Can I Mix Controller Types on a Network?
When setting up your LOR display you may end up with many different controller types. Soon you’ll ask the same question that everyone else asks, “Can I mix controller types on the same network?” The answer depends on the types of controllers as well as the ages of the controllers.
When Light-O-Rama started things were quite simple. There was one type of controller that did one thing. You didn’t have to worry about it, you just connected the controllers and moved on. As technology progressed more controllers were added and the need for more speed became apparent. In order to resolve these issues, LOR added higher speed and “enhanced” networks to the hardware and software. This changed the answer from “Yes” to “It’s Complicated.”
How do you determine what controllers can be run together on a network? Take a look at this Network Speed Chart. It shows you what speeds and types of networks each controller type can run. For example, if you have a CTB16PC and a CTB16PCg3 you could mix these controller types on the same network but they’d have to run at 57.6k setting. Since the CTB16PC can not run 500k speeds, you wouldn’t be able to set that network, with the CTB16PCg3, at 500k.
Let’s look at two controllers you can not run on the same network. Suppose you have a Pixie4 and a CTB16PC. As you can see on the chart the Pixie4 can’t run 57.6 and the CTB16PC can’t run 500k. As a result you would not be able to run these controllers on a single LOR Network; you would have to get 2 RS485USB adapters, and configure multiple networks in your display.
Conclusion
As you can see much of the Light-O-Rama hardware is compatible and would allow you to mix controller types on a network. However you should always check the speed chart to make sure that your specific controller types are compatible, or at the very least, share a common setting that would allow you to run them on the same network.