Unified RC-4 / FC-4 Driver

[JonnyMac]

Our good friend K.C. has created a unified driver that will run RC-4 and FC-4 boards together on the same project; this would let you have 32 lighting channels (16 switched, 16 fully dimmable) on a given serial port.

To use the driver you will configure you channels in groups of four, selecting the device type and board address from the Setup dialog.



The driver is "smart" in that it won't let you have two boards of the same type at the same address.  And as all Vixen events are analog, expressed as 0% to 100%, there is a threshold setting that applies to the RC-4 channels.  An event level below the threshold will turn the channel off for that event, at or above the threshold will turn it on.

Have fun!  And if you haven't already been there, the forums at www.doityourselfchristmas.com have lots of great tips and tricks on using Vixen.

[JonnyMac]

For those that are wondering how quickly you can update the channels in a Vixen project... it takes 68 bytes to update four RC-4 boards and four FC-4 boards; at 38.4K baud this requires just under 18 milliseconds.  I set the event period (Sequence --> Settings --> Event Period) to 50 and this gives zippy performance, and nice smooth fades when ramping is used.

[gadget-evilusions]

Thank you jon. I know we all appreciate it. I need to get some more FC-4's now to play with this.

[JonnyMac]

You're welcome.  And don't forget, the FC-4 is on sale through the end of the month (get two FC-4s plus a Serial Inverter for $135).

-- EFX-TEK Specials

[gadget-evilusions]

I havent got to use vixen much except for popping out a program for the prop-1, which was easy. I have placed the rc4-fc4.dll into the addins folder in the vixen folder, but i am now stuck. Should it show up in the add ins drop down menu? The prop-1 and prop-2 program generators do, so i know i am putting stuff in the right place. Where do i start?

[JonnyMac]

Sounds like someone didn't read my article in the December issue of Nuts & Volts....   :P

This is a plug-in output driver, not an add-in accessory program, so what you'll do is:

1) Create a sequence; keep the channel number in groups of four (4, 8, 12, etc.)
2) Click on "Attached Plugins" in the sequence toolbar
3) Select the RC-4/FC-4 driver (left side list)
4) Click "Use"
5) Click on the driver in the right side list -- as in this image



6) Set your channel range 1 to n
7) Click on "Plugin Setup" to get to the setup dialog shown above

It's easier than it reads, trust me.

[gadget-evilusions]

Thanks. I forgot that i went and bought that issue for that reason. All is well now.

[nhphantom]

Jon

can you use more that one pin giving you 64 lighting channels

David

[JonnyMac]

We're limited to 32 because the driver has to look at the events channel and then use the driver to look up the device type for that channel.