Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[dave milton]

Marc.......I read your suggestion, and thought, "Aha!!!, that's the problem I bet!".  Just tried it and...................................nope, didn't work.   dang it.

Johannes.....regarding your suggestion:  I assume you mean for me to open my browser (I use Google Chrome), type in http:://(IP  address of my  laptop):9999, and see what happens, yes?   Tried it, didn't work (got a message that said "This site can't be reached".

Also, I had a look at my firewall settings, and the boxes to allow QLC+ through the firewall (both private and public) were checked.

d.

[Johannes Halvorsen]

Johannes.....regarding your suggestion:  I assume you mean for me to open my browser (I use Google Chrome), type in http:://(IP  address of my  laptop):9999, and see what happens, yes?   Tried it, didn't work (got a message that said "This site can't be reached".

Also, I had a look at my firewall settings, and the boxes to allow QLC+ through the firewall (both private and public) were checked.

d.

Yes, almost. I meant LITTERALY typing in localhost:9999

[Johannes Halvorsen]

Also, you might try to add "" around the launcher command. That is "C:\QLC+\qlcplus.exe -w"

[Johannes Halvorsen]

If none of this helps I think you are probably better served asking in the QLC+ support forum.

[dave milton]

Ok, I walked away from this for a while to calm myself, as I was absolutely losing my mind trying to make this work.  This should be so simple, and I'm over-the-top frustrated.  I did jump back in after I could breath a bit, and I'm pretty much back where I left off.  So, time for a slightly different approach:

First....I did try the localhost:9999 thing and confirmed that it does work....I was able to access the software this way.  Which of course doesn't really do anything other than confirm that something is working at least.

Second....I did post this problem/question on the QLC+ forum and essentially got no help at all.  There was only one response (from Massimo) and he basically just posted a link to the page in the manual.  Honestly, this doesn't help in the slightest.  I of course started there to begin with (I DID try pretty hard to make this work myself before I just posted questions on how to do it) and if it worked exactly as described there (VERY thin information by the way) I wouldn't be having this issue.  Does he really think I didn't already read it?

So, I've written up here EXACTLY the steps I'm going through to get up and running.  Please if you folks could read this through and check that I'm at least doing it all correctly.  Please see if there's something I'm doing wrong, or some step I'm missing, or if by chance you find something along the way that you think might be the problem.  Thanks for checking my methodology....hopefully something here will jump out as "the problem".    This is how I've been doing it:

Get things all set up, turned on, etc.:
•   Plug laptop into power, and turn on.
•   Plug router into power, and turn on.
•   Turn Ipad on.
•   Before I open QLC+ software on the laptop, I first add a command-line-parameter as such:
-  Right click on the desktop icon and click on “Properties”, and open the “Shortcut” tab.
-  I add [space dash double-u] to the end of the “Target” so that it reads: C:\QLC+\qlcplus.exe -w
-  then I click “OK” (closing out that window)
•   I also check  my firewall status like so:
- Open “Control Panel/System Security/Window Firewall/Allowed Programs”.
- Make sure that the box for “QLCplus” is checked.
- Then click “OK” (which closes this window)
•   Then, I double-click on the desktop icon, opening up QLC+ on the laptop.

Connecting:
•   Connecting the laptop to the router:
- I physically connect an Ethernet cable from my laptop’s Ethernet port to one of the four LAN/Ethernet ports on the router. 
- I open my network connections window, select and click on the router in question that shows up on that list, then click “Connect”. 

•   Connecting the Ipad to the router:
- Tap on “Settings”, which  opens the Settings window.
- Tap on “Wi-Fi”, which opens the WiFi page.
- Make sure the Wi-Fi is on (little button in the top/right corner should be slid to the right and be green).
- Make sure that I’m connected to the router (which should show in the line just under that green slider button, and should have a blue checkmark next to it).
- If I am connected, I can then tap on the name of the router, which  opens the next page, showing (among other things)  the IP  address of the router. 
- If I’m not connected, I simply tap on the appropriate router name just below “Choose A Network”, and then check the status in a few moments as above.
- Then I close that window, and go back to my home screen.

•   Opening QLC+ from the Ipad:
- Tap on the icon for my browser (in my case it’s Safari)
- Tap on the address line at the top of the page, which opens the keyboard at the bottom.
- Type in the router’s IP address followed by “:9999” (which should look something like 192.168.X.XXX:9999), and tap on the blue “Go” button.
                        OR!
- Type in the laptop’s IP address followed by “:9999” (which should look something like 192.168.X.XXX:9999), and tap on the blue “Go” button.
       So, this last bit of whether to use the router’s IP address or the laptop’s IP address is confusing to me.  I’ve been told to try both.  First of all, it’s not clear which one is correct, second of all neither one seems to work anyway, and third of all aren’t they both the same number?

