Cornfused.... probably brain dead...

dirknerkle

dirknerkle

Supporting Member
I had a pi-zero that died because a power supply failed, letting 12v through instead of a nice, filtered 5vdc... and it got INCREDIBLY hot.... Now I'm trying to get another pi-zero working... Prior to this, I think that the dead pi was using FPP 3.x or 4.x but there's no way to check -- the voltage took out the microSD card, too. So I've got FPP 8.4 (most recent version) running in Player mode and I'm not finding the right places or sequence or ??? to get the FSEQ to play -- or even do output testing.

The application is a set of patio lights, and it's essential four pixels (i.e. four patio lights). In the past, the sequence output was hard-wired to the GPIO pins, as the output used GPIO 18, which according to the pi-zero pinout is the sixth pin down on the right side of out pin header. This location corresponds to the pin used by the dead pi-zero as it's where the data wire was soldered. The only other locations that were used were the +5v and Ground pins, which are above the GPIO 18 pin on the same side. I vaguely recall that the old version of FPP was quite straight-forward in choosing the data output pin for weird configurations of which I am prone to use.... This hard-wired setup worked just great.

However, I am now faced with a whole new FPP interface that, frankly, is quite intimidating to a brain dead person such as I.... There are TFMO..... But here's what I've got so far.... and it does not trigger the lights....

Output configuration: E131/Artnet/DDP/KiNet is blank, not used. Pixel Strings is not used. LED Panels is not used. Other is the only output used.
Other, as explained in three sentences in the FPP Manual as "The other Output tab is to define other less common output types. This is the location that you would configure a Virtual Matrix or Virtual Display. If you are using a Pi Cap and need to send out DMX data, then the Output type would be DMX-Open and the Output Config Port will be ttyAMA0." Swell. Essentially meaningless to me as this is not a virtual anything and I'm not using a Pi Cap of any kind.

BUT.... I chose GPIO output as the "other" output. It defaults to start channel 1 and channel count 1 (which can't be changed). I've set it to GPIO 18, which is the same as the P1-12 pin on the header. Inverted and PWM are ??? to me, but I've tried both with no effect. Yes, the output is "active." There is no place I've seen with the GPIO setting to enter the number of channels one might have (or universe numbers, etc....)

When trying the channel test, which defaults to start channel 1, end channel 1 and increment 3 and Cycle R-G-B, nothing happens when the test mode is enabled. I've tried changing the end channel to 3, 6, 9 and 12, and the increment to 1, 2, and 3, and nothing happens. I've tried the "multisync" option with no effect, either, although I didn't expect it would do anything anyway. Likewise, trying the solid color and single channel test options do nothing.

The only thing I can imagine is that the data is not going out through the GPIO 18 pin. And naturally, as I sold my oscilloscope recently, I don't have it to test the pin for any data output... (argghhhghghghh!!!) Of course, choosing a sequence to play does not function, either.

I have looked at the output processors but none of them seemed appropriate for what I'm doing. I did try the "brightness" processor for all channels, setting it to 100% but without effect.

IMO, it shouldn't be this hard. Unless one is brain dead, of course.... which admittedly, I must be. So any help one might be able to offer would be greatly appreciated.
 
You are desiring to apply a protocol (WS281x) to a pin that is configured for binary operation. I suspect you may want to tell the device it has a simple pi hat that supports pixel output and that you want to use GPIO 18 as the output pin.
 
I think what you are looking for is under the "Pixel Strings" output selection. Install a virtual eprom for a pihat and port 1 is using GPIO 18
 
I'll be darned. It works -- thanks, Martin!

But I must admit that this makes no sense whatsoever to me. For one, I would never look in the "pi hat" area and then select a virtual eeprom. Essentially the idea is, "create an imaginary pi hat and then configure it."

The output tab texts made me go to the "OTHER" setting immediately because logically, none of the others could possibly be valid. In this case, the "other" setting is even immaterial -- it has no functionality as the pi hat setting overrides it in operation, defaulting to GPIO18!

Who came up with this logic, or is this just another example of a "workaround?" Wow....

In any event, thank you, Martin!
 
it is becuase you use low level thinking. you went looking for a way to control a gpio. You needed a way to directly control a string of pixels that just happens to be conneced to a gpio. the strings area was createdfor that. Then there was an explosin of hats and they needed an easy way to select one. That got complicated by the PI hat eeprom reqirements that were driven by the PI os
 
Then I would humbly suggest that the "Pi Hat" tab be retitled to read "Pi Hat/Strings" to give some direction. As it is, for a person who does not use a hat, there's no indication where to do that because Pi Hat and eeprom strongly suggest hardware instead of what turns out to be a fairly simple software configuration change.
 
I am sure you can put in an enhancement request on the fpp site. They are always asking for good feedback on things like this. I am a sw guy so it made sense. That is a blind side for many of us sw devs.
 
Okay, one hurdle at a time. But still brain dead....

I want to use FPP on a pi-zero that is not wireless and also not connected to a network. In short, I want the pi to boot up and start a playlist on its own. No network, and no clock, either, so when it is powered up, it runs the playlist completely unattended. It stops when power is removed.

The application is a set of patio lights and power is controlled by an external timer.

I understand there's a kiosk mode, but the manual says it requires a touchscreen, but this application does not use a screen of any kind, or any user-input.

I'm having trouble configuring the unit to do this. Do I have to edit a file on the microSD card to bypass something?
 
Make a schedule that runs a 24h sequence. Start date Jan 1 1970 end date Jan 1 2999

the pi always has a clock. no exceptions. you can add ntp to set it or you can have an rtc to set it, but it is always there. sans an update, it starts at midnight jan 1 1970
 
Perfect, thanks. I knew it had a base internal clock -- I just didn't know what its start date was! I suspected it was 1-1-1970 but your confirmation is much appreciated!

You've bailed me out twice now, Martin! I owe you bigtime!!!
 
Dirk & Martin, there is a method within FPP to start your Pi upon power up. We use it for our outlying (not connected to the main show) props. For example, our flag (8' tall, 16' wide matrix) is driven by a Kulp 16 with 2 remotes (4 ports each) running FPP. (The flag uses 24 ports total.) The power in that section of the display/park is turned off each night and back on before opening the next day. We have the FPP set to come on with the power no matter what time it is, run the sequence programed for it, then shut down when power is removed at the end of the evening.

We used to use the 24 hour trick, but found this to be much better. If I can get to the controller for the flag (it is buried in a 52' convex), I'll write up the setup - if you want.
 
Thanks, Al. On my previous Pi-Zero using one of the earlier versions of Falcon, I had no problem setting it up. Now, with all the fancy add-ons and features, some things that I used to use have become buried or even deleted from FPP, so getting the same functionality I had before involved messing with a lot of things that didn't exist 5 or 6 years ago. This is called "progress," I'm told. With Martin's help and patience, I've been able to recreate the mechanism It's just four, crummy patio lights that I mount along our patio that are powered up with an external timer. The pi takes 1:43 from power-on boot to first lights, and that's fine for my need....

However, I think it might be beneficial to the community if you could quickly write it up and post it. You (and I) can't be the only people using a pi in a non-standard way!!!

FWIW, here's what they look like in a cabling test on the floor.....
 
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