Renard 16 Dimming problem

[XmasInGalt]

I have 2 Renard 16 controllers set up in my display this year. The problem I'm having is that the dimming level of the mini lights between the two controllers is drastically different. If I set the dimming level to 50%, the lights in the first controller look OK but the lights in the second controller are so low that I can barely notice them. I have to increase the dimming level on the second controller to 70-75% to get them to match the lights in the first controller. I thought that the 12V power may be a issue and I have a good 12V supply coming from a PC power supply but I haven't checked to make sure that I'm using both pins for both VCC and GND in the RJ45. My cables are 50' from the PC to the first REN16 and 80' between the first REN16 & the second REN16. Any ideas you guys have would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Dale.

[P. Short]

I would be just as suspicious of the AC power supplied to the controller and the zero-crossing function on the dimmer of the two boards as of the DC voltage going into the controller.

--

Phil

[XmasInGalt]

I would be just as suspicious of the AC power supplied to the controller and the zero-crossing function on the dimmer of the two boards as of the DC voltage going into the controller.

--

Phil

Thanks Phil. I'll check the AC voltage. I think I'll also build another cat5 cable and reverse the order of the Renards to see if the problem migrates to the other one. That should help me isolate the problem DC vs. AC

[xmus]

First question, try only moving the pics around. Dimming is a function of firmware. Do you have one setup for PWM and the other non-PWM? That is my most hopeful guess :)


My opinion is, that with a 5V regulator, and 12V to start with, it would be really hard to have less than 7.5V at the second controller.... And even if the DC voltage were low, that wouldn't translate into dimmer lighting.... (weird things would happen though).

But out of curiosity, what is the distance between xmus1 and xmus2?


Next question, are the loads identical between Xmus1 and Xmus2?
(have you tried moving the lights around).

Thanks,
Dave

[Michael]

NOTE about low 12v, if voltage gets low the channels will be dim and flicker randomly. I even have one channel that does not work when voltage gets below 7. I also noticed that if I turn everything on my boards at the end of my strand (8 boards) will start to go funky, like more 12v is being used, but during a normal show, I do not see any of this except for one channel. But that is ok, because I put a snowflake strand on it and it looks fantastic twinkling, better than If I tried to program it.

- Michael

[XmasInGalt]

First question, try only moving the pics around. Dimming is a function of firmware. Do you have one setup for PWM and the other non-PWM? That is my most hopeful guess :)


My opinion is, that with a 5V regulator, and 12V to start with, it would be really hard to have less than 7.5V at the second controller.... And even if the DC voltage were low, that wouldn't translate into dimmer lighting.... (weird things would happen though).

But out of curiosity, what is the distance between xmus1 and xmus2?


Next question, are the loads identical between Xmus1 and Xmus2?
(have you tried moving the lights around).

Thanks,
Dave


Dave, I programmed the PICs at the same time so I should have the same firmware in all of them. As far as the loads go, they are about the same. There are actually a few more mini sets on Xmus1 than on xmus2. The distance between Xmus1 and Xmus2 is 80'.

Thanks for your help.

Dale

[xmus]

NOTE about low 12v, if voltage gets low the channels will be dim and flicker randomly. I even have one channel that does not work when voltage gets below 7. I also noticed that if I turn everything on my boards at the end of my strand (8 boards) will start to go funky, like more 12v is being used, but during a normal show, I do not see any of this except for one channel. But that is ok, because I put a snowflake strand on it and it looks fantastic twinkling, better than If I tried to program it.

- Michael

Okay, big surprize, I guess Phil was right (AGAIN!).
Make Xmus1 Xmus2, and Xmus2 Xmus1 and report back.
What is the distance from the 12V supply to Xmus1?
What is the voltage at Xmus2 so low?

One way to test this, would be to disconnect the 12V in the house, and provide 12V AT XMUS1, this would provide both XMUS1 and XMUS2 with >7.5VDC and maybe make the problem go away...

(Phil, why would low DC voltage make the lights dim????)

[P. Short]

I wasn't the one that said that.

While keeping my mind open, I am more suspicious that there is something wrong with the zero-crossing. Perhaps it is only getting one zero-crossing per complete AC cycle, or the signal is somehow or other distorted so that the SSRs are triggering late.

Another possibility is that there is something wrong with the AC power to the second board, so that either one complete phase is lost, or the amplitude reduced by 50%.

--

Phil

P.S. On the dimmer of the two controllers, does it go smoothly from (relatively bright) to off as you fade from 100% downto 0%, or does it turn all the way off mid-range and then come back on?

--

Phil

[stempile]

If you are still having issues and are in the Sac area later this week or weekend maybe we could meet up to take a look. I will PM my contact info.

Galt is ~40 minutes right from Sac?

ms

[XmasInGalt]

Phil, I ran several dimming routings and watched both Xmus boxes at the same time. They both fade down to 0% smoothly but the dimmer box fades faster than the other. The box that fades faster is completely off by 50%-60% while the other can been seen until about 30%-40%

[xmus]

Phil, I ran several dimming routings and watched both Xmus boxes at the same time. They both fade down to 0% smoothly but the dimmer box fades faster than the other. The box that fades faster is completely off by 50%-60% while the other can been seen until about 30%-40%

We've requested some info and experiments:

1) swap AC power between them. report results
2) run them off the SAME AC supply. report results
1) swap the controllers, report results
2) what is the distance from house to controller #1?


Thanks,
Dave

[XmasInGalt]

Thanks Dave, I'll give those a try. It's just a little involved because the two controllers are under the eves of a two story house. Everything requires a ladder. Up...down...up...down...up...down. My family finds it very amusing. You should see how many ladders I have.