Light O Rama mDM-MP3 User Manual
mDM-MP3
miniDirector with MP3 Player
User Manual
September 24, 2007
V1.01
Copyright © Light O Rama, Inc. 2007, 2008
Table of Contents
Introduction.............................................................. 4
What’s in the Box..................................................... 4
Hardware Utility Version .......................................... 5
Important Considerations ........................................6
Hardware Description .............................................. 7
Front Panel .......................................................... 7
SD Card Slot ....................................................7
Status LED ....................................................... 7
Audio Output ....................................................8
Rear Panel........................................................... 8
RJ45 Network Connection................................ 8
Terminal Block Pins.......................................... 9
Shows 1, 2 and 3 Trigger Inputs....................... 9
Power Input Reasons....................................... 9
Attaching an External Power Supply .............. 10
Power Jumper.................................................... 11
Show Programming Overview ............................... 13
Show Programming (SimpleShowBuilder) ......... 13
Show Programming (Hardware Utility <1.6.4).... 14
Show Programming (Hardware Utility >1.6.4).... 20
Interactive Trigger Connections............................. 27
Updating the mDM-MP3 Firmware ........................ 28
Specifications ........................................................ 31
mDM-MP3
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Introduction
The Light-O-Rama mDM-MP3 miniDirector with MP3
player is a compact, powerful show director
designed to take the place of your PC. It directs a
network of LOR controllers while simultaneously
playing MP3 audio files. Three trigger inputs allow
shows to be started by external events like switch
closures or motion detectors.
The Windows Showtime software is used to design
and build Sequences (light controller commands that
may be choreographed to audio/music.) These user
created sequences and/or pre-programmed musical
sequences available from LOR are then arranged
into Shows. These Shows are transferred to an SD
card. The SD card is inserted into the miniDirector,
which then directs the LOR controllers in your
display and plays any associated audio. Interactive
Christmas and Halloween displays are possible
using the trigger inputs.
What’s in the Box
Your mDM-MP3 includes a 128 MB (or larger) SD
card and a user’s manual. This manual is also
available at www.lightorama.com ► Support ►
mDM-MP3 User’s Manual.
mDM-MP3
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Hardware Utility Version
If your Hardware Utility has a LOR MP3 tab on the
upper left, you will be able to put a show on the SD
card of your miniDirector. If you want to put more
than one show on the SD card, you must have
Hardware Utility version 1.5.8 or later. If you want to
use the trigger inputs, you must have Hardware
Utility version 1.6.4 or later.
The version of the Hardware Utility appears in the
title bar to the right of “Light-O-Rama Hardware.” If
the version number is less than what you require or
there is no version number at all, then you need a
new Hardware Utility. The latest version is available
for download at www.lightorama.com ► Support ►
Software Downloads. Click the Download button to
the left of the Hardware Utility and run the installer.
mDM-MP3
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Important Considerations
The miniDirector is normally powered by the nearest
Light O Rama controller or a USB485B PC adapter.
Use a 50’ or less CAT5e LAN cable to connect the
miniDirector to either of these devices. Longer
cables may have an unacceptable voltage drop that
may cause erratic operation of the miniDirector.
SD cards must be formatted FAT16 (or just FAT.)
SD cards supplied by LOR will already be formatted
FAT16 and ready for use.
Not all brands of SD cards will work with the
miniDirector. Lexar Media and SimpleTech are
known to work.
Individual MP3 audio files are limited to 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes the audio file will continue to play,
but control of the lights will not continue. This does
not mean that the miniDirector can only control a 10
minute show, only that no audio file in your show
can be longer than 10 minutes.
A 128 MB SD card can hold approximately one hour
of MP3 audio and controller commands.
Songs (audio files) for use with the mDM-MP3 must
be encoded as MP3 files. Constant Bit Rate (CBR)
at 128K bits/second is best. See www.lightorama.com
► Support ► “How to and considerations: Ripping
CDs to MP3s”
mDM-MP3
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Hardware Description
Front Panel
The picture below shows the front panel of the
miniDirector. An SD card is inserted into the slot.
