the unit WITH THE REAR PANEL STILL ATTACHED. Please note the slots that the board was riding in. You will need to insert it the same way later. Place the unit on a non conductive padded surface.
www.j1sys.com/assets/DSC0275.JPG
Here is a closer photo of the entire board. Please note that ALL of the slaves have their jumpers set to DMX.
www.j1sys.com/assets/DSC0276.JPG
When we provide updated firmware you will have to remove the board and attach the programming cable to the board and to your programming device. This is the connection to program the master. The other end of the cable is NOT connected to anything in this photo. You would connect it with the male/male adapter to your PICkit 2 or PICkit 3 or other programming device. The two pin connector is connected to I1 and the three pin connector is connected to I2. Arrows are matched to arrows.
www.j1sys.com/assets/DSC0278.JPG
Here is the connection for updating slave #1. The two pin connector is connected to IX1 and the three pin connector is connected to IA2. Arrows are matched to arrows.
www.j1sys.com/assets/DSC0279.JPG
Here is the connection for updating slave #2. The two pin connector is connected to IX1 and the three pin connector is connected to IB2. Arrows are matched to arrows.
www.j1sys.com/assets/DSC0283.JPG
Here is the connection for updating slave #3. The two pin connector is connected to IX1 and the three pin connector is connected to IC2. Arrows are matched to arrows.
www.j1sys.com/assets/DSC0284.JPG
Here is the connection for updating slave #4. The two pin connector is connected to IX1 and the three pin connector is connected to ID2. Arrows are matched to arrows.
www.j1sys.com/assets/DSC0285.JPG
The other main reason to open the case is to change the wiring pinouts to match the Renard standard (or switch back to the DMX standard if changed at an earlier time). This photo shows the jumpers for Slave #1 switched to the Renard standard.
----
OK, it is time to put the board back in the case. Gently slide the board in the grooves until it is almost all the way in. Then gently press the board in the last little bit while guiding the 4x RJ45 slave connector into position. We have found that if you stand the case vertically while inserting the board that it will usually center itself with no guidance and fall right into place with gentle firm pressure.
----
www.j1sys.com/assets/DSC0291.JPG
I was taught when assembling anything with multiple screws to think like installing a tire on a car. First do the diagonals very loosely, then add the other screws loosely, and finally tighten around. This photo shows two diagonal corner scews loosely installed.
www.j1sys.com/assets/DSC0292.JPG
Here the other two screws have been added loosely. Finally tighten all four screws (just snug, these are small threads in a soft aluminum hole).
----
I hope this gets people past their first few minutes of working with the units physically. The tutorials on setup for the DMXRen8 apply 98% to these units. We will update them ASAP but I think you can get the gist of setup.
Remember that the default IP is 10.10.10.10 and the protected areas use: admin / EthConGwy for the username and password respectively.
The v1.3.0 software which is installed includes several new features including hyperDMX and simple DMX Keep-Alives. The unit will default to 57.6Kbps for Renard and 250Kbps for DMX. You can change Renard to any speed from 9.6Kbps to 1.5Mbps. DMX can be changed from 250Kbps to 1.5Mbps.
More later,
-Ed
All of the ARE got shipped last Saturday and all but two of the USA got shipped Monday. The last two are shipping today.
One or two, that live near here, may receive their units today!!
I wanted to give these quick notes and photos to explain a few things. I'll work them up into a real manual ASAP.
I will first show a link to a photo and then explain it:
www.j1sys.com/assets/DSC0268.JPG
This is the photo of the unit in its protective wrapping.
www.j1sys.com/assets/DSC0269.JPG
Here the unit and accessories packed inside with it have been pulled out. The baggie contains additional jumpers that won't be needed until the DR4 starts doing RDM along with some rubber feet if you want to put them on the bottom of the unit. There is also a hex wrench for opening/closing the case and some male/male adapters for the programming cable.
The DR4 uses a special split signal ICSP cable which has been provided. Examples of how to connect it to the board for firmware upgrades are included below.