So, here’s the thing.  I swear I’m doing this exactly the same, over and over again, and making sure I do everything exactly as outlined.  And most of the time it simply doesn’t work.  I get a message on my Ipad that says either “the server stopped responding” or “the Ipad cannot connect to the internet” (even though I’m not trying to connect to the internet).  But a couple of times it HAS worked….briefly, with limited control, and each time with slightly different results (one time the Virtual Console was there, and another time it wasn’t……huh?).  But it DID work at least some, so I KNOW that it CAN!!!  But the vast majority of the time it simply doesn’t work at all.  Unbelievably frustrating. 

By the way, those times when the browser says “cannot connect” or somesuch?....well every single time I check the status of the WiFi connection and IT shows I’m connected, and I check the status lights on the router and IT shows I’m connected, and I try to connect directly to the admin page of the router and IT connects just fine.  So I know for a fact that it’s connected.  So why does the browser say I’m not connected?  WTF? 


What the #*&$! am I doing wrong?

thanks for all your help on this, it is much appreciated.
d.

[Jeff Lelko]

Ok, I walked away from this for a while to calm myself, as I was absolutely losing my mind trying to make this work...

Hi Dave, sorry to hear about all the difficulty you're having with this.  QLC+ is okay for what it's supposed to be, but seeing as this hasn't been working out so far have you considered a more mainstream program?  What are you using for an interface?  I only ask because several interfaces are compatible with many different programs, and if this is making you frustrated enough to walk away then maybe you should shop around a bit more!  MagicQ PC is my personal favorite aside from ETC's Nomad (only because I own an ETC hardware desk), but M-PC is also popular with a much wider userbase than what QLC+ has.  While some of life's best things are free, a controller is too important to get wrong so I bucket it into the group of things worth paying good money for.  Hope this helps!

[Don Ernst]

First of all, it’s not clear which one is correct, second of all neither one seems to work anyway, and third of all aren’t they both the same number?

This may be where you are having the problem.  The typical router IP numbers should look like this: 192.168.1.1

Your computer’s IP should be: 192.168.1.x, where x is any number other than 1 that ranges from 0 to 255

Make sure this is correct and it will connect.

[dave milton]

Jeff,
   Totally fair question and suggestion.  Especially since that's essentially what I was asking at the start of this thread.

   This is what I want to do, what I'm looking for:
** Have a software DMX controller that works on my laptop (PC, Windows 7).
** Have the ability to control basic functions via my IPad (older 4th gen., IOS 9.3.5)
       Note that I do NOT want to control mainly from the Ipad (I actually really don't like touch screens).  I simply want something that allows me to have some basic control if/when I might walk away from the light booth.  I very much prefer to work mainly from the laptop, with a mouse and a larger screen.
       Note also that my needs are fairly simple.....I am generally not using moving heads, complicated "intelligent" fixtures, complex scenes/chases/shows, lasers, pixel screens, or any of all that.  Most of the time, I'm going to be working with a few different stage washes, and a couple of basic specials, and most of my fixtures will be dimmers controlling ellipsoidals/fresnels and such.  I will be using a few multi-channel LED fixtures, but again those will generally just be dimming on a basic stage wash.

At this point the battle I'm having with QLC+ is coming from a "this SHOULD be just so easy to make work" and I'm frustrated that I'm not getting it.  It feels like there is some very simple little thing that I'm missing that should make it all "just work".   Along the lines of "uhh, did you turn the switch on?" type of thing.  I can handle not being able to figure out something that's supposed to be difficult, but I lose my mind when it's something that should be easy. 

d.

[dave milton]

Don,
   So, when I check the IP address from my laptop, and/or when I check it from the connection made from my IPad it usually says 192.168.0.1.  SOMETIMES it says 192.168.0.101 or 192.168.0.102.  I have tried and failed with all of these (ie: 192.168.0.1:9999, or 192.168.0.101:9999 and so on). 

   Note that when I type 192.168.0.1 into my browser (from either my laptop or my IPad) it connects right away to the admin page of the router itself, and I've got full access and control there (once I put in the password).  This is how I know for a fact that both devices/browsers are connecting to the router just fine. 

d.

[Jeff Lelko]

Jeff,
   Totally fair question and suggestion.  Especially since that's essentially what I was asking at the start of this thread.

...

At this point the battle I'm having with QLC+ is coming from a "this SHOULD be just so easy to make work" and I'm frustrated that I'm not getting it.  It feels like there is some very simple little thing that I'm missing that should make it all "just work".   Along the lines of "uhh, did you turn the switch on?" type of thing.  I can handle not being able to figure out something that's supposed to be difficult, but I lose my mind when it's something that should be easy. 

No worries, and hopefully you can find a simple solution for this!  I’m not a networking expert so thus can’t make any suggestions on that front, but your requirements for software aren’t difficult.  MagicQ PC and M-PC will do this.  DMXIS might also be a good choice, though verify that it can be tablet controlled (I’ve never tried it myself). 

There’s nothing inherently wrong with QLC+ either.  It just has a rather small user and developer base as you seem to already have found out, so that can sometimes prove to be troublesome or frustrating if you can’t get help for a problem that you’re having.

Hopefully Don’s suggestion will point you in the direction you’re looking for! 

[ProSoundWeb Community]