If you encounter problems with the SL04 box, please take a closer look at this post, especially if the computer has a built-in network card, you will basically encounter these problems, please take a closer look at this post.
Note: All the functions of our box have been verified, the box will be strictly tested at the factory, if you encounter a problem, don’t suspect the box problem, please press this paste to set, you can solve more than 99% of the problem.
Technical Theory:
1:Is the SL04 box a 10M LAN network card / 12M USB network card, can it be connected to 100M, 1000M switches and routers?
Answer: Yes, there is a negotiation mechanism in the network transmission, and the PHY of the network card will finally determine the transmission rate through negotiation.
2: What broadcast? What is unicast? What is Multicast?
Broadcasting means that the host is only responsible for sending the data to the network, and then it is left alone, and the downstream equipment can receive it. (Artnet protocol use broadcast)
Unicast means that the host only sends and receives data one by one with the corresponding device, and does not derail other devices.
Multicast means that everyone joins the group, no matter who sends the data, as long as the devices in the group can receive the data. (sACN protocol use multicast)
Note: MA adopts all the above transmission methods, MA-NET is multicast mode, and the Artnet data sent by MA is broadcast mode, and unicast mode can also be set.
3: How is network data transmitted and what should I pay attention to?
Answer: The network data is sent and received through a packet, each packet can not be larger than 1500 bytes (MTU), the network packet is through the MAC address of the network card (unique in the world, generally can not be changed) plus IP and port number to transmit data, plus the transmission protocol, encapsulated in the 7-layer network structure for transmission. For users, we only need to care about the IP address, the IP address is similar to our house number, you must have the house number to find your home address, so the device must have an IP address to communicate with the network.
4: What is the relationship between fixed IP address and DHCP, and why do some devices need to set fixed IP addresses, while others do not?
Answer: DHCP is a dynamic allocation and automatic IP acquisition of the protocol, through the DHCP protocol, the upstream device will automatically assign a different IP to each downstream device, for example, the router has DHCP function, so the mobile phone is connected to the router, you don’t need to set the IP for the mobile phone to connect to the Internet, but the switch does not have DHCP function, so if the device is only connected to the switch, we need to manually assign a fixed IP address to each device in order to communicate. Because the lighting network is generally only connected to the switch and not to the router, the Artnet device generally sets its own fixed IP and does not enable the DHCP function.
Note: If our computer does not open the DHCP service, the Windows system does not have DHCP function, the computer has no way to assign IP to the device, if your computer network card does not set a fixed IP, the network data is not transmitted, so the computer will assign itself to the internal use of 169.254.x.x such a reserved IP, note, such an IP can not communicate with external devices, can only communicate within the computer. So many people will take it for granted that you see, I didn’t set any IP for the computer network card, and I can also receive data sent by other software, which is the computer itself set up to reserve IP.
5: 127.0.0.1 What the hell is this IP?
Answer: This IP is the local loop address of the computer, and this IP is an IP that the computer sends network data to itself to play, why? Suppose you have installed MA on the same computer and installed 3D software at the same time, if you want to send MA’s dmx network data to 3D software, how to send it, of course, you send it to yourself, but different software can receive network data through this local IP.
6: What is Artnet? What the hell is Artnet IP? What is the difference between the NIC IP address?
Answer: Artnet is a network transmission lighting protocol, a set of free lighting transmission protocols encapsulated on UDP packages, mainly in Europe, because it is free, so most manufacturers support it.
Note: North America competes with the sACN protocol, which is charged at the beginning and free later, so the popularity is not as high as Artnet.
The Artnet protocol stipulates that network data transmission is transmitted through broadcast polling 2.x.x.x as the main network segment, and 10.x.x.x is transmitted as the secondary network segment, so downstream devices only need to set the IP of these two network segments to receive Artnet data.
Note: By default, MA2 transmits artnet data from the network segment starting with main net 2, and MA3 transmits artnet data through network segment 10 by default.
