Wiznet to REN

[chesterspot]

I was searching the internet this past week and came across the Wiznet ethernet to serial modules. The one that interested me the most was the module with a web server built in(WIZ200WEB). They have software that allows you to create a virtual com port to talk over ethernet. I'm going to buy one of these and see how it works with the Renard controller. I like the idea of using ethernet because it allows me to put the computer anywhere I want. Once I figure out how/if it works I think I'm going to get the wifi module so that I wont have any wires. I know that I could use the Ren-W but I like being different and the pricing is about the same for the modules without the web server.

I did some searching and found few posts on the Wiznet modules so I thought I'd start a thread on it. I will let you know my findings.

[chesterspot]

Just an update to this. Tonight I successfully tested the WIZ125SR (Ethernet - 2 Serial Ports). I had my REN64XC hooked up and was blasting data to the board with no problems. It was quite cool to me able to take my laptop outside and trigger the lights. It is going to help tremendously with testing and setup. No I only have to run one wire outside.

[dirknerkle]

Well done! You will become the WiznetWizard!

[budude]

I'm not sure I follow how this works? RS-232 plugs into Ren64 - check, Ethernet plugs into same network as computer - check - - but how do you talk to it? Does it work through Vixen as a virtual com port or something? I don't get the link for the Vixen side of things I guess... Sounds neat though!

[Livermore-Dad]

this sounds cool. Ya would like to get more information about this.

[ChiefWarrant]

Sounds interesting. This would also eliminate the need for a USB/Serial adaptor on laptops and make my setup a bit easier.

[underdog]

I like this, this is actually something I'll be purchasing soon. Once I go wireless I suppose it won’t matter but until then...Great find Chesterspot!

[chesterspot]

As stated above, I am using the WIZ125SR which has two serial ports. I bought this one because it's $5 more that the model with a single serial port. It works using the WIZVSP (Virtual Serial Port) software. It looks just like a normal COM port to Vixen and xLights. I'm using xLights as I think it works better as a scheduler/tester. There was discussion on another thread about the unicast/multicast issues and the device receiving all the network traffic in addition to the serial data. I don't think that this will be an issue as serial data compared to a 100Mbit wired network connection is peanuts. I'm going to hard wire the 125SR and my netbook instead of using wireless for safety sake. My goal was to be able to put the netbook anywhere in the house but then I forgot about audio. So I may still try some sort of wireless audio or something. Maybe I'll just run audio up to the attic and put my transmitter up there. That's not a bad idea so I'll see how it goes. Sorry if this is more rambling than information I just finished my first cup of coffee and it hasn't kicked in yet.

If you want more information please ask. I am very much excited about this and not really sure where/how I want to use it. Next year I am going to try one of the wireless versions. I may have to put a wifi extender in the window but that's ok with me. And you can configure it without a usb-serial cable. You just have to manually assign an IP 192.168.11.101, subnet 255.255.255.0, and gateway 192.168.11.1. Then run the configuration utility and set a static IP for your network. I had to go to Wiznet support to figure that one out, also you have to email support for a serial number for the WIZVSP software. Just tell them what you bought, I gave the MAC address as well just to show that I did indeed buy it.

[chesterspot]

Also, there's a company called LanTronix who has the same type of devices. I think they've been around longer and are headquartered in California. I've not used their stuff but most of the geekery sites I visit allow interchangeable use of Wiz and LanT devices. I think LanTronix has some TCP stack stuff that WIZnet doesn't (Don't quote me on that, I'm not completely sure I understand it anyway).

[dirknerkle]

I've spent a lot of time reading data sheets of various wireless components for the DMX folks, since XBee radios don't have the throughput capability that DMX requires. And almost all of the (affordable) chips that deal with data conversion into a serial streem seem to max out at around 230kbps, just a bit shy of what streaming DMX requires. So far, it seems that the only viable transmission mechanism is either ethernet or BlueTooth, and neither of them are generally in the low-price category.

Wiznet seems to have pretty good promise here as what seems to me to be the lowest-cost ethernet solution to date.

[CaptKirk]

Did you look at the Microchip ones? They are not badly priced and I've heard that they seem to carry DMX fine. They are hand solderable. Check Mouser for MRF24J40MB-I/RM.

