wiki.openlighting.org - User contributions [en]

LLA, OpenDMX USB and Q Light Controller Tutorial

2015-10-26T17:20:20Z

Lpcollier: /* Ubuntu */

[[Category:Tutorials]]

=== Old tutorial, look for new methods ===

Since this tutorial was made, [[QLC]] from v. 3.0.4 comes with a driver for Enttec Open DMX USB (in a plugin called FTDI), and LLA changed name to [[OLA]].
See the mailing list archive of "QLC-devel" for more info for now (January 2010).

It should no longer be necessary to use [[OLA]] together with a Linux kernel driver, if you just want DMX output from [[QLC]] to an OpenDMX USB dongle attached to the same computer that runs QLC. However, if you want to use [[OLA]] with an OpenDMX USB dongle, you need to follow both the instructions for building the driver below and the new tutorial on installing [[OLA on Linux]].

== Purpose ==
To show the steps to get the Enttec Open DMX USB interface working with the Linux Lighting Architecture, a general framework for lighting applications in Linux(LLA), via Erwin Rol's driver. Also getting the Q Lighting Controller (QLC) to work with LLA. This allows QLC to be used with the Enttec OpenDMX USB interfaces on a 2.6 kernel, for which dmx4linux is not yet fully working.

This may also be useful for people with a different interface supported by LLA who need some pointers on how to get LLA working with QLC, in which case you need only read from "Download and install LLA" onwards.

==Introduction==

I got very excited when I first saw QLC (http://qlc.sourceforge.net/). Then I got slightly annoyed, then very frustrated trying to get it to work. I ended up using Slackware so that I could have a relatively modern distro with Linux 2.4 in order to use dmx4linux. But it's a hassle to reboot every time I want to play with DMX. The other alternative is to use LLA, but this requires a separate computer for the Live CD.

LLA is available as packages for a standard distro, but needs an extra driver to work with Enttec OpenDMX USB, which is included on the Live CD but not in the standard packages.

This tutorial assumes you're using Ubuntu 7.04 (Fiesty Fawn), but should be usable for any apt-based distro. Could probably be adapted for rpm-based too.

This tutorial is deliberately quite verbose: although it could have been presented as one long cut'n'paste or a shell script, a walkthrough is more helpful for actually learning what's going on and will get out of date more slowly.

It would be really useful if users of other distros could modify this tutorial to make it more universal, or create other pages for distro-specific information.

==Operating System==

Install one of the supported linux distributions onto your machine: Ubuntu [http://www.ubuntu.com], Fedora [http://www.fedoraproject.org] or CentOS [http://www.centos.org]

==Prerequisite packages==
===GIT and Cogito===
These are used to download source code.

Ubuntu:
<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install git-core cogito curl
</pre></code>

Centos/Fedora:
<code><pre>
yum install git-core cogito curl
</pre></code>

===Kernel===
We need this in order to be able to compile the modules

Ubuntu:
<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install linux-source
</pre></code>

You may also need these:
<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install linux-headers-$(uname -r)
</pre></code>

Centos/Fedora:
<code><pre>
yum install kernel-devel
</pre></code>

===Alien (Ubuntu only)===
We will need to install some RPM files at some point (bah!)

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install alien
</pre></code>

===Build essentials===
We're going to be building source, so we need the standard libraries:

Ubuntu:
<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install build-essential
</pre></code>

Centos/Fedora:
<code><pre>
yum install buildsys-build
</pre></code>

(if you're following this on a non-debian-style distibution, you need the libc, libstcd++ development files, C compiler etc.)

==Build and install the usb kernel module==

Erwil Rol's driver allows the Enttec OpenDMX USB driver to work with LLA.

It's best to make sure that you're running the kernel that you're intending to use - if you've upgraded from previous versions of Ubuntu you may have several versions hanging around. Removing old ones using Synaptic is probably a good idea.

===Compile and install driver===

<code><pre>
cd ~
mkdir dmx-software
cd dmx-software
git clone git://github.com/lowlander/dmx_usb_module.git
cd dmx_usb_module
make
sudo cp ./dmx_usb.ko /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/kernel/drivers/usb/serial
sudo depmod
</pre></code>

==== Kernel 2.6.37 and newer kernels ====
'''This should no longer be required if you are using the newer code from git://github.com/lowlander/dmx_usb_module.git; indeed the newer code has been confirmed to compile on a 3.1.9 kernel.''' The info below is left for historic reference:

* save as "dmx_usb,patch"
* patch < dmx_usb,patch

<pre><nowiki>
--- ../b/dmx_usb.c 2011-08-28 20:27:57.929828288 +0300
+++ dmx_usb.c 2011-08-28 20:32:41.075288289 +0300
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@

/* prevent races between open() and disconnect() */
-static DECLARE_MUTEX (disconnect_sem);
+static DEFINE_SEMAPHORE(disconnect_sem);

/* local function prototypes */
//static ssize_t dmx_usb_read (struct file *file, char *buffer, size_t count, loff_t *ppos);
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@

/* .read = dmx_usb_read, */
.write = dmx_usb_write,
- .ioctl = dmx_usb_ioctl,
+ .unlocked_ioctl = dmx_usb_ioctl,
.open = dmx_usb_open,
.release = dmx_usb_release,
};
@@ -618,7 +618,7 @@
}
memset (dev, 0x00, sizeof (*dev));

- init_MUTEX (&dev->sem);
+ sema_init(&dev->sem, 1);
dev->udev = udev;
dev->interface = interface;
</nowiki></pre>

===Blacklist the other serial drivers===
Because this dongle uses a usb to serial converter chip, it's recognised by the hotplug/udev/hal system and drivers are loaded - unfortunately not ones that work with QLC. The workaround is to blacklist the alternative drivers. If you have other usb to serial converters then they will stop working - if you need these then you will have to delve into the source and change the USB device IDs that the drivers detect... here we will go for the quick and dirty solution.

====Ubuntu====
With your favourite text editor, as root/sudo, edit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist e.g.:

<code><pre>
sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
</pre></code>

add the following lines:

<code><pre>
blacklist usbserial
blacklist usb-serial
blacklist ftdi_sio
</pre></code>

====Centos/Fedora====
I do not know of any blacklisting in redhat based distros so just delete the offending module

<code><pre>
mv /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/usb/serial/ftdi_sio.ko /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/usb/serial/ftdi_sio.ko.disabled
depmod -a
</pre></code>

===Remove the brltty package (Ubuntu only)===
According to Synaptic, "BRLTTY is a daemon which provides access to the Linux console (text mode) for a blind person using a soft braille display". Unfortunately it has a habit of interfering with anything that looks like it might be a serial console, USB to serial devices included. There's probably a more elegant workaround, but we'll go for the quick and dirty again, and remove it:

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get remove brltty
</pre></code>

===Test the driver===
Plug in your dongle!! Hopefully all will go well, and if you type:

<code><pre>
dmesg
</pre></code>

you should see:

<pre>
DMX USB device now attached to dmx192
</pre>

If you've got other modules loading, ftdi serial drivers, etc. then something's wrong.

==Download and install LLA==
LLA is Linux Lighting Architecture, a general framework for lighting applications in Linux. It's available as a live CD, but we're just using the package as a way to interface QLC with the USB driver. More info about LLA on its webpage.

===Install the packages===
====Ubuntu====
There are debian packages available at the time of writing. Add the packages to your sources file:

<code><pre>
sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
</pre></code>

Add the following line at the end:

<code><pre>
deb http://www.nomis52.net/data/debian ./
</pre></code>

Install the packages:

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install liblla0 llad llad-console lla-examples
</pre></code>

====Centos/Fedora====
There are packages available for CentOS 4 and 5 and Fedora 5,6,7 & 8 at the time of writing. You need to add the netmindz.net repo to yum

<code><pre>
yum install http://rpms.netmindz.net/all/noarch/RPMS.netmindz/netmindz-repo-1.1.3-1.noarch.rpm
</pre></code>

This will create a new file in /etc/yum.repos.d/netmindz.repo and register the GPG key used to sign netmindz.net packages

Install the packages:

<code><pre>
yum install lla llad-console lla-examples
</pre></code>

===Test the installation===
With your dongle connected as in section 3, you're now ready to test. Connect a DMX device up to your dongle, make sure you know the channel number it's on, make sure it's working correctly, make sure you got the polarity in your DMX lead right, etc. etc. Being sure that the dongle/hardware/software combination is the only weak link will save a lot of hair-pulling...

Fix the permissions on /dev/dmx:

chmod a+rw /dev/dmx

First, start the daemon with debug mode on:

llad -d 3 -f -s

Next, in another terminal find out what number the OpenDMX device is:

<code><pre>
lla_dev_info
</pre></code>

you should get something like:

<pre>
Device 2: Open DMX USB Device
</pre>

If you can't see 'Open DMX USB Device' in there somewhere, then you haven't got the kernel driver installed properly. Go straight to jail, do not pass go.

Assuming everything is OK, you need to patch this device so we can use it:

<code><pre>
lla_patch -d2 -p0 -u0
</pre></code>

(replace -d2 with whichever device number is your Open DMX USB)

now do:

<code><pre>
lla_dev_info
</pre></code>

and it should say

<code><pre>
Device 2: Open DMX USB Device
port 0, cap OUT, universe 1
</pre></code>

Finally:

<code><pre>
lla_dmxconsole
</pre></code>

and play with the console!

Don't forget to remove your test patch afterwards:

<code><pre>
lla_patch -r -d2 -p0 -u0
</pre></code>

==Download and install the latest build of QLC==
====Ubuntu====
Finally! There are Ubuntu/Debian packages, but at the time of writing they're not the most up-to-date and don't include the LLA plugin. You could compile from source, but the most recent RPM packages work fine and save time and hassle.

<code><pre>
cd ~/dmx-software
wget http://rpms.netmindz.net/FC6/i386/RPMS.netmindz/qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
</pre></code>

<code><pre>
sudo alien qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
</pre></code>

wait a long time... (don't worry about the warnings)... then:

<code><pre>
sudo dpkg -i qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.deb
sudo apt-get install libqt3-mt
</pre></code>

====Centos/Fedora====

<code><pre>
yum install qlc
</pre></code>

Now try it:

<code><pre>
sudo qlc &
</pre></code>

QLC should run OK. Don't get too excited yet, there's one more step...

==Put it all together==
We now need a script that will start the lla daemon, patch the adaptor to the DMX universe (QLC uses 1 by default, LLA uses 0) and start QLC. This should do it:

<code><pre>
#!/bin/bash
gksudo killall llad
sleep 2s
sudo llad
sleep 5s
sudo lla_patch -d2 -p0 -u1
sleep 2s
sudo qlc &
</pre></code>

save it as something memorable (I use qlc-start) and make sure it's executable:

<code><pre>
chmod u+x qlc-start
</pre></code>

and you're away!

LLA, OpenDMX USB and Q Light Controller Tutorial

2007-10-11T20:27:59Z

Lpcollier:

[[Category:Tutorials]]

== Purpose ==
To show the special steps to get the Enttec Open DMX USB interface working with LLA via Erwin Rol's driver, then get QLC to work with LLA. This allows QLC to be used with the Enttec OpenDMX USB interfaces on a 2.6 kernel, for which dmx4linux is not yet fully working.

This may also be useful for people with a different interface supported by LLA who need some pointers on how to get LLA working with QLC, in which case you only need follow from "Download and install LLA" onwards.

==Introduction==

I got very excited when I first saw QLC (http://qlc.sourceforge.net/). Then I got slightly annoyed, then very frustrated trying to get it to work. I ended up using Slackware so that I could have a relatively modern distro with Linux 2.4 in order to use dmx4linux. But it's a hassle to reboot every time I want to play with DMX. The other alternative is to use LLA, but this requires a separate computer for the Live CD.

LLA is available as packages for a standard distro, but needs an extra driver to work with Enttec OpenDMX USB, which is included on the Live CD but not in the standard packages.

This tutorial assumes you're using Ubuntu 7.04 (Fiesty Fawn), but should be usable for any apt-based distro. Could probably be adapted for rpm-based too.

This tutorial is deliberately quite verbose: although it could have been presented as one long cut'n'paste or a shell script, a walkthrough is more helpful for actually learning what's going on and will get out of date more slowly.

It would be really useful if users of other distros could modify this tutorial to make it more universal, or create other pages for distro-specific information.

==Operating System==

Pretty obvious, but... get the latest Ubuntu installed on your machine. http://www.ubuntu.com

==Prerequisite packages==
===GIT and Cogito===
These are used to download source code.

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install git-core cogito curl
</pre></code>

===Kernel source===
We need this in order to be able to compile the modules

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install linux-source
</pre></code>

===Alien===
We will need to install some RPM files at some point (bah!)

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install alien
</pre></code>

===Build essentials===
We're going to be building source, so we need the standard libraries:

<code><pre>
apt-get install build-essential
</pre></code>

(if you're following this on a non-debian-style distibution, you need the libc, libstcd++ development files, C compiler etc.)

==Build and install the usb kernel module==

Erwil Rol's driver allows the Enttec OpenDMX USB driver to work with LLA.

It's best to make sure that you're running the kernel that you're intending to use - if you've upgraded from previous versions of Ubuntu you may have several versions hanging around. Removing old ones using Synaptic is probably a good idea.

===Compile and install driver===

<code><pre>
cd ~
mkdir dmx-software
cd dmx-software
git-clone http://www.erwinrol.com/git/dmx_usb_module/
cd dmx_usb_module
make
sudo cp ./dmx_usb.ko /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/kernel/drivers/usb/serial
sudo depmod
</pre></code>

===Blacklist the other serial drivers===
Because this dongle uses a usb to serial converter chip, it's recognised by the hotplug/udev/hal system and drivers are loaded - unfortunately not ones that work with QLC. The workaround is to blacklist the alternative drivers. If you have other usb to serial converters then they will stop working - if you need these then you will have to delve into the source and change the USB device IDs that the drivers detect... here we will go for the quick and dirty solution.

With your favourite text editor, as root/sudo, edit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist e.g.:

<code><pre>
sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
</pre></code>

add the following lines:

<code><pre>
blacklist usbserial
blacklist usb-serial
blacklist ftdi_sio
</pre></code>

===Remove the brltty package===
According to Synaptic, "BRLTTY is a daemon which provides access to the Linux console (text mode) for a blind person using a soft braille display". Unfortunately it has a habit of interfering with anything that looks like it might be a serial console, USB to serial devices included. There's probably a more elegant workaround, but we'll go for the quick and dirty again, and remove it:

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get remove brltty
</pre></code>

===Test the driver===
Plug in your dongle!! Hopefully all will go well, and if you type:

<code><pre>
dmesg
</pre></code>

you should see:

<pre>
DMX USB device now attached to dmx192
</pre>

If you've got other modules loading, ftdi serial drivers, etc. then something's wrong.

==Download and install LLA==
LLA is Linux Lighting Architecture, a general framework for lighting applications in Linux. It's available as a live CD, but we're just using the package as a way to interface QLC with the USB driver. More info about LLA on it's webpage.

===Install the packages===
There are debian packages available at the time of writing. Add the packages to your sources file:

<code><pre>
sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
</pre></code>

add the following line at the end:

<code><pre>
deb http://www.nomis52.net/data/debian ./
</pre></code>

Install the packages:

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install liblla0 llad llad-console lla-examples
</pre></code>

===Test the installation===
With your dongle connected as in section 3, you're now ready to test. Connect a DMX device up to your dongle, make sure you know the channel number it's on, make sure it's working correctly, make sure you got the polarity in your DMX lead right, etc. etc. Being sure that the dongle/hardware/software combination is the only weak link will save a lot of hair-pulling...

Fix the permissions on /dev/dmx:

chmod a+rw /dev/dmx

First, start the daemon with debug mode on:

llad -d 3 -f -s

Next, in another terminal find out what number the OpenDMX device is:

<code><pre>
lla_dev_info
</pre></code>

you should get something like:

<pre>
Device 2: Open DMX USB Device
</pre>

If you can't see 'Open DMX USB Device' in there somewhere, then you haven't got the kernel driver installed properly. Go straight to jail, do not pass go.

Assuming everything is OK, you need to patch this device so we can use it:

<code><pre>
lla_patch -d2 -p0 -u0
</pre></code>

(replace -d2 with whichever device number is your Open DMX USB)

now do:

<code><pre>
lla_dev_info
</pre></code>

and it should say

<code><pre>
Device 2: Open DMX USB Device
port 0, cap OUT, universe 1
</pre></code>

Finally:

<code><pre>
lla_dmxconsole
</pre></code>

and play with the console!

Don't forget to remove your test patch afterwards:

<code><pre>
lla_patch -r -d2 -p0 -u0
</pre></code>

==Download and install the latest build of QLC==
Finally! There are Ubuntu/Debian packages, but at the time of writing they're not the most up-to-date and don't include the LLA plugin. You could compile from source, but the most recent RPM packages work fine and save time and hassle.

<code><pre>
cd ~/dmx-software
wget http://rpms.netmindz.net/FC6/i386/RPMS.netmindz/qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
</pre></code>

'''Update:''' the above source is currently not working. You will need to find a version of QLC with the LLA patches, try http://www.lpcollier.net/QLC_OpenDMX.html or contacting the QLC development mailing list https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/qlc-devel

<code><pre>
sudo alien qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
</pre></code>

wait a long time... (don't worry about the warnings)... then:

<code><pre>
sudo dpkg -i qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
sudo apt-get install libqt3-mt
</pre></code>

Now try it:

<code><pre>
sudo qlc &
</pre></code>

QLC should run OK. Don't get too excited yet, there's one more step...

==Put it all together==
We now need a script that will start the lla daemon, patch the adaptor to the DMX universe (QLC uses 1 by default, LLA uses 0) and start QLC. This should do it:

<code><pre>
#!/bin/bash
gksudo killall llad
sleep 2s
sudo llad
sleep 5s
sudo lla_patch -d2 -p0 -u1
sleep 2s
sudo qlc &
</pre></code>

save it as something memorable (I use qlc-start) and make sure it's executable:

<code><pre>
chmod u+x qlc-start
</pre></code>

and you're away!

