Light O Rama CMB24D DMX User manual

CMB24D DMX
24 Channel DC Controller
User Manual
June 1, 2013
V1.00
Copyright © Light O Rama, Inc. 2013

Table of Contents
Introduction.............................................................. 4
What’s in the Box..................................................... 5
Applications ............................................................. 5
Metal Tab Transistor Consideration......................... 6
Installing Heat Sinks ................................................ 6
Quick Start Guide .................................................... 7
Hardware Fundamentals ......................................... 8
LOR/DMX Network Selection Jumpers ................ 8
Setting the Unit ID (and DMX address) ................ 8
Reset the CMB24D .............................................. 9
Data Cable Connections ...................................... 9
Connecting to PC ............................................. 9
Connecting to Other Controllers ....................... 9
Status LED........................................................... 9
Auxiliary Power Input Barrel............................... 10
Channel Power Inputs........................................ 10
Channel Power Outputs ..................................... 11
Input Header (JP4)............................................. 11
Current Handling Considerations ....................... 12
Nitty-Gritty .......................................................... 13
Connecting Controller-to-PC Data Cable............... 13
Testing the CMB24D ............................................. 14
Designing and Playing a Sequence ....................... 15
Stand Alone Operation .......................................... 15
Troubleshooting..................................................... 16
Erratic Behavior When Lights Turned On........... 16
Refresh in the HWU fails to find the controller.... 17
AutoConfigure fails to find COM port.................. 17
Updating Controller Firmware................................ 18
DIP Switch Address Settings ................................. 20
Specifications......................................................... 27
Introduction
The CMB24D is a member of the Component line of
Light-O-Rama (LOR) products. It was designed to
control DC lighting or any DC device that will tolerate
a PWM modulated voltage. It is a microprocessor
based, intelligent controller that can perform a
number of lighting effects including dimming, fading,
shimmering and twinkling. It can be daisy-chained
with any mix of LOR controllers up to the maximum
of 240 controllers.
The CMB24D automatically detects and obeys either
LOR protocol or DMX protocol. It can be used with
the LOR Windows Showtime Software Suite. This
software allows you to design your sequences
(sequences are lighting control command sets),
arrange your sequences into shows and to schedule
and play your shows.
To allow your PC to communicate with this controller,
you will need one of Light O Rama’s RS485
adapters. When you purchase the Generic Starter
Package, you get the LOR Showtime Software, a 10’
Cat5 network cable and a choice of RS485 adapters.
Choose the adapter appropriate for your PC/laptop.
The RS485 adapter will allow you to connect your
PC/laptop via the Cat5 cable to your DC controller.
As with all LOR controllers, this controller is field
firmware upgradeable so you are guaranteed
compatibility with future LOR products.
This controller has Common Anode (common
positive) outputs. This means that the positive
voltage is applied to all outputs continuously and the
negative is switched.

CMB24D
5
Caution: Although most applications for this
product use low voltages, this product may be
used with dangerous DC voltages. It is important
that you have an understanding of electrical
wiring.
What’s in the Box
The CMB24D comes with a user manual. The latest
version of this manual is also available at
www.lightorama.com ►Support ►User Manuals ►
CMB24D User Manual.
Applications
The CMB24D can be controlled by another LOR
controller or, if you would like audio coordinated with
the controller, one of the LOR Show Directors or a
Windows PC. The CMB24D can also run a
standalone sequence. This means a set of lighting
(or other device) commands created using the
Windows Showtime Software can be downloaded
into the CMB24D. The CMB24D can use these
internally stored commands to direct itself and
additional controllers. See the Standalone Operation
section for more information.
The low voltage (safety) and standalone capabilities
allow the CMB24D to be deployed in a myriad of
remote applications with no additional hardware
being required. For example:
General LED lighting (spot lights, etc.)
Vehicle lighting (Bike, Car, Boat, etc.)
Landscaping, pool and pond lighting
DC Motors, solenoids, valves, relays
CMB24D
6
Metal Tab Transistor Consideration
CMB24D boards have transistors with metal tabs.
Heat sinks are not required if the current draw per
channel is 4 amps or less. The metal tab of the
transistor is electrically hot and a TO-220
insulating kit (mica wafer and screw grommet) is
required when mounting the transistors to metal
heat sinks. Also, keep this fact in mind when using
the board since it is possible to short out the metal
tab transistors.
Installing Heat Sinks
The CMB24D is not designed to easily attach
external heat sinks. The transistors are mounted
inside the edges of the board to make attachment of
controlled devices easier since the screw terminals
are on the outside edge of the board.
A small amount of thermal compound is needed to
facilitate the transfer of heat from the transistors to
the heat sink. Remember to use a TO-220
insulating kit. Put a 1/8” x 1/4” dab of heat sink
compound on the back surface of the transistor just
below the screw hole.
The mica wafer goes between the transistor and the
heat sink. There must be heat sink compound on
both sides of the wafer. Use a screw grommet to
prevent the screw from connecting the transistor’s
metal tab with the metal heat sink or use nylon
screws.
Put screws from the outside of the board through the
end two transistors and then align the heat sink with
these two screws and press it against the transistors.

