Controlling an iPlayer 2 from a Vantage Automation System

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The Color Kinetics iPlayer 2 can be easily interfaced to the Vantage Automation System via an RS-232 serial connection. Through this interface the Vantage system can command the iPlayer 2 to switch between up to 225 different shows, as well as set the overall brightness level. This application note describes the hardware requirements and configuration parameters for the Vantage system.

Hardware

A Vantage Q-RS232 Communication Station provides the link between the Vantage station bus and the iPlayer 2’s serial port. Both the Q-RS232 and the iPlayer 2 have female DB9 connectors, so you will need a male-male cross over cable. The pinout is:

The other pins are not used.

One simple way to achieve this wiring is to use two adapters from an electrical supply connected end to end: RS-231 Male DB9 to Male DB9 Gender Adapter and RS- 264B Female DB9 to Male DB9 Null Modem Adapter.

Note: Jumper JP1 inside the iPlayer 2 should be removed for proper operation. JP1 is located directly behind the DB9 connector. JP1 only needs to be installed when using the Color Kinetics Controller Keypad (it provides power to pin 4 of the DB9 connector).

Configuration

When configuring the Q-RS232 station in the Qlink software set the properties as follows:

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Show Selection

Any Vantage triggering event, such as a button press or a time of day, can be used to switch shows on the iPlayer 2. This is accomplished by setting a RS-232 function to send the correct string to the iPlayer 2 via the Q-RS232. The show selection string is the five characters “X04dd” where dd is the hexadecimal representation of the desired show, from “01” for show number 1 to “D1” for show number 225.

Other Commands

Sending the string “X0100” will turn all of the fixtures connected to the iPlayer 2 off. The “X02dd” and “X03dd” strings can be used to adjust the overall intensity (brightness) of all fixtures. See the application note “iPlayer 2 RS-232 Serial Protocol” for the details on how to use these strings.