LLA, OpenDMX USB and Q Light Controller Tutorial

2007-10-11T20:10:24Z

Lpcollier:

[[Category:Tutorials]]

== Purpose ==
To show the special steps to get the Enttec Open DMX USB interface working with LLA via Erwin Rol's driver, then get QLC to work with LLA. This allows QLC to be used with the Enttec OpenDMX USB interfaces on a 2.6 kernel, for which dmx4linux is not yet fully working.

This may also be useful for people with a different interface supported by LLA who need some pointers on how to get LLA working with QLC, in which case you only need follow from "Download and install LLA" onwards.

==Introduction==

I got very excited when I first saw QLC (http://qlc.sourceforge.net/). Then I got slightly annoyed, then very frustrated trying to get it to work. I ended up using Slackware so that I could have a relatively modern distro with Linux 2.4 in order to use dmx4linux. But it's a hassle to reboot every time I want to play with DMX. The other alternative is to use LLA, but this requires a separate computer for the Live CD.

LLA is available as packages for a standard distro, but needs an extra driver to work with Enttec OpenDMX USB, which is included on the Live CD but not in the standard packages.

This tutorial assumes you're using Ubuntu 7.04 (Fiesty Fawn), but should be usable for any apt-based distro. Could probably be adapted for rpm-based too.

This tutorial is deliberately quite verbose: although it could have been presented as one long cut'n'paste or a shell script, a walkthrough is more helpful for actually learning what's going on and will get out of date more slowly.

It would be really useful if users of other distros could modify this tutorial to make it more universal, or create other pages for distro-specific information.

==Operating System==

Pretty obvious, but... get the latest Ubuntu installed on your machine. http://www.ubuntu.com

==Prerequisite packages==
===GIT and Cogito===
These are used to download source code.

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install git-core cogito curl
</pre></code>

===Kernel source===
We need this in order to be able to compile the modules

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install linux-source
</pre></code>

===Alien===
We will need to install some RPM files at some point (bah!)

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install alien
</pre></code>

===Build essentials===
We're going to be building source, so we need the standard libraries:

<code><pre>
apt-get install build-essential
</pre></code>

(if you're following this on a non-debian-style distibution, you need the libc, libstcd++ development files, C compiler etc.)

==Build and install the usb kernel module==

Erwil Rol's driver allows the Enttec OpenDMX USB driver to work with LLA.

It's best to make sure that you're running the kernel that you're intending to use - if you've upgraded from previous versions of Ubuntu you may have several versions hanging around. Removing old ones using Synaptic is probably a good idea.

===Compile and install driver===

<code><pre>
cd ~
mkdir dmx-software
cd dmx-software
git-clone http://www.erwinrol.com/git/dmx_usb_module/
cd dmx_usb_module
make
sudo cp ./dmx_usb.ko /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/kernel/drivers/usb/serial
sudo depmod
</pre></code>

===Blacklist the other serial drivers===
Because this dongle uses a usb to serial converter chip, it's recognised by the hotplug/udev/hal system and drivers are loaded - unfortunately not ones that work with QLC. The workaround is to blacklist the alternative drivers. If you have other usb to serial converters then they will stop working - if you need these then you will have to delve into the source and change the USB device IDs that the drivers detect... here we will go for the quick and dirty solution.

With your favourite text editor, as root/sudo, edit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist e.g.:

<code><pre>
sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
</pre></code>

add the following lines:

<code><pre>
blacklist usbserial
blacklist usb-serial
blacklist ftdi_sio
</pre></code>

===Remove the brltty package===
According to Synaptic, "BRLTTY is a daemon which provides access to the Linux console (text mode) for a blind person using a soft braille display". Unfortunately it has a habit of interfering with anything that looks like it might be a serial console, USB to serial devices included. There's probably a more elegant workaround, but we'll go for the quick and dirty again, and remove it:

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get remove brltty
</pre></code>

===Test the driver===
Plug in your dongle!! Hopefully all will go well, and if you type:

<code><pre>
dmesg
</pre></code>

you should see:

<pre>
DMX USB device now attached to dmx192
</pre>

If you've got other modules loading, ftdi serial drivers, etc. then something's wrong.

==Download and install LLA==
LLA is Linux Lighting Architecture, a general framework for lighting applications in Linux. It's available as a live CD, but we're just using the package as a way to interface QLC with the USB driver. More info about LLA on it's webpage.

===Install the packages===
There are debian packages available at the time of writing. Add the packages to your sources file:

<code><pre>
sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
</pre></code>

add the following line at the end:

<code><pre>
deb http://www.nomis52.net/data/debian ./
</pre></code>

Install the packages:

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install liblla0 llad llad-console lla-examples
</pre></code>

===Test the installation===
With your dongle connected as in section 3, you're now ready to test. Connect a DMX device up to your dongle, make sure you know the channel number it's on, make sure it's working correctly, make sure you got the polarity in your DMX lead right, etc. etc. Being sure that the dongle/hardware/software combination is the only weak link will save a lot of hair-pulling...

Fix the permissions on /dev/dmx:

chmod a+rw /dev/dmx

First, start the daemon with debug mode on:

llad -d 3 -f -s

Next, in another terminal find out what number the OpenDMX device is:

<code><pre>
lla_dev_info
</pre></code>

you should get something like:

<pre>
Device 2: Open DMX USB Device
</pre>

If you can't see 'Open DMX USB Device' in there somewhere, then you haven't got the kernel driver installed properly. Go straight to jail, do not pass go.

Assuming everything is OK, you need to patch this device so we can use it:

<code><pre>
lla_patch -d2 -p0 -u0
</pre></code>

(replace -d2 with whichever device number is your Open DMX USB)

now do:

<code><pre>
lla_dev_info
</pre></code>

and it should say

<code><pre>
Device 2: Open DMX USB Device
port 0, cap OUT, universe 1
</pre></code>

Finally:

<code><pre>
lla_dmxconsole
</pre></code>

and play with the console!

Don't forget to remove your test patch afterwards:

<code><pre>
lla_patch -r -d2 -p0 -u0
</pre></code>

==Download and install the latest build of QLC==
Finally! There are Ubuntu/Debian packages, but at the time of writing they're not the most up-to-date and don't include the LLA plugin. You could compile from source, but the most recent RPM packages work fine and save time and hassle.

<code><pre>
cd ~/dmx-software
wget http://rpms.netmindz.net/FC6/i386/RPMS.netmindz/qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
</pre></code>

'''Update:''' the above source is currently not working. You will need to find a version of QLC with the LLA patches, try emailing the original author of this tutorial (lee@lpcollier.net) or contacting the QLC development mailing list https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/qlc-devel

<code><pre>
sudo alien qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
</pre></code>

wait a long time... (don't worry about the warnings)... then:

<code><pre>
sudo dpkg -i qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
sudo apt-get install libqt3-mt
</pre></code>

Now try it:

<code><pre>
sudo qlc &
</pre></code>

QLC should run OK. Don't get too excited yet, there's one more step...

==Put it all together==
We now need a script that will start the lla daemon, patch the adaptor to the DMX universe (QLC uses 1 by default, LLA uses 0) and start QLC. This should do it:

<code><pre>
#!/bin/bash
gksudo killall llad
sleep 2s
sudo llad
sleep 5s
sudo lla_patch -d2 -p0 -u1
sleep 2s
sudo qlc &
</pre></code>

save it as something memorable (I use qlc-start) and make sure it's executable:

<code><pre>
chmod u+x qlc-start
</pre></code>

and you're away!

LLA, OpenDMX USB and Q Light Controller Tutorial

2007-08-13T12:03:00Z

Lpcollier: /* Put it all together */

[[Category:Tutorials]]

== Purpose ==
To show the special steps to get the Enttec Open DMX USB interface working with LLA via Erwin Rol's driver, then get QLC to work with LLA. This allows QLC to be used with the Enttec OpenDMX USB interfaces on a 2.6 kernel, for which dmx4linux is not yet fully working.

This may also be useful for people with a different interface supported by LLA who need some pointers on how to get LLA working with QLC, in which case you only need follow from "Download and install LLA" onwards.

==Introduction==

I got very excited when I first saw QLC (http://qlc.sourceforge.net/). Then I got slightly annoyed, then very frustrated trying to get it to work. I ended up using Slackware so that I could have a relatively modern distro with Linux 2.4 in order to use dmx4linux. But it's a hassle to reboot every time I want to play with DMX. The other alternative is to use LLA, but this requires a separate computer for the Live CD.

LLA is available as packages for a standard distro, but needs an extra driver to work with Enttec OpenDMX USB, which is included on the Live CD but not in the standard packages.

This tutorial assumes you're using Ubuntu 7.04 (Fiesty Fawn), but should be usable for any apt-based distro. Could probably be adapted for rpm-based too.

This tutorial is deliberately quite verbose: although it could have been presented as one long cut'n'paste or a shell script, a walkthrough is more helpful for actually learning what's going on and will get out of date more slowly.

It would be really useful if users of other distros could modify this tutorial to make it more universal, or create other pages for distro-specific information.

==Operating System==

Pretty obvious, but... get the latest Ubuntu installed on your machine. http://www.ubuntu.com

==Prerequisite packages==
===GIT and Cogito===
These are used to download source code.

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install git-core cogito curl
</pre></code>

===Kernel source===
We need this in order to be able to compile the modules

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install linux-source
</pre></code>

===Alien===
We will need to install some RPM files at some point (bah!)

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install alien
</pre></code>

===Build essentials===
We're going to be building source, so we need the standard libraries:

<code><pre>
apt-get install build-essential
</pre></code>

(if you're following this on a non-debian-style distibution, you need the libc, libstcd++ development files, C compiler etc.)

==Build and install the usb kernel module==

Erwil Rol's driver allows the Enttec OpenDMX USB driver to work with LLA.

It's best to make sure that you're running the kernel that you're intending to use - if you've upgraded from previous versions of Ubuntu you may have several versions hanging around. Removing old ones using Synaptic is probably a good idea.

===Compile and install driver===

<code><pre>
cd ~
mkdir dmx-software
cd dmx-software
git-clone http://www.erwinrol.com/git/dmx_usb_module/
cd dmx_usb_module
make
sudo cp ./dmx_usb.ko /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/kernel/drivers/usb/serial
sudo depmod
</pre></code>

===Blacklist the other serial drivers===
Because this dongle uses a usb to serial converter chip, it's recognised by the hotplug/udev/hal system and drivers are loaded - unfortunately not ones that work with QLC. The workaround is to blacklist the alternative drivers. If you have other usb to serial converters then they will stop working - if you need these then you will have to delve into the source and change the USB device IDs that the drivers detect... here we will go for the quick and dirty solution.

With your favourite text editor, as root/sudo, edit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist e.g.:

<code><pre>
sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
</pre></code>

add the following lines:

<code><pre>
blacklist usbserial
blacklist usb-serial
blacklist ftdi_sio
</pre></code>

===Remove the brltty package===
According to Synaptic, "BRLTTY is a daemon which provides access to the Linux console (text mode) for a blind person using a soft braille display". Unfortunately it has a habit of interfering with anything that looks like it might be a serial console, USB to serial devices included. There's probably a more elegant workaround, but we'll go for the quick and dirty again, and remove it:

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get remove brltty
</pre></code>

===Test the driver===
Plug in your dongle!! Hopefully all will go well, and if you type:

<code><pre>
dmesg
</pre></code>

you should see:

<pre>
DMX USB device now attached to dmx192
</pre>

If you've got other modules loading, ftdi serial drivers, etc. then something's wrong.

==Download and install LLA==
LLA is Linux Lighting Architecture, a general framework for lighting applications in Linux. It's available as a live CD, but we're just using the package as a way to interface QLC with the USB driver. More info about LLA on it's webpage.

===Install the packages===
There are debian packages available at the time of writing. Add the packages to your sources file:

<code><pre>
sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
</pre></code>

add the following line at the end:

<code><pre>
deb http://www.nomis52.net/data/debian ./
</pre></code>

Install the packages:

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install liblla0 llad llad-console lla-examples
</pre></code>

===Test the installation===
With your dongle connected as in section 3, you're now ready to test. Connect a DMX device up to your dongle, make sure you know the channel number it's on, make sure it's working correctly, make sure you got the polarity in your DMX lead right, etc. etc. Being sure that the dongle/hardware/software combination is the only weak link will save a lot of hair-pulling...

First, start the daemon:

<code><pre>
sudo llad
</pre></code>

Next, find out what number the OpenDMX device is:

<code><pre>
lla_dev_info
</pre></code>

you should get something like:

<pre>
Device 2: Open DMX USB Device
</pre>

If you can't see 'Open DMX USB Device' in there somewhere, then you haven't got the kernel driver installed properly. Go straight to jail, do not pass go.

Assuming everything is OK, you need to patch this device so we can use it:

<code><pre>
lla_patch -d2 -p0 -u0
</pre></code>

(replace -d2 with whichever device number is your Open DMX USB)

now do:

<code><pre>
lla_dev_info
</pre></code>

and it should say

<code><pre>
Device 2: Open DMX USB Device
port 0, cap OUT, universe 1
</pre></code>

Finally:

<code><pre>
lla_dmxconsole
</pre></code>

and play with the console!

Don't forget to remove your test patch afterwards:

<code><pre>
lla_patch -r -d2 -p0 -u0
</pre></code>

==Download and install the latest build of QLC==
Finally! There are Ubuntu/Debian packages, but at the time of writing they're not the most up-to-date and don't include the LLA plugin. You could compile from source, but the most recent RPM packages work fine and save time and hassle.

<code><pre>
cd ~/dmx-software
wget http://rpms.netmindz.net/FC6/i386/RPMS.netmindz/qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
</pre></code>

(browse through the packages on that server and find the most recent qlc build if the above command fails)

<code><pre>
sudo alien qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
</pre></code>

wait a long time... (don't worry about the warnings)... then:

<code><pre>
sudo dpkg -i qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
sudo apt-get install libqt3-mt
</pre></code>

Now try it:

<code><pre>
sudo qlc &
</pre></code>

QLC should run OK. Don't get too excited yet, there's one more step...

==Put it all together==
We now need a script that will start the lla daemon, patch the adaptor to the DMX universe (QLC uses 1 by default, LLA uses 0) and start QLC. This should do it:

<code><pre>
#!/bin/bash
gksudo killall llad
sleep 2s
sudo llad
sleep 5s
sudo lla_patch -d2 -p0 -u1
sleep 2s
sudo qlc &
</pre></code>

save it as something memorable (I use qlc-start) and make sure it's executable:

<code><pre>
chmod u+x qlc-start
</pre></code>

and you're away!

TODO: it should be possible to run LLA/QLC as a non-privileged user provided that permissions are set appropriately.

LLA, OpenDMX USB and Q Light Controller Tutorial

2007-08-13T08:56:20Z

Lpcollier: /* Introduction */

[[Category:Tutorials]]

== Purpose ==
To show the special steps to get the Enttec Open DMX USB interface working with LLA via Erwin Rol's driver, then get QLC to work with LLA. This allows QLC to be used with the Enttec OpenDMX USB interfaces on a 2.6 kernel, for which dmx4linux is not yet fully working.

This may also be useful for people with a different interface supported by LLA who need some pointers on how to get LLA working with QLC, in which case you only need follow from "Download and install LLA" onwards.

==Introduction==

I got very excited when I first saw QLC (http://qlc.sourceforge.net/). Then I got slightly annoyed, then very frustrated trying to get it to work. I ended up using Slackware so that I could have a relatively modern distro with Linux 2.4 in order to use dmx4linux. But it's a hassle to reboot every time I want to play with DMX. The other alternative is to use LLA, but this requires a separate computer for the Live CD.

LLA is available as packages for a standard distro, but needs an extra driver to work with Enttec OpenDMX USB, which is included on the Live CD but not in the standard packages.

This tutorial assumes you're using Ubuntu 7.04 (Fiesty Fawn), but should be usable for any apt-based distro. Could probably be adapted for rpm-based too.

This tutorial is deliberately quite verbose: although it could have been presented as one long cut'n'paste or a shell script, a walkthrough is more helpful for actually learning what's going on and will get out of date more slowly.

It would be really useful if users of other distros could modify this tutorial to make it more universal, or create other pages for distro-specific information.

==Operating System==

Pretty obvious, but... get the latest Ubuntu installed on your machine. http://www.ubuntu.com

==Prerequisite packages==
===GIT and Cogito===
These are used to download source code.

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install git-core cogito curl
</pre></code>

===Kernel source===
We need this in order to be able to compile the modules

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install linux-source
</pre></code>

===Alien===
We will need to install some RPM files at some point (bah!)

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install alien
</pre></code>

===Build essentials===
We're going to be building source, so we need the standard libraries:

<code><pre>
apt-get install build-essential
</pre></code>

(if you're following this on a non-debian-style distibution, you need the libc, libstcd++ development files, C compiler etc.)

==Build and install the usb kernel module==

Erwil Rol's driver allows the Enttec OpenDMX USB driver to work with LLA.

It's best to make sure that you're running the kernel that you're intending to use - if you've upgraded from previous versions of Ubuntu you may have several versions hanging around. Removing old ones using Synaptic is probably a good idea.

===Compile and install driver===

<code><pre>
cd ~
mkdir dmx-software
cd dmx-software
git-clone http://www.erwinrol.com/git/dmx_usb_module/
cd dmx_usb_module
make
cp ./dmx_usb.ko /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/kernel/drivers/usb/serial
depmod
</pre></code>

===Blacklist the other serial drivers===
Because this dongle uses a usb to serial converter chip, it's recognised by the hotplug/udev/hal system and drivers are loaded - unfortunately not ones that work with QLC. The workaround is to blacklist the alternative drivers. If you have other usb to serial converters then they will stop working - if you need these then you will have to delve into the source and change the USB device IDs that the drivers detect... here we will go for the quick and dirty solution.

