No lights with Enttec Open DMX

[Junkie]

I'm using OSX High Sierra on laptops from 2013 and 2015. Both computers will register the Open DMX device in a program called "USB Prober", and when I use a program called "JV Lightning DMXcontrol", my LED lamps are receiving DMX as expected. But for some reason Show Buddy will not send anything to the same lamps, even though it says "connected". I have little experience with DMX from before but I've used a program/hardware called "Solo Performer Show Controller" since 2008, and also there the lamps and DMX channels works as expected.

Is there something I have overlooked?

Bug report: The Show Buddy standalone and VST/AU will crash the application when I quit it (Ableton Live in case of VST/AU). It won't be critical as long as I can save my work, but this program is not a cheap one. Please fix the bugs.

[Dave Brown [admin]]

Do you have an original ENTTEC Open DMX box, or a 3rd party device?

[Junkie]

Thanks for your answer. I bought an original Enttec Open DMX USB device.

Could it be something with my operating system, since the program crashes too? I could upgrade to Mojave, but I'd rather not for now unless it's a high chance it will solve my problems. Also, if any earlier versions of Show Buddy is available I might be able to try that on my OSX Mavericks that I keep for my old DMX show-program.

[Dave Brown [admin]]

Yes, it's fairly likely to be related to the older version of OS X. I have managed to locate my dusty old MacBook with 10.13 High Sierra - I'll do some testing over the weekend with an Enttec Open DMX box, and get back to you...

[Junkie]

Okay thanks a lot, Dave. I'm ready to do whatever it takes to get it running, as my old system seized support over 10 years ago and the DMX box is bound to fail sometime. Also, your program looks a lot better, especially with the VST/AU. Have a nice weekend.

[Dave Brown [admin]]

Quick update. I can confirm that in OSX 10.12 and 10.13, Show Buddy Active 2.1.7 can transmit to USB Pro boxes but NOT to Open DMX boxes.

On newer macOS releases (10.15 or better) Show Buddy Active works fine with all boxes.

I'm currently installing 10.14 (Mojave) to see if it resolves the issue....

[Dave Brown [admin]]

This issue (Open DMX box not working with Show Buddy Active) affects older OS X releases from 10.12 to 10.14.

The solution is to install the D2xxHelper utility from the official FTDI website.

Technical explanation. On older OS X releases, the built-in Apple driver hi-jacks any connected FTDI devices (including the OpenDMX box). The D2xxHelper utility bypasses the Apple driver, allowing Show Buddy Active to talk to the OpenDMX hardware normally.

D2xxHelper is NOT needed if you use macOS 10.15 or better!

[Junkie]

That is nice, I will try D2xxHelper then. I see that the Pro DMX box is more compatible with other software as well, so I might get one anyway. But if this works I will be able to start right away. Again, thanks.

[Junkie]

Damn, I still can't get it to work, I copied the files to "usr/local/libs", made symbolic link, then to "usr/local/include", and installed D2xxHelper_v2.0.0.pkg. Still no lights. Any idea what else I could do to get installed properly?

[Dave Brown [admin]]

Damn, I still can't get it to work, I copied the files to "usr/local/libs", made symbolic link, then to "usr/local/include", and installed D2xxHelper_v2.0.0.pkg. Still no lights. Any idea what else I could do to get installed properly?

The file copy and symbolic link steps are not necessary - Show Buddy Active installs all necessary FTDI files. You only need to run the D2xxHelper installer.

I tested this on 3 different systems (OS X 10.12, 10.13 & 10.14) and it worked perfectly.

The D2xxHelper install should prompt you to open System Preferences and grant permission to the FTDI extension. Did you do that?

[Junkie]

Yeah, I allowed the file to install in "Security & Privacy", and rebooted afterwards. That is strange. I can see that the device does not register with the Enttec software "Emu" either. "JV Lightning DMXcontrol" is the only program I've tried that connects to the box correctly.