[PD] physical computing: Lanbox

[tim]

Hi,

LanBox + switchpack + pd works !

One thing I still haven't figured out though:
When the tcpclient connection dies after a while I can only restore it 
by sending |disconnect( first and then connecting again.
I can do this every 12 messages or so (see patch below), but this can't 
be the good way, because in the real situation, the messages will have 
variable timings.
Disconnecting and reconnecting before every message seems to get messy 
and some messages get lost.
Why doesn't the 'keep connection alive' section of the lanbox patch take 
care of this ?
I'm under the impression that tcpclient doesn't actively send a 0 on its 
outlet when the connection dies on its own, but only when you send it a 
disconnect message.
What's the best way make sure there is a connection before sending a 
message ?


following are ± the steps it took to make it work in the first place:

The 5 pin output of the lanbox has to go into a 3 pin DMX input on the 
switchpack.
soldered an adaptor cable as in the lanbox user manual p13
(first I made a mistake here, wich wasted me lots of time)

on the switchpack:
(12 channel DMX switchpack from 'skytec', can't find alot of info on it.)
put the it in DMX mode, indicaded on the display by 'd - - .', and check 
if the base DMX channel is 1 by pressing 'up'.

on windows:
Connect lanbox and pc with crossed ethernet cable.
Establish a connection by assigning the computer the static IP 
192.168.1.10, then opening LCEdit+ > file > new...enter password 777 
when asked.
Update Lanbox firmware with the version from the CD with LCEdit+. (not 
sure this was absolutely necessary)
Do a little test by placing a switch object on the stage and see if the 
switchpack responds.

on linux (ubuntu 6.06):
assign the computer the static IP 192.168.1.10 in System > 
Administration > Networking > Ethernet connection > Properties > 
Configuration > Static IP address
open the patch lanbox1_test.pd, ( 
http://www.timvets.net/software/pd/lanbox_test.tar.gz ) which is based 
on Cyrille Henry's lanbox.pd patch.
(needs [tcpclient],  [makesymbol])

-> should now have nice running-lights pattern going on the switchpack :p
->thank you's to cyrille, mik, pd-list...!

Tim