With your favourite text editor, as root/sudo, edit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist e.g.:

<code><pre>
sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
</pre></code>

add the following lines:

<code><pre>
blacklist usbserial
blacklist usb-serial
blacklist ftdi_sio
</pre></code>

===Remove the brltty package===
According to Synaptic, "BRLTTY is a daemon which provides access to the Linux console (text mode) for a blind person using a soft braille display". Unfortunately it has a habit of interfering with anything that looks like it might be a serial console, USB to serial devices included. There's probably a more elegant workaround, but we'll go for the quick and dirty again, and remove it:

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get remove brltty
</pre></code>

===Test the driver===
Plug in your dongle!! Hopefully all will go well, and if you type:

<code><pre>
dmesg
</pre></code>

you should see:

<pre>
DMX USB device now attached to dmx192
</pre>

If you've got other modules loading, ftdi serial drivers, etc. then something's wrong.

==Download and install LLA==
LLA is Linux Lighting Architecture, a general framework for lighting applications in Linux. It's available as a live CD, but we're just using the package as a way to interface QLC with the USB driver. More info about LLA on it's webpage.

===Install the packages===
There are debian packages available at the time of writing. Add the packages to your sources file:

<code><pre>
sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
</pre></code>

add the following line at the end:

<code><pre>
deb http://www.nomis52.net/data/debian ./
</pre></code>

Install the packages:

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install liblla0 llad llad-console lla-examples
</pre></code>

===Test the installation===
With your dongle connected as in section 3, you're now ready to test. Connect a DMX device up to your dongle, make sure you know the channel number it's on, make sure it's working correctly, make sure you got the polarity in your DMX lead right, etc. etc. Being sure that the dongle/hardware/software combination is the only weak link will save a lot of hair-pulling...

First, start the daemon:

<code><pre>
sudo llad
</pre></code>

Next, find out what number the OpenDMX device is:

<code><pre>
lla_dev_info
</pre></code>

you should get something like:

<pre>
Device 2: Open DMX USB Device
</pre>

If you can't see 'Open DMX USB Device' in there somewhere, then you haven't got the kernel driver installed properly. Go straight to jail, do not pass go.

Assuming everything is OK, you need to patch this device so we can use it:

<code><pre>
lla_patch -d2 -p0 -u0
</pre></code>

(replace -d2 with whichever device number is your Open DMX USB)

now do:

<code><pre>
lla_dev_info
</pre></code>

and it should say

<code><pre>
Device 2: Open DMX USB Device
port 0, cap OUT, universe 1
</pre></code>

Finally:

<code><pre>
lla_dmxconsole
</pre></code>

and play with the console!

Don't forget to remove your test patch afterwards:

<code><pre>
lla_patch -r -d2 -p0 -u0
</pre></code>

==Download and install the latest build of QLC==
Finally! There are Ubuntu/Debian packages, but at the time of writing they're not the most up-to-date and don't include the LLA plugin. You could compile from source, but the most recent RPM packages work fine and save time and hassle.

<code><pre>
cd ~/dmx-software
wget http://rpms.netmindz.net/FC6/i386/RPMS.netmindz/qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
</pre></code>

(browse through the packages on that server and find the most recent qlc build if the above command fails)

<code><pre>
sudo alien qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
</pre></code>

wait a long time... (don't worry about the warnings)... then:

<code><pre>
sudo dpkg -i qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
sudo apt-get install libqt3-mt
</pre></code>

Now try it:

<code><pre>
sudo qlc &
</pre></code>

QLC should run OK. Don't get too excited yet, there's one more step...

==Put it all together==
We now need a script that will start the lla daemon, patch the adaptor to the DMX universe (QLC uses 1 by default, LLA uses 0) and start QLC. This should do it:

<code><pre>
#!/bin/bash
gksudo killall llad
sleep 2s
sudo llad
sleep 5s
sudo lla_patch -d2 -p0 -u1
sleep 2s
sudo qlc &
</pre></code>

save it as something memorable (I use qlc-start) and make sure it's executable:

<code><pre>
chmod u+x qlc-start
</pre></code>

and you're away!

Open Lighting Architecture

2007-08-13T08:55:14Z

Lpcollier:

Link: http://www.nomis52.net/?section=projects&sect2=lla&page=llaintro 
{{Features|free=yes|tx=yes|rx=yes|linux=yes}}
[[Image:Llad_home.png|right]]

LLA Live is a stand-alone bootable cd containing software from the Linux Lighting Architecture project.

LLA allows DMX sent using various DMX over IP protocols to be converted from one format to another. This enables devices from different manufacturers to talk to each another (for example a [[Strand_Lighting|Strand]] Console can send DMX to an [[Enttec]] [[DmxEtherGate MKII|EtherGate]]).

When combined with a physical DMX interface such as the [[DMX USB Pro]], LLA Live can send and receive data from traditional wired DMX networks.

Supported Devices/Protocols:
* [[:Category:ArtNet|ArtNet]]
* [[:Category:ShowNet|ShowNet]]
* [[:Category:ESP Net|ESP Net]]
* [[:Category:Sandnet|Sandnet]]
* [[DMX USB Pro]]
* [[Open DMX USB]] (through the [http://www.erwinrol.com/index.php?opensource/dmxusb.php Linux kernel module from Erwin Rol], as detailed in [[LLA, OpenDMX USB and Q Light Controller Tutorial]])

Under development:
* [[:Category:Pathport|Pathport]]
* [[StageProfi]]
* [[E1.31]]

Availability:

Sources (via git)

http://www.nomis52.net/git/lla
http://www.nomis52.net/git/lla-examples

Debian Packages:

http://www.nomis52.net/data/debian

RPMS:

http://rpms.netmindz.net/

Live CD (iso):

[https://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=126566&package_id=192352 Sourceforge]

There is a project underway to build packages for OpenWrt. See http://lists.culturebase.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/lla-openwrt for more details.

See Also:
* [[LLA Sandnet Tutorial]] - Setup Horizon using Sandnet and LLA
* [[LLA and Q Light Controller Ubuntu Tutorial]] - Setup LLA on Ubuntu/Debian-type distro with QLC

[[Category:ArtNet]]
[[Category:ESP Net]]
[[Category:Sandnet]]
[[Category:ShowNet]]
[[Category:Utilities]]

Open DMX USB

2007-08-13T08:54:42Z

Lpcollier:

[[Category:USB]]
[[Image:Opendmxusb.JPG|right]]

Link: http://www.enttec.com/index.php?menu=Products&prod=70303&show=description 
Made by: [[Enttec]] 
{{Features|win=yes|osx=yes|linux=yes|tx=yes|rx=yes}}

The OpenDMX USB is based on a FT232BM chip, a USB to Serial converter produced by FTDI.
The widget is capable of DMX transmission and reception, but is totally reliant on the CPU to produce (or capture) the DMX signal, so this type of device is called 'unbuffered'. It works quite well, but if for example your PC froze for a second, so would the DMX. The design is GPL (you can build your own!) and is quite basic, and does not offer any protection for your equipment.

Note that receiving DMX does not currently work under Linux.

==Driver Support==

Linux Kernel 2.4: via [[DMX 4 Linux]]

Linux Kernel 2.6: via [[LLA]] as detailed in [[LLA, OpenDMX USB and Q Light Controller Tutorial]]

Related Products:

* [[DMX USB Pro]]

LLA and Q Light Controller Ubuntu Tutorial

2007-08-13T08:54:22Z

Lpcollier: LLA and Q Light Controller Ubuntu Tutorial moved to LLA, OpenDMX USB and Q Light Controller Tutorial: Ambiguous Title

#REDIRECT [[LLA, OpenDMX USB and Q Light Controller Tutorial]]

Talk:LLA and Q Light Controller Ubuntu Tutorial

2007-08-13T08:54:22Z

Lpcollier: Talk:LLA and Q Light Controller Ubuntu Tutorial moved to Talk:LLA, OpenDMX USB and Q Light Controller Tutorial: Ambiguous Title

#REDIRECT [[Talk:LLA, OpenDMX USB and Q Light Controller Tutorial]]

Talk:LLA, OpenDMX USB and Q Light Controller Tutorial

2007-08-13T08:54:22Z

Lpcollier: Talk:LLA and Q Light Controller Ubuntu Tutorial moved to Talk:LLA, OpenDMX USB and Q Light Controller Tutorial: Ambiguous Title

Is this tutorial minded on a specific interface?
What is "Erwin Rol's driver" meant to do? (is it to support some specific hardware that is not supported directly by LLA?)

The first time QLC is run int the tutorial, it is run as root. Why?

It would be nice if the intro explained what you can achieve over a default installation of LLA+ QLC from the repositories.

LLA, OpenDMX USB and Q Light Controller Tutorial

2007-08-13T08:54:21Z

Lpcollier: LLA and Q Light Controller Ubuntu Tutorial moved to LLA, OpenDMX USB and Q Light Controller Tutorial: Ambiguous Title

[[Category:Tutorials]]

== Purpose ==
To show the special steps to get the Enttec Open DMX USB interface working with LLA via Erwin Rol's driver, then get QLC to work with LLA. This allows QLC to be used with the Enttec OpenDMX USB interfaces on a 2.6 kernel, for which dmx4linux is not yet fully working.

This may also be useful for people with a different interface supported by LLA who need some pointers on how to get LLA working with QLC, in which case you only need follow from "Download and install LLA" onwards.

==Introduction==

I got very excited when I first saw QLC (http://qlc.sourceforge.net/). Then I got slightly annoyed, then very frustrated trying to get it to work. I ended up using Slackware so that I could have a relatively modern distro with Linux 2.4 in order to use dmx4linux. But it's a hassle to reboot every time I want to play with DMX. The other alternative is to use LLA, but this requires a separate computer for the Live CD.

LLA is available as packages for a standard distro, but needs an extra driver to work with Enttec OpenDMX USB, which is included on the Live CD but not in the standard packages.

This tutorial assumes you're using Ubuntu 7.04 (Fiesty Fawn), but should be usable for any apt-based distro. Could probably be adapted for rpm-based too.

This tutorial is deliberately quite verbose: although it could have been presented as one long cut'n'paste or a shell script, a walkthrough is more helpful for actually learning what's going on and will get out of date more slowly.

==Operating System==

Pretty obvious, but... get the latest Ubuntu installed on your machine. http://www.ubuntu.com

==Prerequisite packages==
===GIT and Cogito===
These are used to download source code.

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install git-core cogito curl
</pre></code>

===Kernel source===
We need this in order to be able to compile the modules

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install linux-source
</pre></code>

===Alien===
We will need to install some RPM files at some point (bah!)

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install alien
</pre></code>

===Build essentials===
We're going to be building source, so we need the standard libraries:

<code><pre>
apt-get install build-essential
</pre></code>

(if you're following this on a non-debian-style distibution, you need the libc, libstcd++ development files, C compiler etc.)

==Build and install the usb kernel module==

Erwil Rol's driver allows the Enttec OpenDMX USB driver to work with LLA.

It's best to make sure that you're running the kernel that you're intending to use - if you've upgraded from previous versions of Ubuntu you may have several versions hanging around. Removing old ones using Synaptic is probably a good idea.

===Compile and install driver===

<code><pre>
cd ~
mkdir dmx-software
cd dmx-software
git-clone http://www.erwinrol.com/git/dmx_usb_module/
cd dmx_usb_module
make
cp ./dmx_usb.ko /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/kernel/drivers/usb/serial
depmod
</pre></code>

===Blacklist the other serial drivers===
Because this dongle uses a usb to serial converter chip, it's recognised by the hotplug/udev/hal system and drivers are loaded - unfortunately not ones that work with QLC. The workaround is to blacklist the alternative drivers. If you have other usb to serial converters then they will stop working - if you need these then you will have to delve into the source and change the USB device IDs that the drivers detect... here we will go for the quick and dirty solution.

With your favourite text editor, as root/sudo, edit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist e.g.:

<code><pre>
sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
</pre></code>

add the following lines:

<code><pre>
blacklist usbserial
blacklist usb-serial
blacklist ftdi_sio
</pre></code>

===Remove the brltty package===
According to Synaptic, "BRLTTY is a daemon which provides access to the Linux console (text mode) for a blind person using a soft braille display". Unfortunately it has a habit of interfering with anything that looks like it might be a serial console, USB to serial devices included. There's probably a more elegant workaround, but we'll go for the quick and dirty again, and remove it:

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get remove brltty
</pre></code>

===Test the driver===
Plug in your dongle!! Hopefully all will go well, and if you type:

<code><pre>
dmesg
</pre></code>

you should see:

<pre>
DMX USB device now attached to dmx192
</pre>

If you've got other modules loading, ftdi serial drivers, etc. then something's wrong.

==Download and install LLA==
LLA is Linux Lighting Architecture, a general framework for lighting applications in Linux. It's available as a live CD, but we're just using the package as a way to interface QLC with the USB driver. More info about LLA on it's webpage.

===Install the packages===
There are debian packages available at the time of writing. Add the packages to your sources file:

<code><pre>
sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
</pre></code>

add the following line at the end:

<code><pre>
deb http://www.nomis52.net/data/debian ./
</pre></code>

Install the packages:

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install liblla0 llad llad-console lla-examples
</pre></code>

===Test the installation===
With your dongle connected as in section 3, you're now ready to test. Connect a DMX device up to your dongle, make sure you know the channel number it's on, make sure it's working correctly, make sure you got the polarity in your DMX lead right, etc. etc. Being sure that the dongle/hardware/software combination is the only weak link will save a lot of hair-pulling...

First, start the daemon:

<code><pre>
sudo llad
</pre></code>

Next, find out what number the OpenDMX device is:

<code><pre>
lla_dev_info
</pre></code>

you should get something like:

<pre>
Device 2: Open DMX USB Device
</pre>

If you can't see 'Open DMX USB Device' in there somewhere, then you haven't got the kernel driver installed properly. Go straight to jail, do not pass go.

Assuming everything is OK, you need to patch this device so we can use it:

<code><pre>
lla_patch -d2 -p0 -u0
</pre></code>

(replace -d2 with whichever device number is your Open DMX USB)

now do:

<code><pre>
lla_dev_info
</pre></code>

and it should say

<code><pre>
Device 2: Open DMX USB Device
port 0, cap OUT, universe 1
</pre></code>

Finally:

<code><pre>
lla_dmxconsole
</pre></code>

and play with the console!

Don't forget to remove your test patch afterwards:

<code><pre>
lla_patch -r -d2 -p0 -u0
</pre></code>

==Download and install the latest build of QLC==
Finally! There are Ubuntu/Debian packages, but at the time of writing they're not the most up-to-date and don't include the LLA plugin. You could compile from source, but the most recent RPM packages work fine and save time and hassle.

<code><pre>
cd ~/dmx-software
wget http://rpms.netmindz.net/FC6/i386/RPMS.netmindz/qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
</pre></code>

(browse through the packages on that server and find the most recent qlc build if the above command fails)

<code><pre>
sudo alien qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
</pre></code>

wait a long time... (don't worry about the warnings)... then:

<code><pre>
sudo dpkg -i qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
sudo apt-get install libqt3-mt
</pre></code>

Now try it:

<code><pre>
sudo qlc &
</pre></code>

QLC should run OK. Don't get too excited yet, there's one more step...

==Put it all together==
We now need a script that will start the lla daemon, patch the adaptor to the DMX universe (QLC uses 1 by default, LLA uses 0) and start QLC. This should do it:

<code><pre>
#!/bin/bash
gksudo killall llad
sleep 2s
sudo llad
sleep 5s
sudo lla_patch -d2 -p0 -u1
sleep 2s
sudo qlc &
</pre></code>

save it as something memorable (I use qlc-start) and make sure it's executable:

<code><pre>
chmod u+x qlc-start
</pre></code>

and you're away!

LLA, OpenDMX USB and Q Light Controller Tutorial

2007-08-13T08:46:23Z

Lpcollier:

[[Category:Tutorials]]

== Purpose ==
To show the special steps to get the Enttec Open DMX USB interface working with LLA via Erwin Rol's driver, then get QLC to work with LLA. This allows QLC to be used with the Enttec OpenDMX USB interfaces on a 2.6 kernel, for which dmx4linux is not yet fully working.

This may also be useful for people with a different interface supported by LLA who need some pointers on how to get LLA working with QLC, in which case you only need follow from "Download and install LLA" onwards.

==Introduction==

I got very excited when I first saw QLC (http://qlc.sourceforge.net/). Then I got slightly annoyed, then very frustrated trying to get it to work. I ended up using Slackware so that I could have a relatively modern distro with Linux 2.4 in order to use dmx4linux. But it's a hassle to reboot every time I want to play with DMX. The other alternative is to use LLA, but this requires a separate computer for the Live CD.

LLA is available as packages for a standard distro, but needs an extra driver to work with Enttec OpenDMX USB, which is included on the Live CD but not in the standard packages.

This tutorial assumes you're using Ubuntu 7.04 (Fiesty Fawn), but should be usable for any apt-based distro. Could probably be adapted for rpm-based too.

This tutorial is deliberately quite verbose: although it could have been presented as one long cut'n'paste or a shell script, a walkthrough is more helpful for actually learning what's going on and will get out of date more slowly.

==Operating System==

Pretty obvious, but... get the latest Ubuntu installed on your machine. http://www.ubuntu.com

==Prerequisite packages==
===GIT and Cogito===
These are used to download source code.

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install git-core cogito curl
</pre></code>

===Kernel source===
We need this in order to be able to compile the modules

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install linux-source
</pre></code>

===Alien===
We will need to install some RPM files at some point (bah!)

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install alien
</pre></code>

===Build essentials===
We're going to be building source, so we need the standard libraries:

<code><pre>
apt-get install build-essential
</pre></code>

(if you're following this on a non-debian-style distibution, you need the libc, libstcd++ development files, C compiler etc.)

==Build and install the usb kernel module==

Erwil Rol's driver allows the Enttec OpenDMX USB driver to work with LLA.

It's best to make sure that you're running the kernel that you're intending to use - if you've upgraded from previous versions of Ubuntu you may have several versions hanging around. Removing old ones using Synaptic is probably a good idea.

===Compile and install driver===

<code><pre>
cd ~
mkdir dmx-software
cd dmx-software
git-clone http://www.erwinrol.com/git/dmx_usb_module/
cd dmx_usb_module
make
cp ./dmx_usb.ko /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/kernel/drivers/usb/serial
depmod
</pre></code>

===Blacklist the other serial drivers===
Because this dongle uses a usb to serial converter chip, it's recognised by the hotplug/udev/hal system and drivers are loaded - unfortunately not ones that work with QLC. The workaround is to blacklist the alternative drivers. If you have other usb to serial converters then they will stop working - if you need these then you will have to delve into the source and change the USB device IDs that the drivers detect... here we will go for the quick and dirty solution.

