USB2DMX
USB2DMX (aka YADA)
The USB2DMX (which also goes by the name Yet Another DMX Adapter, or YADA), is a build-it-yourself project that provides connectivity between DMX controllers and the Vixen 2.1 lighting software. It was designed by Andrew Williams of Ottawa, Canada, in the spring and summer of 2010 and released to the community in September 2010.
Unlike other adapters, the USB2DMX is not plug compatible with the ENTTEC USB Pro – conversely, it costs almost 50 percent less than other adapters. This is achieved because of a one-chip design, where the main CPU handles both the USB input and the DMX output, simultaneously. Other designs, including the ENTTEC USB Pro, have one chipset handle the USB input and another chipset handle the DMX output.
Andrew's design leverages the work of Microchip Technology Inc. in using its chips for USB communications. The USB2DMX uses the PIC18F2455 and a handful of components to communicate between the user's PC running Vixen 2.1 and DMX controllers. The design supports full electrical isolation so that the PC is not directly connected to the controllers, insuring safety at both ends of the circuit.
In addition to not being ENTTEC Pro plug compatible, there are other compromises that must be made to achieve the USB2DMX's low cost: the device only works (as of its initial release) with the Vixen software; a special USB driver must be installed in the PC; the user is required to take a two-step process to burn the firmware into the microprocessor, and the user needs to make certain that three files are included in the Vixen plug-ins folder.
Board building instructions
Go here.
Software and firmware instructions
- Download the Microchip USB software package here.
- Unzip the package, extract the application and install MCHPFSUSB_Setup_v1.3.exe as you would any Windows application. The software expects to install itself in the c: directory as c:\MCHPFSUSB\ ... if at all possible, please allow the installation here, as it will make the rest of these instructions easier to understand.
- Go to the directory c:\MCHPFSUSB\Pc\Mpusbapi\Dll\Borland_C\ and copy the file mpusbapi.dll to your Vixen 2.1 plug-ins directory.