Using Vixen with HC-8

[needcrew]

I have a couple of simple questions that hopefully someone can clear up.  I have a 24vDC 2.5A power supply hooked up to the V+ and V- and setting the switch to position 2.  I then connected the programming plug to the pins in the middle and opened up the spin editor.  It sees the board and I proceeded to compile the Streamer program using Run->Compile Current->Load EEPROM.  When I did that 4 lights came on on the HIgh Current output side, there is one red light where the power comes in, and one red light just below the EFX-TEK logo.  I connected my servos to the first 4 outputs and loaded up vixen.  Nothing seems to do anything.  The servos jerk a little even if I have nothing in the vixen show when i hit play.  Then they just sit there.  I have been messing around for a week now and am not sure what I am doing wrong.  Any ideas?

[JackMan]

Did you set up the plugin? In the Vixen toolbar there's a tab labeled "Attached Plugins". Click that tab and a window will open with plugin choices. From the list on the left, select "Generic serial" and then click the "use" tab. Generic serial will now be in the box to the right. Check the little box and then click on Generic serial, the "Plugin Setup" button will now be operational. Click that button and a Setup window will open. In this window, select the port you are using and set the Baud to 57600, nothing in "Packet Data". Click "OK" and then click "done". If everything else is hooked up correctly you should be in business.

[needcrew]

Yes I did.

[needcrew]

Here are some screen shots of the set-up.

[needcrew]

Do I need to change anything on the Com Port in windows?  It is currently on COM4.  IN the SPin editor it identifies the board so I did not move it to a different com port.

[JackMan]

COM port should stay the same. Can you attach the .vix file you are using? I can test it out and see if it works for me.

[needcrew]

Here is a simple file.

[JackMan]

That sequence doesn't have any channels assigned. In the Vixen toolbar, there's a box for "Channels". Highlight the "0" and change it to 8, then hit enter. 8 channels will show up on the left. Right click on each channel to open a window, select "channel properties" to name each one. Then you can build your routine and stream it.

[needcrew]

Mine does have 8 channels assigned.  Here is a screenshot of it

[needcrew]

I created a different test sequence that names the channels and just tries and move the servos.  All I get is some random jerky behavior.

[needcrew]

OK, Tried a different power supply that has the barrel connector and set the power switch to position 1 and it is working now.  Can I not use the 24vDC power supply connected to the V+ and V-?

[JackMan]

Jon would have a better answer for that but if it's working now I would say something wasn't kosher with the 24v setup.

[needcrew]

One other question, to set the servos in the middle by default, is that in the spin code, or is there a way in vixen to default the starting position?

[JackMan]

That's in the Spin code. Scroll down to the first "dat" section, you'll see the start settings. The default settings are for 1500µs which is center. If you need to change any of those start positions keep in mind the code is setup for 180 degree servos which is a range of 600µs to 2400µs. Vixen uses the 0-255 scale so you'll need to convert. 127 would be center and then it basically works out to every number up or down from there equals approximately 7µs. As an example, if channel 1 needs a starting position of 150 in Vixen, you would change the first value in the Spin code to 1_661.

[needcrew]

Thanks.  Now that I have that part figured out.  Just working on the Voice track syncing.  Trying you trick about the Partial Ramps.  If you interval is 20ms how many would you go over for the jaw movement.