With your favourite text editor, as root/sudo, edit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist e.g.:

<code><pre>
sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
</pre></code>

add the following lines:

<code><pre>
blacklist usbserial
blacklist usb-serial
blacklist ftdi_sio
</pre></code>

===Remove the brltty package===
According to Synaptic, "BRLTTY is a daemon which provides access to the Linux console (text mode) for a blind person using a soft braille display". Unfortunately it has a habit of interfering with anything that looks like it might be a serial console, USB to serial devices included. There's probably a more elegant workaround, but we'll go for the quick and dirty again, and remove it:

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get remove brltty
</pre></code>

===Test the driver===
Plug in your dongle!! Hopefully all will go well, and if you type:

<code><pre>
dmesg
</pre></code>

you should see:

<pre>
DMX USB device now attached to dmx192
</pre>

If you've got other modules loading, ftdi serial drivers, etc. then something's wrong.

==Download and install LLA==
LLA is Linux Lighting Architecture, a general framework for lighting applications in Linux. It's available as a live CD, but we're just using the package as a way to interface QLC with the USB driver. More info about LLA on it's webpage.

===Install the packages===
There are debian packages available at the time of writing. Add the packages to your sources file:

<code><pre>
sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
</pre></code>

add the following line at the end:

<code><pre>
deb http://www.nomis52.net/data/debian ./
</pre></code>

Install the packages:

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install liblla0 llad llad-console lla-examples
</pre></code>

===Test the installation===
With your dongle connected as in section 3, you're now ready to test. Connect a DMX device up to your dongle, make sure you know the channel number it's on, make sure it's working correctly, make sure you got the polarity in your DMX lead right, etc. etc. Being sure that the dongle/hardware/software combination is the only weak link will save a lot of hair-pulling...

First, start the daemon:

<code><pre>
sudo llad
</pre></code>

Next, find out what number the OpenDMX device is:

<code><pre>
lla_dev_info
</pre></code>

you should get something like:

<pre>
Device 2: Open DMX USB Device
</pre>

If you can't see 'Open DMX USB Device' in there somewhere, then you haven't got the kernel driver installed properly. Go straight to jail, do not pass go.

Assuming everything is OK, you need to patch this device so we can use it:

<code><pre>
lla_patch -d2 -p0 -u0
</pre></code>

(replace -d2 with whichever device number is your Open DMX USB)

now do:

<code><pre>
lla_dev_info
</pre></code>

and it should say

<code><pre>
Device 2: Open DMX USB Device
port 0, cap OUT, universe 1
</pre></code>

Finally:

<code><pre>
lla_dmxconsole
</pre></code>

and play with the console!

Don't forget to remove your test patch afterwards:

<code><pre>
lla_patch -r -d2 -p0 -u0
</pre></code>

==Download and install the latest build of QLC==
Finally! There are Ubuntu/Debian packages, but at the time of writing they're not the most up-to-date and don't include the LLA plugin. You could compile from source, but the most recent RPM packages work fine and save time and hassle.

<code><pre>
cd ~/dmx-software
wget http://rpms.netmindz.net/FC6/i386/RPMS.netmindz/qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
</pre></code>

(browse through the packages on that server and find the most recent qlc build if the above command fails)

<code><pre>
sudo alien qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
</pre></code>

wait a long time... (don't worry about the warnings)... then:

<code><pre>
sudo dpkg -i qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
sudo apt-get install libqt3-mt
</pre></code>

Now try it:

<code><pre>
sudo qlc &
</pre></code>

QLC should run OK. Don't get too excited yet, there's one more step...

==Put it all together==
We now need a script that will start the lla daemon, patch the adaptor to the DMX universe (QLC uses 1 by default, LLA uses 0) and start QLC. This should do it:

<code><pre>
#!/bin/bash
gksudo killall llad
sleep 2s
sudo llad
sleep 5s
sudo lla_patch -d2 -p0 -u1
sleep 2s
sudo qlc &
</pre></code>

save it as something memorable (I use qlc-start) and make sure it's executable:

<code><pre>
chmod u+x qlc-start
</pre></code>

and you're away!

LLA, OpenDMX USB and Q Light Controller Tutorial

2007-08-13T08:45:52Z

Lpcollier: /* Purpose */

[[Category:Tutorials]]

== Purpose ==
To show the special steps to get the Enttec Open DMX USB interface working with LLA via Erwin Rol's driver, then get QLC to work with LLA. This allows QLC to be used with the Enttec OpenDMX USB interfaces on a 2.6 kernel, for which dmx4linux is not yet fully working.

This may also be useful for people with a different interface supported by LLA who need some pointers on how to get LLA working with QLC, in which case you only need follow from "Download and install lla" onwards.

==Introduction==

I got very excited when I first saw QLC (http://qlc.sourceforge.net/). Then I got slightly annoyed, then very frustrated trying to get it to work. I ended up using Slackware so that I could have a relatively modern distro with Linux 2.4 in order to use dmx4linux. But it's a hassle to reboot every time I want to play with DMX. The other alternative is to use LLA, but this requires a separate computer for the Live CD.

LLA is available as packages for a standard distro, but needs an extra driver to work with Enttec OpenDMX USB, which is included on the Live CD but not in the standard packages.

This tutorial assumes you're using Ubuntu 7.04 (Fiesty Fawn), but should be usable for any apt-based distro. Could probably be adapted for rpm-based too.

This tutorial is deliberately quite verbose: although it could have been presented as one long cut'n'paste or a shell script, a walkthrough is more helpful for actually learning what's going on and will get out of date more slowly.

==Operating System==

Pretty obvious, but... get the latest Ubuntu installed on your machine. http://www.ubuntu.com

==Prerequisite packages==
===GIT and Cogito===
These are used to download source code.

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install git-core cogito curl
</pre></code>

===Kernel source===
We need this in order to be able to compile the modules

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install linux-source
</pre></code>

===Alien===
We will need to install some RPM files at some point (bah!)

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install alien
</pre></code>

===Build essentials===
We're going to be building source, so we need the standard libraries:

<code><pre>
apt-get install build-essential
</pre></code>

(if you're following this on a non-debian-style distibution, you need the libc, libstcd++ development files, C compiler etc.)

==Build and install the usb kernel module==

Erwil Rol's driver allows the Enttec OpenDMX USB driver to work with LLA.

It's best to make sure that you're running the kernel that you're intending to use - if you've upgraded from previous versions of Ubuntu you may have several versions hanging around. Removing old ones using Synaptic is probably a good idea.

===Compile and install driver===

<code><pre>
cd ~
mkdir dmx-software
cd dmx-software
git-clone http://www.erwinrol.com/git/dmx_usb_module/
cd dmx_usb_module
make
cp ./dmx_usb.ko /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/kernel/drivers/usb/serial
depmod
</pre></code>

===Blacklist the other serial drivers===
Because this dongle uses a usb to serial converter chip, it's recognised by the hotplug/udev/hal system and drivers are loaded - unfortunately not ones that work with QLC. The workaround is to blacklist the alternative drivers. If you have other usb to serial converters then they will stop working - if you need these then you will have to delve into the source and change the USB device IDs that the drivers detect... here we will go for the quick and dirty solution.

With your favourite text editor, as root/sudo, edit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist e.g.:

<code><pre>
sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
</pre></code>

add the following lines:

<code><pre>
blacklist usbserial
blacklist usb-serial
blacklist ftdi_sio
</pre></code>

===Remove the brltty package===
According to Synaptic, "BRLTTY is a daemon which provides access to the Linux console (text mode) for a blind person using a soft braille display". Unfortunately it has a habit of interfering with anything that looks like it might be a serial console, USB to serial devices included. There's probably a more elegant workaround, but we'll go for the quick and dirty again, and remove it:

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get remove brltty
</pre></code>

===Test the driver===
Plug in your dongle!! Hopefully all will go well, and if you type:

<code><pre>
dmesg
</pre></code>

you should see:

<pre>
DMX USB device now attached to dmx192
</pre>

If you've got other modules loading, ftdi serial drivers, etc. then something's wrong.

==Download and install lla==
LLA is Linux Lighting Architecture, a general framework for lighting applications in Linux. It's available as a live CD, but we're just using the package as a way to interface QLC with the USB driver. More info about LLA on it's webpage.

===Install the packages===
There are debian packages available at the time of writing. Add the packages to your sources file:

<code><pre>
sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
</pre></code>

add the following line at the end:

<code><pre>
deb http://www.nomis52.net/data/debian ./
</pre></code>

Install the packages:

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install liblla0 llad llad-console lla-examples
</pre></code>

===Test the installation===
With your dongle connected as in section 3, you're now ready to test. Connect a DMX device up to your dongle, make sure you know the channel number it's on, make sure it's working correctly, make sure you got the polarity in your DMX lead right, etc. etc. Being sure that the dongle/hardware/software combination is the only weak link will save a lot of hair-pulling...

First, start the daemon:

<code><pre>
sudo llad
</pre></code>

Next, find out what number the OpenDMX device is:

<code><pre>
lla_dev_info
</pre></code>

you should get something like:

<pre>
Device 2: Open DMX USB Device
</pre>

If you can't see 'Open DMX USB Device' in there somewhere, then you haven't got the kernel driver installed properly. Go straight to jail, do not pass go.

Assuming everything is OK, you need to patch this device so we can use it:

<code><pre>
lla_patch -d2 -p0 -u0
</pre></code>

(replace -d2 with whichever device number is your Open DMX USB)

now do:

<code><pre>
lla_dev_info
</pre></code>

and it should say

<code><pre>
Device 2: Open DMX USB Device
port 0, cap OUT, universe 1
</pre></code>

Finally:

<code><pre>
lla_dmxconsole
</pre></code>

and play with the console!

Don't forget to remove your test patch afterwards:

<code><pre>
lla_patch -r -d2 -p0 -u0
</pre></code>

==Download and install the latest build of QLC==
Finally! There are Ubuntu/Debian packages, but at the time of writing they're not the most up-to-date and don't include the LLA plugin. You could compile from source, but the most recent RPM packages work fine and save time and hassle.

<code><pre>
cd ~/dmx-software
wget http://rpms.netmindz.net/FC6/i386/RPMS.netmindz/qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
</pre></code>

(browse through the packages on that server and find the most recent qlc build if the above command fails)

<code><pre>
sudo alien qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
</pre></code>

wait a long time... (don't worry about the warnings)... then:

<code><pre>
sudo dpkg -i qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
sudo apt-get install libqt3-mt
</pre></code>

Now try it:

<code><pre>
sudo qlc &
</pre></code>

QLC should run OK. Don't get too excited yet, there's one more step...

==Put it all together==
We now need a script that will start the lla daemon, patch the adaptor to the DMX universe (QLC uses 1 by default, LLA uses 0) and start QLC. This should do it:

<code><pre>
#!/bin/bash
gksudo killall llad
sleep 2s
sudo llad
sleep 5s
sudo lla_patch -d2 -p0 -u1
sleep 2s
sudo qlc &
</pre></code>

save it as something memorable (I use qlc-start) and make sure it's executable:

<code><pre>
chmod u+x qlc-start
</pre></code>

and you're away!

LLA, OpenDMX USB and Q Light Controller Tutorial

2007-08-13T08:44:37Z

Lpcollier:

[[Category:Tutorials]]

== Purpose ==
To show the special steps to get the Enttec Open DMX USB interface working with LLA via Erwin Rol's driver, then get QLC to work with LLA. This allows QLC to be used with the Enttec OpenDMX USB interfaces on a 2.6 kernel, for which dmx4linux is not yet fully working.

This may also be useful for people with a different interface supported by LLA who need some pointers on how to get LLA working with QLC, in which case the section on Erwin Rol's driver can be ignored.

==Introduction==

I got very excited when I first saw QLC (http://qlc.sourceforge.net/). Then I got slightly annoyed, then very frustrated trying to get it to work. I ended up using Slackware so that I could have a relatively modern distro with Linux 2.4 in order to use dmx4linux. But it's a hassle to reboot every time I want to play with DMX. The other alternative is to use LLA, but this requires a separate computer for the Live CD.

LLA is available as packages for a standard distro, but needs an extra driver to work with Enttec OpenDMX USB, which is included on the Live CD but not in the standard packages.

This tutorial assumes you're using Ubuntu 7.04 (Fiesty Fawn), but should be usable for any apt-based distro. Could probably be adapted for rpm-based too.

This tutorial is deliberately quite verbose: although it could have been presented as one long cut'n'paste or a shell script, a walkthrough is more helpful for actually learning what's going on and will get out of date more slowly.

==Operating System==

Pretty obvious, but... get the latest Ubuntu installed on your machine. http://www.ubuntu.com

==Prerequisite packages==
===GIT and Cogito===
These are used to download source code.

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install git-core cogito curl
</pre></code>

===Kernel source===
We need this in order to be able to compile the modules

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install linux-source
</pre></code>

===Alien===
We will need to install some RPM files at some point (bah!)

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install alien
</pre></code>

===Build essentials===
We're going to be building source, so we need the standard libraries:

<code><pre>
apt-get install build-essential
</pre></code>

(if you're following this on a non-debian-style distibution, you need the libc, libstcd++ development files, C compiler etc.)

==Build and install the usb kernel module==

Erwil Rol's driver allows the Enttec OpenDMX USB driver to work with LLA.

It's best to make sure that you're running the kernel that you're intending to use - if you've upgraded from previous versions of Ubuntu you may have several versions hanging around. Removing old ones using Synaptic is probably a good idea.

===Compile and install driver===

<code><pre>
cd ~
mkdir dmx-software
cd dmx-software
git-clone http://www.erwinrol.com/git/dmx_usb_module/
cd dmx_usb_module
make
cp ./dmx_usb.ko /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/kernel/drivers/usb/serial
depmod
</pre></code>

===Blacklist the other serial drivers===
Because this dongle uses a usb to serial converter chip, it's recognised by the hotplug/udev/hal system and drivers are loaded - unfortunately not ones that work with QLC. The workaround is to blacklist the alternative drivers. If you have other usb to serial converters then they will stop working - if you need these then you will have to delve into the source and change the USB device IDs that the drivers detect... here we will go for the quick and dirty solution.

With your favourite text editor, as root/sudo, edit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist e.g.:

<code><pre>
sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
</pre></code>

add the following lines:

<code><pre>
blacklist usbserial
blacklist usb-serial
blacklist ftdi_sio
</pre></code>

===Remove the brltty package===
According to Synaptic, "BRLTTY is a daemon which provides access to the Linux console (text mode) for a blind person using a soft braille display". Unfortunately it has a habit of interfering with anything that looks like it might be a serial console, USB to serial devices included. There's probably a more elegant workaround, but we'll go for the quick and dirty again, and remove it:

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get remove brltty
</pre></code>

===Test the driver===
Plug in your dongle!! Hopefully all will go well, and if you type:

<code><pre>
dmesg
</pre></code>

you should see:

<pre>
DMX USB device now attached to dmx192
</pre>

If you've got other modules loading, ftdi serial drivers, etc. then something's wrong.

==Download and install lla==
LLA is Linux Lighting Architecture, a general framework for lighting applications in Linux. It's available as a live CD, but we're just using the package as a way to interface QLC with the USB driver. More info about LLA on it's webpage.

===Install the packages===
There are debian packages available at the time of writing. Add the packages to your sources file:

<code><pre>
sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
</pre></code>

add the following line at the end:

<code><pre>
deb http://www.nomis52.net/data/debian ./
</pre></code>

Install the packages:

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install liblla0 llad llad-console lla-examples
</pre></code>

===Test the installation===
With your dongle connected as in section 3, you're now ready to test. Connect a DMX device up to your dongle, make sure you know the channel number it's on, make sure it's working correctly, make sure you got the polarity in your DMX lead right, etc. etc. Being sure that the dongle/hardware/software combination is the only weak link will save a lot of hair-pulling...

First, start the daemon:

<code><pre>
sudo llad
</pre></code>

Next, find out what number the OpenDMX device is:

<code><pre>
lla_dev_info
</pre></code>

you should get something like:

<pre>
Device 2: Open DMX USB Device
</pre>

If you can't see 'Open DMX USB Device' in there somewhere, then you haven't got the kernel driver installed properly. Go straight to jail, do not pass go.

Assuming everything is OK, you need to patch this device so we can use it:

<code><pre>
lla_patch -d2 -p0 -u0
</pre></code>

(replace -d2 with whichever device number is your Open DMX USB)

now do:

<code><pre>
lla_dev_info
</pre></code>

and it should say

<code><pre>
Device 2: Open DMX USB Device
port 0, cap OUT, universe 1
</pre></code>

Finally:

<code><pre>
lla_dmxconsole
</pre></code>

and play with the console!

Don't forget to remove your test patch afterwards:

<code><pre>
lla_patch -r -d2 -p0 -u0
</pre></code>

==Download and install the latest build of QLC==
Finally! There are Ubuntu/Debian packages, but at the time of writing they're not the most up-to-date and don't include the LLA plugin. You could compile from source, but the most recent RPM packages work fine and save time and hassle.

<code><pre>
cd ~/dmx-software
wget http://rpms.netmindz.net/FC6/i386/RPMS.netmindz/qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
</pre></code>

(browse through the packages on that server and find the most recent qlc build if the above command fails)

<code><pre>
sudo alien qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
</pre></code>

wait a long time... (don't worry about the warnings)... then:

<code><pre>
sudo dpkg -i qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
sudo apt-get install libqt3-mt
</pre></code>

Now try it:

<code><pre>
sudo qlc &
</pre></code>

QLC should run OK. Don't get too excited yet, there's one more step...