Most importantly put these in a safe place for future use.
www.j1sys.com/assets/DSC0270.JPG
In order to access the jumpers for DMX/REN signal selection or to update the firmware you will have to remove the unit from its enclosure. All units come with ALL slave connections setup for DMX wiring. If you don't need to change them you won't have to open the case until we send a new firmware release.
To open the case we recommend the procedure shown in this and the following photos. First remove the 4 screws from the back of the case BUT leave the rear plate in place. It will be held by friction with the RJ45 and power connector.
www.j1sys.com/assets/DSC0273.JPG
Next gently push the board out a small way by gently pressing on the 4x RJ45 slave connector on the front. If all four screws have been removed it should pop out a small way with just a little pressure.
www.j1sys.com/assets/DSC0274.JPG
Next gently pull the unit WITH THE REAR PANEL STILL ATTACHED. Please note the slots that the board was riding in. You will need to insert it the same way later. Place the unit on a non conductive padded surface.
www.j1sys.com/assets/DSC0275.JPG
Here is a closer photo of the entire board. Please note that ALL of the slaves have their jumpers set to DMX.
www.j1sys.com/assets/DSC0276.JPG
When we provide updated firmware you will have to remove the board and attach the programming cable to the board and to your programming device. This is the connection to program the master. The other end of the cable is NOT connected to anything in this photo. You would connect it with the male/male adapter to your PICkit 2 or PICkit 3 or other programming device. The two pin connector is connected to I1 and the three pin connector is connected to I2. Arrows are matched to arrows.
www.j1sys.com/assets/DSC0278.JPG
Here is the connection for updating slave #1. The two pin connector is connected to IX1 and the three pin connector is connected to IA2. Arrows are matched to arrows.
www.j1sys.com/assets/DSC0279.JPG
Here is the connection for updating slave #2. The two pin connector is connected to IX1 and the three pin connector is connected to IB2. Arrows are matched to arrows.
www.j1sys.com/assets/DSC0283.JPG
Here is the connection for updating slave #3. The two pin connector is connected to IX1 and the three pin connector is connected to IC2. Arrows are matched to arrows.
www.j1sys.com/assets/DSC0284.JPG
Here is the connection for updating slave #4. The two pin connector is connected to IX1 and the three pin connector is connected to ID2. Arrows are matched to arrows.
www.j1sys.com/assets/DSC0285.JPG
The other main reason to open the case is to change the wiring pinouts to match the Renard standard (or switch back to the DMX standard if changed at an earlier time). This photo shows the jumpers for Slave #1 switched to the Renard standard.
----
OK, it is time to put the board back in the case. Gently slide the board in the grooves until it is almost all the way in. Then gently press the board in the last little bit while guiding the 4x RJ45 slave connector into position. We have found that if you stand the case vertically while inserting the board that it will usually center itself with no guidance and fall right into place with gentle firm pressure.
----
www.j1sys.com/assets/DSC0291.JPG
I was taught when assembling anything with multiple screws to think like installing a tire on a car. First do the diagonals very loosely, then add the other screws loosely, and finally tighten around. This photo shows two diagonal corner scews loosely installed.
www.j1sys.com/assets/DSC0292.JPG
Here the other two screws have been added loosely. Finally tighten all four screws (just snug, these are small threads in a soft aluminum hole).
----
I hope this gets people past their first few minutes of working with the units physically. The tutorials on setup for the DMXRen8 apply 98% to these units. We will update them ASAP but I think you can get the gist of setup.
Remember that the default IP is 10.10.10.10 and the protected areas use: admin / EthConGwy for the username and password respectively.
The v1.3.0 software which is installed includes several new features including hyperDMX and simple DMX Keep-Alives. The unit will default to 57.6Kbps for Renard and 250Kbps for DMX. You can change Renard to any speed from 9.6Kbps to 1.5Mbps. DMX can be changed from 250Kbps to 1.5Mbps.
More later,
-Ed
I hope there is some way we can track it down