Because MA2 is developed in accordance with the Artnet standard protocol, you should not take it for granted that you can receive artnet data by setting the network card to 192.168.x.x, which cannot receive artnet data, but non-standard software can, such as madrix.
Artnet IP is calculated by the MAC address of the network card, and has nothing to do with the network card IP, the network card IP can ensure the transmission of UDP network packets, but if you want to distinguish different Artnet devices in the broadcast packet, this artnet IP can be distinguished, the artnet IP calculation method is the code of the OEM of 2byte, plus the last few segments of the MAC when the IP address, a calculated IP that is combined with 2, The original intention of the protocol was to be plug-and-play without setting an IP address, which in my opinion has no effect. For users, they can ignore it, and only need to set the correct NIC IP to ensure that the network can send and receive UDP packets.
7: If the computer has multiple network cards, why does the data cause confusion?
Answer: If your computer has a built-in network card and a wireless wifi network card, our box is connected to your computer through the USB network card, so that your computer will have 3 network cards, if the computer is installed with a virtual machine, the virtual machine also has a network card, so that there will be at least 4 network cards, if you install a loop network card, so that there will be at least 5 network cards, such a computer If you do not plan the IP of each network card, it will eventually make MA confused, and do not know what kind of data to send to which network card.
At the same time, because the priority of the built-in network card is higher than that of our external usb network card, there is a high probability that the network data of MA will not be sent to our box, and the final result is: artnet will not be output to our SL04 box, resulting in no output of the box; The MA-NET protocol data cannot be sent to the SL04 box, causing the MA to fail to unlock 131072 parameters.
If you encounter these problems, please don’t suspect that we have a problem with our SL04 box, please see if there is a problem with your settings first.
Please follow the steps below:
1: All built-in network cards can not be set to 2.x.x.x network segments, then disable all internal network cards (including virtual machine network cards, loopback network cards), and then set our USB network cards to a fixed IP: 2.0.0.11 (11 can be other values, but not set to 44, because SL04 box factory IP is: 2.0.0.44)
2: In the MA2 software, press Setup->MA Network Control->Station IP to select 127.0.0.1 (Session, don’t choose other IPs, don’t take it for granted to choose 2.x.x.x network card IP, and don’t choose box usb network card IP, as for why, please see the next article)
3: Setup->MA Network Configuration->DMX node->Add Add DMX node to MA2 software (if you don’t copy the plugin dll to MA2 directory, only 2 nodes will appear, if you copy the plugin dll to MA2 directory, there will be 4 nodes, no matter what the IP of the node is, just need to join, where 45/46 is sent by the box, 47/48 is sent by dll, if there is a dll, 45/46 will be closed)
4: Setup->Network Protocols->Art-Net Output Active (light up this button, if there is no output artnet, you can click it a few more times, and the artnet output will be reactivated, especially if the network card is replaced, for example, the original usb network card, now connect the LAN port with a network cable, you need to re-click the activation button several times to reactivate, and at the same time Delay(ms) is set to at least 1ms)
Follow the above 4 steps to operate, Ensure that you can crack and output Artnet, But you must not be convinced, I have to use the built-in network card, Can’t disable it.
That’s right, Then we undisable the built-in network card one by one, Disable each network card, Reopen MA2, See if the SL04 box has output artnet data, You can open the box dmxin to view and detect the data, If there is output, You can exclude this network card will intercept data, If there is no output, You need to focus on this network card, Change this network card to a different IP, Don’t change it to an IP that starts with 2, Changing to 192.168.x.x or simply not setting the IP address will basically solve the problem.
Please note: Don’t take it for granted that the built-in network card is set to 2 network segments, Our box usb network card is also set to 2 network segments, As long as the IP is different, MA2 will send Artnet data and MA-NET data to these 2 network cards, This is impossible, MA2 will only select 1 network card for artnet data transmission, It will not be sent to 2 network cards at the same time, But it is most likely to be sent to the built-in network card, Because the priority of the built-in network card is higher.
