How can I stop Minder being the clock Source ?

How can I stop Minder being the clock Source ?

I have a PC interface that has the clock enabled
All other output devices have clock off.

Leave minder powered down (Which I dont think matters as the CBUS simm is powered by CBUS.)

The PC interface has clock enabled All works clean and fine. Power up minder

1 or 2 weeks later I check and the PC interface is no longer the clock source and the LED on the minder SIMM is flashing indicating it is the source. Which in the end does not really matter if all worked

The problem I have noticed. When PC interface is clock everything works perfectly. When Minder the clock some messages seem to get lost. EG I press a scene on the touch screen and all lights respond except 1 Press scene again and works fine.

What event has to happen for the fairy to change clock sources.. ??
Why is the minder not a good clock source ??

Charles

 

Charlie

The clock source feature in Minder is always enabled, there is nothing you can do to turn it off.

The Minder product has been around for some time now. Over the years various improvements have been made to the C-Bus circuitry on standard C-Bus products but unfortunately this has not applied to Minder. It is still using the same C-Bus interface circuitry as when it was first released. The only guess I can make is that the old nature of the transceiver circuitry is slightly less reliable but that's only an educated opinion on my part. You might like to try changing your burden setting, that might tame things down.

Anything that causes a momentary interruption to the data clock can be enough to press the fairy into service. If there's a disruption in power, a burst of EMI, brown-out or loose connection on a unit somewhere are all reasons for the clock fairy to break out the magic wand.
The code in the Minder PCI is quite antiquated and all too keen to do the clocking job. She's a mean step-sister and all the other potential Cinderellas are far too kind to tell her to get stuffed.

 

Doesn't it tend to go to the Highest or lowest Unit Address or some such? if so by making the minder UA the Lowest or the Highest as appropriate would that make it unlikely that it would get set?

 

A mechanism like that would have to assume that all units fight on even terms, but minder doesn't play fair in that regard and so she eventually wins. "I'm in charge!!!" she screams as all the other units go and cower in the kitchen.

 

I have had a similar sounding problem with a c-bus project that, touch wood, appears to have been resolved by enabling both the CLOCK & BURDEN on minder.

 

Since Minder always takes over being the clock. I enabled the burden here as well (the little jumper)

Things work very nicely now.

Is is generaly good practice to have the burden and Clock on the same unit ??

I wish there was some way to kill off this mean step-sister so all the other potential Cinderellas could be the clock. (with out decommissioning minder !!)

 

Yes it is, but the main reason for doing so is that on many C-Bus devices that have a software burden the burden can only be enabled if the clock is enabled also. It makes life much easier for keeping track of the unit that's acting as the network burden. The electrical benefits from doing so are small, but do exist none the less.

Sorry, no can do. . How about we discontinue the product instead?