Troubleshooting ENTTEC Open DMX USB Interface on Raspberry Pi 5 with OLA

[Robin Charles]

Hello Open Lighting Community,

I'm experiencing difficulties configuring an ENTTEC Open DMX USB interface on a Raspberry Pi 5 with OLA (Open Lighting Architecture).

Technical Details:
- Hardware: Raspberry Pi 5
- Interface: ENTTEC Open DMX USB (FTDI chipset - ID 0403:6001)
- System: Latest Raspberry Pi OS
- OLA: Latest version installed

Issues Encountered:
1. ENTTEC interface does not appear in the OLA web interface (http://[IP]:9090)
2. FTDI USB DMX plugin is configured but seems inactive
3. The same interface works perfectly with QLC+

Steps Already Taken:
- Verified USB connection
- Installed libftdi packages
- Configured udev rules
- Added user to dialout group
- Restarted services

I would appreciate help with:
- Correctly configuring the interface in OLA
- Understanding why the DMX lights are not turning on
- Identifying any missed configuration steps

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Best regards,

Charles

[Robin Charles]

Okay, so here's what worked for me.:

Materials:

• Raspberry Pi 5, 4, 3, or Zero with a power adapter and SD card.
• Enttec Open DMX USB Adapter.
• DMX-compatible lighting fixture.
• 5-pin DMX cable (with a 5-pin to 3-pin adapter if necessary).

Update and install the necessary packages:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y \
    ola \
    git \
    ola-python \
    python3-pip

Add the user 'pi' to the olad group:
sudo adduser pi olad


Disable Unnecessary Plugins
 - Disable ola-usbserial.conf:
sudo nano /etc/ola/ola-usbserial.conf

Ensure the content is as follows:
enabled = false

 - Disable ola-opendmx.conf:
sudo nano /etc/ola/ola-opendmx.conf

Ensure the content is as follows:
enabled = false

Enable and configure ola-ftdidmx.conf:
sudo nano /etc/ola/ola-ftdidmx.conf

Ensure the file contains the following lines:
enabled = true
device-name = FTDI DMX
device-path = /dev/ttyUSB0  # Ensure this path is correct for your device
frequency = 30

You can find the path to theses plugins configurations files in the OLA web interface (http://[local IP of the Raspberry Pi]:9090 or http://localhost:9090/).

Reload the OLA plugins:

sudo killall -s SIGHUP olad


Restart the OLA service to apply the changes:

sudo systemctl restart ola

Connect the adapter to a USB port on the Raspberry Pi.



Go to http://[local IP of the Raspberry Pi]:9090.

Create your universe and add the device.


Test by only activating the correct controls; do not click on the lit lamp.

[E.S. Rosenberg]

Good to see you already figured it out, there are a bunch of plugins that are mutually exclusive, I seem to recall that this is documented somewhere but I guess not clear enough.

Eliyahu - אליהו

Op ma 17 feb 2025 om 13:11 schreef Robin Charles <cha....@hotmail.fr>:

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