If you want to use the built-in network card, how to solve it?
You can connect the built-in network card and the LAN port of the SL04 box through the network cable (the box USB needs to be connected to the power adapter for power supply), or both can be connected to the switch, so that you can.
Note that the built-in NIC needs to be set to an IP address starting with 2.
Summary:
A: If the computer is connected to our usb network card, the built-in network card can not set the IP that starts with 2, if the built-in network card is set with the IP starting with 2, because the built-in network card has a high priority, it will intercept the data sent by the MA first, and the MA data only goes to the built-in network card, and will not go to the USB network card outside our box, so it will cause problems.
B: If the built-in network card of the computer is connected to the LAN port of our SL04 box through the network cable, the built-in network card must be set to the IP starting with 2, MA All data is transmitted through the built-in network card, and at the same time will be transmitted to the box through the LAN port of the box, of course, the built-in network card can also be connected to the switch, then other devices can be connected to the switch for data transmission.
8: Why should the delay of MA2 Artnet be set to more than 1ms?
Answer: The maximum refresh rate of dmx512 is 44Hz, and when sending Artnet from MA2, the maximum refresh rate between packets cannot be set to 0ms, and no interval will exceed the maximum refresh rate of DMX512, causing the lights to flicker occasionally.
how to do:
In the Artnet settings, the delay time is set to at least 1ms< br/>
This is the sending interval between packets, it cannot be set to 0ms, if the 8 universe are set to 1ms, the total refresh rate is already 1000/(8x1ms)=125Hz, the 4 universe are 1000/(4x1ms)=250Hz, if set to 2ms, the total refresh rate of the 8 ports is 1000/(8x2ms)=62.5Hz, which has exceeded the maximum refresh rate of dmx512, so at least 1ms needs to be set to give up the CPU processing time, Otherwise, it is easy to cause downstream equipment data jams, resulting in occasional flickering of the lamp.
MA Official Website Description:
See the picture delay setting instructions.
If you have a built-in NIC (the built-in NIC can be regarded as a number 1 NIC number), do not set the built-in NIC to a valid Artnet IP address, which means that the built-in NIC cannot set the CIDR block starting with 2.
Why is the Session IP set to 127.0.0.1, please see the “Important” of the official help instructions: if you use a onPC, then you do not need to make a valid Art-Net IP…
9: The first time to use the SL04 box, how to set the usb network card IP
Answer: Please click here for detailed graphic descriptions:http://hahan123.com/sl04/net_set_en.html
10: The browser cannot enter the solution of SL04 box WebAPP
Answer: The built-in http server of the SL04 box is completely developed by ourselves, and does not call any third-party libraries.
SL04 single-chip microcomputer memory and flash size are very small, in order to improve the single-chip microcomputer processing speed and reduce the size of the program, the written http service code uses a lot of skills, the code is very concise, so there are some exceptions that are not particularly important, we have not done to deal with them, such as SSL certificate, strict verification of cookies, etc.
Because the computer’s browser is basically used every day, long-term use will save a large amount of garbage data on the local computer, if some data happens to conflict with the data of the box, it will cause some unexpected small problems, such as other characters in the box input bar, simple console faders can not be pushed, etc., and even can not enter the WebAPP.
This problem can be solved by clearing the browser cache, and if there are any browsing problems, you can do this, or you can try a different browser.
If you can’t open the box WebAPP, It’s very likely that http automatically adds s, It becomes https, You can click the mouse on the browser’s IP bar, Press enter a few more times, The browser will clear https’s SSL encrypted connection 443 port, Go to http ordinary 80 port.
Please click here for detailed graphic descriptions:
http://hahan123.com/2024/11/28/the-browser-cannot-enter-the-sl04-box-webapp-method/
Note: The memory of the box is very small, if you open multiple browsing pages, the inside of the box is memory sharing, keep a long connection, if you do not use webAPP for a long time, it is recommended to close the web page, otherwise it will always keep the connection.
