Buggy QuadCore?

[Kn00t]

So,
QuadCore that used to freeze up, is again acting buggy.
We used to have it on an astro clock so reboot every day, but took it off the clock when the "reboot" button was added in vManager.

Now things are strange again.

It loses time
vManager shows zero Actionlists when there are in fact 3, of which one is active.
DMX input triggers a playback as wanted, but then DMX output stops after a while even if playback/track is playing,
Reboot button in vManager doesn't work.

[Guido Visser]

Hello Ljos,

If I understand you correctly you have 4 problems.
1. The time was lost.
    The QuadCore can forget the time and date if it is powered down for more then 2 days. Otherwise is should remember the time and date. Was the QuadCore powered down when the time was lost?

2. The vManager shows the wrong amount of actionlists.
    This is a known problem. The vManager does not show the correct number of actionlists. Except for displaying the wrong amount this does not effect anything else. It is on the list to fix.

3. The DMX output stops after a while. While a playback is playing.
    This is a problem which I do not know about. Therefore I am going to ask you a few questions to try and figure out what may have happening. Did the QuadCore show dmx output on the monitor page? Did this happen once or does this happen more often? Did it continue to output DMX again after a while? Is this occurring while playing a specific track? Can you send me a backup of your QuadCore? This may help me find the problem.

4. The reboot button in the vManager does not work.
    There are a number of reasons why this may not work.
        1.The QuadCore has an old firmware V1.08 or lower which does not support reboot from the vManager.
        2.Or there is a network configuration problem. IP address and subnet mask mismatch between your computer and the QuadCore. This is unlikely the case because you would not have seen the actionlists at all in the vManager.

Best regards,
Guido

[Kn00t]

Hi Guido,
Thanks for  the feedback. And a happy new year, btw!
Backup of the Quad attached.

1. It has not been powered down since November, 24/7 on
2. Ok, good to know
3. One Playback is always on, and outputting values in Monitor. The other Playbacks cycle, according to DMX input. After some time, these playbacks stop outputting DMX, even if they are playing, as far as I´ve been able to observe.
4. Tried downgrading and upgrading firmware, button still not working. IP stuff is good.

Layman theory: Some buffer fills up so the Quad starts accumulating errors. Very unscientific thepry, but since the unit has been freezing before, until we put it on the astro clock, I thought there might be a freeze problem here as well. Reboot to repair

Best regards Pekka

[Guido Visser]

Hello Pekka,

I am tying to figure out what may cause these problems. But they are all unrelated to each other. The clock has nothing to do with DMX, tacks, playbacks or the reboot button. The reset button has nothing to do with DMX, tracks and the clock. A problem can occur but all of these, at the same time. That is very strange.

This is why I am going to ask you for even more information.

1. Did the QuadCore lose the time or did it lose the time and date? What time and date did the QuadCore think it was when you found it?

3. Does one playback stop outputting DMX or do all playbacks stop outputting DMX? Does one DMX port stop outputting or do all DMX ports stop outputting? And can you send me a backup of your QuadCore. You have uploaded a backup of an IoCore in your previous post.

4. If you have a firmware version 1.22 in the QuadCore. And you can not reboot the QuadCore with vManager v1.4.32. The I would like you to try other buttons to see if there is communication problem with the QuadCore and the vManager. Please try the blink button. This should make the LED of the QuadCore blink for a few seconds. Does this work?

Best regards,
Guido

[Kn00t]

Hi again,

Sorry for the wrong upload, here´s the right one. The IoCore load is the control system, by the way, which triggers the cues according to GPI values.

1. The Quad lost only date, as far as I remember - time was red in vManager, nothing else was red.
3. One playback stops outputting. #1 is always active it seems, while the others quit sending anything visible in Monitor after a while.
4. I have downgraded and upgraded again the firmware, so there is communication. However, I can´t check  the LED, since the unit is in a locked steel box in a 46m high grain silo 320km away from where I´m sitting

[Guido Visser]

Hello Pekka,

About problem 3. In your backup you have a number of fade times. Some 10 minutes, some 1 hour and some 10 hours. Is it possible that you are playing your BLACKOUT track. Which will only fully black out after the previous cue has faded out. Which will take a "while". Or does the playback stop from one moment to the next? No fade time?

Also maybe you where just testing something. But the DMX input actionlist is disabled in your backup. And you may want to check the trigger flank of some actions in the DMX intput actionlist. I think you may want to set them all to "Non-zero".

4. How do you know the reboot button of the vManager does not work? A reboot of the QuadCore only takes a few seconds. It is typically be back online in 5 seconds.

Best regards,
Guido

[Kn00t]

Hi, quick answers:

3: I have experimented with fade times, with no change. Now all are set to 10s. Same problems. DMX output from Playbacks #2-5 just stops after a while, even if the QC says cue is playing. Playback #1 is working.
I had disabled the DMX input for testing in that project file. With DMX input "off", tracks/cues play forever without hitch. With DMX input "on", all activity in output monitor stops after a while.
I´ve changed all trigger flanks to Non-zero. Same problem.

4: When I hit "Reboot", nothing seems to happen. The Quad doesn´t disappear from vManager or seem to lose contact for even a split second. But maybe that´s normal?

One question: Does the Halt command in Playback still mean that the Cue plays forever, until a different cue is triggered?

Also - the blackout cues are playing in every playback that does´t have a trigger GPI larger than 1v. Can they interfere with my output using LTP?

Attachment: Screenshot with active playback and no output in monitor. Same thing for universes B, C, D. Port A is input form the IoCore.

[Guido Visser]

Hello Pekka,

3: The playbacks are set to LTP (Latest Takes Precedence). This will make the playback which was updated the last take precedence. Updates from show control count.

I think you may want to set all your playbacks to HTP (Highest Takes Precedence).

4: The vManager does not remove a unit from its list if it has communicated in the last 30 seconds. There is a box called Uptime on the home page of the QuadCore. This shows how long the QuadCore has been on. This number is reset when the QuadCore has been turned off or has restarted. You can use this to see if the reboot has worked.

Q: Does the Halt command in Playback still mean that the Cue plays forever, until a different cue is triggered
A: Yes. these cues play for ever.

Q: Also the blackout cues are playing in every playback that does´t have a trigger GPI larger than 1v. Can they interfere with my output using LTP?
A: That is most likely the case. Because a playback "playing" a track do still play. Even if all channels are 0.

Best regards,
Guido