How to access second universe on USB DMX PRO MK 2

hi,

I made my dmx communication with help of this patch

https://discourse.vvvv.org/t/11640

but I cant work out how to access the second universe on usb dmx pro mk2
can anyone help please? thanks!

ok so i found here:

http://tsp.plasa.org/tsp/working_groups/CP/DMXAlternateCodes.php

that the starting code for second universe should be 10, but i cant find out how to configure starting values to send this, they are 126,6,2,2,0,DMX,213,

This topic is simply not covered in entecc documentation and i could not found anything on fitd driver side of things

might be a quick workaround:

it supports osc input/output and is said to natively support both of the enttec’s universes…

thanks i will try that if nothing else gonna work

aah i really want to run it through that rs232, i have the first universe functional just need that second one :/

so frustrating

What if you spread the startcode in West’s Enttec Pro module ? I don’t have an Mk2 to test it :/

I’ve written a C# app that communicates with the DMX USB Pro, I could share the code on Monday. Maybe that could help ?

i think that C# app could help,maybe i could modify it with docummentation from enttec,

I am not sure about that startcode, i cant find any start code for second universe in enttec documentation, and i think they could use something wierd

ENTTEC provides a very comprehensive message format for the DMX USB Pro but nothing for the Mk2, that sucks!

Any chance you could get an Art-Net node?

aaah, worst part is i have evrything ready when i saw i can access the first universe and then I realised i have a problem with universe 2

what do you mean with art net? I am new to dmx, could it work as another protocol to communicate with the device?

also, i think this could be solvable with midi breakout, which seems like simplest workaround (i can push midi with my sound card that will controll the dmx if i am right)

but still that RS232 is just so straighforward when it works, do you think i can try combinations of dmx frame cofiguration until it works? (i already tried to go through 255 of start code with no effect, but i might be pushing the wrong numbers as the start code)

later i settled on format that goes:

126,6,513,2,0,DMX,213,

(i am assuming 513 is the length of dmx messeages, the first is start code, which length is defined by number 2, but i could be totally wrong)

the question is, if mk2 actually needs one dmx frame that is 1024 messeages long (that seems unlikely)

or it needs 2 dmx frames, and the second needs special codes there

Art-Net is a protocol that allows you to send DMX frames over Ethernet. You need a device called an Art-Net Node that receives Art-Net frames via an Ethernet cable and outputs DMX. It’s a native node in V4 and allows you to handle looooots of universes.

Here’s the PDF that specifies USB DMX Pro’s message format : http://www.enttec.com/docs/dmx_usb_pro_api_spec.pdf

Thing is I’ve never put my hands on an Mk2, maybe West, Kalle or Karistouf ?

yeah I’ve been trying to reach west last day, but he is probably busy right now

and i did go through that documentation but there is not a single word on second universe codes or anything related

i don’t think i will do it through art net, midi control seems to be more straightforward, but i will look at artnet options tomorrow

i may even try to give a call to enttec about how to configure this thing, but apart from vvvv, world is filled with despair and chaos when it comes to product support from my experience :)

would even help if u guys know any forum that is focused on things like dmx where i can ask

ok so for some reason they are sending API information on request for MK2

Size In Bytes Description

1 -> Start of message delimiter, hex 7E.
1 -> Label to identify type of message.
1 -> Data length LSB. Valid range for data length is 0 to 600.
1 -> Data length MSB.
data_length -> Data bytes.
1 -> End of message delimiter, hex E7.

–> Label=6 for port 1, Label=134 for port 2 <—

right now for me god knows why works this
when I connect/reconnect mk2, i need to run pro manager once before running vvvv
then this messeage works for second universe

126,19,513,2,0,DMX,213,

solved :3

Good to know, thanks for the feedback ! I wouldn’t even have tried to reach them.

That is because the DMX Usb Pro mkII boots in a mode that is backward-compatible to the older DMX Usb Pro - which has only one universe. To access the second universe one has to activate the extended API and send a request to the device to enable both ports. (That’s what Pro Manager does.)

I’ve been in conversation with Enttec’s support staff which have been very helpful and quick-in-response. They sent all infos and generated an API key which I’m allowed to share. Thus making my first contribution possible :)

enttec-dmx-usb-pro-mkii-module ← (aka no-more-need-to-start-Pro-Manager-before-starting-vvvv)

this is some good stuff :3 man when I was working on this I almost lost my mind, it was quite close before the CES at which I was running installation last year

when I asked them for documentation they were like duh? why didn’t you asked before? and I still don`t understand why they could not have all documentation available from beginning,

by the way did you used this for some high speed animations? I was using it with led strips and I had to jump some hoops to make it as smooth as possible with RS232

I have no real tool to measure the final framerate, but it felt fast enough for all flickery madness so far. What tricks did you apply when talking with the com-port?

ah i cant remember :/ it was over a year ago and i dont have the patch nearby ill try to look for it maybe

most importantly no dx window anywhere near instance that was running lights, and all visualisation ive done was through GDI