11: SL04 Activation Precautions, Why is there an activation operation, and what is the significance of the activation operation?
Answer: When you use the SL04 for the first time, you need to activate the SL04 box on the Internet to use it.
Note: In the old 5.1 version of the firmware, the SL04 activation operation can only be activated by connecting the Type-C port of the box through the USB data cable, and the activation operation must not be carried out through the LAN port.
In the unlikely event that the activation is performed through the LAN port, the server will save your data but will not activate the box. At this time, if you activate again, it will show “ERROR: There is the same HWID in the database, please contact us to solve the problem: 1195722899@qq.com T=xx”, if show this text, you need to notify us (double-click on the Email bar, the information will be saved in the notepad file and downloaded to the local computer, send this information to us), we will operate in the background of the server, and then you can continue to activate through the USB interface.
After firmware version 5.3, there is no limit, and the LAN port can also be activated.
Why is there an activation operate and what is the significance of the activation operate?
A: The activation operation can ensure that the box is brand new to the customer.
B: The activation operation can turn the box into its own brand of products, which is very friendly to sellers and lighting project.
C: This activation information is required for box upgrade, and the information on the server will be checked before upgrading to verify whether it is correct.
12: How to ensure that the SL04 box can be activated successfully after one operation?
Answer: Please strictly follow the steps below to ensure success at the first time.
A: Make sure your computer can view our website http://AVLdiy.cn or http://www.hahan123.com
B: If the SL04 box is connected to your computer via usb, please make sure that our USB network card is set to 2.x.x.x IP, and disable other internal network cards or the internal network card is set to IP that is not 2 network segments, and the internal network card must not be set to the same network segment as our USB network card, so as to prevent the internal network card from having a high priority, intercepting the data delivered by the server, and causing the activation to be unsuccessful
C: If you use a LAN port to connect to the SL04 box (firmware version 5.3 or later), make sure that the built-in NIC connected to the LAN port is set to the IP address of 2.x.x.x
D: The browser clears the cache and cookies, and then browses http://2.0.0.44, please note that it is not https, many browsers will automatically add s
E: Enter the activation page, enter your name and email address, press activation, and you will automatically enter the setup interface of the webAPP after activation
Note: There is a limit to the number of activations, if the multiple activations are unsuccessful, please contact us, otherwise the server will think that it is a hacker attack, and will blacklist your IP and box, resulting in the box can never be activated, at this time, you need to contact us, we can continue to activate after confirmation.
13: When using other DMX control software for SL04 box and then using MA2, you need to pay attention to the following matters:
SL04 supports a lot of dmx control software, the use method is very simple, just copy our DLL plug-in to the running directory of the dmx software, you can use it without any settings.
However, it is important to note that:
If you have run other dmx control software with our plug-in, when you use MA2 onPC, you must restart the box once, because when running other software, other software will recognize that it is not MA onPC software, and will temporarily turn off the MA2-Net protocol of the box to save the CPU processing speed of the box, so if you want to use the MA2 onPC software, you need to restart the box once, and the box will reopen the MA2-Net protocol. (This means that if you run other software that contains our plug-ins first, and then run MA2 onPC, you need to restart the box once to restore the MA2-Net protocol when the other software was temporarily shut down)
14: The question of whether the MA software needs a plug-in
Answer: If you only use the SL04 box to control the lights, you do not need to copy the winusb.dll plug-in file to the ma2 directory, the SL04 box natively supports MA2 to unlock 4096 channels.
If you need to unlock 256 universe and 131072 parameters, you need to copy the winusb.dll plugin file to the ma2 directory.
