Conflict

[PhilW]

I have been a home user for a now, started out using teach mode and now have progressed to changing options on the PC.
I am able to scan the network and have all the devices come up, using partial display, but when displaying full details I get an error.
Now I am unable to scan a device/neo switch. These are the error messages
1/ an internal error has occured
2/ unit recall failure

[ashleigh]

You most probably have units on the network at the same address (though usually the software warns you of this).

Select the option to automatically resolve unit conflicts, and re-scan the network. If it needs to it should detect conflicts and automatically re-address the units.

Once thats done, try opening the unit again.

[Tonyo]

I get similar messages all the time. It usually goes away when I retry or if I click on the device slot. I have never worked out what causes it but it is definitely not a real conflict
Tony

[PhilW]

Thanks Ashleigh & Tonyo,
I have selected option to automatically resolve unit conflicts, and the error has been with me for a couple of days now.
Could it have anything to do with the network burden? I have had problems in the past with it? I was sent a hardware network burden from the guys an Adelaide but have not needed it and at the moment would not know "where to put it"

[ashleigh]

Its possibly burden related. The thing to do is turn off all burdens EXCEPT ONE on your network, then plug the hardware burden into any free cbus RJ socket.

That will leave you with 2 burdens - then turn off the remaining software burden (don't forget to click the "save to database + network" button 2 times within a 10 sec period or the change won't be made.

Its probably best if the software burden that you leave turned on (and that you later turn off) is in the PC interface you are connecting through.

Be very careful - if you turn off all burdens and don't have a hardware burden in also, your network may become unusable, or may become very difficult to get workiong again!

In general you will need a burden unless you have a very big network.

[[IL]NewGen]

turn off software enabled burdens in large jobs and use the physical ones...

[PhilW]

Thanks guys, I will give it a go over the weekend.

[UncleDick]

I'm with you Michael, I like a Burden I can see, feel, touch, caress even fondle. You know where you are with a hardware Burden you can see that it's plugged in.

[znelbok]

this leads me to ask, where do you put the butden if you have all your din unit in the middle of the network (so that all rj ports are used)?

Is there a 'hub' out there that can allow for a star config of the network, and hence the use of a physical burden?

Mick

[Clyde]

I would have said any RJ45 network hub, wether 19U or smaller, can be used, as long as you use the correct pin configeration and label the unit as the c-bus network, and not to be used for anything other than that.
Pin config
1) Remote ON Green/White
2) Remote ON Green
3) C-Bus Neg Orange/White
4) C-Bus Pos Blue
5) C-Bus Neg Blue/White
6) C-Bus Pos Orange
7) Remote OFF Brown/White
8) Remote OFF Brown

[Ross]

I use and recommend...

http://www.integrate-oz.net/images/termmod.jpg

Cheers

[Tonyo]

Excuse my ignorance but I am not hardware literate. What is a burden and what is its role in the network?

[Tonyo]

Since I didn't install my c-bus system , how do I check if I have a burden (software or hardware)?

[znelbok]

Ross

you gave me some info before re the unit you use, but I have not been able to find anything for it. Are you able to elaborate on part numbers and or suppliers any more

Clyde

Have you actually used a hub for the c-bus network and can confirm that it works

Mick

[Clyde]

Yes Mick we have used a hub on the network and it does work, however if you are in the installation stage of your project, why goto the expense of installing a hub when moderate care in design means you end up with two cables back at your marshalling box, or origin. As much as possible we try to install daisey chain c-bus network cable around the project, with one end of the ring being terminated at a RJ45 Cat5e Outlet plate and the other end of the ring terminated into an RJ45 plug.

The RJ45 plug is installed into one RJ45 ports on our first din mounted output unit, the second port contains the network burden. We use the Cat5e Outlet plate for the connection to laptop. Care should be taken not to complete the ring of c-bus network cable. (Communication problems will be experienced if you do)

Why install a ring??

We have found that if the c-bus cable becomes damaged at some point you can remove the damaged portion of the cable, at adjacent input/output points
and then use the spare leg (cat5e outlet plate) to feed back to the units that would otherwise be lost.
You can still star wire units, but we only take them from a key input, as the termination of the cables can be carried out easily.

[[IL]NewGen]

if you got nowhere to put the burden here is another way you can attach it, you'll need one of the Clipsal RJ-45 sockets (not the RJ-45 connector) and some Pink C-Bus cable,

ok, now strip back one end loop it together (by the cbus colour standards) to a Key-Input, and punch down the otherend to the RJ-45 Socket, then plug the burden in and you're set...

is this theory workable ?! :D

[Clyde]

Workable yes , but if the burden is hidden behind a key input how do you know where it is, you might as well have used the software enabled burden, On a larger project, how many key inputs do you have to remove before it can be found.

[Clyde]

Sorry Newgen i missunderstood your post yep that would work, i think you meant a cat5e wall plate (RJ45 socket)

[[IL]NewGen]

well really, you should document everything you do for the job, that's how you (the installer) would and should know the job and the job back to front. :D

[znelbok]

[QUOTE=Clyde]Yes Mick we have used a hub on the network and it does work, however if you are in the installation stage of your project, why goto the expense of installing a hub when moderate care in design means you end up with two cables back at your marshalling box, or origin. As much as possible we try to install daisey chain c-bus network cable around the project, with one end of the ring being terminated at a RJ45 Cat5e Outlet plate and the other end of the ring terminated into an RJ45 plug.

Thanks CLyde
The only comment I can make is that when I designed the system in the house I had to connect to a seperate building (shed) as well and this put all the "points of origin" as you call it in the middle of the network. THis meant that there were only two cables in the junction boxes, both terminated in a cat5e surface mount enclosure. Being in the middle of the network means that both have to be connected and thus all the ports on the din rail modules are used.

This is clipsals recomendation for positioning of power supploes as well to minimise voltage drop.

I could always use a dual cat5e outlet and punch down the one cable into both outlets, one for the burden and the other for the continuation of the network.