[dirknerkle]

Did you look at the Microchip ones? They are not badly priced and I've heard that they seem to carry DMX fine. They are hand solderable. Check Mouser for MRF24J40MB-I/RM.

I actually have a few of them but I haven't experimented with them yet. The issue is code -- they're not a "drop in" kind of thing like XBee is. So I'm waiting for a time when I can dig into them a little deeper -- too much other stuff on the docket right now... one of which is an annual wrap-up video for my fishing club -- and that has to be done in only a week! YIKES!!! I better start working on it!!!

[djulien]

As stated above, I am using the WIZ125SR which has two serial ports. I bought this one because it's $5 more that the model with a single serial port. It works using the WIZVSP (Virtual Serial Port) software. It looks just like a normal COM port to Vixen and xLights.

Sounds interesting.

What baud rate and #channels did you use for the serial part of the test?

don

[CaptKirk]

Ok another question- can something like an Extron IPL T S2 (http://www.extron.com/product/product.aspx?id=iplts2) be used to accomplish a Vixen to Ren connection? THX

[chesterspot]

Sounds interesting.

What baud rate and #channels did you use for the serial part of the test?

don

I just sent 64 channels to my REN64XC at 57.6.

[chesterspot]

Ok another question- can something like an Extron IPL T S2 (http://www.extron.com/product/product.aspx?id=iplts2) be used to accomplish a Vixen to Ren connection? THX

As long as you have the software to make a VSP. I don't think that WIZVSP is board/brand specific but most SerialIP software is.

[chesterspot]

I just received an email from WIZnet about a new internet off-load module: WIZ820io

http://www.wiznet.co.kr/Sub_Modules/en/product/Product_Detail.asp?cate1=&cate2=&cate3=&pid=1161

I have to admit this is at the limit of my knowledge. I'm reading about it but it's still going over my head. Ya'll may be interested.

[chesterspot]

Update:

I am currently sending my show(or at least some re-sequenced stuff from last year) from my laptop (wireless) to the REN64XC (wired to WIZ125SR). This is great. I'm going to run it continuously for the rest of the night and see what happens. I even watched a 720p youtube video and everything seems fine so far. The coolest thing is that I can send data to the REN64 from my big laptop that I use to sequence without having to swap the cables from the show netbook. This freakin' rocks!!

[dirknerkle]

What kind of distance can you get with that? Have you tested it outdoors yet?

[chesterspot]

I was able to take my netbook outside and was 40-50ft away from my router and had no problems. The router is in the middle of the house and the signal had to go through two walls to get outside. It wasn't much of a test and the 125SR was connected wired to my network. I have an ethernet bridge that I want to use to make it wireless. If I put the router next to the front window I wouldn't have any problems running my show with wireless clients attached. I'll do more testing this weekend and let you know how it went. BTW, the test show last night ran for 12hrs and the music and lights were still in sync. That was my biggest fear. So tonight I'll hook up the bridge and do another all night test to see how it goes and update later. I think wireless is really the next step in our hobby. Not necessarily virtual serial ports and wireless to serial adapters but actual network devices. And if I'm dreaming they could talk back to the host and let me know if a triac or moc has died or if the board needs some help. For a large scale wireless setup I would recommend a separate router away from the rest of the network but for my purposes I want to be able to monitor up/downtime remotely.

[dirknerkle]

I currently playing with a couple Wixel units that are similar to Wiznet, but I already know they are limited to about 40-50 feet indoors (per their spec), so I'm not planning to spend a lot of time on them. What is interesting to me about the Wixel, though, is that it can wirelessly emulate up to 15 I/O pins on a PIC, so that if a pin goes high or low, the corresponding pin on the remote also goes high or low. A Wixel costs only about $17 and I'm currently thinking that this might have an interesting application indoors where distance isn't normally a big concern. It's quite small (1.5" x .75") and could be quite easily incorporated directly into a compact 15-channel SSR and mounted inside or at the base of an indoor Christmas Tree to control upwards of 15 strings of lights or leds. You could do the same with a miniature indoor Christmas village display, or control individual candle lights that might sit on inside window sills, etc. Because it's so darned small, it seems as though it might be ideal for creating a wireless SSR as it could directly emulate the control signals that currently trigger remote SSRs and could be a "plug-in" item for existing equipment.

However, today is setup day for me -- I'll be putting out almost all my stuff today since the forecast is for a really nice day here in Minnesnowda. Possible snow this coming week, so today is it.