CMB24D
7
Put a lock washer on each screw and a bolt, don’t
tighten the bolts yet. Do the same for the other ten
screws. Now tighten but don’t over-tighten the bolts.
Repeat the process for the other channel bank.
Quick Start Guide
This section assumes you have previous Light O
Rama hardware experience. It provides the minimum
needed to get the controller up and running.
The assumptions here are 12 volt DC power (or
greater) and loads not requiring heat sinks. Read the
Hardware Fundamentals section for more detail. See
Figure 1 in the Hardware Fundamentals section for
circuit board locations.
All DIP switches should be OFF except for switch 9.
This will set the Unit ID to 01.
Connect DC power to at least the Channels 1-12
Power Inputs. The Status LED should be blinking
about twice/second. Connect a DC load to +v and
the channel 1 power outputs.
Connect the CMB24D to your network and fire up the
Hardware Utility. The Status LED should go to
steady on. Refresh the controllers, select this
controller and use the Test Unit’s Operation section
to exercise the lights.
CMB24D
8
Hardware Fundamentals
Figure 1
LOR/DMX Network Selection Jumpers
This header allows the RJ45 network jacks to be
wired for LOR or DMX (E1.27-2) networks. The
previous image shows how the jumpers should be
positioned. All four jumper blocks are required in
either case. The jumpers are on the upper right of
Figure 1.
Setting the Unit ID (and DMX address)
Use the Unit Address Switches to set the controller’s
LOR/DMX network address. DIP switch positions 1-9

CMB24D
9
set the address. Refer to the DIP Switch Address
Settings section for the mapping of your desired
LOR/DMX address to DIP switch settings.
Legal LOR Network unit IDs are ‘01’ to ‘F0’
hexadecimal, in decimal that would be 1 to 240.
Legal DMX Network start addresses are 1 to 511
decimal.
Reset the CMB24D
To set all device parameters back to factory defaults
and erase any stand-alone program, power the
controller down, set DIP switch 12 to ON and power
it up. The Status LED will flash quickly. Power the
controller down and turn DIP switch 12 off.
Data Cable Connections
The two LOR/DMX network jacks are RJ45s.
Connecting to PC
To use Cat5 LAN cable to connect your controller to
the PC RS485 adapter, plug one end of the data
cable into the adapter and the other end into either
of the network jacks.
Connecting to Other Controllers
To use Cat5 LAN cable to connect your controller to
another controller, go from either network jack on
one controller to either RJ45 network jack on the
other controller.
Status LED
LED blinking approximately twice/second: The
controller has booted correctly and is waiting for
CMB24D
10
commands. The controller is not connected to an
active Light O Rama network or DMX universe.
LED is on solid: The controller is connected to an
active network (is receiving the heartbeat and
commands from a PC, a Show Director, another
controller or DMX source.)
LED blinks quickly: The controller is resetting
because DIP switch 12 is on.
LED blinks on for a long pulse and off for a short
pulse: The controller firmware needs to be
downloaded. See the Updating Controller Firmware
section.
Auxiliary Power Input Barrel
Use a 12 to 24 volt DC, 300 milliamp external power
supply here if the power input to channels 1-12 is
less than 12 volts DC.
If the main power input to channels 1-12 is 12 volts
DC or greater, the microprocessor and accessory
power supplies will be derived from it.
The center pin of the power barrel is positive.
Channel Power Inputs
Bank power input connections are made with lugs.
Figure 1 shows the two channel bank power inputs
on the left. The bottom power input is for channels 1
to 12. If this input is at 12 volts DC or higher, it will
automatically be used to power the circuit board logic
and accessories (like wireless.) If the DC power to
channels’ 1-12 input is less than 12 volts DC, see the
Auxiliary Power Input Barrel section.

