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Reviving Old Code

I'm at the point where I want to verify I can get my old DMX adapter working again. I know it worked a few years ago with xLights, but I need to do a few things differently this year.

First off, rather than use xLights this year, I've already written a new DMX controller application. Because of this, I need to revive some old software I used to send DMX data to the adapter. The DIY adapter I use is called a Lynx Dongle and it's compatible with the EnttecProDMX protocol.

The second thing is I'll be using several different laptop platforms and a RPi4 to run the show. So, there's a need to verify a lot of things. I'll write the show runner application to execute on RPi4 and utilize web-based remote control features.

Test 1:

The first test is to plug the Lynx Dongle into my old laptop and make verify which serial comm port it appears as.


Looks like COM3:


Test 2:

Update the DMX test code and see if it connects.


It actually connected and ran for 10 seconds, as programmed.


Test 3:

Now, connect the Lynx DMX Dongle to the light fixture (I almost forgot the DMX terminator). The 'd001' is the address setting and it blinks when a DMX signal is present (it's blinking). When I remove the DMX In cable, it stops blinking. I have it configured for simple 4-channel control (RGB+W).


Test 4:

Now it's time to run the program and send data. The first run will send '0' values. The second run will send '255' to the red channel.

1) 0,0,0,0: No change to the fixture (as expected)

2) 255,0,0,0: Red comes on (as expected)


Another thing that was expected is that the red DMX value stays on even though no DMX data is being sent. This is an EnttecProDMX behavior. So, sending '0' down the red channel is required to turn it off.

For fun, lets turn on the white channel:


Conclusion

I was able to find the code for the DMX adapter and prove that it ran on a system that it ran on years ago. My next objective is to see if I can get it to work on my MacBook.



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