[chesterspot]

Wow, those Wixel units sound cool. Do they do 802.11 or some other protocol at 2.4Ghz?

[dirknerkle]

Wow, those Wixel units sound cool. Do they do 802.11 or some other protocol at 2.4Ghz?

While they do run in the 2.4ghz spectrum, sadly, they are not compatible with wi-fi, ethernet, zigbee, mesh networking or anything else for that matter. It's some sort of proprietary communication format that I haven't gotten into yet. But they are pretty interesting little gizmos... AND... they plug right into your USB port to program them using a cable and mini-USB plug. But once programmed, they can be removed and powered remotely. They require 3.3v so an A/C SSR would also need a small power supply and voltage regulator or small DC wall wart, but that's easy and cheap to add.

[budude]

Interesting find there Dirkmeister - they appear to be based on a TI chipset which includes a uController (8051 based), USB I/F and Wireless control. Be aware that they use the entire 802.11bg spectrum so they could be disruptive to your WiFi simliar to BlueTooth or Microwave ovens. It looks like they might be able to support DMX transport so that would be interesting to look into.

[dirknerkle]

Yep, thanks for the reminder, my friend. I don't think they throw off enough energy to bother the microwave though :lol: but the 2.4ghz range is getting pretty full of "stuff" with cordless phones, wi-fi, blue tooth, microwaves, XBees, and maybe even pacemakers, who knows?!?!?!

I like the idea that it may be able to handle DMX too. And it comes all assembled (no SMT to do, which I REALLY like) and the board has plenty of solder pads for header pins or direct-wiring. I'll probably solder the pins on it so I can experiment with jumper wires, and they have a ready-to-use one for breadboarding... but I wanted the pins to point up, so I've gotta do that meeself. One thing I like about it is that it's almost plug-n-play, which makes it easier for DIY. Also less support if this thing actually works!

With the TI chip, you could code firmware and load it right in (through the USB port) and make it "sort of" like a standalone controller, too, so it's kind of an interesting little gizmo. After I really start playing with them and work out the kinks, I'm going to see if I can't attach an external antenna and maybe increase their reception sensitivity and range to see what they can do, but for now, they're just sitting here on the dev bench at DIGWDF while I assemble all my crud and get ready to go out an do setup.

[StandingInAwe85]

Ok another question- can something like an Extron IPL T S2 (http://www.extron.com/product/product.aspx?id=iplts2) be used to accomplish a Vixen to Ren connection?

I had the exact same thought. I actually just bought one of these exact devices off eBay last week for the purpose of controlling some home theater equipment. When I got it, a blinky lightbulb appeared above my head as I though about using it for dmx output or LEDTriks. After looking into it I determined that while it might be possible to get it to output that or the Renard protocol, it's far from practical. The device is designed to serve up a webpage and when a user clicks a button it outputs some corresponding bits on the serial port. To get it to do something DIYC related would require writing a new device driver to load on the thing as well as a plugin to Vixen. Given that the cost of one of these boxes is higher than WizNet or Lantronics or RPM's E1.31-Ren/DMX board, it's just not worth it.


With that said, does anyone recommend a place to get the WIZ125SR? My goal is to put an ethernet interface on my 'Triks sign and I think this might just do it.

[chesterspot]

Here's where I bought mine.

http://www.saelig.com/product/BRD019.htm

[chesterspot]

Well I got my 2004 wireless client working. I am streaming from the netbook outside to the ren64 which is out outside as well.

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk

[chesterspot]

12183

It's not true without pictures.

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk

[chesterspot]

http://img.tapatalk.com/6323b5d2-b3b9-6208.jpg

Sorry for the three posts I'm trying to figure out tapatalk.

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk

[Livermore-Dad]

http://img.tapatalk.com/6323b5d2-b3b9-6208.jpg

Sorry for the three posts I'm trying to figure out tapatalk.

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk

What am I looking at?

Tory

[chesterspot]

It's my netbook wirelessly talking to my wireless bridge then to the wiz125sr and then to the ren64.

I let it run for about 6hrs and had no issues.