CMB24D
11
You may use different voltages on channel banks 1-
12 and 13-24. The ground between the two channel
banks is common, but you must use both grounds
when using the board to switch more than 30 amps.
Channel Power Outputs
Figure 2
All output connections are made with screw
terminals.
Figure 2 shows the power output connections for
channels 1 through 6. The silk-screening on the
board labels each channel (negative connection) and
their shared positive connections.
Remember that DC loads can be polarity sensitive. If
you find that LEDs connected to the outputs do not
light, try swapping the positive and negative
connections.
Input Header (JP4)
The next figure shows how to connect a push button
switch to the controller’s input header to start a
standalone sequence.
Currently, only ‘Input 1’ is supported for stand-alone
sequence starting. (All inputs can be used for
interactive shows.) The standalone sequence in the
CMB24D will start when the push button is pressed.
CMB24D
12
If you use a toggle switch, the sequence will run until
the switch it turned off.
The sequence always runs to completion, even if the
toggle switch is turned off in the middle.
Hold the board with the “JP4” label as shown in the
following figure for correct pin assignments.
Current Handling Considerations
This board has metal tab transistors that will easily
handle 4 amps each without a heat sink. For this
reason LOR does not include heat sinks with the
board. 4 amps times 24 channels is 96 amps which
exceeds the total current carrying capacity of the
board. The board is rated at 30 amps maximum per
12 channel bank.
Trial and error is a reasonable way to determine if
your loads are within acceptable limits. Connect up
your load and use the Hardware Utility to slowly
increase the intensity. If your voltage is 12v or less,
see how warm the transistors get, if you can’t touch

CMB24D
13
it, it needs a heat sink. If your voltage is higher
where it might be dangerous to touch the metal tab
of the transistor, use a thermometer.
Nitty-Gritty
This section is for technical types who are not sure
whether their application would be a good match for
the CMB24D.
There are two banks of MOSFETs, bank 1 for output
channels 1 to 12, and bank 2 for output channels 13
to 24. The positive outputs of a bank are all tied
together (common anode) and connected through
their fuse to the positive power input. A MOSFET is
used to ground the load connected to its channel, so
positive power is always present at the load.
The MOSFETs are Pulse Width Modulated at 400
Hz. 1/400th second = 2.5 milliseconds. There are 240
possible intensities. This means that in each 400th of
a second, the grounding pulse is somewhere
between 0/240*2.5 ms (off) and 240/240*2.5ms (full
on.)
Connecting Controller-to-PC Data
Cable
If you have not installed your RS485 adapter, do it
now. If you have an SC485 (PC serial port adapter,
shown on the left below), you need only plug it into
an available PC 9-pin serial port. The cable from an
SC485 serial adapter to the first controller is limited
to 100’ or less. Cable length to the first controller is
not so limited for USB adapters.
CMB24D
14
If you have one of the USB adapters (shown center
and right above), follow the installation instructions
that came with the adapter.
Testing the CMB24D
To perform this test, the CMB24D must have a unit
address between ‘01’ and ‘F0,’ and it must be
powered up and connected to the PC. The LED on
the CMB24D should be blinking twice/second before
the CMB24D is connected to a PC running the
Hardware Utility.
In the Max Units section of the Hardware Utility
window, click the Change button. Move the slider in
the Change Maximum Units box so that the Max
Units is set to 10. (Unless you are using unit
addresses above 10 hexadecimal) This will limit the
search for controllers to the first 16 unit IDs,
otherwise 240 controllers will be searched for –
taking a long time. Click the Save button.
In the Select Unit to Configure..Download..Test
section of the Hardware Utility screen, click the
Refresh button to locate the attached CMB24D
controller. Select the controller from the drop down
menu to the right of the Refresh Button.
The Test Unit’s Operation section of the screen
should be active. Attach some lights into your

CMB24D
15
controller and use the sliders and buttons in this
section to test your controller.
Designing and Playing a Sequence
Lighting commands for your shows are called
Sequences and are designed and implemented
using the Sequence Editor Windows software.
Stop the Hardware Utility. You will not be able to
command your controller from the Sequence Editor if
the Hardware Utility is running. Only one program
may use the RS485 adapter at a time to talk to Light
O Rama controllers.
There are Quick Start Guides for creating animation
(non-musical) and musical sequences, Flash
Tutorials and much more at:
www.lightorama.com ►Support ►User Manuals
The following Wiki is also an excellent source of
information on all things Light-O-Rama:
www.lorwiki.com
There is also a very active and helpful Light-O-Rama
user community:
www.lightorama.com ►Forums
Stand Alone Operation
An animation sequence (sequence with no
accompanying audio) can be downloaded in the
CMB24D. This sequence can contain approximately
10,000 commands. These commands can also be
for controllers other than this CMB24D, so this
controller can direct a network of controllers. There is
CMB24D
16
no restriction on the types of controllers in this
network.
The sequence is designed and tested using the
Showtime Software Sequence Editor. When you are
happy with the sequence, save it and stop the
Sequence Editor.
Start the Hardware Utility and click the Refresh
button to find the CMB24D. Use the drop down menu
next to the Refresh button to select the CMB24D.
Click the Standalone button at the bottom of the
window. Select one of “Run when power is on,”
“Input (norm open switch)” or “Input (norm closed
switch.)” Click the Send Trigger info to Unit button.
Finally, Use the Open button to browse to your
sequence and click the Download button.
Troubleshooting
Erratic Behavior When Lights Turned On
The most likely cause is insufficient power. If the
CMB24D is being powered by the same power
supply as the lights/loads, turning them on may
cause a voltage drop and crash the microcomputer.
If you suspect that your power supply may not be up
to the task, see the Auxiliary Power Input Barrel
section. This section will explain how to power the
card logic independently of the loads.

