Erratic not pairing unit and script unloaded

Hi,

I've got 2 bomeboxes connected with poe.

On bomebox 1 I have a passive usb-hub with :

•  keystep xkey 25mA
• a digitakt (which I imagine does not take any voltage, because it gets its own power supply)

On bomebox 2 I have a passive usb-hub with :

• 12 step 150mA
• launchpad mini mkii in low power mode for ipad (didn't find the precise information)
• irig blueboard just to power it (this one is getting replaced !)
• CME widibud (suppose to be low energy)

My POE power supply is 24w (at 48V), so I imagine (quite bad in electricity) that it's widely enough.

But because of pairing trouble, and script not geting load on boot, I put the bomebox 2 on a usb-hub 3A (that powered my gear and the bomebox 2). But I still had a trouble on stage ...

So I try to optimize.

Is this best practice :

• the 2 bomeboxes connected via poe for more stable current (they are 7 meters away one from the other and connected with RJ45 cable)
• everything on bomebox 2 on a powered usb-hub BUT the bomebox 2 powered by poe from the first one
• wifi off

I tried at home, no problem until now, but generally it's on stage that it happens :D

Do I minimize the risk of troubles ? Do you have any other advices to be sure my bomebox can pair and that the script get loaded on boot ?

Thank you very much for any advices.

It looks like you are doing everything right. I assume one of your BomeBoxes is an ethernet master and the other one either ethernet DHCP client of fixed IP address.

 

I always suspect power for USB devices so I got me a USB voltage/current tester to see for sure how much power something is drawing.  I found that sometimes even powered devices seem to draw power from USB.

I also find that when things are "intermittent", analyzing power (consumption, ground loops, clean power) are usually my first stops (MIDI or otherwise). 7 meters is probably OK for your ethernet POE, however the further away 2 devices are, the more chance of ground loops, so best to power everything from the same source. Maybe remove the powered hub from BomeBox2 and see if that helps (as long as the attached devices aren't drawing too much current. 

Steve Caldwell
Bome Q and A Moderator and
Independent Bome Consultant/Specialist
bome@sniz.biz

 

 

 

 

Also, make sure you always start the pairing process from the same BomeBox. Sometimes two units trying to initiate pairing at the same time (whether computers or BomeBoxes) can be problematic.

I have exactly the same issue. I’ve got an open ticket where Florian has asked me to supply the log files generated when the issue occurs... but it never seems to occur at home. Only during shows and rehearsals. In case it helps, my issue has occurred when using 2 Bome boxes, one connected via USB to a iConnect MIO10, the other connected to a keyboard via midi-din input. The symptom: The two boxes do not pair, even after rebooting. I must disconnect and reconnect the devices through the web interface. (I haven’t used the pair button.). In some case I must also reassign midi aliases... but not always.

Just wanting to report the same issue I've been experiencing the last couple of weeks.

- single Bomebox connected through PoE device connected to docking station connected to laptop (thunderbolt) all cables under 50 cm. Bomebox as DHCP host - no WiFi connections.

- No connection/pairing on startup.

- After restarting a couple of times the project is unloaded, all ports need to be reassigned and pairing needs to be confirmes again.

- afterwards it works solidly.

- appears to happen after I've previously connected my laptop to my home WiFi

- happened on stage during soundcheck when an extension cord failed cutting power to my entire rig.

- fixed last occurence mentioned above problem by restarting laptop instead of Bomebox

Cheers,

wereMole

 

Hi guys, if you can post or email me some screen shots of how you have everything configured, perhaps I can help. I'll try to configure mine the same and see if I can reproduce the problem. Screen shots I'm interested in are your network configuration, midi ports, midi routes, pairing view. Also, please post or email the project files you are using. I'll spend some time trying to analyze what is going on. Interesting that your rigs seem to work at home but on on stage. If you can document any differences in configuration between the two environments that might also help. Steve Caldwell Bome Q and A Moderator and Independent Bome Consultant/Specialist bome@sniz.biz

I have had the problem at home as well - I'll come back to supplying the information next week. I'm leaving for a couple of says tomorrow. Thanks -

I forgot tonight i have to build up for band practice anyway. I'll attempt to gather the info then.

I have to disappoint - everything worked as intended last night. Will report back when it does occur.

