plb-as16 locking up NI3000

Dan DeMulling

I am just hoping some one has run across this before. I just picked up an old panja PLB-AS16 from Ebay. As soon as I connect it to my NI3000, I lose all control to the processor. The processor does not respond to any commands from any panel, and when I look in the online tree, nothing shows up, not even the currently connected devices. I am just using the phastlink connection from the AS16 to the ICSnet port on the NI. I have tried both ICSnet ports with the same result.

My assumption is that I have a bad AS16, but I wanted to run these symptoms across this forum because I have seen a lot of good info here and I am just a beginning programmer. Are there any other steps I need to take? Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,

Dan

glr-fti

Either the AS16 has a problem or the old Landmark address of the AS16 is the same as the Netlinx master. When you turn on the AS16 do you hear a noticeable click when it tries to connect to Netlinx?

To check addressing problems:
Disconnect the AS16 and change the address of the Netlinx master then connect the AS16 again and see if it shows up in the device tree. Then change the AS16 device to something the 6000 range as per Netlinx standards for Landmark devices. Change your master back to the original address.

yuri

i have had an issue with (i think) a PLB-AS16, that was due to a short circuit in the cabling...
Disconnecting the faulty connector put it back to work again, so maybe that's your case too?

Dan DeMulling

I do hear a click when the as16 starts up. What do you mean by changing the address of the netlinx master? I thought it always set to device 0. Sorry, I am still a rookie.

Thanks.

glr-fti

You need the address of the NI master device, many times defaulting to 5001. With the AS16 unplugged bring up the device tree and look for an entry where it shows your NI 3000. Then change that device using Diagnostics/Device Addressing/Device to Change.

Dan DeMulling

All right, I see what you mean. I will try that. Thanks again for the help.

Dan DeMulling

Hey, it worked! Sorta... I was able to change the NI device to another address and then the AS16 showed up as device 00034. One thing though, is there a particular trick to getting the Phast device to take an address? I used the change device screen to change it to 6001 and was given the message that the change was successful, but it still just shows up as 00034 and there is no 6001. I do also see the extra virtual device as described in the PI for the AS16. I did attempt a power cycle as well. I am not confident that i am implementing the module correctly. This is what I am using:

DEFINE_MODULE 'AS8-AS16Mod' PLB_AS16(vdvAudioSwitch, dvAS16)

I have copied over the module into my workspace folder and defined devices for vdvAudioSwitch and dvAS16, but I am not sure if I should be referencing my module name PLB_AS16 anywhere else in the program other than this define_module statement. Also, it is the Define_Start part of the program.

I appreciate you guys taking the time to respond.

I love this stuff...

Thanks again,

Dan

glr-fti

Sometimes it does take awhile changes to be reflected in the online tree. However since you did a reboot things should have cleaned up by now.

You say that you copied the module into your workspace. What do you mean? You only need to go to the Module section and use the add existing module option to identify the module.

You indicated that the module is in Define_Start. What do you mean? It does not need to be there. Just use your Define_module and then reference the physical device using the virtual device.

If none of that works you may have a defective AS16. It does happen.

DHawthorne

glr-fti wrote: »

You need the address of the NI master device, many times defaulting to 5001. With the AS16 unplugged bring up the device tree and look for an entry where it shows your NI 3000. Then change that device using Diagnostics/Device Addressing/Device to Change.

Hold on there - that is not the address of the master, its the address of the controller chassis. There is a difference. Masters do not have a device number, it is always 0:0:<system number>. 5001 is the address of the box that controls the serial, IR, and other ports. It is actually a completely separate entity than the master itself, which is just a processor. This was a whole lot more obvious in the NXI days when they actually shipped separately, but because they integrated them in the same box doesn't mean you can treat them as the same thing in programming - they are not.

A Phaslink device is probably not going to set itself to the chassis address. If anything, it is going to be in one of the 30,000 ranges by default. I suspect it's bad - no matter how it's set, it should show up somewhere on the online tree.

You can still send it to AMX for repair as far as I know. You may even still have a bargain; I've even bought AMX pieces from EBay and got the repaired under warranty if they weren't too old (and sometimes they will cover certain failures warranty nearly indefinitely, AMX is very good in this way). Anyway, out of warranty usually has a flat rate, you can call them and decide if it's worth it before you even send it out.

ericmedley

DHawthorne wrote: »

Hold on there - that is not the address of the master, its the address of the controller chassis. There is a difference. Masters do not have a device number, it is always 0:0:<system number>. 5001 is the address of the box that controls the serial, IR, and other ports. It is actually a completely separate entity than the master itself, which is just a processor. This was a whole lot more obvious in the NXI days when they actually shipped separately, but because they integrated them in the same box doesn't mean you can treat them as the same thing in programming - they are not.

I saw that too but just figured what he meant was the device side of the box. (and therefore didn't pounce)

We use a ton of integrated masters. I often find that the techs and myself begin to think of them as one entity.

glr-fti

I thought that was the easiest way to explain it. That is why I said it was the address of the NI 3000. Apparantly it was not the easiest way to explain it but at least he understood and that was the point. Since his NI3000 was locking up when the AS16 was attached it seemed worth a try to determine if it had a duplicate address before assuming that the device needed repair. Do you have a better diagnostic suggestion for this instance? I still have a lot of AS16's out there and am always interested in better ideas.

DHawthorne

Heh, sorry - didn't mean to "pounce." I just thought there was a potentially harmful misunderstanding there and wanted to nip it in the bud.