CMB24D
17
Refresh in the HWU fails to find the
controller
Make sure the LOR/DMX Network Selection
Jumpers are in the LOR position. See the LOR/DMX
Network Selection Jumpers section.
Make sure the Unit ID switches are set to a legal
LOR unit ID. See the Setting the Unit ID (and DMX
address) section.
Make sure the Status LED is on steady when the
controller is connected to the PC running the
Hardware Utility, otherwise you may have selected
the wrong communications port or there is a problem
with your RS485 adapter or cabling.
AutoConfigure fails to find COM port
Make sure the LOR/DMX Network Selection
Jumpers are in the LOR position. Make sure the Unit
ID switches are set to a legal LOR unit ID. See
previous section.
If the COM port is not detected, you can manually
select it from the drop down list.
If you are not sure which COM port is the RS485
adapter and you have a USB adapter, stop the
Hardware Utility, disconnect the USB adapter from
the PC and start the Hardware Utility. Use the
Manual Select drop-down on the upper left to see
which comm ports you have. Then stop the
Hardware Utility, plug in the USB adapter, wait for it
to install and start the Hardware Utility. The drop-
down should show a new comm port, select it.
CMB24D
18
If you are not sure which COM port is the RS485
adapter and you have a serial port RS485 adapter,
you will have to consult your PC’s documentation; it
is normally COM1, COM2 or COM3.
Updating Controller Firmware
Periodically, Light-O-Rama will distribute new
firmware for the CMB24D. If you believe you need
updated firmware, use the Hardware Utility to
determine your current firmware version. Use the
Refresh button to find your controller and check its
firmware version. The drop-down menu to the right of
the Refresh button will be filled in with the attached
controllers. The right part of the controller name in
this drop-down is the current firmware version.
If the controller type or firmware version is not
present, get the latest software that your license
permits from www.lightorama.com ►Software. Run
the program downloaded to install the software and
devices text file. Retry the Refresh operation.
The latest firmware can be found by going to
www.lightorama.com ►Support ►Firmware. Find
your controller type and roll the mouse over the
Firmware button – look at the bar in the lower left of
the browser window. It will show the name of the
firmware file. The file name contains the version at
the end. If the version number is greater than what
you saw in the Hardware Utility, new firmware is
available. Click the Firmware button to download the
firmware installer to your PC – remember where you
put it.
To load new firmware, use a data cable (not
wireless) to connect the controller(s) to the PC. Start

CMB24D
19
the Hardware Utility and click the Refresh button to
find your controller(s). Select the one you want to
update from the drop-down menu to the right of the
Refresh button. Click the Firmware button at the
bottom of the window.
In the Firmware section of the window, under Step 1
– Select Unit, select the unit listed above. Under
Step 2 – Select Firmware File, use the Open button
to browse to the firmware file you downloaded.
Under Step 3 – Press Download Button click the
Download button. Do not interrupt this process. Your
controller will reboot after the download completes.
You can click the Refresh button to see that the new
firmware was loaded into your controller. Repeat this
process for additional controllers.
CMB24D
20
DIP Switch Address Settings
‘1’ means On and ‘0’ means Off.
DMXStartLORIDSwitch1‐9DMXStartSwitch1‐9
101000000001257100000001
202000000010258100000010
303000000011259100000011
404000000100260100000100
505000000101261100000101
606000000110262100000110
707000000111263100000111
808000001000264100001000
909000001001265100001001
100A000001010266100001010
110B000001011267100001011
120C000001100268100001100
130D000001101269100001101
140E000001110270100001110
150F000001111271100001111
1610000010000272100010000
1711000010001273100010001
1812000010010274100010010
1913000010011275100010011
2014000010100276100010100
2115000010101277100010101
2216000010110278100010110
2317000010111279100010111
2418000011000280100011000
2519000011001281100011001
261A000011010282100011010
271B000011011283100011011
281C000011100284100011100
291D000011101285100011101
301E000011110286100011110
311F000011111287100011111
3220000100000288100100000
3321000100001289100100001
3422000100010290100100010
3523000100011291100100011
3624000100100292100100100
3725000100101293100100101
3826000100110294100100110