==Put it all together==
We now need a script that will start the lla daemon, patch the adaptor to the DMX universe (QLC uses 1 by default, LLA uses 0) and start QLC. This should do it:

<code><pre>
#!/bin/bash
gksudo killall llad
sleep 2s
sudo llad
sleep 5s
sudo lla_patch -d2 -p0 -u1
sleep 2s
sudo qlc &
</pre></code>

save it as something memorable (I use qlc-start) and make sure it's executable:

<code><pre>
chmod u+x qlc-start
</pre></code>

and you're away!

OpenDMX.net

2007-06-29T20:08:57Z

Lpcollier:

<center>Welcome to opendmx.net. This site aims to be a resource for those involved in the lighting industry looking for low cost and DIY DMX solutions.</center>

----
==== Tutorial for LLA and Q Light Controller on Ubuntu ====
A new tutorial has been added that walks through installing LLA and QLC on Ubuntu, allowing the OpenDMX USB and other supported controllers to be used with a 2.6 kernel linux. [[LLA and Q Light Controller Ubuntu Tutorial]]

----
==== Enttec Releases RDM USB Pro ====
Enttec has released the [[RDM USB Pro]] which supports their RDM sniffing application.

----
==== Out of Spec DMX Equipment List ====

Listing of DMX equipment that does not conform to the ESTA specification [[NonConformDMX]]

----

==== Site Changes ====

With the new year we've changed to a new format. After realizing that I was never going to complete the CMS that I wanted, we've ended up going with a wiki. All the previous content has been moved over, but user accounts were deleted (you'll need to signup to upload pictures). Hopefully this will allow more people to add content.

----

==== LLA Live 0.2.0 Released ====

LLA Live 0.2.0 has been released with new features including a web-based lighting console, Sandnet support and the ability to use the Enttec Open DMX USB devices.

As always no install is required, simply boot from the CD and you have a multi-protocol DMX gateway.

This new release can be downloaded from [https://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=126566&package_id=192352 Sourceforge] or the [[LLA]] page

----

==== ACN Specification now available ====

The final step in the ACN specification process has been completed and the full document is available now from [http://www.estafoundation.org/pubs.htm ESTA]. Priced at $40 US, it's available as either a PDF download or on CDROM.

[[ACN]]
----

<center>[[Old News]]</center>

__NOTOC__

OpenDMX.net

2007-06-29T20:08:41Z

Lpcollier:

Q Light Controller (QLC)

2007-06-29T19:49:27Z

Lpcollier:

Link: http://qlc.sf.net/ 
{{Features|linux=yes|tx=yes|free=yes}}
[[Image:Qlc-2.4.png|right]]

QLC is a lighting controller for Linux. Started as a university project by Heikki Junnila, it has now evolved with an active development community. The latest version adds support for external fader devices such as the Behringer BCF-2000. DMX output is provided using the DMX 4 Linux library. Recently a [[LLA]] plugin was added, allowing DMX ouput using various DMX over IP protocols.

Related Tutorials:
* [[LLA and Q Light Controller Ubuntu Tutorial]]

Related Products:
* [[DMX 4 Linux]]
* [[USBDMX21]]
* [[LLA]]

[[Category:Controllers]]

Libartnet

2007-06-29T19:48:16Z

Lpcollier:

Link: http://www.nomis52.net/?section=projects&sect2=artnet&page=libartnet 
{{Features|linux=yes|osx=yes|rdm=yes|free=yes}}

libartnet is a implementation of the ArtNet protocol designed for Unix-like systems. Then artnet-examples packages provides sample programs demonstrating the use of the library. Of particular interest is artnet_usb which allows Art-Net to DMX conversion by using the Enttec Open DMX USB.

Related Tutorials:
* [[LLA Sandnet Tutorial]]
* [[LLA and Q Light Controller Ubuntu Tutorial]]
* [[Linux ArtNet Node]]

Related Products:
* [[Open DMX USB]]

[[Category:Drivers / Libraries]]

LLA, OpenDMX USB and Q Light Controller Tutorial

2007-06-29T19:45:08Z

Lpcollier:

[[Category:Tutorials]]

==Introduction==

I got very excited when I first saw QLC (http://qlc.sourceforge.net/). Then I got slightly annoyed, then very frustrated trying to get it to work. I ended up using Slackware so that I could have a relatively modern distro with Linux 2.4 in order to use dmx4linux. But it's a hassle to reboot every time I want to play with DMX. So...

This tutorial assumes you're using Ubuntu 7.04 (Fiesty Fawn), but should be usable for any apt-based distro. Could probably be adapted for rpm-based too.

This tutorial is deliberately quite verbose: although it could have been presented as one long cut'n'paste or a shell script, a walkthrough is more helpful for actually learning what's going on and will get out of date more slowly.

==Operating System==

Pretty obvious, but... get the latest Ubuntu installed on your machine. http://www.ubuntu.com

==Prerequisite packages==
===GIT and Cogito===
These are used to download source code.

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install git-core cogito curl
</pre></code>

===Kernel source===
We need this in order to be able to compile the modules

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install linux-source
</pre></code>

===Alien===
We will need to install some RPM files at some point (bah!)

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install alien
</pre></code>

===Build essentials===
We're going to be building source, so we need the standard libraries:

<code><pre>
apt-get install build-essential
</pre></code>

(if you're following this on a non-debian-style distibution, you need the libc, libstcd++ development files, C compiler etc.)

==Build and install the usb kernel module==

We're not using dmx4linux since there's no version that supports kernel 2.6 and the OpenDMX USB dongle. There's a few attempts to port floating around, but none work with this adaptor.

Instead we will use Erwil Rol's driver.

It's best to make sure that you're running the kernel that you're intending to use - if you've upgraded from previous versions of Ubuntu you may have several versions hanging around. Removing old ones using Synaptic is probably a good idea.

===Compile and install driver===

<code><pre>
cd ~
mkdir dmx-software
cd dmx-software
git-clone http://www.erwinrol.com/git/dmx_usb_module/
cd dmx_usb_module
make
cp ./dmx_usb.ko /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/kernel/drivers/usb/serial
depmod
</pre></code>

===Blacklist the other serial drivers===
Because this dongle uses a usb to serial converter chip, it's recognised by the hotplug/udev/hal system and drivers are loaded - unfortunately not ones that work with QLC. The workaround is to blacklist the alternative drivers. If you have other usb to serial converters then they will stop working - if you need these then you will have to delve into the source and change the USB device IDs that the drivers detect... here we will go for the quick and dirty solution.

With your favourite text editor, as root/sudo, edit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist e.g.:

<code><pre>
sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
</pre></code>

add the following lines:

<code><pre>
blacklist usbserial
blacklist usb-serial
blacklist ftdi_sio
</pre></code>

===Remove the brltty package===
According to Synaptic, "BRLTTY is a daemon which provides access to the Linux console (text mode) for a blind person using a soft braille display". Unfortunately it has a habit of interfering with anything that looks like it might be a serial console, USB to serial devices included. There's probably a more elegant workaround, but we'll go for the quick and dirty again, and remove it:

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get remove brltty
</pre></code>

===Test the driver===
Plug in your dongle!! Hopefully all will go well, and if you type:

<code><pre>
dmesg
</pre></code>

you should see:

<pre>
DMX USB device now attached to dmx192
</pre>

If you've got other modules loading, ftdi serial drivers, etc. then something's wrong.

==Download and install lla==
LLA is Linux Lighting Architecture, a general framework for lighting applications in Linux. It's available as a live CD, but we're just using the package as a way to interface QLC with the USB driver. More info about LLA on it's webpage.

===Install the packages===
There are debian packages available at the time of writing. Add the packages to your sources file:

<code><pre>
sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
</pre></code>

add the following line at the end:

<code><pre>
deb http://www.nomis52.net/data/debian ./
</pre></code>

Install the packages:

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install liblla0 llad llad-console lla-examples
</pre></code>

===Test the installation===
With your dongle connected as in section 3, you're now ready to test. Connect a DMX device up to your dongle, make sure you know the channel number it's on, make sure it's working correctly, make sure you got the polarity in your DMX lead right, etc. etc. Being sure that the dongle/hardware/software combination is the only weak link will save a lot of hair-pulling...

First, start the daemon:

<code><pre>
sudo llad
</pre></code>

Next, find out what number the OpenDMX device is:

<code><pre>
lla_dev_info
</pre></code>

you should get something like:

<pre>
Device 2: Open DMX USB Device
</pre>

If you can't see 'Open DMX USB Device' in there somewhere, then you haven't got the kernel driver installed properly. Go straight to jail, do not pass go.

Assuming everything is OK, you need to patch this device so we can use it:

<code><pre>
lla_patch -d2 -p0 -u0
</pre></code>

(replace -d2 with whichever device number is your Open DMX USB)

now do:

<code><pre>
lla_dev_info
</pre></code>

and it should say

<code><pre>
Device 2: Open DMX USB Device
port 0, cap OUT, universe 1
</pre></code>

Finally:

<code><pre>
lla_dmxconsole
</pre></code>

and play with the console!

Don't forget to remove your test patch afterwards:

<code><pre>
lla_patch -r -d2 -p0 -u0
</pre></code>

==Download and install the latest build of QLC==
Finally! There are Ubuntu/Debian packages, but at the time of writing they're not the most up-to-date and don't include the LLA plugin. You could compile from source, but the most recent RPM packages work fine and save time and hassle.

<code><pre>
cd ~/dmx-software
wget http://rpms.netmindz.net/FC6/i386/RPMS.netmindz/qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
</pre></code>

(browse through the packages on that server and find the most recent qlc build if the above command fails)

<code><pre>
sudo alien qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
</pre></code>

wait a long time... (don't worry about the warnings)... then:

<code><pre>
sudo dpkg -i qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
sudo apt-get install libqt3-mt
</pre></code>

Now try it:

<code><pre>
sudo qlc &
</pre></code>

QLC should run OK. Don't get too excited yet, there's one more step...

==Put it all together==
We now need a script that will start the lla daemon, patch the adaptor to the DMX universe (QLC uses 1 by default, LLA uses 0) and start QLC. This should do it:

<code><pre>
#!/bin/bash
gksudo killall llad
sleep 2s
sudo llad
sleep 5s
sudo lla_patch -d2 -p0 -u1
sleep 2s
sudo qlc &
</pre></code>

save it as something memorable (I use qlc-start) and make sure it's executable:

<code><pre>
chmod u+x qlc-start
</pre></code>

and you're away!

LLA, OpenDMX USB and Q Light Controller Tutorial

2007-06-29T19:43:29Z

Lpcollier: LLA QLC Tutorial moved to LLA and Q Light Controller Ubuntu Tutorial: More specific name

==Introduction==

I got very excited when I first saw QLC (http://qlc.sourceforge.net/). Then I got slightly annoyed, then very frustrated trying to get it to work. I ended up using Slackware so that I could have a relatively modern distro with Linux 2.4 in order to use dmx4linux. But it's a hassle to reboot every time I want to play with DMX. So...

This tutorial assumes you're using Ubuntu 7.04 (Fiesty Fawn), but should be usable for any apt-based distro. Could probably be adapted for rpm-based too.

This tutorial is deliberately quite verbose: although it could have been presented as one long cut'n'paste or a shell script, a walkthrough is more helpful for actually learning what's going on and will get out of date more slowly.

==Operating System==

Pretty obvious, but... get the latest Ubuntu installed on your machine. http://www.ubuntu.com

==Prerequisite packages==
===GIT and Cogito===
These are used to download source code.

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install git-core cogito curl
</pre></code>

===Kernel source===
We need this in order to be able to compile the modules

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install linux-source
</pre></code>

===Alien===
We will need to install some RPM files at some point (bah!)

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install alien
</pre></code>

===Build essentials===
We're going to be building source, so we need the standard libraries:

<code><pre>
apt-get install build-essential
</pre></code>

(if you're following this on a non-debian-style distibution, you need the libc, libstcd++ development files, C compiler etc.)

==Build and install the usb kernel module==

We're not using dmx4linux since there's no version that supports kernel 2.6 and the OpenDMX USB dongle. There's a few attempts to port floating around, but none work with this adaptor.

Instead we will use Erwil Rol's driver.

It's best to make sure that you're running the kernel that you're intending to use - if you've upgraded from previous versions of Ubuntu you may have several versions hanging around. Removing old ones using Synaptic is probably a good idea.

===Compile and install driver===

<code><pre>
cd ~
mkdir dmx-software
cd dmx-software
git-clone http://www.erwinrol.com/git/dmx_usb_module/
cd dmx_usb_module
make
cp ./dmx_usb.ko /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/kernel/drivers/usb/serial
depmod
</pre></code>

===Blacklist the other serial drivers===
Because this dongle uses a usb to serial converter chip, it's recognised by the hotplug/udev/hal system and drivers are loaded - unfortunately not ones that work with QLC. The workaround is to blacklist the alternative drivers. If you have other usb to serial converters then they will stop working - if you need these then you will have to delve into the source and change the USB device IDs that the drivers detect... here we will go for the quick and dirty solution.

With your favourite text editor, as root/sudo, edit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist e.g.:

<code><pre>
sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
</pre></code>

add the following lines:

<code><pre>
blacklist usbserial
blacklist usb-serial
blacklist ftdi_sio
</pre></code>

===Remove the brltty package===
According to Synaptic, "BRLTTY is a daemon which provides access to the Linux console (text mode) for a blind person using a soft braille display". Unfortunately it has a habit of interfering with anything that looks like it might be a serial console, USB to serial devices included. There's probably a more elegant workaround, but we'll go for the quick and dirty again, and remove it:

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get remove brltty
</pre></code>

===Test the driver===
Plug in your dongle!! Hopefully all will go well, and if you type:

<code><pre>
dmesg
</pre></code>

you should see:

<pre>
DMX USB device now attached to dmx192
</pre>

If you've got other modules loading, ftdi serial drivers, etc. then something's wrong.

==Download and install lla==
LLA is Linux Lighting Architecture, a general framework for lighting applications in Linux. It's available as a live CD, but we're just using the package as a way to interface QLC with the USB driver. More info about LLA on it's webpage.

===Install the packages===
There are debian packages available at the time of writing. Add the packages to your sources file:

<code><pre>
sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
</pre></code>

add the following line at the end:

<code><pre>
deb http://www.nomis52.net/data/debian ./
</pre></code>

Install the packages:

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install liblla0 llad llad-console lla-examples
</pre></code>

===Test the installation===
With your dongle connected as in section 3, you're now ready to test. Connect a DMX device up to your dongle, make sure you know the channel number it's on, make sure it's working correctly, make sure you got the polarity in your DMX lead right, etc. etc. Being sure that the dongle/hardware/software combination is the only weak link will save a lot of hair-pulling...

First, start the daemon:

<code><pre>
sudo llad
</pre></code>

Next, find out what number the OpenDMX device is:

<code><pre>
lla_dev_info
</pre></code>

you should get something like:

<pre>
Device 2: Open DMX USB Device
</pre>

If you can't see 'Open DMX USB Device' in there somewhere, then you haven't got the kernel driver installed properly. Go straight to jail, do not pass go.

Assuming everything is OK, you need to patch this device so we can use it:

<code><pre>
lla_patch -d2 -p0 -u0
</pre></code>

(replace -d2 with whichever device number is your Open DMX USB)

now do:

<code><pre>
lla_dev_info
</pre></code>

and it should say

<code><pre>
Device 2: Open DMX USB Device
port 0, cap OUT, universe 1
</pre></code>

Finally:

<code><pre>
lla_dmxconsole
</pre></code>

and play with the console!

Don't forget to remove your test patch afterwards:

<code><pre>
lla_patch -r -d2 -p0 -u0
</pre></code>

==Download and install the latest build of QLC==
Finally! There are Ubuntu/Debian packages, but at the time of writing they're not the most up-to-date and don't include the LLA plugin. You could compile from source, but the most recent RPM packages work fine and save time and hassle.

<code><pre>
cd ~/dmx-software
wget http://rpms.netmindz.net/FC6/i386/RPMS.netmindz/qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
</pre></code>

(browse through the packages on that server and find the most recent qlc build if the above command fails)

<code><pre>
sudo alien qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
</pre></code>

wait a long time... (don't worry about the warnings)... then:

<code><pre>
sudo dpkg -i qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
sudo apt-get install libqt3-mt
</pre></code>

Now try it:

<code><pre>
sudo qlc &
</pre></code>

QLC should run OK. Don't get too excited yet, there's one more step...

==Put it all together==
We now need a script that will start the lla daemon, patch the adaptor to the DMX universe (QLC uses 1 by default, LLA uses 0) and start QLC. This should do it:

<code><pre>
#!/bin/bash
gksudo killall llad
sleep 2s
sudo llad
sleep 5s
sudo lla_patch -d2 -p0 -u1
sleep 2s
sudo qlc &
</pre></code>

save it as something memorable (I use qlc-start) and make sure it's executable:

<code><pre>
chmod u+x qlc-start
</pre></code>

and you're away!

LLA QLC Tutorial

2007-06-29T19:43:29Z

Lpcollier: LLA QLC Tutorial moved to LLA and Q Light Controller Ubuntu Tutorial: More specific name

#REDIRECT [[LLA and Q Light Controller Ubuntu Tutorial]]

LLA, OpenDMX USB and Q Light Controller Tutorial

2007-06-29T19:40:45Z

Lpcollier:

LLA, OpenDMX USB and Q Light Controller Tutorial

2007-06-29T19:39:51Z

Lpcollier: /* Introduction */

==Introduction==

I got very excited when I first saw QLC. Then I got slightly annoyed, then very frustrated trying to get it to work. I ended up using Slackware so that I could have a relatively modern distro with Linux 2.4 in order to use dmx4linux. But it's a hassle to reboot every time I want to play with DMX. So...

This tutorial assumes you're using Ubuntu 7.04 (Fiesty Fawn), but should be usable for any apt-based distro. Could probably be adapted for rpm-based too.

This tutorial is deliberately quite verbose: although it could have been presented as one long cut'n'paste or a shell script, a walkthrough is more helpful for actually learning what's going on and will get out of date more slowly.

==Operating System==

Pretty obvious, but... get the latest Ubuntu installed on your machine. http://www.ubuntu.com

==Prerequisite packages==
===GIT and Cogito===
These are used to download source code.

