New K16s

[tetleytealeaf]

I just picked up a new K16, and I had a few questions:

1). It says there is an expansion port in addition to the 4 RJ45 diff receiver ports.  Are there any updates to what expansion boards this can be used for?  Falcon?  Can that expansion board be far away?

2). It says the FPP manual has not been updated to account for the RJ45 DMX ports that were brought back.    Does that information exist somewhere, or is connecting it to Renard trivial?  I.e. just plug it in and set it to Renard in FPP?

3). Can I set one port to DMX and the other to Renard on the new K16?  That didn't work on the K32.

4). Why 4 power banks for just 16 channels?   Does this mean I can mix 5v and 12v?  Or is it just to mitigate the outage if one efuse trips?

Thanks a lot

[dkulp]

1). It says there is an expansion port in addition to the 4 RJ45 diff receiver ports.  Are there any updates to what expansion boards this can be used for?  Falcon?  Can that expansion board be far away?

It's a Falcon v4 expansion board.   The ribbon cable is only good for about 30 inches or so.  Definitely not very far.

2). It says the FPP manual has not been updated to account for the RJ45 DMX ports that were brought back.    Does that information exist somewhere, or is connecting it to Renard trivial?  I.e. just plug it in and set it to Renard in FPP?

It uses the DMX pinout.   You would need a custom cable for Renard.   I'm sure those details are on one of the forums someplace.

3). Can I set one port to DMX and the other to Renard on the new K16?  That didn't work on the K32.

Yes.  That worked on the K32 as well.

4). Why 4 power banks for just 16 channels?  Does this mean I can mix 5v and 12v?  Or is it just to mitigate the outage if one efuse trips?

The new eFuses are rated for 6A (instead of 5).  Putting 48A (8*6A)through a single screw terminal is WAY WAY over spec and would have melted it down.  Breaking them into smaller banks was needed.  Yes, you can mix 5V and 12V and 24V. Each of the four banks can be a different voltage.

[tetleytealeaf]

Quote

3). Can I set one port to DMX and the other to Renard on the new K16?  That didn't work on the K32.

Yes.  That worked on the K32 as well.

4). Why 4 power banks for just 16 channels?  Does this mean I can mix 5v and 12v?  Or is it just to mitigate the outage if one efuse trips?

The new eFuses are rated for 6A (instead of 5).  Putting 48A (8*6A)through a single screw terminal is WAY WAY over spec and would have melted it down.  Breaking them into smaller banks was needed.  Yes, you can mix 5V and 12V and 24V. Each of the four banks can be a different voltage.

Re: mixing DMX and Renard, maybe the FPP update changed something, but last year when I changed ttys2 to Renard, it changed ttys1 to Renard, and when I tried to set ttys1 back to DMX, it changed ttys2 back to DMX. 

RE: 4 banks.  Makes sense.

[tetleytealeaf]

Thanks for those ingenious snap-on phoenix connector jigs, too, by the way.  And making the video.   One big time-saver you did not mention (aka take credit for) in the video is how the jig tells you the polarity.   I spend forever double-checking which side red and ground go on.  

[dkulp]

Thanks for those ingenious snap-on phoenix connector jigs, too, by the way.  And making the video.  One big time-saver you did not mention (aka take credit for) in the video is how the jig tells you the polarity.  I spend forever double-checking which side red and ground go on. 

I've sold several sets of them, but haven't heard from anyone if they really thought it was a big time saver or if they were easy enough to use or anything.   Thanks for that feedback.

The jig definitely took a bunch of iterations to get to a point I was happy with it.   The double sided jig is nice in that it holds 8, but due to the coloring, it requires a color change for most layers to print which make it take a long time and wastes a bunch of filament.  Still trying to adjust that a bit.  

[tetleytealeaf]

I don't care about the double, other than now I have two of them (that's nice...).  Maybe the people who assemble enclosures and sell them could really benefit,   But I  probably represent the majority, and 4 is plenty.  Usually I do only one or two phoenix at at a time, because I'm switching around channels.  I.e. it's not a mass assembly situation--just me messing around with my show.  

[tetleytealeaf]

Ohmigosh, the new RJ45 ports for ttys1/ttys2 on the new K16's are wonderful for DMX.   It's just plug-and-play.  

For Renard, not so much.  Doesn't work.  I guess you need to cut open a cat5 and switch up the colors.  For that reason, I'm still liking the old stuff, too.

[tetleytealeaf]

3). Can I set one port to DMX and the other to Renard on the new K16?  That didn't work on the K32.

Yes.  That worked on the K32 as well.

Confirmed, it does not.  In the Xlights controller tab:

You cannot view this attachment.