TCP/IP messages

[pcarver]

Would it be possible to add the ability to send TCP/IP message similar to the way MIDI messages are sent in cues?

The lighting control system we use is called a Lanbox (from http://www.lanbox.com) and it is a hardware appliance connected to our Ethernet network that is remote controlled over the network. Typically we use the free software supplied by the folks who make the Lanbox (called LCEdit+) to design and run shows.

However, the entire Lanbox command language consisting of strings of hexidecimal commands and parameters is documented in a reference manual and one can connect over TCP to issue these commands.

The Lanbox can also be triggered by MIDI (assuming you have a model with a MIDI port) but in our case we have ours connected to a wireless access point so that the lights can be controlled from anywhere in the building using a laptop. If SCS could take advantage of the wireless IP network rather than requiring a MIDI cable that would be really great.

I'm not looking for SCS to implement or understand the Lanbox protocol, I think the user would need to read the Lanbox reference manual. I expect we would still use LCEdit+ to design the show, but I'd like to be able to enter the appropriate "Go Next Cue" Lanbox command into an SCS cue so that one operator could run sound and lights from SCS.

I would imagine that the SCS cue screen would have a field for IP address, a field for TCP port, and a field for the message to be sent. In the case of the Lanbox, the message would be a string of ASCII text representing a series of hexidecimal numbers.

An optional extra would be a field for the expected response so that SCS could detect if the Lanbox reported back anything other than success.

[Mike Daniell]

Seems feasible. I have plans to change 'MIDI Send' to 'Control Send' with an option to select the type of send, so TCP/IP could be included as one of the types.

[pcarver]

I haven't checked this forum for a while but I see that there have been a bunch of updated since 9.5.3. Is there any chance of TCP/IP messages being added as a form of control send? If not, how about the ability to run an external command? I could pretty easily write a Perl script to make the necessary TCP connection and send commands over it if SCS could invoke a script or executable.

[jkowtko]

And, I don't know if anything like this is current or planned, but an auto-sync mode so you define a master and slave over the network. Since pretty much all computers are ethernet-capable, this would really lower the barrier to entry (complexity, equipment cost) for setting up a hot standby SCS system.

Thanks. John

[pcarver]

I've had some partial success. I found this site: http://com0com.sourceforge.net/ which provides a couple of open source programs which create a virtual serial port and allow that port to be connected to a TCP/IP port.

The LANBox has a fairly simple albeit terse command structure. A TCP connection starts with a password prompt, then after that, command transactions can be sent. I created one hot key cue in SCS to send the password and another to send the "Go Next Cue" command.

With these pieces I was successfully able to make the LANBox step through cues.

My next step was to try to integrate light and sound cues. I create audio file cues with control send sub cues. This crashes SCS. Here is the error message (laboriously typed in since I can't copy and past from the stupid dialog box.)

Error -2147417848 Automation error
The object invoked has disconnected from its clients.
SCS 10.2.0
ProcName = cueStatusChecks
i=3, j=3, k=3
CueFile = C:\Documents and Settings\paul\My Documents\TestControlSend.scs

Continue with the program?

Yes No

Neither Yes nor No does any good. SCS crashes.

More frequently it appears that SCS crashes without any error whatsoever.

When the crash occurs, SCS plays the beginning of the audio file and it does send the control send command because I can see the LANBox go to the next light cue.

[Mike Daniell]

My next step was to try to integrate light and sound cues. I create audio file cues with control send sub cues. This crashes SCS.

Can you email me your cue file (TestControlSend.scs)?