SD Card Slot
The SD card is inserted into the SD card slot with
the gold connectors facing down. Press the card into
the slot until it “clicks” into place. To remove the
card, press the card into the slot and it will spring
eject.
Status LED
• Blinks once per second if the miniDirector is
powered but no SD card is inserted.
• Steady on during an active show. Blinks off
during the show if the network speed is too
slow to handle the complexity of the show.
• Steady on if the miniDirector is connected to
the Hardware Utility – no SD card should be
inserted when connected to the Hardware
Utility.
• Blinks two short on pulses and then one off
pulse repeatedly if the miniDirector is waiting
for a trigger input to start a show.
mDM-MP3
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• Blinks rapidly if the SD card is invalid or
defective.
• Blinks one long on and a short off repeatedly
if in the bootloader. This means that the
firmware is not loaded. See the Updating the
mDM-MP3 Firmware section to load firmware.
Audio Output
This is a standard 1/8” stereo mini-jack. It supplies
line-level output. You can directly plug headphones
or FM transmitter into this jack. Use amplified
(powered) speakers or an amplifier with regular
speakers.
Rear Panel
The picture below shows the back panel of the
miniDirector. The RJ45 jack connects to the Light O
Rama network of controllers. The six pin screw
terminal block allows you to connect show triggers
for interactive displays and/or to power the
miniDirector from an external power supply.
RJ45 Network Connection
Use this connector to connect to your controllers, a
wireless unit and/or a Windows PC through an
RS485 adapter.
mDM-MP3
Page 9
Terminal Block Pins
Pin Description
1 Start show 1
2 Start show 2
3 Start show 3
4 Ground
5 +5 volts DC output
6 +9 volts DC output –or–
+9 volts DC input
(Read Attaching Power Warning Below )
Shows 1, 2 and 3 Trigger Inputs
The trigger inputs (pins 1, 2 and 3) are internally
pulled up to +5 volts DC by a resistor and must be
connected to ground (pin 4) by a switch.
A trigger signal must be at least 11 milliseconds long
to guarantee that the miniDirector will detect it.
When the show is copied to the SD card using the
Hardware Utility, you can select whether the trigger
switch input for that show is to be normally open
(default) or normally closed. A normally open switch
closes the circuit when you activate it, a normally
closed switch opens the circuit when you activate it.
Most motion detectors have normally closed
switches and open the circuit when motion is
detected.
Power Input Reasons
Normally, power is supplied by the attached
controller through the RJ45 jack. There are a
number of reasons why you may want to use an
external power supply with the miniDirector:
mDM-MP3
Page 10
• the miniDirector is more than 50’ from the
nearest controller or the controller is an older
model that cannot supply enough power
• the miniDirector is to be connected to a PC
without using a USB485B powered adapter or
an attached controller (I.e. using a USB485 or
SC485 adapter)
• the miniDirector is to be put on a timer or
switch to start and stop the show (See the
Power Jumper section below in this case)
• the miniDirector is to be used with an RF-V4
wireless unit, so it is not connected to a
controller which would power it.
Attaching an External Power Supply
[WARNING: Read carefully]
If you attach an external power supply to the
miniDirector with incorrect polarity and the
miniDirector is connected to one or more controllers
and/or a USB485B by a cable, you will most likely
burn up the power supplies in the attached devices.
Always disconnect the miniDirector’s RJ45
connection when first connecting an external
power supply in case you make a mistake in
polarity.
Connect the positive lead from the 9 volt DC power
supply to pin 6 of the rear terminal block. Connect
the negative lead to pin 4 of the terminal block. Plug
in the power supply and be sure the Status LED on
the miniDirector blinks, if it does not, the positive and
negative are probably swapped. Try swapping the
power supply leads. If the Status LED blinks, the
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