Pixelblaze on Wolfmix

Troubleshooting
1

Hey everyone,

I’m looking for someone who can help me put together a system to control Pixelblaze with a Wolfmix DMX controller.

Right now I’ve got a Pixelblaze V3, a Wolfmix W1 MK2, and a Raspberry Pi 5. I’m guessing I still need a DMX-to-Art-Net converter, plus whatever programming is needed to get everything talking properly.

It’s a bit of a challenge, but I’m sure there’s a genius in here who can figure it out! :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

2

Hi and welcome!

You’re right – depending on exactly what you want to control and what the Wolfmix can output, you’ll need a DMX-to-Artnet or DMX-to-Ethernet converter box.

Once you get DMX data onto your network, take a look at my Art-Net->Pixelblaze control program on the github repo below and see if it does what you want. It’ll run easily on an rPI 5.

Things I know to watch out for:

  • Wi-Fi is fantastically unreliable for Art-Net in performance situations unless you control the router, and possibly get a high gain, directional antenna.
  • If you just want to control brightness/color/strobe rate and other relatively simple things via DMX, you won’t be sending much data over the air, and it will easier to build a reliable setup.
  • Sending lots of individual Art-Net pixel data over Wi-Fi can take some work to get right. And it may be really difficult or impossible in some situations. There are data encoding issues that I can explain further if you run into them, and signal strength and airtime contention issues that can cause trouble in crowded venues.
3

Thank you Zranger1.

Wolfmix sends dmx only. No Art-Net.So a bridge is needed. Do you suggest a dmx to Art-net or to Ethernet?

I just want to control brightness/color/strobe rate and other relatively simple things via DMX.

4

I use DMX/Artnet controller software with outboard MIDI control surfaces. Ethernet output is the default state. So I’m not absolutely certain about product recommendations for use w/dedicated DMX hardware. Something like this would do the job:

But I don’t have any great insight into specific brands or models. These boxes are all a bit expensive because they’re built for hard use. Like all touring gear, they’re physically really solid, and they also provide some electrical protection for your equipment.

There are ESP32/ESP8266 open source DIY solutions out there too, but unless you just want to experiment, it’s probably worth buying a pro box.

5

Just received the dmx-artnet node. Raspberry pi5 available too. Now how to proceed?

6

Zranger1 how to talk to you directly?

7

I’m traveling & mostly offline for the next few days. Will be back later this week. DM me here and I’ll answer as quickly as I can manage.