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Official software for blink(1) USB RGB LED by ThingM
https://blink1.thingm.com/
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blink(1) mk3 behaves strange with blink1-tool #659

Open fbenfhzxdt opened 3 years ago

fbenfhzxdt commented 3 years ago

Hi,

I have 4 blink(1)s connected to one USB swith. 3 of them are mk2 and one is a new mk3 (bought some days ago).

I use blink1-tool.exe v2.1.0 on Windows 10 Pro (20H2) to control the blink(1)s via a PowerShell script.

Unfortunately, the mk3 shows a strange (erroneous?) behavior. To reproduce the behavior, it does not matter if I execute the commands via script or directly from command line. Using cmd or PowerShell makes no difference, too.

Please see the examples below for details about the behavior.

Devices: blink(1) list: id:0 - serialnum:2001042E (mk2) fw version:205 id:1 - serialnum:20010466 (mk2) fw version:205 id:2 - serialnum:200110D4 (mk2) fw version:205 id:3 - serialnum:3376bb52 (mk3) fw version:303

Example 1: Starting condition: all blink(1)s are turned off. I turn on ID 1 (mk2) with the command: blink1-tool.exe --id 1 -q -m 600 -t 1500 --rgb=ff0000 and then I enable ID 3 (mk3) with this command: blink1-tool.exe --id 3 -q -m 600 -t 1500 --rgb=00ff00 afterwards I want to turn off ID 1 with the command: blink1-tool.exe --id 1 --off Expected result: only ID 1 turns off Actual result: both ID1 and ID3 turn off.

Example 2: Starting condition: all blink(1)s are turned off. I turn on ID 3 (mk3) with the command: blink1-tool.exe --id 3 -q -m 600 -t 1500 --rgb=00ff00 then I turn on ID 1 (mk2) with the command: blink1-tool.exe --id 1 -q -m 600 -t 1500 --rgb=ff0000 Expected result: ID 3 turning on and after the second command, ID1 also turning on, ID 3 still staying turned on. Actual result: ID 3 (mk3) turns off and ID 1 turns on.

Somehow the mk3 seems to be reacting to commands directed to other IDs and turns off. If I only use mk2s in the above mentioned examples, everything works as expected. Only the mk3 is behaving so strange.

Help is highly appreciated.

Thank you

todbot commented 3 years ago

I'm looking into this now. Thanks for the detailed description.

todbot commented 3 years ago

Hi, I've replicated your setup (3 mk2s and 1 mk3) but I cannot replicate your results. I copy-and-pasted the above commands and they behave as expected, acting on only one blink(1) at a time.

Is there anything else about your setup you can describe?

fbenfhzxdt commented 3 years ago

Hi, Thank you for your real fast investigation and response.

In the meantime, I tried ID1 and ID3 directly on the front-side USB2 ports of my PC case, there the behaviour is the same. So I assume that it is not related to the USB hub or USB3.

What exactly would be helpful to describe in my setup? Any hint is appreciated.

I hope the following information is somehow helpful.

My system:

other USB devices connected to my PC:

Please let me know if I can do anything else to provide helpful information (e. g. USB tracing or sth. similar).

Thank you very much

fbenfhzxdt commented 3 years ago

Hi, I tested one of the mk2 and the mk3 on another PC right now. This PC is also running Windows 10 Pro 20H2. Unfortunately, same behavior.

blink(1) list: id:0 - serialnum:2001042E (mk2) fw version:205 id:1 - serialnum:3376bb52 (mk3) fw version:303

Commands submitted: blink1-tool.exe --id 0 -q -m 600 -t 1500 --rgb=ff0000 --> mk2 glowing red blink1-tool.exe --id 1 -q -m 600 -t 1500 --rgb=00ff00 --> mk3 glowing green blink1-tool.exe --id 0 --off --> both blink(1)s turning off

todbot commented 3 years ago

Yes, that is very strange. Are you typing these commands directly into Powershell or running some script? Is there any other program running that controls the blink(1) devices?

I would maybe suspect you're using an older version of blink1-tool.exe that doesn't parse the --id command correctly, but you say you're using 2.1.0.