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install git-core cogito curl
</pre></code>

===Kernel source===
We need this in order to be able to compile the modules

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install linux-source
</pre></code>

===Alien===
We will need to install some RPM files at some point (bah!)

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install alien
</pre></code>

===Build essentials===
We're going to be building source, so we need the standard libraries:

<code><pre>
apt-get install build-essential
</pre></code>

(if you're following this on a non-debian-style distibution, you need the libc, libstcd++ development files, C compiler etc.)

==Build and install the usb kernel module==

We're not using dmx4linux since there's no version that supports kernel 2.6 and the OpenDMX USB dongle. There's a few attempts to port floating around, but none work with this adaptor.

Instead we will use Erwil Rol's driver.

It's best to make sure that you're running the kernel that you're intending to use - if you've upgraded from previous versions of Ubuntu you may have several versions hanging around. Removing old ones using Synaptic is probably a good idea.

===Compile and install driver===

<code><pre>
cd ~
mkdir dmx-software
cd dmx-software
git-clone http://www.erwinrol.com/git/dmx_usb_module/
cd dmx_usb_module
make
cp ./dmx_usb.ko /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/kernel/drivers/usb/serial
depmod
</pre></code>

===Blacklist the other serial drivers===
Because this dongle uses a usb to serial converter chip, it's recognised by the hotplug/udev/hal system and drivers are loaded - unfortunately not ones that work with QLC. The workaround is to blacklist the alternative drivers. If you have other usb to serial converters then they will stop working - if you need these then you will have to delve into the source and change the USB device IDs that the drivers detect... here we will go for the quick and dirty solution.

With your favourite text editor, as root/sudo, edit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist e.g.:

<code><pre>
sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
</pre></code>

add the following lines:

<code><pre>
blacklist usbserial
blacklist usb-serial
blacklist ftdi_sio
</pre></code>

===Remove the brltty package===
According to Synaptic, "BRLTTY is a daemon which provides access to the Linux console (text mode) for a blind person using a soft braille display". Unfortunately it has a habit of interfering with anything that looks like it might be a serial console, USB to serial devices included. There's probably a more elegant workaround, but we'll go for the quick and dirty again, and remove it:

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get remove brltty
</pre></code>

===Test the driver===
Plug in your dongle!! Hopefully all will go well, and if you type:

<code><pre>
dmesg
</pre></code>

you should see:

<pre>
DMX USB device now attached to dmx192
</pre>

If you've got other modules loading, ftdi serial drivers, etc. then something's wrong.

==Download and install lla==
LLA is Linux Lighting Architecture, a general framework for lighting applications in Linux. It's available as a live CD, but we're just using the package as a way to interface QLC with the USB driver. More info about LLA on it's webpage.

===Install the packages===
There are debian packages available at the time of writing. Add the packages to your sources file:

<code><pre>
sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
</pre></code>

add the following line at the end:

<code><pre>
deb http://www.nomis52.net/data/debian ./
</pre></code>

Install the packages:

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install liblla0 llad llad-console lla-examples
</pre></code>

===Test the installation===
With your dongle connected as in section 3, you're now ready to test. Connect a DMX device up to your dongle, make sure you know the channel number it's on, make sure it's working correctly, make sure you got the polarity in your DMX lead right, etc. etc. Being sure that the dongle/hardware/software combination is the only weak link will save a lot of hair-pulling...

First, start the daemon:

<code><pre>
sudo llad
</pre></code>

Next, find out what number the OpenDMX device is:

<code><pre>
lla_dev_info
</pre></code>

you should get something like:

<pre>
Device 2: Open DMX USB Device
</pre>

If you can't see 'Open DMX USB Device' in there somewhere, then you haven't got the kernel driver installed properly. Go straight to jail, do not pass go.

Assuming everything is OK, you need to patch this device so we can use it:

<code><pre>
lla_patch -d2 -p0 -u0
</pre></code>

(replace -d2 with whichever device number is your Open DMX USB)

now do:

<code><pre>
lla_dev_info
</pre></code>

and it should say

<code><pre>
Device 2: Open DMX USB Device
port 0, cap OUT, universe 1
</pre></code>

Finally:

<code><pre>
lla_dmxconsole
</pre></code>

and play with the console!

Don't forget to remove your test patch afterwards:

<code><pre>
lla_patch -r -d2 -p0 -u0
</pre></code>

==Download and install the latest build of QLC==
Finally! There are Ubuntu/Debian packages, but at the time of writing they're not the most up-to-date and don't include the LLA plugin. You could compile from source, but the most recent RPM packages work fine and save time and hassle.

<code><pre>
cd ~/dmx-software
wget http://rpms.netmindz.net/FC6/i386/RPMS.netmindz/qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
</pre></code>

(browse through the packages on that server and find the most recent qlc build if the above command fails)

<code><pre>
sudo alien qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
</pre></code>

wait a long time... (don't worry about the warnings)... then:

<code><pre>
sudo dpkg -i qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
sudo apt-get install libqt3-mt
</pre></code>

Now try it:

<code><pre>
sudo qlc &
</pre></code>

QLC should run OK. Don't get too excited yet, there's one more step...

==Put it all together==
We now need a script that will start the lla daemon, patch the adaptor to the DMX universe (QLC uses 1 by default, LLA uses 0) and start QLC. This should do it:

<code><pre>
#!/bin/bash
gksudo killall llad
sleep 2s
sudo llad
sleep 5s
sudo lla_patch -d2 -p0 -u1
sleep 2s
sudo qlc &
</pre></code>

save it as something memorable (I use qlc-start) and make sure it's executable:

<code><pre>
chmod u+x qlc-start
</pre></code>

and you're away!

LLA, OpenDMX USB and Q Light Controller Tutorial

2007-06-29T19:38:22Z

Lpcollier: /* Operating System */

==Introduction==

I got very excited when I first saw QLC. Then I got slightly annoyed, then very frustrated trying to get it to work. I ended up using Slackware so that I could have a relatively modern distro with Linux 2.4 in order to use dmx4linux. But it's a hassle to reboot every time I want to play with DMX. So...

This guide assumes you're using Ubuntu 7.04 (Fiesty Fawn), but should be usable for any apt-based distro. Could probably be adapted for rpm-based too.

==Operating System==

Pretty obvious, but... get the latest Ubuntu installed on your machine. http://www.ubuntu.com

==Prerequisite packages==
===GIT and Cogito===
These are used to download source code.

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install git-core cogito curl
</pre></code>

===Kernel source===
We need this in order to be able to compile the modules

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install linux-source
</pre></code>

===Alien===
We will need to install some RPM files at some point (bah!)

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install alien
</pre></code>

===Build essentials===
We're going to be building source, so we need the standard libraries:

<code><pre>
apt-get install build-essential
</pre></code>

(if you're following this on a non-debian-style distibution, you need the libc, libstcd++ development files, C compiler etc.)

==Build and install the usb kernel module==

We're not using dmx4linux since there's no version that supports kernel 2.6 and the OpenDMX USB dongle. There's a few attempts to port floating around, but none work with this adaptor.

Instead we will use Erwil Rol's driver.

It's best to make sure that you're running the kernel that you're intending to use - if you've upgraded from previous versions of Ubuntu you may have several versions hanging around. Removing old ones using Synaptic is probably a good idea.

===Compile and install driver===

<code><pre>
cd ~
mkdir dmx-software
cd dmx-software
git-clone http://www.erwinrol.com/git/dmx_usb_module/
cd dmx_usb_module
make
cp ./dmx_usb.ko /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/kernel/drivers/usb/serial
depmod
</pre></code>

===Blacklist the other serial drivers===
Because this dongle uses a usb to serial converter chip, it's recognised by the hotplug/udev/hal system and drivers are loaded - unfortunately not ones that work with QLC. The workaround is to blacklist the alternative drivers. If you have other usb to serial converters then they will stop working - if you need these then you will have to delve into the source and change the USB device IDs that the drivers detect... here we will go for the quick and dirty solution.

With your favourite text editor, as root/sudo, edit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist e.g.:

<code><pre>
sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
</pre></code>

add the following lines:

<code><pre>
blacklist usbserial
blacklist usb-serial
blacklist ftdi_sio
</pre></code>

===Remove the brltty package===
According to Synaptic, "BRLTTY is a daemon which provides access to the Linux console (text mode) for a blind person using a soft braille display". Unfortunately it has a habit of interfering with anything that looks like it might be a serial console, USB to serial devices included. There's probably a more elegant workaround, but we'll go for the quick and dirty again, and remove it:

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get remove brltty
</pre></code>

===Test the driver===
Plug in your dongle!! Hopefully all will go well, and if you type:

<code><pre>
dmesg
</pre></code>

you should see:

<pre>
DMX USB device now attached to dmx192
</pre>

If you've got other modules loading, ftdi serial drivers, etc. then something's wrong.

==Download and install lla==
LLA is Linux Lighting Architecture, a general framework for lighting applications in Linux. It's available as a live CD, but we're just using the package as a way to interface QLC with the USB driver. More info about LLA on it's webpage.

===Install the packages===
There are debian packages available at the time of writing. Add the packages to your sources file:

<code><pre>
sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
</pre></code>

add the following line at the end:

<code><pre>
deb http://www.nomis52.net/data/debian ./
</pre></code>

Install the packages:

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install liblla0 llad llad-console lla-examples
</pre></code>

===Test the installation===
With your dongle connected as in section 3, you're now ready to test. Connect a DMX device up to your dongle, make sure you know the channel number it's on, make sure it's working correctly, make sure you got the polarity in your DMX lead right, etc. etc. Being sure that the dongle/hardware/software combination is the only weak link will save a lot of hair-pulling...

First, start the daemon:

<code><pre>
sudo llad
</pre></code>

Next, find out what number the OpenDMX device is:

<code><pre>
lla_dev_info
</pre></code>

you should get something like:

<pre>
Device 2: Open DMX USB Device
</pre>

If you can't see 'Open DMX USB Device' in there somewhere, then you haven't got the kernel driver installed properly. Go straight to jail, do not pass go.

Assuming everything is OK, you need to patch this device so we can use it:

<code><pre>
lla_patch -d2 -p0 -u0
</pre></code>

(replace -d2 with whichever device number is your Open DMX USB)

now do:

<code><pre>
lla_dev_info
</pre></code>

and it should say

<code><pre>
Device 2: Open DMX USB Device
port 0, cap OUT, universe 1
</pre></code>

Finally:

<code><pre>
lla_dmxconsole
</pre></code>

and play with the console!

Don't forget to remove your test patch afterwards:

<code><pre>
lla_patch -r -d2 -p0 -u0
</pre></code>

==Download and install the latest build of QLC==
Finally! There are Ubuntu/Debian packages, but at the time of writing they're not the most up-to-date and don't include the LLA plugin. You could compile from source, but the most recent RPM packages work fine and save time and hassle.

<code><pre>
cd ~/dmx-software
wget http://rpms.netmindz.net/FC6/i386/RPMS.netmindz/qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
</pre></code>

(browse through the packages on that server and find the most recent qlc build if the above command fails)

<code><pre>
sudo alien qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
</pre></code>

wait a long time... (don't worry about the warnings)... then:

<code><pre>
sudo dpkg -i qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
sudo apt-get install libqt3-mt
</pre></code>

Now try it:

<code><pre>
sudo qlc &
</pre></code>

QLC should run OK. Don't get too excited yet, there's one more step...

==Put it all together==
We now need a script that will start the lla daemon, patch the adaptor to the DMX universe (QLC uses 1 by default, LLA uses 0) and start QLC. This should do it:

<code><pre>
#!/bin/bash
gksudo killall llad
sleep 2s
sudo llad
sleep 5s
sudo lla_patch -d2 -p0 -u1
sleep 2s
sudo qlc &
</pre></code>

save it as something memorable (I use qlc-start) and make sure it's executable:

<code><pre>
chmod u+x qlc-start
</pre></code>

and you're away!

LLA, OpenDMX USB and Q Light Controller Tutorial

2007-06-29T19:37:52Z

Lpcollier: /* Test the installation */

==Introduction==

I got very excited when I first saw QLC. Then I got slightly annoyed, then very frustrated trying to get it to work. I ended up using Slackware so that I could have a relatively modern distro with Linux 2.4 in order to use dmx4linux. But it's a hassle to reboot every time I want to play with DMX. So...

This guide assumes you're using Ubuntu 7.04 (Fiesty Fawn), but should be usable for any apt-based distro. Could probably be adapted for rpm-based too.

==Operating System==

Pretty obvious, but... get the latest Ubuntu installed on your machine. www.ubuntu.com

==Prerequisite packages==
===GIT and Cogito===
These are used to download source code.

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install git-core cogito curl
</pre></code>

===Kernel source===
We need this in order to be able to compile the modules

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install linux-source
</pre></code>

===Alien===
We will need to install some RPM files at some point (bah!)

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install alien
</pre></code>

===Build essentials===
We're going to be building source, so we need the standard libraries:

<code><pre>
apt-get install build-essential
</pre></code>

(if you're following this on a non-debian-style distibution, you need the libc, libstcd++ development files, C compiler etc.)

==Build and install the usb kernel module==

We're not using dmx4linux since there's no version that supports kernel 2.6 and the OpenDMX USB dongle. There's a few attempts to port floating around, but none work with this adaptor.

Instead we will use Erwil Rol's driver.

It's best to make sure that you're running the kernel that you're intending to use - if you've upgraded from previous versions of Ubuntu you may have several versions hanging around. Removing old ones using Synaptic is probably a good idea.

===Compile and install driver===

<code><pre>
cd ~
mkdir dmx-software
cd dmx-software
git-clone http://www.erwinrol.com/git/dmx_usb_module/
cd dmx_usb_module
make
cp ./dmx_usb.ko /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/kernel/drivers/usb/serial
depmod
</pre></code>

===Blacklist the other serial drivers===
Because this dongle uses a usb to serial converter chip, it's recognised by the hotplug/udev/hal system and drivers are loaded - unfortunately not ones that work with QLC. The workaround is to blacklist the alternative drivers. If you have other usb to serial converters then they will stop working - if you need these then you will have to delve into the source and change the USB device IDs that the drivers detect... here we will go for the quick and dirty solution.

With your favourite text editor, as root/sudo, edit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist e.g.:

<code><pre>
sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
</pre></code>

add the following lines:

<code><pre>
blacklist usbserial
blacklist usb-serial
blacklist ftdi_sio
</pre></code>

===Remove the brltty package===
According to Synaptic, "BRLTTY is a daemon which provides access to the Linux console (text mode) for a blind person using a soft braille display". Unfortunately it has a habit of interfering with anything that looks like it might be a serial console, USB to serial devices included. There's probably a more elegant workaround, but we'll go for the quick and dirty again, and remove it:

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get remove brltty
</pre></code>

===Test the driver===
Plug in your dongle!! Hopefully all will go well, and if you type:

<code><pre>
dmesg
</pre></code>

you should see:

<pre>
DMX USB device now attached to dmx192
</pre>

If you've got other modules loading, ftdi serial drivers, etc. then something's wrong.

==Download and install lla==
LLA is Linux Lighting Architecture, a general framework for lighting applications in Linux. It's available as a live CD, but we're just using the package as a way to interface QLC with the USB driver. More info about LLA on it's webpage.

===Install the packages===
There are debian packages available at the time of writing. Add the packages to your sources file:

<code><pre>
sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
</pre></code>

add the following line at the end:

<code><pre>
deb http://www.nomis52.net/data/debian ./
</pre></code>

Install the packages:

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install liblla0 llad llad-console lla-examples
</pre></code>

===Test the installation===
With your dongle connected as in section 3, you're now ready to test. Connect a DMX device up to your dongle, make sure you know the channel number it's on, make sure it's working correctly, make sure you got the polarity in your DMX lead right, etc. etc. Being sure that the dongle/hardware/software combination is the only weak link will save a lot of hair-pulling...

First, start the daemon:

<code><pre>
sudo llad
</pre></code>

Next, find out what number the OpenDMX device is:

<code><pre>
lla_dev_info
</pre></code>

you should get something like:

<pre>
Device 2: Open DMX USB Device
</pre>

If you can't see 'Open DMX USB Device' in there somewhere, then you haven't got the kernel driver installed properly. Go straight to jail, do not pass go.

Assuming everything is OK, you need to patch this device so we can use it:

<code><pre>
lla_patch -d2 -p0 -u0
</pre></code>

(replace -d2 with whichever device number is your Open DMX USB)

now do:

<code><pre>
lla_dev_info
</pre></code>

and it should say

<code><pre>
Device 2: Open DMX USB Device
port 0, cap OUT, universe 1
</pre></code>

Finally:

<code><pre>
lla_dmxconsole
</pre></code>

and play with the console!

Don't forget to remove your test patch afterwards:

<code><pre>
lla_patch -r -d2 -p0 -u0
</pre></code>

==Download and install the latest build of QLC==
Finally! There are Ubuntu/Debian packages, but at the time of writing they're not the most up-to-date and don't include the LLA plugin. You could compile from source, but the most recent RPM packages work fine and save time and hassle.

<code><pre>
cd ~/dmx-software
wget http://rpms.netmindz.net/FC6/i386/RPMS.netmindz/qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
</pre></code>

(browse through the packages on that server and find the most recent qlc build if the above command fails)

<code><pre>
sudo alien qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
</pre></code>

wait a long time... (don't worry about the warnings)... then:

<code><pre>
sudo dpkg -i qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
sudo apt-get install libqt3-mt
</pre></code>

Now try it:

<code><pre>
sudo qlc &
</pre></code>

QLC should run OK. Don't get too excited yet, there's one more step...

==Put it all together==
We now need a script that will start the lla daemon, patch the adaptor to the DMX universe (QLC uses 1 by default, LLA uses 0) and start QLC. This should do it:

<code><pre>
#!/bin/bash
gksudo killall llad
sleep 2s
sudo llad
sleep 5s
sudo lla_patch -d2 -p0 -u1
sleep 2s
sudo qlc &
</pre></code>

save it as something memorable (I use qlc-start) and make sure it's executable:

<code><pre>
chmod u+x qlc-start
</pre></code>

and you're away!

