HC-300 Problem - System not working

[TGannon]

Ran into an odd problem and now my system is down. In chronological order. . .

1) Everything worked fine this morning when I worked out. Turned everything off like usual and did yard work for a few hours.

2) Came downstairs (C4 in basement only) and my staircase light didn't turn on. The switch was unlinked (or whatever you call it) for some reason in my programming (I knew this). I tried the 6 button and the scene I selected didn't work. Other dimmers worked as normal. Remote control did not work at all.

3) I was able to log onto HE, however it took a VERY long time to connect to director. It did connect, however I did not change anything.

4) I unplugged the 300 and waiting for a bit and tried it again. It started to boot up, but it got stick on an all white screen with the C4 logo in the middle. Lights worked for a bit, I got the staircase light turned on, but didn't have time to link the dimmer to the light.

5) Stopped working again. Staircase light was now stuck on. Unplugged again and waited longer. Plugged it in again and waiting for it to get ready. Turned off staircase light and then was able to log onto HE and link the dimmer so it works even when the system goes down.

6) System went down again. When system is down, I cannot see the IP in HE when trying to connect.

7) Both lights on the back of the 300 by the ethernet port are solid on, which is odd I think. I thought maybe the cat5 may have gone bad, so I tried a new cable, same result. When I switched back to the original cable, neither ethernet light on the 300 came back on. I haven't unplugged it again to see if they come on when it gets powered down.

That's where I am at now. I've had power outages in the past, however not recently. I don't have a UPS, as my system is very small. Does this sound like faulty hardware or has something hiccuped that needs dealer intervention? The unit is about 4 months old.

I was trying to get my wife to agree to do C4 lighting throughout the rest of the house, this didn't help;)

Any opinions are appreciated, thanks.

[thecodeman]

Not having it on a ups may not have helped, but this is one that you'll want to call for backup on. Something's definately not working right.

[ILoveC4]

Interesting problem...I would definitely call the dealer out. Getting a UPS is also a must in my opinion.

For what it's worth, I've had Control4 for nearly 5 years and while the beginning was a little rocky (not bad though), the last 3 or 4 years have been completely trouble free.

[TGannon]

I came downstairs this morning to vacuum, and it worked again, albeit VERY slowly. Scenes went slow and each light when on individually instead of all at once, remote works slowly, 3-4 seconds for items to happen, etc. Also, still can't connect via HE. Very odd!

Something is definitely amiss!

[RyanE]

Sounds almost like 2.4GHz interference.

Have you (or a close neighbor) added any new devices at home? i.e. 2.4GHz phones, baby monitor, wireless cameras, etc.?

RyanE

[TGannon]

Sounds almost like 2.4GHz interference.

Have you (or a close neighbor) added any new devices at home? i.e. 2.4GHz phones, baby monitor, wireless cameras, etc.?

RyanE

I haven't. Both of my neighbors already had wireless networks, I could get on one but not the other. . .

HC-300 is hardwired on my network, the interference wouldn't explain not being able to connect via HE, would it?

[ILoveC4]

What router/switch are you using? How much traffic is running through it?

[TGannon]

What router/switch are you using? How much traffic is running through it?

Not sure on exact model numbers. A Netgear switch (10/100 only) and an older linksys WRT54g router.

As far as traffic. . . the only things that are hardwired are HC-300, computer (when on), PS3 (when on) and NAS drive. My laptop connects to the network via wireless, but that again is only when it is on.

[thecodeman]

Please, for the sake of your network, replace the WRT54G. It's not recommended for handling the traffic generated by a Control4 system.

[ILoveC4]

Please, for the sake of your network, replace the WRT54G. It's not recommended for handling the traffic generated by a Control4 system.

AGREED! That being said, I utilize a WRT54g in my home

I just have it serve up the wireless, all the network traffic is ran through another switch. Mine goes goes like this

Modem -> Vonage Box -> WRT54G - > 10/100/1000 linksys commercial grade switch <- everything plugged into it.

The WRT54g is just not setup to handle the type of traffic this system creates. If you are going to stick with it, at least to what I did and let all the communication between the devices go through a commercial grade switch.

I would bet dollars against dimes that will fix a lot (if not all) of your problems.

[TGannon]

I run my setup the same way as ILoveC4. . .

I don't think its prudent to start blaming other hardware. . .everything has worked flawlessly for 4 months now. . . and the rest of the network is fine!

