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[Thomas Bishop]

I'm  trying to get MagicQ and the Enttec DMX Pro dongle to interface and it's frustrating me greatly.  I've tried everything I can think of and read for the last 4 days with no luck.  I want to use it on my Mac Book Pro (OSX 10.6.6) but have also tried it on my PC laptop (both Windows XP and 7) as well as my PC desktop (Windows XP) with no luck.  The light on the dongle flashes when connected to my PC's and MagicQ open but not on my Mac.  I get no DMX to my fixtures on any computer and MagicQ it stays in "Demo Mode."  All computers see the dongle (it shows up as USB to Serial adapter in Windows and under USB devices in System Profiler on my Mac.

I started out downloading the drivers from the Enttec web site which I later found out not to do.  So I finally removed the drivers from my Mac (really, command line still exists?) and forced the correct drivers on my PC.  None of which changed anything at all.  I'm really at my wit's end here with a show this weekend.  So not only do I need to get the hardware/software working I have to learn how to use it as well (and probably create some fixture profiles).  myDMX was very limited which is why I just sold both of my units and bought the Enttec, but at this point I may have to go to Guitar Center to pick one up just so I can get through this weekend.

Posting here would be fine, but a phone call would be amazing if there is someone out there with patience to help out this frustrated guy.  Thanks!

Thomas
609.902.6277

[James Feenstra]

call the closest distributor to you for chamsys:
http://www.chamsys.co.uk/contactusa

they should be able to walk you through it without problems

[Thomas Bishop]

Great suggestion, James.  I missed that page on the web site.  I'll call them tomorrow.

[waldo [Casey Williams]]

"Demo Mode" is normal. It only goes into "real mode" or whatever it's called, when you have a chamsys wing attached. It still sends full DMX in Demo Mode.

One dumb question: is your grand master up? Check the "output" pane in magicQ to make sure you're really spitting out DMX.

I'm using the Ethernet version of the enttec box, and it's also a bit finnicky, but once I get the signal path going, it's rock-solid. There are two things I have to do every time I re-start the laptop (behaves the same on mac and pc):

run the enttec NMU utility (however, I don't think this applies to the USB box)

after having the laptop up, having run NMU and running magicQ, with some DMX output going, I unplug power to the enttec box and plug it back in. Then I'm set.

My enttec box will show all the proper blinking LEDs, but often doesn't put out a signal unless I do those two steps.

good luck!

waldo

edit: one more dumb question. Make sure your universe is 'enabled.' (under 'setup'). I've had mine default to disabled once or twice.

[Alexander Schranz]

hi thomas!

with osx 10.6.5. and 10.6.6. the enttec pro interface is no longer working. chamsys integrated a new ftdi-driver in their osx 1.4.8.3. beta version, but this drivers are for supporting the wings, not the interfaces.

on mac the only option is to step back to osx 10.6.4. (hope you have time machine backups) for using the enttec pro interface.

greets from austria, alex

[Thomas Bishop]

Thanks for the reply, Alex.  I was worried that this was the case.  I ended up buying an Elation DMX Operator to get me through a few gigs while I wait for the delivery of my Pearl (which I'm picking up today).  It's not a fantastic controller, but for $200 it did the job.  I guess I'll just have to wait for Chamsys to get with the program.  I knew things like this would happen when I switched to a Mac.

[neil juneja]

I'm pretty surprised on the Enttec issues.  I've been using a pair of USB pros for a year before I began buying the wings.

For a mac, you do have to force a driver, but its been textbook for me.

On a PC, it should be plug and play.  Just make sure its plugged in before you start Chamsys.  As stated above, Demo mode doesn't mean that much to you.  The disabled features are minimal (except the super cool iphone remote app, which I actually use as an extra touchscreen for the color pallet and execute page).

If the light on the Enttec device is blinking, it is processing DMX.  The only possibilities beyond there is a possible manufacturing defect in the Enttec device (bad solder on the dmx pins) or further down the line.  A DMX tester is always nice here (I recommend the Swisson one, its awesome, and somebody is selling them for $315 on ebay right now - way below what i paid).

As far as Chamsys - you only have to make sure your patch is correct and check the outputs.  I love my Avolites boards, and still keep one around for pure mover rigs, but there is nothing anywhere near as sophisticated as Chamsys.  And the new beta versions are really creating so many new and awesome ways to play with LED arrays.  

You're getting a Pearl?  Running Titan?