Custom Value Vixen 3

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dw377

New member
I have just started to learn how to use Vixen 3 and FPP to control my Christmas lights for this year. I have got as far as making a physical megatree and E1.31 controller to display the preset pixel effects in Vixen. That works fine as far as I have taken it.

To control my fixed colour strings I have an Arduino based device which takes an input of a digital code mapped to function parameters and it outputs PWM data so I can fade in and out etc. At the moment I run that from the keyboard or from a DIY sequence scripted into the device. I am trying to find a way of integrating the sequencing of that device into Vixen and got completely stuck.

I have been a week trying to find a way of using the Custom Value effect in the sequence editor because it sounds like what I need from the limited decription in the docs.

I have tried dragging a Custom Value Box onto the timeline for a single string and for a Generic Numbered Group with only one string (if that's different) and configuring it with 8bit Value then a Color then a string. The value I enter does appear in the effect label on the timeline but is not transmitted. I have tried repeating the effect, extending it, varying the value - all sorts. I put a serial monitor on the E131 data transmission ( as I have done successfully with other sequences) and print out the packet information from the header which tells me correctly which universe it is sending and it is sending zeros. I also tried exporting the sequence as a csv file and that contained 600 zeros. So I haven't understood how to set up the custom value effect. Before I spend another fruitless week on this can someone please tell me if there is a way of sending a value to a device from the Vixen time line and is it Custom value?

The section of the docs says

"Custom Value effect allows the sequencer to specify a custom numerical value, string, or color (RGB) value for an element at precise time(s) during a sequence. "

Which sounds exacly what I want to do but what is the procedure for configuring it?
 
JCB said:
Are you using the Vixen serial controller to connect Vixen to the Arduino?
Click to expand...
It is hard wired ethernet. The Arduino sketch is an E1.31 receiver (which works for the Megatree with context changes to the code). I have swapped Arduinos, cables, routers, Ethernet shields and have not been able to find a hardware problem. I can ping the Arduino. Vixen is set up for Streaming ACN E131 controller. I don't know what the Vixen serial controller is. I have seen that Vixen transmits something to the network for as long as it is loaded on the PC regardless of input from me. I don't know what, maybe empty packets.
 
What type of controller do you have configured for the Arduino in Vixen? The controller selection is made on the Display Setup dialog. It sounds like you are attempting to use E1.31. Generic Serial is another controller option but this option would require you to connect the Arduino to the computer using a USB cable. If you have configured this element to a single color. You might try the 'Set Level' effect picking the single color you configured the color handling with. That way Vixen thinks there is a match between the sequence and the device.

Admittedly I may not completely understand your setup.
It sounds like you have an E1.31 controller to handle pixels on a mega-tree and that works.
You also have an Arduino that is configured to use E1.31 but is only configured in Vixen to display a single color.

I don't have a lot of experience with the Custom Value effect but having color filters in the patching could prevent data from making it to the device. My understanding is that Vixen is only going to forward data to the device for effects that produce that one color.


1713702965323.png 1713703092733.png
 
JCB said:
What type of controller do you have configured for the Arduino in Vixen? The controller selection is made on the Display Setup dialog. It sounds like you are attempting to use E1.31. Generic Serial is another controller option but this option would require you to connect the Arduino to the computer using a USB cable. If you have configured this element to a single color. You might try the 'Set Level' effect picking the single color you configured the color handling with. That way Vixen thinks there is a match between the sequence and the device.

Admittedly I may not completely understand your setup.
It sounds like you have an E1.31 controller to handle pixels on a mega-tree and that works.
You also have an Arduino that is configured to use E1.31 but is only configured in Vixen to display a single color.

I don't have a lot of experience with the Custom Value effect but having color filters in the patching could prevent data from making it to the device. My understanding is that Vixen is only going to forward data to the device for effects that produce that one color.


View attachment 47513 View attachment 47514
Click to expand...
 
On the RHS of the Display Panel I have Streaming ACN 1.31 - the same as I used for the Megatree which works physically. On the LHS I tried using a Single Item but it insisted in connecting to another element so I chose a Generic Numbered Group with one member and patched them 1 to 1. It says I have 1 filter which I suppose is the color but it's not optional by any means I know; you have to pick one of three options don't you?

How do you not have color filter?

Both the Megatree controller and the one subject of this thread are Arduini.

I spent another day on this trying Custom Value on the Megatree setup since I know it works otherwise. If I put a Set Level followed by a Custom Value ( per your 1st paragraph?) then the CV switches on the Pixels as if it were a Set Level. Changing the value made no difference. If I put in an alternating effect first then the Custom Value took the color values entered by the previous effect. So it is doing something but nothing to do with the input value.