First I heard of complaining that everything works ;-) Seriously though, I understand it can be frustrating if an issue is intermittent. Maybe you had a more stable power source last night? Also, when you get a chance either post or mail me a copy of your project file so that I can more closely simulate your environment. Steve Caldwell Bome Q and A Moderator and Independent Bome Consultant/Specialist bome@sniz.biz

Hi more questions.

I assume either BomeBox1 or BomeBox 2 is an Ethernet DHCP Client and the other is an Ethernet Master and not otherwise connected to ethernet or WiFi in any way (WiFi turned off). Is this correct? If not, please let me know how you have WiFi connected on each BomeBox

Are you using static routing on your BomeBoxes or running a project file on 1 or both of them.  Can I take a look at the project files you are running, if any?

As I understand, the issue is they are not reliably pairing. Once they are paired, do all the MIDI routings work correctly (either using project files or static routing)?

Is the attached picture accurate?

 

Right now I have two BomeBoxes set up as a test. They are both clients connected together. I have 3 USB MIDI devices attached to BomeBox1 sending data via static route to BomeBox2.  I then have BomeBox2 sending to my Computer (all over my home router controlled network). So far, everything looks rock solid. I can send and receive from all of my attached MIDI devices with BomeBox2 as the in-between to my Controllers on BomeBox 1 and My computer.  I have a simple project file on BomeBox 1 with simple static routes defined to and from all attached devices to BomeBox2.  I do not have any project running on BomeBox2. Just static route 2 and from BomeBox1 to my computer.

What I would like to do is to try and more closely emulate your environment so any project files you have loaded, I would like to look at.

 

 

Steve Caldwell
Bome Q and A Moderator and
Independent Bome Consultant/Specialist
bome@sniz.biz

 

 

Wouaouhh ! I'll try to bring some precisions tomorrow. Thank you very much !

Haha - Was indeed disappointed when it would not bug out that evening. For the record I've had the issue occur at various placed - at home, on stage or at rehearsal. I cannot relate it to a specific place so I do not suspect it's a dirty power issue. It does usually occur when I start up my laptop and Bomebox at exactly the same time although I'm not sure whether that actually can happen considering that the laptop first has to log in to windows. Project posted below - it's an old project that I still use at rehearsal/stage while I'm working on a newer and better version.

Project hosted on the Bomebox CUPB - and Project hosted on the laptop CUPL.

@wereMole88 Did you ever document your environment? Did you say you had a ticked opened elsewhere? This looks quite different than the thread here so we should probably work your issue on a different thread. Is your issue specifically with pairing only or are you having issues after the initial pairing?

No I think you are confusing me with celoranta? He replied to the OP with a couple of issues identical to mine: - not pairing after boot - have to reassign aliased While the OP has another issue that ive has as well: - script unloaded on boot And all of them seem to be related to pairing through Bome network (either double Bomebox or Bomebox - laptop) When the issue happens again ill start a separate thread. Hopefully with some more information.

Yeah, sometimes it all runs together for me. My 2 BomeBoxes have been rock solid unless I add a project file that I have not programmed correctly. With the power of Bome MIDI Translator, you need to ensure you don't do something really stupid. Most of the issues I run into tie to multiple MIDI messages happening asynchronously and I am not properly managing my global variables to ensure the right order of things in my programming logic. In general you try to keep writing global variables to a single translator and reading them from multiple. If you have to write from multiple translators, you need to consider the consequences.

Speaking of that - do you think Bome will ever have an interface to run MT pro directly from the Bomebox? In a way that its possible to directly look at whats happening with the code?

I can't speak for future plans of Bome company, but my guess is no as it would take quite a bit of development for little return of functionality. When running projects on BomeBox, I generally route inputs and outputs to my computer running MT Pro to look at logged messages. I use MT Pro itself for debugging my program logic on my PC or Mac. I think the whole point of BomeBox is once you have things running, you just plug it in and it works without the need of a computer. At least that is why I bought mine. I didn't want to lug my laptop around with me.

Ah - I understand - would be cool though. When finalizing a BB project it usually does end with a lot of uploading small changes to the bomebox. Maybe just the log window from MT - similar to the log window the web interface already has - but then for the log file generated by the project.

Not a bad idea!