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk

[chesterspot]

--End of show update--

The WIZ125SR performed flawlessly this year. My WiFi-Ethernet bridge was flaky so I had my router restart the wireless every day right before the show to force a reconnect of the adapter. Other than that there weren't any issues. For those of you wanting to do serial over Ethernet/WiFi I would recommend it. Next year I'll be using the pre-built WIZ6000. It's a WiFi bridge and serial adapter all in one. I could just buy the WiFi module but that's more work than I want. http://www.wiznet.co.kr/Sub_Modules/en/product/Product_Detail.asp?cate1=5&cate2=45&cate3=0&pid=1098

I want to try and use the WIZ820io next year for pixel strips. It's an internet offload module that does SPI, if I'm reading the documentation correctly. Hopefully someone smarter than me will figure out how to get it work with pixels sometime this year.

[rjchu]

I got my WIZ125SR on Friday and sent off the email to get a serial number for their virtual serial port software WIZVSR or whatever it's called but they're either ignoring me or closed for the week due to the weeklong holiday in Asia. Had I known this would happen I would have sent the request in long before but it completely slipped my mind because, after all, when you're buying something that's shipped to you, who expects to have to download th software separately and THEN email in a form to get a serial number? Really? To have toys in hand but not be able to play....why must I be punished so?!

How long did it take them to respond to your email for a serial number?

Sigh,

-joni-

[chesterspot]

Joni,

It's Chinese New Year, never expect anything to get done in January. Also, because of it they will have a back log of emails to respond to. It took several days for me to get a response. Just be patient and find something else to tinker with.. :)

[rjchu]

I hear ya but as Homer Simpson said to Moe when told he cod flash fry an entire buffalo in 15 seconds, "but I want in now!" ;)

Thanks,

-joni-



Joni,

It's Chinese New Year, never expect anything to get done in January. Also, because of it they will have a back log of emails to respond to. It took several days for me to get a response. Just be patient and find something else to tinker with.. :)

[rjchu]

Much to my surprise I just got the serial number email. Tonight, we launch!

Thanks,

-joni-


Joni,

It's Chinese New Year, never expect anything to get done in January. Also, because of it they will have a back log of emails to respond to. It took several days for me to get a response. Just be patient and find something else to tinker with.. :)

[rjchu]

Chesterspot,

For the power connector is the center pin power or ground? I can't find this in the docs anywhere.

Thanks,

-joni-

[KeithW]

I salivated at the price of the wiz125sr - of course to be cheap(er) I'd just get the single RS232 option.
A few questions for 'cheapness' and being Wi-Fi:
Can/do you set up your bridge standalone (dedicated to blinky/flashy),
or do you have to let it talk to the WWW?
Does Wiznet have a usb-serial option? (Thinking of a usb/wifi dongle for the wireless part)
You mentioned a wi-fi module, but opting for WIZ6000... info on wi-fi module/price? cheaper than bridge?
Could you just use a timer module to cycle your router power on/off to reset? Or config each time rebooted?

[chesterspot]

@rjchu - I'm not sure but I'm assuming it's pin +. It's got a diode to prevent reverse current. I'll have to check tomorrow. Also, I used a 6V 1A wall wart. I don't think that I needed 1A but the 5v 600ma one I had wouldn't give it enough juice. Could have been that wall wart was bad or something though.

@KeithW

First off it's Ethernet to serial. I used a WiFi bridge to convert to Ethernet. I have my bridge talking to my router which serves the rest of the house, so in effect it could have talked externally. I didn't have my router port forwarding so nothing was talking to it. (Ohhh.. you just gave me an IDEA!!!, more on that later) There isn't a USB-serial version that Wiznet makes, their specialty is in IP communications. Also, you can't just connect a USB WiFi dongle to a USB/serial adapter. There are a lot more things going on there. Using wireless USB would make our hobby simple but it never really took off and is tough to find equipment cheaply.

From your questions I would recommend the WIZ6000, it's a WiFi to Ethernet bridge and WiFi to serial adapter all in one. It's $120 at Saelig. http://www.saelig.com/product/BRD015.htm

I could have used a timer module on the router but I only needed the WiFi to cycle and since my router is running Tomato firmware it was just some code that needed to be run. I didn't want to drop the internet to our office machines as my wife will invariably be uploading pictures to Facebook. Also, WiFi cycling takes about 5 sec vs the router rebooting at 30-45sec.