As another experiment, below is a slightly different build of blink1-tool.exe. Please try it and see if it acts differently.

blink1-tool-wintest-20201120.zip

fbenfhzxdt commented 3 years ago

When testing, I type the commands directly into a PowerShell or CMD window. But it makes no difference when submitting the commands in a PowerShell script that is executed by Task Scheduler.

I downloaded blink1-tool v2.1.0 yesterday especially to be sure that I use the current version. Blink1Control2 is also installed on my main PC (but not on the second PC where I also tested), but not running when I use blink1-tool. I ensured this via task manager.

I downloaded the new version of blink1-tool you provided, but unfortunately no difference in behavior. I encountered another strange thing when testing the new version: blink1-tool.exe --id 1 -q -m 600 -t 1500 --rgb=ff0000 --> ID 1 red blink1-tool.exe --id 3 -q -m 600 -t 1500 --rgb=00ff00 --> ID 3 (mk3) green blink1-tool.exe --list --> ID3 (mk3) turning off - even when only submitting the --list command...? Trying this with blink1-tool v2.1.0 shows the same behavior.

Furthermore, I did another test on my main PC with Blink1Control2 (v2.2.4) and blinkt1control-tool.exe (v2.1.0). blink1control-tool.exe --list _blink(1) list: curlfetch:http://127.0.0.1:8934/blink1/id id:0 - serialnum:3376bb52 id:1 - serialnum:200110D4 id:2 - serialnum:20010466 id:3 - serialnum:2001042E --> blink(1)s have other IDs than in blink1-tool.exe (mk3 is ID 0 and mk2s are ID1-3) blink1control-tool.exe --id 1 -q -m 600 -t 1500 --rgb=00ff00 _deviceId[0]: 1 curlfetch:http://127.0.0.1:8934/blink1/fadeToRGB?rgb=%2300ff00&time=0.60&ledn=0&id=1, --> should turn on red for ID 1 (one of the mk2s), but actually turns on only red on the mk3. blink1control-tool.exe --id 2 -q -m 600 -t 1500 --rgb=ff0000 _deviceId[0]: 2 curlfetch:http://127.0.0.1:8934/blink1/fadeToRGB?rgb=%23ff0000&time=0.60&ledn=0&id=2, --> should turn on ID 2 (mk2) to green, but actually only changes the mk3 from red to green.

Thank you very much

todbot commented 3 years ago

It does appear like the mk3 is misbehaving, but I cannot fathom how it could be acting like this. These kinds of symptoms would be software (blink1-tool) or OS-level issues, not blink(1), as the software is just issuing very simple USB HID commands and the OS and general architecture of USB prevents any multiple devices from responding to the same command.

Do you have any non-standard device drivers that control HID devices? I could be persuaded that something like an errant RGB keyboard driver is intercepting USB HID commands and altering them.

One other thing to try is addressing the blink(1)s by their serial number instead of their list index. That is, try:

blink1-tool.exe --id 2001042E --rgb=ff0000
blink1-tool.exe --id 3376bb52 --rgb=00ff00

If you like, we can send you a replacement blink(1) mk3 (or even a replacement blink(1) mk2, we have a few remainders). Email us at blink1 at thingm.com with your preferred shipping address and we'll get it shipped out next week. If this one mk3 you have is weirdly defective, the replacement should work fine. Otherwise, I'd start suspecting hardware (USB hubs, etc) and OS/drivers.

I really wish I had a good theory as to what's happening. This is a really unique issue!

fbenfhzxdt commented 3 years ago

Thank you very much for your proposal 👍 You have email :blush:

I tested with the serial numbers as ID on my main PC, unfortunately no difference. blink1-tool.exe --id 2001042E --rgb=ff0000 blink1-tool.exe --id 3376bb52 --rgb=00ff00

In the meantime, I tested the mk3 on a HP Elitebook 840 G5 (3rd device now) where nothing special except the required HP drivers is installed. blink1-tool.exe --id 0 -q -m 600 -t 1500 --rgb=ff0000 -->mk3 red blink1-tool.exe --list --> mk3 again turning off Same strange behavior on the 3rd device I tested so far. I assume that it is not related to any driver or hardware issue. But I also do not have any idea what could cause this.

Once more, thank you very much for all your help.