I put my serial monitor thingy on to read the data being transmitted and below is an extract from what I got for white. This was still on the Megatree. 425 is right for package size, 300 for universe size, 126 for start and 179 being the 70% level I set in the dimmer curve. The same for Green correctly shows every 3rd as 179 followed by 2 0's. There are no other characters shown if I put Custom Value on its own; before or after another effect; with 8 bit, color or string value. I can only spend a couple more days trying to get this to work but I would really like to know how this effect is configured because what I am doing isn't it. Or could it be since, according to the docs, this has been largely superseded by Intelligent Effects, that Custom Value is no longer functional? It worked 5 yars ago when the only relevant YT video I can find was made. I did look at intelligent Effects but they are for very specific equipment and I can't see how any of them would apply to this case. Very frustrating because the stated purpose of Custom Value is exactly what I want to do.


424 179
425 179
count = 300
126 179
127 179
128 179
129 179
130 179
131 179
132 179
133 179
134 179
135 179
136 179
137 179
138 179
139 179
140 179
141 179
 
How do you not have color filter?

In Display Setup, you can create a SingleItem, when it gets to the Color Configuration dialog select Cancel. Select to enter Graphical Patching. Select your Element on the left side. Select your controller on the right side. Using the RIGHT mouse button draw a connection between the element and the controller. I believe this will allow all Custom Value effect values to make it to the controller.

1713709462497.png
 
"Or could it be since, according to the docs, this has been largely superseded by Intelligent Effects, that Custom Value is no longer functional?"

The Custom Value effect should still work and is still supported. Looking at the code for the E1.31 controller in Vixen you are going to want to use 8 bit values in the Custom Value effect.

The Custom Value effect in combination with the E1.31 controller is something new for me so there could get some gotcha's in that regard.
 
JCB said:
"Or could it be since, according to the docs, this has been largely superseded by Intelligent Effects, that Custom Value is no longer functional?"

The Custom Value effect should still work and is still supported. Looking at the code for the E1.31 controller in Vixen you are going to want to use 8 bit values in the Custom Value effect.

The Custom Value effect in combination with the E1.31 controller is something new for me so there could get some gotcha's in that regard.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for the information. Am I right in thinking to make a single item you have to make a Generic Numbered Group First? When I try to create a single item it attaches itself to previously configured elements. So I assume you have to have a group before you can have a single item?
 
When I create a Single Item it appears at the bottom of the collection of display elements but I already had a single item as the last item so maybe that is influencing the behavior.

Just to confirm the Custom Value effect is working. I added a "Debug Values" controller to my profile and patched the SingleItemTest to that controller graphically without any color filters. As you can see in the image I specified 190 in the effect and the Debug Controller is receiving that 190. The difference with your configuration is that you are using the E1.131 controller. For the Arduino that is not working how may outputs have you configured the E1.31 controller to have in Vixen? Please let us know of your progress. If we can figure out your problem we can update the documentation on the Custom Value effect to help others.

1713726314022.png
 
OK, I'll try your suggestion tomorrow.
I only have a single output from this controller configured in Vixen. I will add more if I can get it working.
 
JCB said:
When I create a Single Item it appears at the bottom of the collection of display elements but I already had a single item as the last item so maybe that is influencing the behavior.

Just to confirm the Custom Value effect is working. I added a "Debug Values" controller to my profile and patched the SingleItemTest to that controller graphically without any color filters. As you can see in the image I specified 190 in the effect and the Debug Controller is receiving that 190. The difference with your configuration is that you are using the E1.131 controller. For the Arduino that is not working how may outputs have you configured the E1.31 controller to have in Vixen? Please let us know of your progress. If we can figure out your problem we can update the documentation on the Custom Value effect to help others.
Click to expand...
 
I set up a single item ( a Numbered Group with one element ) with no color filter and patched it to an ACN E1.31 controller. I can see the custom value in my Serial monitor. As you predicted it only works with 8 bit integers with this type of controller. But it does work!

I planted several Custom Value blocks of varying duration and value on the timeline and exported the sequence to a CSV file with a 100ms interval - extract below.





View attachment 47522

That is a big step forward for which I am very grateful. There are two things I can see already I have to take care of somehow. It would be better if I could set a Custom Value of say 3 bytes so I could send an instruction and two PWM values. But if the software is not written that way then I will have to work around. It looks like the Custom Value is re-sent every 50ms (?) for the duration of the effect. I will have to find a way of latching it so the action it is triggering doesn’t restart every 50ms. That doesn’t suit some of the functions it is controlling but the others are working on the test lights I have. Many thanks for yor help.

1713796997078.png
 
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