LLA, OpenDMX USB and Q Light Controller Tutorial

2007-06-29T19:37:31Z

Lpcollier: /* Test the driver */

==Introduction==

I got very excited when I first saw QLC. Then I got slightly annoyed, then very frustrated trying to get it to work. I ended up using Slackware so that I could have a relatively modern distro with Linux 2.4 in order to use dmx4linux. But it's a hassle to reboot every time I want to play with DMX. So...

This guide assumes you're using Ubuntu 7.04 (Fiesty Fawn), but should be usable for any apt-based distro. Could probably be adapted for rpm-based too.

==Operating System==

Pretty obvious, but... get the latest Ubuntu installed on your machine. www.ubuntu.com

==Prerequisite packages==
===GIT and Cogito===
These are used to download source code.

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install git-core cogito curl
</pre></code>

===Kernel source===
We need this in order to be able to compile the modules

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install linux-source
</pre></code>

===Alien===
We will need to install some RPM files at some point (bah!)

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install alien
</pre></code>

===Build essentials===
We're going to be building source, so we need the standard libraries:

<code><pre>
apt-get install build-essential
</pre></code>

(if you're following this on a non-debian-style distibution, you need the libc, libstcd++ development files, C compiler etc.)

==Build and install the usb kernel module==

We're not using dmx4linux since there's no version that supports kernel 2.6 and the OpenDMX USB dongle. There's a few attempts to port floating around, but none work with this adaptor.

Instead we will use Erwil Rol's driver.

It's best to make sure that you're running the kernel that you're intending to use - if you've upgraded from previous versions of Ubuntu you may have several versions hanging around. Removing old ones using Synaptic is probably a good idea.

===Compile and install driver===

<code><pre>
cd ~
mkdir dmx-software
cd dmx-software
git-clone http://www.erwinrol.com/git/dmx_usb_module/
cd dmx_usb_module
make
cp ./dmx_usb.ko /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/kernel/drivers/usb/serial
depmod
</pre></code>

===Blacklist the other serial drivers===
Because this dongle uses a usb to serial converter chip, it's recognised by the hotplug/udev/hal system and drivers are loaded - unfortunately not ones that work with QLC. The workaround is to blacklist the alternative drivers. If you have other usb to serial converters then they will stop working - if you need these then you will have to delve into the source and change the USB device IDs that the drivers detect... here we will go for the quick and dirty solution.

With your favourite text editor, as root/sudo, edit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist e.g.:

<code><pre>
sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
</pre></code>

add the following lines:

<code><pre>
blacklist usbserial
blacklist usb-serial
blacklist ftdi_sio
</pre></code>

===Remove the brltty package===
According to Synaptic, "BRLTTY is a daemon which provides access to the Linux console (text mode) for a blind person using a soft braille display". Unfortunately it has a habit of interfering with anything that looks like it might be a serial console, USB to serial devices included. There's probably a more elegant workaround, but we'll go for the quick and dirty again, and remove it:

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get remove brltty
</pre></code>

===Test the driver===
Plug in your dongle!! Hopefully all will go well, and if you type:

<code><pre>
dmesg
</pre></code>

you should see:

<pre>
DMX USB device now attached to dmx192
</pre>

If you've got other modules loading, ftdi serial drivers, etc. then something's wrong.

==Download and install lla==
LLA is Linux Lighting Architecture, a general framework for lighting applications in Linux. It's available as a live CD, but we're just using the package as a way to interface QLC with the USB driver. More info about LLA on it's webpage.

===Install the packages===
There are debian packages available at the time of writing. Add the packages to your sources file:

<code><pre>
sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
</pre></code>

add the following line at the end:

<code><pre>
deb http://www.nomis52.net/data/debian ./
</pre></code>

Install the packages:

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install liblla0 llad llad-console lla-examples
</pre></code>

===Test the installation===
With your dongle connected as in section 3, you're now ready to test. Connect a DMX device up to your dongle, make sure you know the channel number it's on, make sure it's working correctly, make sure you got the polarity in your DMX lead right, etc. etc. Being sure that the dongle/hardware/software combination is the only weak link will save a lot of hair-pulling...

First, start the daemon:

<code><pre>
sudo llad
</pre></code>

Next, find out what number the OpenDMX device is:

<code><pre>
lla_dev_info
</pre></code>

you should get something like:

<code><pre>
Device 2: Open DMX USB Device
</pre></code>

If you can't see 'Open DMX USB Device' in there somewhere, then you haven't got the kernel driver installed properly. Go straight to jail, do not pass go.

Assuming everything is OK, you need to patch this device so we can use it:

<code><pre>
lla_patch -d2 -p0 -u0
</pre></code>

(replace -d2 with whichever device number is your Open DMX USB)

now do:

<code><pre>
lla_dev_info
</pre></code>

and it should say

<code><pre>
Device 2: Open DMX USB Device
port 0, cap OUT, universe 1
</pre></code>

Finally:

<code><pre>
lla_dmxconsole
</pre></code>

and play with the console!

Don't forget to remove your test patch afterwards:

<code><pre>
lla_patch -r -d2 -p0 -u0
</pre></code>

==Download and install the latest build of QLC==
Finally! There are Ubuntu/Debian packages, but at the time of writing they're not the most up-to-date and don't include the LLA plugin. You could compile from source, but the most recent RPM packages work fine and save time and hassle.

<code><pre>
cd ~/dmx-software
wget http://rpms.netmindz.net/FC6/i386/RPMS.netmindz/qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
</pre></code>

(browse through the packages on that server and find the most recent qlc build if the above command fails)

<code><pre>
sudo alien qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
</pre></code>

wait a long time... (don't worry about the warnings)... then:

<code><pre>
sudo dpkg -i qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
sudo apt-get install libqt3-mt
</pre></code>

Now try it:

<code><pre>
sudo qlc &
</pre></code>

QLC should run OK. Don't get too excited yet, there's one more step...

==Put it all together==
We now need a script that will start the lla daemon, patch the adaptor to the DMX universe (QLC uses 1 by default, LLA uses 0) and start QLC. This should do it:

<code><pre>
#!/bin/bash
gksudo killall llad
sleep 2s
sudo llad
sleep 5s
sudo lla_patch -d2 -p0 -u1
sleep 2s
sudo qlc &
</pre></code>

save it as something memorable (I use qlc-start) and make sure it's executable:

<code><pre>
chmod u+x qlc-start
</pre></code>

and you're away!

LLA, OpenDMX USB and Q Light Controller Tutorial

2007-06-29T19:36:57Z

Lpcollier:

==Introduction==

I got very excited when I first saw QLC. Then I got slightly annoyed, then very frustrated trying to get it to work. I ended up using Slackware so that I could have a relatively modern distro with Linux 2.4 in order to use dmx4linux. But it's a hassle to reboot every time I want to play with DMX. So...

This guide assumes you're using Ubuntu 7.04 (Fiesty Fawn), but should be usable for any apt-based distro. Could probably be adapted for rpm-based too.

==Operating System==

Pretty obvious, but... get the latest Ubuntu installed on your machine. www.ubuntu.com

==Prerequisite packages==
===GIT and Cogito===
These are used to download source code.

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install git-core cogito curl
</pre></code>

===Kernel source===
We need this in order to be able to compile the modules

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install linux-source
</pre></code>

===Alien===
We will need to install some RPM files at some point (bah!)

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get install alien
</pre></code>

===Build essentials===
We're going to be building source, so we need the standard libraries:

<code><pre>
apt-get install build-essential
</pre></code>

(if you're following this on a non-debian-style distibution, you need the libc, libstcd++ development files, C compiler etc.)

==Build and install the usb kernel module==

We're not using dmx4linux since there's no version that supports kernel 2.6 and the OpenDMX USB dongle. There's a few attempts to port floating around, but none work with this adaptor.

Instead we will use Erwil Rol's driver.

It's best to make sure that you're running the kernel that you're intending to use - if you've upgraded from previous versions of Ubuntu you may have several versions hanging around. Removing old ones using Synaptic is probably a good idea.

===Compile and install driver===

<code><pre>
cd ~
mkdir dmx-software
cd dmx-software
git-clone http://www.erwinrol.com/git/dmx_usb_module/
cd dmx_usb_module
make
cp ./dmx_usb.ko /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/kernel/drivers/usb/serial
depmod
</pre></code>

===Blacklist the other serial drivers===
Because this dongle uses a usb to serial converter chip, it's recognised by the hotplug/udev/hal system and drivers are loaded - unfortunately not ones that work with QLC. The workaround is to blacklist the alternative drivers. If you have other usb to serial converters then they will stop working - if you need these then you will have to delve into the source and change the USB device IDs that the drivers detect... here we will go for the quick and dirty solution.

With your favourite text editor, as root/sudo, edit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist e.g.:

<code><pre>
sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
</pre></code>

add the following lines:

<code><pre>
blacklist usbserial
blacklist usb-serial
blacklist ftdi_sio
</pre></code>

===Remove the brltty package===
According to Synaptic, "BRLTTY is a daemon which provides access to the Linux console (text mode) for a blind person using a soft braille display". Unfortunately it has a habit of interfering with anything that looks like it might be a serial console, USB to serial devices included. There's probably a more elegant workaround, but we'll go for the quick and dirty again, and remove it:

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get remove brltty
</pre></code>

===Test the driver===
Plug in your dongle!! Hopefully all will go well, and if you type:

<code><pre>
dmesg
</pre></code>

you should see:

<code><pre>
DMX USB device now attached to dmx192
</pre></code>

If you've got other modules loading, ftdi serial drivers, etc. then something's wrong.

==Download and install lla==
LLA is Linux Lighting Architecture, a general framework for lighting applications in Linux. It's available as a live CD, but we're just using the package as a way to interface QLC with the USB driver. More info about LLA on it's webpage.

===Install the packages===
There are debian packages available at the time of writing. Add the packages to your sources file:

<code><pre>
sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
</pre></code>

add the following line at the end:

<code><pre>
deb http://www.nomis52.net/data/debian ./
</pre></code>

Install the packages:

<code><pre>
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install liblla0 llad llad-console lla-examples
</pre></code>

===Test the installation===
With your dongle connected as in section 3, you're now ready to test. Connect a DMX device up to your dongle, make sure you know the channel number it's on, make sure it's working correctly, make sure you got the polarity in your DMX lead right, etc. etc. Being sure that the dongle/hardware/software combination is the only weak link will save a lot of hair-pulling...

First, start the daemon:

<code><pre>
sudo llad
</pre></code>

Next, find out what number the OpenDMX device is:

<code><pre>
lla_dev_info
</pre></code>

you should get something like:

<code><pre>
Device 2: Open DMX USB Device
</pre></code>

If you can't see 'Open DMX USB Device' in there somewhere, then you haven't got the kernel driver installed properly. Go straight to jail, do not pass go.

Assuming everything is OK, you need to patch this device so we can use it:

<code><pre>
lla_patch -d2 -p0 -u0
</pre></code>

(replace -d2 with whichever device number is your Open DMX USB)

now do:

<code><pre>
lla_dev_info
</pre></code>

and it should say

<code><pre>
Device 2: Open DMX USB Device
port 0, cap OUT, universe 1
</pre></code>

Finally:

<code><pre>
lla_dmxconsole
</pre></code>

and play with the console!

Don't forget to remove your test patch afterwards:

<code><pre>
lla_patch -r -d2 -p0 -u0
</pre></code>

==Download and install the latest build of QLC==
Finally! There are Ubuntu/Debian packages, but at the time of writing they're not the most up-to-date and don't include the LLA plugin. You could compile from source, but the most recent RPM packages work fine and save time and hassle.

<code><pre>
cd ~/dmx-software
wget http://rpms.netmindz.net/FC6/i386/RPMS.netmindz/qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
</pre></code>

(browse through the packages on that server and find the most recent qlc build if the above command fails)

<code><pre>
sudo alien qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
</pre></code>

wait a long time... (don't worry about the warnings)... then:

<code><pre>
sudo dpkg -i qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
sudo apt-get install libqt3-mt
</pre></code>

Now try it:

<code><pre>
sudo qlc &
</pre></code>

QLC should run OK. Don't get too excited yet, there's one more step...

==Put it all together==
We now need a script that will start the lla daemon, patch the adaptor to the DMX universe (QLC uses 1 by default, LLA uses 0) and start QLC. This should do it:

<code><pre>
#!/bin/bash
gksudo killall llad
sleep 2s
sudo llad
sleep 5s
sudo lla_patch -d2 -p0 -u1
sleep 2s
sudo qlc &
</pre></code>

save it as something memorable (I use qlc-start) and make sure it's executable:

<code><pre>
chmod u+x qlc-start
</pre></code>

and you're away!

LLA, OpenDMX USB and Q Light Controller Tutorial

2007-06-29T19:35:28Z

Lpcollier: /* Put it all together */

==Introduction==

I got very excited when I first saw QLC. Then I got slightly annoyed, then very frustrated trying to get it to work. I ended up using Slackware so that I could have a relatively modern distro with Linux 2.4 in order to use dmx4linux. But it's a hassle to reboot every time I want to play with DMX. So...

This guide assumes you're using Ubuntu 7.04 (Fiesty Fawn), but should be usable for any apt-based distro. Could probably be adapted for rpm-based too.

==Operating System==

Pretty obvious, but... get the latest Ubuntu installed on your machine. www.ubuntu.com

==Prerequisite packages==
===GIT and Cogito===
These are used to download source code.

<code>
sudo apt-get install git-core cogito curl
</code>

===Kernel source===
We need this in order to be able to compile the modules

<code>
sudo apt-get install linux-source
</code>

===Alien===
We will need to install some RPM files at some point (bah!)

<code>
sudo apt-get install alien
</code>

===Build essentials===
We're going to be building source, so we need the standard libraries:

<code>
apt-get install build-essential
</code>

(if you're following this on a non-debian-style distibution, you need the libc, libstcd++ development files, C compiler etc.)

==Build and install the usb kernel module==

We're not using dmx4linux since there's no version that supports kernel 2.6 and the OpenDMX USB dongle. There's a few attempts to port floating around, but none work with this adaptor.

Instead we will use Erwil Rol's driver.

It's best to make sure that you're running the kernel that you're intending to use - if you've upgraded from previous versions of Ubuntu you may have several versions hanging around. Removing old ones using Synaptic is probably a good idea.

===Compile and install driver===

<code>
cd ~
mkdir dmx-software
cd dmx-software
git-clone http://www.erwinrol.com/git/dmx_usb_module/
cd dmx_usb_module
make
cp ./dmx_usb.ko /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/kernel/drivers/usb/serial
depmod
</code>

===Blacklist the other serial drivers===
Because this dongle uses a usb to serial converter chip, it's recognised by the hotplug/udev/hal system and drivers are loaded - unfortunately not ones that work with QLC. The workaround is to blacklist the alternative drivers. If you have other usb to serial converters then they will stop working - if you need these then you will have to delve into the source and change the USB device IDs that the drivers detect... here we will go for the quick and dirty solution.

With your favourite text editor, as root/sudo, edit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist e.g.:

<code>
sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
</code>

add the following lines:

<code>
blacklist usbserial
blacklist usb-serial
blacklist ftdi_sio
</code>

===Remove the brltty package===
According to Synaptic, "BRLTTY is a daemon which provides access to the Linux console (text mode) for a blind person using a soft braille display". Unfortunately it has a habit of interfering with anything that looks like it might be a serial console, USB to serial devices included. There's probably a more elegant workaround, but we'll go for the quick and dirty again, and remove it:

<code>
sudo apt-get remove brltty
</code>

===Test the driver===
Plug in your dongle!! Hopefully all will go well, and if you type:

<code>
dmesg
</code>

you should see:

<code>
DMX USB device now attached to dmx192
</code>

If you've got other modules loading, ftdi serial drivers, etc. then something's wrong.

==Download and install lla==
LLA is Linux Lighting Architecture, a general framework for lighting applications in Linux. It's available as a live CD, but we're just using the package as a way to interface QLC with the USB driver. More info about LLA on it's webpage.

===Install the packages===
There are debian packages available at the time of writing. Add the packages to your sources file:

<code>
sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
</code>

add the following line at the end:

<code>
deb http://www.nomis52.net/data/debian ./
</code>

Install the packages:

<code>
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install liblla0 llad llad-console lla-examples
</code>

===Test the installation===
With your dongle connected as in section 3, you're now ready to test. Connect a DMX device up to your dongle, make sure you know the channel number it's on, make sure it's working correctly, make sure you got the polarity in your DMX lead right, etc. etc. Being sure that the dongle/hardware/software combination is the only weak link will save a lot of hair-pulling...

First, start the daemon:

<code>
sudo llad
</code>

Next, find out what number the OpenDMX device is:

<code>
lla_dev_info
</code>

you should get something like:

<code>
Device 2: Open DMX USB Device
</code>

If you can't see 'Open DMX USB Device' in there somewhere, then you haven't got the kernel driver installed properly. Go straight to jail, do not pass go.

Assuming everything is OK, you need to patch this device so we can use it:

<code>
lla_patch -d2 -p0 -u0
</code>

(replace -d2 with whichever device number is your Open DMX USB)

now do:

<code>
lla_dev_info
</code>

and it should say

<code>
Device 2: Open DMX USB Device
port 0, cap OUT, universe 1
</code>

Finally:

<code>
lla_dmxconsole
</code>

and play with the console!

Don't forget to remove your test patch afterwards:

<code>
lla_patch -r -d2 -p0 -u0
</code>

==Download and install the latest build of QLC==
Finally! There are Ubuntu/Debian packages, but at the time of writing they're not the most up-to-date and don't include the LLA plugin. You could compile from source, but the most recent RPM packages work fine and save time and hassle.

<code>
cd ~/dmx-software
wget http://rpms.netmindz.net/FC6/i386/RPMS.netmindz/qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
</code>

(browse through the packages on that server and find the most recent qlc build if the above command fails)

<code>
sudo alien qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
</code>

wait a long time... (don't worry about the warnings)... then:

<code>
sudo dpkg -i qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
sudo apt-get install libqt3-mt
</code>

Now try it:

<code>
sudo qlc &
</code>

QLC should run OK. Don't get too excited yet, there's one more step...

