New PixLite 4 losing my settings

aperkin

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Apr 9, 2013
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Carrollton, TX
I just last week received a new PixLite 4. Been building light string/strips and testing.. so, fairly frequent power cycles as I never mess with anything with power on. After some number of power cycles, anywhere from 2 to 5, all of my saved settings are gone and replaced with the default values. Fortunately, it does grab a DHCP address, so at least I can still easily get to it to redefine my settings...but it is a big PITA.


btw: my San Devices E6804 which is attached to the same power strip did not have any problems during the same exact power cycles.



Has anyone else seen this behavior? I can't imagine what I might be doing wrong...


Thanks,
Andy
 

Devo

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Hi Andy,
That is an odd problem. The controller should not be losing any settings after a power cycle. What kind of power supply are you using?


Also, to help us work more efficiently through this problem with you, please go to the following link and open a support ticket:

http://www.advateklights.com/support/

Thanks
 

AussieDoug

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Dec 1, 2012
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376
Andy,

I am just a bit curious, what settings is it loosing. The IP address or pixel type, pixels per output, RGB orientation?
 

aperkin

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Apr 9, 2013
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Carrollton, TX
Devo said:
Hi Andy,
That is an odd problem. The controller should not be losing any settings after a power cycle. What kind of power supply are you using?


Also, to help us work more efficiently through this problem with you, please go to the following link and open a support ticket:

http://www.advateklights.com/support/

Thanks


My apologies for the slow response... I've been traveling on business and waiting for a replacement from HolidayCoro.


I'm using a 12v power supply from HolidayCoro (http://www.holidaycoro.com/350w-Dual-Output-Power-Supply-p/49.htm) that I purchased at the same time. I now have my replacement and it has happened again. Hmmm... interesting thought about the power supply. I will try another power supply or two, but all my power supplies came from HolidayCoro. If it still happens on other power supplies, then I'll open a support ticket.


Andy
 

aperkin

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AussieDoug said:
Andy,

I am just a bit curious, what settings is it loosing. The IP address or pixel type, pixels per output, RGB orientation?


It basically is losing all the settings. Sometimes they are reset to the default values.. but sometimes they have some seemingly random values. There was a question about the power supply. Over the next few days, I will play around with different power supplies and see if I can reproduce it.
 

aperkin

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The power supply I'm using is a brand new power supply. But, I dug around and found another power supply which is basically last year's model of the new one. In the two tests I've done so far, I have not been able to make it fail with 15 and 20 power cycles. With the new power supply, I can make it fail each time, once after 8 power cycles and once after 11.
I will continue to test over the next couple of days to make sure it is consistent.
What would the power supply be doing to cause the controller to lose the settings? Some type of power surge above 12v?
 

aperkin

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L_Tay said:
Not sure how that could happen, but what model power supply is it anyway?


It is a 12V power supply from HolidayCoro... item #49. David has replaced both the Pixlite 4 and the Power Supply.


I have an older 12V power supply (again item #49) from HolidayCoro... I have not had a failure with that older power supply. One night I did at least 50 power cycles and never had a failure.


Just received the replacement power supply from HolidayCoro and lost the Pixlite settings within 6 or 7 power cycles.


What could the power supply be doing that would cause the settings to be reset? I am also using a San Devices controller and it never failed with the new power supply. I'm not an electrician or an electronics engineer... so I don't know if it is the controller or the power supply... but the two don't seem to be compatible. :eek:


I'll open a support ticket.
 

Devo

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This is a very odd problem. It could be a noise related issue, but we have not seen this problem anywhere else before.


SD controllers operate differently to PixLite controllers in terms of how they store the settings etc, so they may well behave differently depending on the specific environment and setup.


We will need to look at your exact setup in greater detail and work through the problem with you from there.
 

scamper

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collie
Have you put a meter on your supply when doing the tests?
And how long are they off before turning back on?
The reason I ask is, if the new supply has more filtering ie a bigger cap, then it may still have residual voltage at next switch on.
Even though this shouldn't reset the controller, Strange things happen during "brown outs"
I have been in the repair industry for years and sharp microwaves were one of the worst in this situation.
 

aperkin

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scamper said:
Have you put a meter on your supply when doing the tests?
And how long are they off before turning back on?
The reason I ask is, if the new supply has more filtering ie a bigger cap, then it may still have residual voltage at next switch on.
Even though this shouldn't reset the controller, Strange things happen during "brown outs"
I have been in the repair industry for years and sharp microwaves were one of the worst in this situation.


I did use a voltmeter on both the old and the new power supply. They both have an initial "spike" to around 17.7 or 17.8 volts before setting down to just above 12v, 12.06 for the new and 12.13 for the old.


The strange thing is that this only happens when the Pixlite 4 is the ONLY controller connected to the new HC 12v power supply. If I add another controller, I don't lose the settings in the Pixlite. If I have my E6804 as the only controller on that power supply, no problem. If I connect the Pixlite only to the older 12v power supply, no problem. If I connect the Pixlite only to a 5v power supply, no problem. Just that one combination causes me problems. So fortunately, I have my older 12v power supply for my permanent Cabana light installation.


I'm thinking about attempting to move my test setup to another part of the house and therefore on a different circuit. A bit of a hassle but, it is supposed to rain tomorrow in Dallas, so I won't be able to do my light installation until Sunday.
 

aperkin

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Devo said:
This is a very odd problem. It could be a noise related issue, but we have not seen this problem anywhere else before.


SD controllers operate differently to PixLite controllers in terms of how they store the settings etc, so they may well behave differently depending on the specific environment and setup.


We will need to look at your exact setup in greater detail and work through the problem with you from there.


Devo, I agree that it is a very strange problem. I've done some other testing and submitted the information in response to the open ticket. I've tried various combinations of power supplies and my two controllers. In short, the problem occurs when the Pixlite 4 is the ONLY controller on the new HC 12v power supply. It works on all the two other power supplies (older 12v and 5v) that I have. And it works on the new power supply if I also have my Sand Devices controller connected.


I'm going to try to move my test setup to another part of the house to see if that makes a difference. Not really hopeful, but ya never know.


Gotta get this installed into my cabana (permanent installation) this weekend so my ability to test might be somewhat limited going forward.
 

nmiller0113

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Interesting. I just randomly looked this up tonight to see if it was just me. I just received my Pixlite 16 yesterday and had it all configured and was testing my pixel strips on it. Like you I also was using the Holiday Coro item 49 12v power supply. I also purchased my Pixlite 16 from Holiday Coro. This evening when I powered up my Pixlite 16, like you, my configuration was completely gone and I had to complete all of my configurations again. It only happened once and I power cycled probably 3 or 4 times this evening afterward but I didn't work at it to reproduce as diligently as you did. Now after I read this though I'm wondering if I may be experiencing the same problem you are. This definitely sounds like something worth researching further...what do you think @Devo ? Are you in touch with David at all from HC? Maybe he can do some tests and see if he can reproduce on his end. Thanks for your assistance!
 

ltay13

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Yes there are a couple of people using that PSU/controller combo seeing this issue now. We are working with Holiday Coro to try and solve the problem. Unfortunately even with that PSU sent to us we haven't been able to replicate the problem on our end which is making it hard. However HC is doing some testing as well. Will write back as soon as we have anything.
 
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