So, back to my IDEA... Instead of using the Vixen server for multiple houses I could just setup port forwarding at someones house and just send data to their IP address. Granted it would have to be static as I don't think the WIZVSP software does DNS names. It may and I could set everyone up with DYNDNS. Of course there's the issue of lag and fading and such but it would be a fun experiment.

[kychristmas]

I salivated at the price of the wiz125sr - of course to be cheap(er) I'd just get the single RS232 option.
A few questions for 'cheapness' and being Wi-Fi:
Can/do you set up your bridge standalone (dedicated to blinky/flashy),
or do you have to let it talk to the WWW?
Does Wiznet have a usb-serial option? (Thinking of a usb/wifi dongle for the wireless part)
You mentioned a wi-fi module, but opting for WIZ6000... info on wi-fi module/price? cheaper than bridge?
Could you just use a timer module to cycle your router power on/off to reset? Or config each time rebooted?

If you are thinking that you could hook the usb-serial version to a USB Ethernet adaptor, that is not likely to work. The best option is to get the WizNet Ethernet to Serial and use a Wireless Bridge. The Bridges are setup to convert the wired ethernet to wireless. In this case, there is no special configuration for the Ethernet Device (Wiznet) and it doesn't really know that the bridge is not hard-wired ethernet. In the early days of wireless, we used these to turn Wired Network devices such as printers and Gaming Systems into Wireless. Old Wireless Gaming adapters might be a good inexpensive option, but they would not have any of the new security features, so you would need to work around that.

[rjchu]

Yup, center pin is the one with the diode and it powers up just fine, at least I get the power light. :)

I'm a bit stuck at configuration though now. I'm still tinkering with it though and might get lucky but some specifics on how you configured it would be very helpful. I've got the USB to RS232 converters that I used to use and am trying them now without much luck. They've got terminals for D+/A, D-/B, GND and PWR. I'm assuming that the terminals on one side map to the terminals on the other side (D+ to D+ for example) but perhaps not.

Thanks,

-joni-


@rjchu - I'm not sure but I'm assuming it's pin +. It's got a diode to prevent reverse current. I'll have to check tomorrow. Also, I used a 6V 1A wall wart. I don't think that I needed 1A but the 5v 600ma one I had wouldn't give it enough juice. Could have been that wall wart was bad or something though.

[chesterspot]

This was from customer support.

Dear customer,

Thanks for your interest in WIZ125SR.
<Step1> Connect LAN cable and serial port (p1 in the board) to WIZ125SR.
<Step2> Run Configuration tool.
<Step3> Add 192.168.11.### in your IP list of PC. Because the default setting of WIZ125SR is:
IP 192.168.11.100
Subnet 255.255.255.0
GW: 192.168.11.1
<Step4> Open hyperterminal and set parameters as follows:115200-8-N-1-N
<Step5> Run WIZ125SR
<Step6> Press search button using Coniguration tool to search your WIZ125SR.

If you still have questions, post your questions here again.

Thanks.
WIZnet

[rjchu]

That did the trick, the default IP was what I needed, their docs are pretty slim on details it seems. Ran a couple quick tests and everything seems ok. I've got some sequences scheduled in Vixen for tonight so we'll see how it does with the basic stuff then I'll run the 2011 show through it next.

Thanks for all your help,

-joni-




This was from customer support.

Dear customer,

Thanks for your interest in WIZ125SR.
<Step1> Connect LAN cable and serial port (p1 in the board) to WIZ125SR.
<Step2> Run Configuration tool.
<Step3> Add 192.168.11.### in your IP list of PC. Because the default setting of WIZ125SR is:
IP 192.168.11.100
Subnet 255.255.255.0
GW: 192.168.11.1
<Step4> Open hyperterminal and set parameters as follows:115200-8-N-1-N
<Step5> Run WIZ125SR
<Step6> Press search button using Coniguration tool to search your WIZ125SR.

If you still have questions, post your questions here again.

Thanks.
WIZnet

[KeithW]

Quote:
So, back to my IDEA... Instead of using the Vixen server for multiple houses I could just setup port forwarding at someones house and just send data to their IP address. Granted it would have to be static as I don't think the WIZVSP software does DNS names. It may and I could set everyone up with DYNDNS. Of course there's the issue of lag and fading and such but it would be a fun experiment.

Any thoughts on including audio, or just have your transmitter strong enough to 'beam' as far as the houses you're including in this experiment?