Note: If the MA2 onPC parameters are 131072 not unlocked after copying the winusb.dll plug-in, please check if the winusb.dll is in the ma2 directory, if not or killed by the antivirus software, please close your antivirus software or add the winusb.dll to the antivirus software whitelist, and then copy the winusb.dll to the ma2 directory again. Because cracking software will use virus technology, it is easy to be detected, mistakenly killed and deleted by antivirus software. The antivirus software will scan the hard disk from time to time, so after copying, in case it is scanned, sometimes it will be killed, and the plug-ins of other control software are the same, in case it is deleted by the antivirus software by mistake, please add it to the antivirus software whitelist.
If there are winusb.dll plug-ins in the MA directory, but there are no 131072 parameters unlocked, nine times out of ten it is a multi-NIC problem, and the built-in NIC intercepts the data sent by MA to the SL04 box, resulting in failure to unlock, please refer to Article 7.
15: The SL04 box has been working normally, but now I can’t browse the WebAPP, and the DMX software can’t output to the box
Answer: Nine times out of ten, the fixed IP of the original network card will be automatically restored to DHCP, this problem we have encountered, if the network card is changed frequently, windows will inexplicably automatically clear the set IP, and it will automatically return to DHCP, this problem can only be asked to Microsoft, and we have nothing to do. Solution: Set the fixed IP address again.
16: In case I forgot the box IP, how to check, can I restore to the factory default IP: 2.0.0.44
Answer: If you forget the IP address of the SL04 box, the internal software of the box SL04_ToFactory can find the IP address of the box, or you can restore the box to the factory settings, no matter which network segment the IP of the SL04 box is set to, you can restore to the factory default IP=2.0.0.44
how to do:
A: First set the IP of the computer’s network card to a fixed IP address, IP is: 2.0.0.22 (the last 1 digit can also be other digits, regardless of whether the IP of the box is this network segment)
B: Press the ToFactory button, the box will be automatically restored to factory settings, IP=2.0.0.44
SL04_ToFactory software download address:
http://down.hahan123.com/down_server/SuperLightBox/SL04_ToFactory.exe
17: What is the download address of the box’s supporting software?
Answer: http://down.hahan123.com/down_server/SuperLightBox
18: Box firmware version and bug description
A: There is a bug in the box with the firmware version of 5.1, the USB network card will cause the lights to flash occasionally when sending big data, there is no problem with the LAN port sending and receiving data, the USB network card This bug needs to be upgraded and solved, you can send it back to us for upgrading, you can also wait for us to write the upgrade program, upgrade yourself, upgrade yourself need to disassemble the short circuit PCB upgrade button, it will be more troublesome. We’ll announce how to upgrade in the future.
B: The firmware is 5.3 or above, which solves all the bugs reported by customers, and there is no customer feedback at present, which is very stable.
19: Bug feedback
If you find any bugs, you can give us feedback, and it is recommended that you try to describe the usage scenarios as much as possible when giving feedback, such as: what software is used, whether you use a USB network card or LAN port, the computer system version, the control software version, what problems occur, and send the problem to 1195722899@qq.com or WeChat hahan4567
20: Video introduction
Feature Preview (October 29, 2024)
Watch on our site (preview 5 minutes): http://down.hahan123.com/down_server/SuperLightBox/video_teaching/00_preview.mp4
Watch on Bilibili (preview 5 minutes): https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1fhSiYwE6E/
Watch on YouTube (preview 5 minutes): https://youtu.be/zaZSpapx2yk
Watch on our site (detailed technical details 65 minutes): http://down.hahan123.com/down_server/SuperLightBox/video_teaching/01_preview.mp4
Watch on bilibili (detailed technical details 65 minutes): https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1FSSvYcENw/
21: Detailed description of technical
Answer: http://hahan123.com/sl04/sl04_en.html
22: How to tell if a box is good or bad
Answer: By observing the flashing state of the red light of the box, you can determine whether the box is good or bad, as long as the red light will flash 1 time in 1s, it means that the heartbeat of the box is normal and the box is good.
http://hahan123.com/sl04/help.html