Main Board Release Notes - v1.3

General Release Notes

The 1.3 revision to the mainboard solves a number of issues, but also changes some of the behavior of the device.

Major change: all ports are now electrically connected, which means that Pin 1 on the 3 pin connector is connected to Pin 1 of the 4 pin connector, etc. Please only connect 1 cable at a time to be tested.

Major change: the dial selector (with two exceptions) is a “how many pins to test selector” only, not a “which connectors to test” selector. Selecting “4” and plugging in an ethernet cable will only test the first four pins.

Exception 1: Position “5” is currently configured to only test 3 pins. Because your DMX cables are all wired without the extra pair, we wanted to maintain this behavior. So “5” means to test the first 3 pins, the same as the “3” option. This behavior can be changed via RDM.

Exception 2: Position “7” can only really be used with the 7P XLR connectors. The 7P connector strap is wired such that those pins are attached to pins 2 through 8 with pin 1 open, so it does not test Pin 1 at all. Additionally, selecting a number other than 7 with a 7P cable connected will test Pin 1, which will be open, and will fail.

RDM Configuration PIDs

There are 6 PIDs available for configuration using the DMX port on the rear of the device. Pins 4 and 5 of the DMX port are the “footswitch” pins and can be connected to a dry switch or contact closure interface. Pins 1-3 are the DMX/RDM interface.

It is recommended to use the RDM interface only in “push to test” mode as the test timing interferes with RDM communications.

Available RDM PIDs:

5P Pins to Test

How many pins to test when the dial selector is set to 5. Defaults to 3.

7P Pins to Test & 8P Pins to Test

How many pins to test when the dial selector is set to 7 and 8 respectively. Defaults to 7 and 8.

Setting this to 7 will trigger Exception 2 above, meaning that Pin 1 will not be tested, but pins 2-8 will be.

Enable Startup Flash

If set to 1, the panel will alternately flash the green and red lights when it is powered up. If set to 0, it will silently start up.

Delay Between Tests (ms)

This sets the delay between tests (in either pushbutton or continuous test modes). It defaults to 100ms. The purpose of this delay is to keep the Red and Green lights from flashing fast enough to “blend” if there’s a loose but not broken connection. If a test ever fails (at 100ms), the red light will visibly flash on for at least 1/10th of a second. If you set this too low, the red light may be glowing dimly rather than flashing.

Reducing this number, however, may reduce how long it takes to test cables in general, so it is a trade-off. We recommend keeping it above 50ms just for the sake of avoiding fading.

Pin Settling Time (us)

This sets the amount of time the device waits for a pin value to “settle” after it has changed. It defaults to 1000us, which is 1ms. If you are finding that shorter cables pass while larger cables fail, try increasing this value. There’s a relationship between cable capacitance and resistance and how long this value needs to be. In our testing, 1ms balances total time to test with clean readings from cables, but this parameter exists in case you have cables that are outside our testing range.

Board Replacement Instructions

Unplug the unit from power source.

Remove 15 screws from all sides except the back of the case:

4 screws on the face are circled.

Arrows indicate screws on the top (4), bottom (3), and sides (2 on each side).

There are 4 screws in the back, which DO NOT need to be removed.

Case will separate into two pieces. Unplug 5 molex connectors and 2 ribbon cables from existing main board.

Remove the 12 screws mounting the main board to the front face.

Old board will separate. Use 12 screws to reinstall new board with female connectors up.

Plug in the cables:

Plug in the ribbon cable to the 7p XLR module on the top of the new board.

Plug in the RDM 6p molex (connects to back of the case) below it.

Plug in the ribbon cable to the 8p RJ45 jack on the bottom of the board.

The remaining wires should be bundled. Plug them into the remaining 4 molex connections.

Reattach the 2 case halves with the remaining 15 screws.

Replacing the Lawrence Main Board (How-To)

Main Board Release Notes - v1.3

General Release Notes

RDM Configuration PIDs

Available RDM PIDs:

Board Replacement Instructions