Help please - Using 2 f16V4's - setting up

Eizziljam

Eizziljam

I’m Christmas crazy!
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Hi All,
I purchased a second F16V4 at the Melb mini this year to use as an expansion as I was advised I can just connect the second one to my first for more ports (I know it's unconventional but I was told it's possible) - I have connected them with an ethernet cable but there is no IP address being displayed on the OLED.
I added that I have an expansion on xlights and it has shown that I have 32 ports but the data is not outputting to it. Is there some sort of expansion set up guide I can follow?
I do plan to hop into the zoom room if I get a chance but thought I'd ask here first.

Thanks in advance
Lizzie
 
which port did you plug it into? it should go into the black ports.

If will need to have an IP address, so you will want to set one.

you don't configure it as an expansion. You add it as a second controller in xlights.
 
Hi Lizzie!
I reckon Kate is asking the right questions here. It's not an expansion - it's another controller.

I don't think the setup you're looking at is very unconventional at all. It is exactly why the falcon has 2 black ethernet ports.
 
As the others have said, it is an expansion of the show and not the controller directly. When running multiple controllers every controller needs it's own IP address. I'd also recommend not chaining them together but connect each one to a small switch. This prevents the entire show going dark if something should happen to the very first controller. Here is an example of how my multiple controllers are configured. Small 5 and 8 port switches from Linksys and TP-Link are generally under $20 USD and are easy to get just about anywhere.

Controllers.png
 
okay - my mistake they've v3's not v4's

is the ethernet cable supposed to go out of the 1st controller in the black ports and into the ETH input in the 2nd? or should it be direct from the pi?
 
Indigogyre said:
As the others have said, it is an expansion of the show and not the controller directly. When running multiple controllers every controller needs it's own IP address. I'd also recommend not chaining them together but connect each one to a small switch. This prevents the entire show going dark if something should happen to the very first controller. Here is an example of how my multiple controllers are configured. Small 5 and 8 port switches from Linksys and TP-Link are generally under $20 USD and are easy to get just about anywhere.

View attachment 27867
Click to expand...
so would the pi go on one side of the switch and each controller on the other?
 
The two silver ports at the top are network sockets, with an inbuilt switch. You can either bring all your controllers and Pi back to a central network switch, or you can daisy chain them like this.

1732763221596.png
 
No the black ports on the side are for either differential receivers or DMX. These are not related to going to any extra controller.
The big thick black port in the middle is the "Expansion" which is for when you want to add more ports to the same controller.
The silver ports at the top are the network jacks where it receives data and is configured and hooks into your network.

The two controllers should be considered standalone, they just happen to have a pair of network jacks so you dont have to add a switch in, as demonstrated above.
 
Just to ease some confusion since I said black ports above, the ethernet ports on the v4 are black and silver, the receiver ports are red and silver.

Either of these configurations is valid.


1732772829420.png

1732772857414.png
 
Yes either will do
I use the first one as prevents the entire show going dark if something should happen to the very first controller and makes it a bit easier to chase up faults if you get one in the future
 
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