sorta newb switching from LOR to Renard

[MonteryJack]

O.k., so i've read through the forums and am going to try and consolidate as much information as I can.

I am switching from LOR to Renard for cost reasons. I have put together this year 4 DIY kits from LOR (didn't find DIY Christmas b4 LOR).

So for myself and other newbies out there, I would like to find out what else I need besides the following:

1. PCB - get it from the COOP http://www.christmasinshirley.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1460&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=
2. Parts list from MOB (from the wiki)
3. PIC programmer (PIC 1 or 2 Kit or other that will program 16F688 chips)
4. Misc. cat 5 between Ren16 controllers
5. RS232 > RS485 converter
6. Vixen Software

Questoins:

Do I have to throw power down the Cat5 cable from the computer?

when you program the PICs, is that where you will specify the channels (1-16) (17-32) etc.?

I will be happy to do some wiki work to document for newbs that follow me to help explain or has someone already kept a diary/video of starting from scratch?

Thx.

Tim.

[Macrosill]

I do not know much about the Ren-16 but I will help as best I can.
1-4 look good.
5 I would question. I am not sure if the Ren-16 requires a 485 input, it may take 232 like the other Renards. If it needs 485 then you could use a Ren-T for the conversion. I use a Ren-T for my Ren-64s and do the 232-485 conversion on them. Ask xmus about that.
6 is good, very good! lol
As for the 5v down the cat 5 I do not know for sure.
You do not specify channel numbers in the pic programming. All the pics generally get programmed the identical to each other.

And above all else, Welcome aboard! Glad you found us and we are happy to have you here.

[XmasInGalt]

I have several Ren-16s (which I love - Thanks Dave) so hopefully I can answer the open questions.

Q5) The Ren-16 does not require a RS485 between the PC and the first Ren16. It's more a matter of distance between the PC and the first controller. The first controller converts the signal to RS485 before sending the signal on to the controllers behind it. I would suggest getting a converter (it's only a couple of bucks on ebay).

Power) The controller does support power down the cat5 cable but it is expecting 9 - 12 volts. There is a voltage regulator onboard that drops the supply voltage down to 5Volts.

The Ren16 controllers are not programmed with a address. That determination is made by how many controllers are ahead of it. As a example, the first Ren could have channels 1-16, the second 17-32, third 33-48 and so on. The actual channel range is based on your configuration in Vixen.

It's also a good idea to have a couple of extra PICs so you can have them pre-programmed with the diagnostic code for testing/troubleshooting.

Hope this helps. Good luck and enjoy your project.

[MonteryJack]

Thanks for the quick responses.

I hope to help contribute.

Looks like I will be able to recycle my USB485 from the LOR

I also posted a message for the 5VDC question in the Renard PCB COOP, so it should go good. http://www.christmasinshirley.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1460&highlight=

Thanks.

Tim