==Put it all together==
We now need a script that will start the lla daemon, patch the adaptor to the DMX universe (QLC uses 1 by default, LLA uses 0) and start QLC. This should do it:

<code><pre>
#!/bin/bash
gksudo killall llad
sleep 2s
sudo llad
sleep 5s
sudo lla_patch -d2 -p0 -u1
sleep 2s
sudo qlc &
</pre></code>

save it as something memorable (I use qlc-start) and make sure it's executable:

<code>
chmod u+x qlc-start
</code>

and you're away!

LLA, OpenDMX USB and Q Light Controller Tutorial

2007-06-29T19:34:54Z

Lpcollier: /* Put it all together */

==Introduction==

I got very excited when I first saw QLC. Then I got slightly annoyed, then very frustrated trying to get it to work. I ended up using Slackware so that I could have a relatively modern distro with Linux 2.4 in order to use dmx4linux. But it's a hassle to reboot every time I want to play with DMX. So...

This guide assumes you're using Ubuntu 7.04 (Fiesty Fawn), but should be usable for any apt-based distro. Could probably be adapted for rpm-based too.

==Operating System==

Pretty obvious, but... get the latest Ubuntu installed on your machine. www.ubuntu.com

==Prerequisite packages==
===GIT and Cogito===
These are used to download source code.

<code>
sudo apt-get install git-core cogito curl
</code>

===Kernel source===
We need this in order to be able to compile the modules

<code>
sudo apt-get install linux-source
</code>

===Alien===
We will need to install some RPM files at some point (bah!)

<code>
sudo apt-get install alien
</code>

===Build essentials===
We're going to be building source, so we need the standard libraries:

<code>
apt-get install build-essential
</code>

(if you're following this on a non-debian-style distibution, you need the libc, libstcd++ development files, C compiler etc.)

==Build and install the usb kernel module==

We're not using dmx4linux since there's no version that supports kernel 2.6 and the OpenDMX USB dongle. There's a few attempts to port floating around, but none work with this adaptor.

Instead we will use Erwil Rol's driver.

It's best to make sure that you're running the kernel that you're intending to use - if you've upgraded from previous versions of Ubuntu you may have several versions hanging around. Removing old ones using Synaptic is probably a good idea.

===Compile and install driver===

<code>
cd ~
mkdir dmx-software
cd dmx-software
git-clone http://www.erwinrol.com/git/dmx_usb_module/
cd dmx_usb_module
make
cp ./dmx_usb.ko /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/kernel/drivers/usb/serial
depmod
</code>

===Blacklist the other serial drivers===
Because this dongle uses a usb to serial converter chip, it's recognised by the hotplug/udev/hal system and drivers are loaded - unfortunately not ones that work with QLC. The workaround is to blacklist the alternative drivers. If you have other usb to serial converters then they will stop working - if you need these then you will have to delve into the source and change the USB device IDs that the drivers detect... here we will go for the quick and dirty solution.

With your favourite text editor, as root/sudo, edit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist e.g.:

<code>
sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
</code>

add the following lines:

<code>
blacklist usbserial
blacklist usb-serial
blacklist ftdi_sio
</code>

===Remove the brltty package===
According to Synaptic, "BRLTTY is a daemon which provides access to the Linux console (text mode) for a blind person using a soft braille display". Unfortunately it has a habit of interfering with anything that looks like it might be a serial console, USB to serial devices included. There's probably a more elegant workaround, but we'll go for the quick and dirty again, and remove it:

<code>
sudo apt-get remove brltty
</code>

===Test the driver===
Plug in your dongle!! Hopefully all will go well, and if you type:

<code>
dmesg
</code>

you should see:

<code>
DMX USB device now attached to dmx192
</code>

If you've got other modules loading, ftdi serial drivers, etc. then something's wrong.

==Download and install lla==
LLA is Linux Lighting Architecture, a general framework for lighting applications in Linux. It's available as a live CD, but we're just using the package as a way to interface QLC with the USB driver. More info about LLA on it's webpage.

===Install the packages===
There are debian packages available at the time of writing. Add the packages to your sources file:

<code>
sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
</code>

add the following line at the end:

<code>
deb http://www.nomis52.net/data/debian ./
</code>

Install the packages:

<code>
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install liblla0 llad llad-console lla-examples
</code>

===Test the installation===
With your dongle connected as in section 3, you're now ready to test. Connect a DMX device up to your dongle, make sure you know the channel number it's on, make sure it's working correctly, make sure you got the polarity in your DMX lead right, etc. etc. Being sure that the dongle/hardware/software combination is the only weak link will save a lot of hair-pulling...

First, start the daemon:

<code>
sudo llad
</code>

Next, find out what number the OpenDMX device is:

<code>
lla_dev_info
</code>

you should get something like:

<code>
Device 2: Open DMX USB Device
</code>

If you can't see 'Open DMX USB Device' in there somewhere, then you haven't got the kernel driver installed properly. Go straight to jail, do not pass go.

Assuming everything is OK, you need to patch this device so we can use it:

<code>
lla_patch -d2 -p0 -u0
</code>

(replace -d2 with whichever device number is your Open DMX USB)

now do:

<code>
lla_dev_info
</code>

and it should say

<code>
Device 2: Open DMX USB Device
port 0, cap OUT, universe 1
</code>

Finally:

<code>
lla_dmxconsole
</code>

and play with the console!

Don't forget to remove your test patch afterwards:

<code>
lla_patch -r -d2 -p0 -u0
</code>

==Download and install the latest build of QLC==
Finally! There are Ubuntu/Debian packages, but at the time of writing they're not the most up-to-date and don't include the LLA plugin. You could compile from source, but the most recent RPM packages work fine and save time and hassle.

<code>
cd ~/dmx-software
wget http://rpms.netmindz.net/FC6/i386/RPMS.netmindz/qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
</code>

(browse through the packages on that server and find the most recent qlc build if the above command fails)

<code>
sudo alien qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
</code>

wait a long time... (don't worry about the warnings)... then:

<code>
sudo dpkg -i qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
sudo apt-get install libqt3-mt
</code>

Now try it:

<code>
sudo qlc &
</code>

QLC should run OK. Don't get too excited yet, there's one more step...

==Put it all together==
We now need a script that will start the lla daemon, patch the adaptor to the DMX universe (QLC uses 1 by default, LLA uses 0) and start QLC. This should do it:

<code><nowiki>
#!/bin/bash
gksudo killall llad
sleep 2s
sudo llad
sleep 5s
sudo lla_patch -d2 -p0 -u1
sleep 2s
sudo qlc &
</nowiki></code>

save it as something memorable (I use qlc-start) and make sure it's executable:

<code>
chmod u+x qlc-start
</code>

and you're away!

LLA, OpenDMX USB and Q Light Controller Tutorial

2007-06-29T19:33:13Z

Lpcollier:

==Introduction==

I got very excited when I first saw QLC. Then I got slightly annoyed, then very frustrated trying to get it to work. I ended up using Slackware so that I could have a relatively modern distro with Linux 2.4 in order to use dmx4linux. But it's a hassle to reboot every time I want to play with DMX. So...

This guide assumes you're using Ubuntu 7.04 (Fiesty Fawn), but should be usable for any apt-based distro. Could probably be adapted for rpm-based too.

==Operating System==

Pretty obvious, but... get the latest Ubuntu installed on your machine. www.ubuntu.com

==Prerequisite packages==
===GIT and Cogito===
These are used to download source code.

<code>
sudo apt-get install git-core cogito curl
</code>

===Kernel source===
We need this in order to be able to compile the modules

<code>
sudo apt-get install linux-source
</code>

===Alien===
We will need to install some RPM files at some point (bah!)

<code>
sudo apt-get install alien
</code>

===Build essentials===
We're going to be building source, so we need the standard libraries:

<code>
apt-get install build-essential
</code>

(if you're following this on a non-debian-style distibution, you need the libc, libstcd++ development files, C compiler etc.)

==Build and install the usb kernel module==

We're not using dmx4linux since there's no version that supports kernel 2.6 and the OpenDMX USB dongle. There's a few attempts to port floating around, but none work with this adaptor.

Instead we will use Erwil Rol's driver.

It's best to make sure that you're running the kernel that you're intending to use - if you've upgraded from previous versions of Ubuntu you may have several versions hanging around. Removing old ones using Synaptic is probably a good idea.

===Compile and install driver===

<code>
cd ~
mkdir dmx-software
cd dmx-software
git-clone http://www.erwinrol.com/git/dmx_usb_module/
cd dmx_usb_module
make
cp ./dmx_usb.ko /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/kernel/drivers/usb/serial
depmod
</code>

===Blacklist the other serial drivers===
Because this dongle uses a usb to serial converter chip, it's recognised by the hotplug/udev/hal system and drivers are loaded - unfortunately not ones that work with QLC. The workaround is to blacklist the alternative drivers. If you have other usb to serial converters then they will stop working - if you need these then you will have to delve into the source and change the USB device IDs that the drivers detect... here we will go for the quick and dirty solution.

With your favourite text editor, as root/sudo, edit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist e.g.:

<code>
sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
</code>

add the following lines:

<code>
blacklist usbserial
blacklist usb-serial
blacklist ftdi_sio
</code>

===Remove the brltty package===
According to Synaptic, "BRLTTY is a daemon which provides access to the Linux console (text mode) for a blind person using a soft braille display". Unfortunately it has a habit of interfering with anything that looks like it might be a serial console, USB to serial devices included. There's probably a more elegant workaround, but we'll go for the quick and dirty again, and remove it:

<code>
sudo apt-get remove brltty
</code>

===Test the driver===
Plug in your dongle!! Hopefully all will go well, and if you type:

<code>
dmesg
</code>

you should see:

<code>
DMX USB device now attached to dmx192
</code>

If you've got other modules loading, ftdi serial drivers, etc. then something's wrong.

==Download and install lla==
LLA is Linux Lighting Architecture, a general framework for lighting applications in Linux. It's available as a live CD, but we're just using the package as a way to interface QLC with the USB driver. More info about LLA on it's webpage.

===Install the packages===
There are debian packages available at the time of writing. Add the packages to your sources file:

<code>
sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
</code>

add the following line at the end:

<code>
deb http://www.nomis52.net/data/debian ./
</code>

Install the packages:

<code>
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install liblla0 llad llad-console lla-examples
</code>

===Test the installation===
With your dongle connected as in section 3, you're now ready to test. Connect a DMX device up to your dongle, make sure you know the channel number it's on, make sure it's working correctly, make sure you got the polarity in your DMX lead right, etc. etc. Being sure that the dongle/hardware/software combination is the only weak link will save a lot of hair-pulling...

First, start the daemon:

<code>
sudo llad
</code>

Next, find out what number the OpenDMX device is:

<code>
lla_dev_info
</code>

you should get something like:

<code>
Device 2: Open DMX USB Device
</code>

If you can't see 'Open DMX USB Device' in there somewhere, then you haven't got the kernel driver installed properly. Go straight to jail, do not pass go.

Assuming everything is OK, you need to patch this device so we can use it:

<code>
lla_patch -d2 -p0 -u0
</code>

(replace -d2 with whichever device number is your Open DMX USB)

now do:

<code>
lla_dev_info
</code>

and it should say

<code>
Device 2: Open DMX USB Device
port 0, cap OUT, universe 1
</code>

Finally:

<code>
lla_dmxconsole
</code>

and play with the console!

Don't forget to remove your test patch afterwards:

<code>
lla_patch -r -d2 -p0 -u0
</code>

==Download and install the latest build of QLC==
Finally! There are Ubuntu/Debian packages, but at the time of writing they're not the most up-to-date and don't include the LLA plugin. You could compile from source, but the most recent RPM packages work fine and save time and hassle.

<code>
cd ~/dmx-software
wget http://rpms.netmindz.net/FC6/i386/RPMS.netmindz/qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
</code>

(browse through the packages on that server and find the most recent qlc build if the above command fails)

<code>
sudo alien qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
</code>

wait a long time... (don't worry about the warnings)... then:

<code>
sudo dpkg -i qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
sudo apt-get install libqt3-mt
</code>

Now try it:

<code>
sudo qlc &
</code>

QLC should run OK. Don't get too excited yet, there's one more step...

==Put it all together==
We now need a script that will start the lla daemon, patch the adaptor to the DMX universe (QLC uses 1 by default, LLA uses 0) and start QLC. This should do it:

<code>
#!/bin/bash
gksudo killall llad
sleep 2s
sudo llad
sleep 5s
sudo lla_patch -d2 -p0 -u1
sleep 2s
sudo qlc &
</code>

save it as something memorable (I use qlc-start) and make sure it's executable:

<code>
chmod u+x qlc-start
</code>

and you're away!

LLA, OpenDMX USB and Q Light Controller Tutorial

2007-06-29T19:27:45Z

Lpcollier: Initial upload and conversion from html

==Introduction==

I got very excited when I first saw QLC. Then I got slightly annoyed, then very frustrated trying to get it to work. I ended up using Slackware so that I could have a relatively modern distro with Linux 2.4 in order to use dmx4linux. But it's a hassle to reboot every time I want to play with DMX. So...

This guide assumes you're using Ubuntu 7.04 (Fiesty Fawn), but should be usable for any apt-based distro. Could probably be adapted for rpm-based too.

==Operating System==

Pretty obvious, but... get the latest Ubuntu installed on your machine. www.ubuntu.com

==Prerequisite packages==
===GIT and Cogito===
These are used to download source code.

sudo apt-get install git-core cogito curl

===Kernel source===
We need this in order to be able to compile the modules

sudo apt-get install linux-source

===Alien===
We will need to install some RPM files at some point (bah!)

sudo apt-get install alien

===Build essentials===
We're going to be building source, so we need the standard libraries:

apt-get install build-essential

(if you're following this on a non-debian-style distibution, you need the libc, libstcd++ development files, C compiler etc.)

==Build and install the usb kernel module==

We're not using dmx4linux since there's no version that supports kernel 2.6 and the OpenDMX USB dongle. There's a few attempts to port floating around, but none work with this adaptor.

Instead we will use Erwil Rol's driver.

It's best to make sure that you're running the kernel that you're intending to use - if you've upgraded from previous versions of Ubuntu you may have several versions hanging around. Removing old ones using Synaptic is probably a good idea.

===Compile and install driver===

cd ~

mkdir dmx-software

cd dmx-software

git-clone http://www.erwinrol.com/git/dmx_usb_module/

cd dmx_usb_module

make

cp ./dmx_usb.ko /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/kernel/drivers/usb/serial

depmod

===Blacklist the other serial drivers===
Because this dongle uses a usb to serial converter chip, it's recognised by the hotplug/udev/hal system and drivers are loaded - unfortunately not ones that work with QLC. The workaround is to blacklist the alternative drivers. If you have other usb to serial converters then they will stop working - if you need these then you will have to delve into the source and change the USB device IDs that the drivers detect... here we will go for the quick and dirty solution.

With your favourite text editor, as root/sudo, edit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist e.g.:

sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist

add the following lines:

blacklist usbserial

blacklist usb-serial

blacklist ftdi_sio

===Remove the brltty package===
According to Synaptic, "BRLTTY is a daemon which provides access to the Linux console (text mode) for a blind person using a soft braille display". Unfortunately it has a habit of interfering with anything that looks like it might be a serial console, USB to serial devices included. There's probably a more elegant workaround, but we'll go for the quick and dirty again, and remove it:

sudo apt-get remove brltty

===Test the driver===
Plug in your dongle!! Hopefully all will go well, and if you type:

dmesg

you should see:

DMX USB device now attached to dmx192

If you've got other modules loading, ftdi serial drivers, etc. then something's wrong.

==Download and install lla==
LLA is Linux Lighting Architecture, a general framework for lighting applications in Linux. It's available as a live CD, but we're just using the package as a way to interface QLC with the USB driver. More info about LLA on it's webpage.

===Install the packages===
There are debian packages available at the time of writing. Add the packages to your sources file:

sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

add the following line at the end:

deb http://www.nomis52.net/data/debian ./

Install the packages:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install liblla0 llad llad-console lla-examples

===Test the installation===
With your dongle connected as in section 3, you're now ready to test. Connect a DMX device up to your dongle, make sure you know the channel number it's on, make sure it's working correctly, make sure you got the polarity in your DMX lead right, etc. etc. Being sure that the dongle/hardware/software combination is the only weak link will save a lot of hair-pulling...

First, start the daemon:

sudo llad

Next, find out what number the OpenDMX device is:

lla_dev_info

you should get something like:

Device 2: Open DMX USB Device

If you can't see 'Open DMX USB Device' in there somewhere, then you haven't got the kernel driver installed properly. Go straight to jail, do not pass go.

Assuming everything is OK, you need to patch this device so we can use it:

lla_patch -d2 -p0 -u0

(replace -d2 with whichever device number is your Open DMX USB)

now do

lla_dev_info

and it should say

Device 2: Open DMX USB Device

port 0, cap OUT, universe 1

Finally:

lla_dmxconsole

and play with the console!

Don't forget to remove your test patch:

lla_patch -r -d2 -p0 -u0

==Download and install the latest build of QLC==
Finally! There are Ubuntu/Debian packages, but at the time of writing they're not the most up-to-date and don't include the LLA plugin. You could compile from source, but the most recent RPM packages work fine and save time and hassle.

cd ~/dmx-software

wget http://rpms.netmindz.net/FC6/i386/RPMS.netmindz/qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm

(browse through the packages on that server and find the most recent qlc build if the above command fails)

sudo alien qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm

wait a long time... (don't worry about the warnings)... then:

sudo dpkg -i qlc-2.6.1-2.fc6.i386.rpm
sudo apt-get install libqt3-mt

Now try it:

sudo qlc &

QLC should run OK. Don't get too excited yet, there's one more step...

==Put it all together==
We now need a script that will start the lla daemon, patch the adaptor to the DMX universe (QLC uses 1 by default, LLA uses 0) and start QLC. This should do it:

#!/bin/bash
gksudo killall llad
sleep 2s
sudo llad
sleep 5s
sudo lla_patch -d2 -p0 -u1
sleep 2s
sudo qlc &

save it as something memorable (I use qlc-start) and make sure it's executable:

chmod u+x qlc-start

and you're away!