+- Smart Home Automation Forum (https://www.kincony.com/forum)
+-- Forum: Technical Support (https://www.kincony.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=20)
+--- Forum: KinCony A24 (https://www.kincony.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=56)
+--- Thread: Anybody use DMX on Kincony A24's RS485 on EspHome in Home Assistant? (/showthread.php?tid=6875)
Anybody use DMX on Kincony A24's RS485 on EspHome in Home Assistant? - KRende - 10-15-2024
Good day. Has anybody set up DMX on Kincony A24's RS485 in EspHome in Home Assistant? I tried installing the Github add-in at https://github.com/andyboeh/esphome-dmx512, but I'm a beginner and haven't gotten it to work so far. The Kincony's input and outputs work fine, but I don't know how to proceed. I've put this in the Kincony's Yaml file, and the logger reports the value being sent to DMX_1, but my fixture's DMX indicator doesn't come on, so I don't even know if I wired it correctly. Anyway, here are the Yaml settings:
uart:
id: uart_bus
tx_pin:
number: 33
allow_other_uses: true # For ESPHome >= 2023.12.0
baud_rate: 250000
stop_bits: 2
dmx512:
id: dmx
uart_id: uart_bus
tx_pin:
number: 33
allow_other_uses: true # For ESPHome >= 2023.12.0
uart_num: 1
periodic_update: true
update_interval: 500
output:
- platform: dmx512
channel: 1
universe: dmx
id: dmx_1
light:
- platform: monochromatic
name: "Test Lights"
output: dmx_7
id: light_test
default_transition_length: 2s
RE: Anybody use DMX on Kincony A24's RS485 on EspHome in Home Assistant? - admin - 10-16-2024
which DMX512 controller you are using? can you take a photo.
RE: Anybody use DMX on Kincony A24's RS485 on EspHome in Home Assistant? - KRende - 10-22-2024
(10-16-2024, 12:16 AM)admin Wrote: which DMX512 controller you are using? can you take a photo.
I want to use the Kincony A24 as the controller, so it needs to transmit.
RE: Anybody use DMX on Kincony A24's RS485 on EspHome in Home Assistant? - defl - 08-25-2025
Hey KRende, I just ran into the exact same as you using ESPHome for DMX. I've bought a few A6'es for this and gave them a quick spin only to discover there is no output.
When looking at the design documents (https://www.kincony.com/kc868-a6-hardware-design-details.html) and the datasheet it lists the MAX13487 chip being used for this (which is great and I've used it before). However in reality it comes with a MS2548, which is listed as a drop in replacement, but when you look for it there are plenty of posts where this was done leading to issues. (https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/735147/max3485-ttl-to-rs-485-fake-chinese-modules-no-output-wrong-chip-counterfeit for example). Going by the schematic from Kincony their design looks a lot like others (VCC to /RE and /SHDN) but I didn't validate yet. Unfortunately I have no other working MS2548 boards to compare to.
When I scope out the TX pin on the ESP32 with the ESPHome code roughly as above that works, and I get a clean DMX pattern. Nothing after the MS2548 as observed above.
@admin: Can you provide a code example which I can run to validate the hardware actually works?
RE: Anybody use DMX on Kincony A24's RS485 on EspHome in Home Assistant? - admin - 08-25-2025
MS2548 as same as MAX13487, just MS2548 made in China.
RE: Anybody use DMX on Kincony A24's RS485 on EspHome in Home Assistant? - defl - 08-26-2025
(08-25-2025, 02:37 PM)admin Wrote: MS2548 as same as MAX13487, just MS2548 made in China.
Well, that would mean the A6 I got is broken as there is clearly input into the chip and no output. On the other hand, there are a few reports of these chips not doing what one would expect. So would you happen to have some example code that I can run which will generate a valid RS485 output to confirm all is well and the error is mine?
RE: Anybody use DMX on Kincony A24's RS485 on EspHome in Home Assistant? - admin - 08-26-2025
https://www.kincony.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=1867
RE: Anybody use DMX on Kincony A24's RS485 on EspHome in Home Assistant? - defl - 08-27-2025
So I finally got around to spending an hour on this. My test setup is the AB and of the RS485 are connected to DMX+ and - respectively of an Eldoled Linear 100 driver, terminated with 120ohm at the driver. The board ground is connected to the driver DMX ground. The scope is a cheapy Hantek so I don't trust it too much in terms of absolute levels.
The link is probed with two floating probes connected to the busses and in the scope the math is A-B. A is clearly the original and B the inverted, however the waveform that comes out deserves no prizes, the inverted side is significantly different in voltage level than the positive, resulting in a skewed signal (A is 1.1v p2p, B is 2.5 p2p). The final combined output signal is 2.8v p2p.
Long story short, I got this working a few times but the driver simply doesn't like the signal coming out at all. It worked a few times with a really short wire and no termination resistor, though I can't see the difference between with or without on the scope.
Time to get myself some better measurement tooling and a genuine MAX13487 and try again.
If I could upload images I would throw in a screenshot.
RE: Anybody use DMX on Kincony A24's RS485 on EspHome in Home Assistant? - defl - 09-16-2025
Dug into this and solved it, turned out the ESPHome config is finicky in ways I didn't expect. https://github.com/andyboeh/esphome-dmx512/issues/40