Q Light Controller+

Hi all,

I'm looking for a way to adjust channel values, based on time settings.
I have 2 channels:
- Channel 1, value needs to be adjusted by hour of the day. (so, if it's 8 hour, I want the value of this channel to be 8, if it's 23 hour, I want toe value of this channel to be 23)
- Channel 2, value needs to be adjusted bu minutes of the hour. (is it it's 8:24, I want toe value of this channel to be 25, when it's 11:58, I want this channel to be 58)

I'm building arpnet nodes (this wil be opensource in the future), based on Rpi Zero, and because these things don't have a battery to keep the RTC up-to-date, and they can't sync with an NTP server (don't have internet on location),
I want to "abuse" 2 channels to get hour/minutes onto my arpnet nodes.
My main QLC+ device is a RPI 4, with backup battery for RTC, so I want to "share" my QLC+ device his time via this way

Can anyone help me out with this one ?

Follow-up / bonus-question:
Creating a fixture with 2 dimmers, and making a schedule for every minute, seems like a "valid" solution.
I can write a (python-)script to generate those 1440 schedules automatically, no problem, can be done quickly.
However, how will QLC+ perform on a RPI4, with 1440 scenes and 1440 schedules ? (one for every minute)
I will have about 20 full universes, once done with my project. (I'm going to use several addressable LED-strips, they require 510 channels for every 5 meter of strip,
so my universes will add up quickly)


thanks & best regards from Belgium,
Kris

Kris,

You'll need a chaser for the minutes and one for the hours.
1 holding 59 scenes + 1
1 holding 1 + 23 scenes
The '+1' scene will hold a trigger thru a loopback universe for the hours-chaser to proceed.
(the 1 + scene in the hours-chaser resets the 59th + 1 pulse in the loopback universe)

I don't have experience with QLC+ timing precision in the (very) long term.

additionals:
Yes, you could write a python-script generating the needed scenes -> output to a project file which is .xml
Don't break the structure. QLC+ won't be able to open it anymore.

If your led-wall only will deal with the hourly clock, I guess the Pi will have sufficient power.
Running animations and the like, will need a tad more power I'm afraid. Dedicated network by cable-connections.

Hello Fredje,

Thank you for your help, much appreciated !
Following your description, I will surely manage what I want to accomplish.
104 scenes is better then 1440
My Microcontrollers do have an RTC, but no backup battery.
I'm developing an ArtNet/DMX controller with a small TFT. (320x240)
I just need a way to show the current time on these displays.
I think I can even manage a way to see how long they are connected and running in QLC+.
The PI Zero is more then powerful enough to handle 4 DMX universes.
My initial setup was with a lilygo ttgo T8, but that was just a bit to short in computing power with all the things I wanted to do.
And the price difference between a Pi Zero and a Lilygo ttgo T8 isn't that much, and I didn't need to change that much code, because I stay within the Python environment

I see you are also from Belgium, interesting little country we live in hé

best regards,
Kris

Jip Roeselare

Jip from Roeselare

You may as well install NTP server on the RPI4 and NTP client on nodes, and forget about it...

https://serverfault.com/questions/80627 ... -on-ubuntu
Say it's not such a great idea, but tell you how to configure, and someone suggests simply setting time with ssh.

(OP mentioned: no internet on premisses...)

OP also mentions artnet so tcp/ip is most probably available. I meant NTP based on local clock, "island mode".

"island mode" can be extended with a cheap GPS receiver - the only thing is that the antenna has to be in line of sight to the sky.
But we're getting off topic