[TGannon]

Oh boy, my dealer just suggested that I call C4 tech support. . . that they could help me cheaper, as my dealer will charge $185 just to come out and look at it. . . I thought C4 didn't have end user support?

[thecodeman]

Oh boy, my dealer just suggested that I call C4 tech support. . . that they could help me cheaper, as my dealer will charge $185 just to come out and look at it. . . I thought C4 didn't have end user support?

They don't, that's why it's dealer installed & supported.

[TGannon]

Also, what sort of network traffic is generated by C4? The more I thought about this, I began to think that I really shouldn't have all that much C4 traffic over my network, should I? The only instances I can think of are when I am editing in HE and streaming music via the 300. Small items such as updating the time and access to the internet would be needed, but those shouldn't be too network heavy I wouldn't think.

[thecodeman]

What's the size of the project? Many things talk to the HC300 over IP connections, unless strictly zigbee like the dimmers. It's not Control4 <-> Internet, but Control4 <-> Control4 and accompanying pc traffic on the same network. The WRTG is the traffic cop for all layer 3 switching as well as any external network (ie- to the internet) communications taking place. It's not so much "heavy" traffic as it is that it requires reliable gear not made currently at the $60 price point. You mention a netgear switch, which one? I've bought one for $5 before from Newegg, and yes it is a switch but one that isn't able to handle traffic very well. Unfortunately for Control4, the solid networking backbone requirement is a stumbling block on a few installs that can result in a negative experience. The difference in a properly configured network and one that's not can be night and day - assuming that it is the network that's the root of your problem.

[CanisMajor]

What's the size of the project? Many things talk to the HC300 over IP connections, unless strictly zigbee like the dimmers. It's not Control4 <-> Internet, but Control4 <-> Control4 and accompanying pc traffic on the same network. The WRTG is the traffic cop for all layer 3 switching as well as any external network (ie- to the internet) communications taking place. It's not so much "heavy" traffic as it is that it requires reliable gear not made currently at the $60 price point. You mention a netgear switch, which one? I've bought one for $5 before from Newegg, and yes it is a switch but one that isn't able to handle traffic very well. Unfortunately for Control4, the solid networking backbone requirement is a stumbling block on a few installs that can result in a negative experience. The difference in a properly configured network and one that's not can be night and day - assuming that it is the network that's the root of your problem.

So what defines a properly configured network? What are the recommended guidelines for C4 systems?

Are gigabit switches ISLed to a gigabit router overkill?

Is the use of VLANs to eliminate PC broadcasts from the C4 systems recomended?

Does C4 publish any guidelines for this stuff?

[tigrzeye]

I was at BestBuy yesterday and they were selling the Netgear Pro-series FS116, 16 port 10/100 switch, for $47.99 !! Looks like they are not going to carry in store any more. Regular price was $79.99.

[TGannon]

What's the size of the project? Many things talk to the HC300 over IP connections, unless strictly zigbee like the dimmers.

This is why I asked, my project is very small. 7 dimmers and a 6 button is all I currently have.

[neildilgee]

Hi There

Its my first post and I'm seaking for help. Ihave fitted a HC 300 and connected one of my relays to my electronic gate. For some reason I cannot ( neither can my dealer) switch on my outsice lights when my relay is triggered. Could someone please help me. I've done the logical step " When relay is triggered ( or gate closes or gate opens) turn on outside lights ( or outside lightning scene ) but it still doesn't work. when I write the prog and execute only the lights goes on. when I remote trigger, only the gate moves. Please help

Neil

[TGannon]

I've found what I think may be the issue.

I've got HE on two computers, my laptop, which was the original, and also on my desktop. When I started HE on my desktop today, it connected, however it disconnected when I went to the media option, and my system went down. I unplugged the HC 300 and rebooted my network hardware, and the system came back up.

On my laptop, I am able to connect and go to the media section with no problems. Odd. I have HE 1.7.3 on my desktop, and lo and behold, I have 1.7.0, see screenshot below:

My system hasn't been updated that I know of since it was installed, and my dealer sent me the link to install HE on my desktop. Is it odd that A) I have two different versions of HE and the HE version that doesn't match my Director version is the one that works?

[thecodeman]

You should only use the version of Composer HE that matches your director version (1.7.3.20). Using other versions can cause project corruption. I'd uninstall both and re-install the matching version.