Last Edited
1/27/07

Keywords
color finesse, colorociter, ethernet

Platforms/Versions

Color Finesse 2.1.5 or later on Macintosh OS X and Colorociter CS-1 Colorist’s Control Surface with Ethernet interface.

Color Finesse is unable to establish a connection to the Colorociter CS-1 Colorist’s Control Surface using the Ethernet interface. Symptoms include long (2-3 minute) pauses when Color Finesse is starting up, no indicators illuminated on the Colorociter, or no response to moving of the Colorociter controls.

Solution

Issues with the Colorociter typically fall into three categories: misconfiguration of Color Finesse, misconfiguration of the Colorociter, or network configuration issues. Because configuration of Color Finesse and the Colorociter is straightforward, network issues are the most common cause of a non-responsive Colorociter.

Start by verifying the Colorociter IP address and subnet mask settings. Details of configuring the Colorociter, and how to display the current settings are covered in the Knowledge Base article Configuring the Colorociter CS-1 for Use with Ethernet Interface. These settings must be compatible with your current network and not conflict with other network devices. The Colorociter will not lease an IP address from a DHCP server; the address and subnet mask must be set manually. If you change the network address or subnet mask in the Colorociter, you must exit the settings mode by pressing the Colorociter’s Reset button, then cycle the power on the Colorociter.

Next, verify the Color Finesse settings. Within the Color Finesse preferences, select the Control Surface tab. Make sure that the Control Surface Type is set to Standalone Colorociter, and that the Control Surface Interface Type is set to Ethernet. Also verify that the Control Surface IP Address is set to the IP address you configured the Colorociter for.

Next, check your network configuration and cabling. The Colorociter connects like other Ethernet devices, such as another computer or network printer. If you are connecting the Colorociter directly to your computer, use a “crossover” network cable. If connecting the Colorociter to an existing network (via a hub or switch), use a "straight” network cable. These are the same rules that would be followed if you were connecting another computer to your system.

If you have an existing network (Internet connection, other computers, etc.) you must assign the Colorociter an IP address and subnet mask compatible with that existing network. You must avoid duplicate IP addresses on your network. If you need to change the address or mask from the default, be sure to change the settings in both the Colorociter and the Color Finesse preference settings.

Color Finesse and the Colorociter by default communicate using TCP port 23 (telnet). Any firewalls between your computer and the Colorociter must have TCP port 23 open so that Color Finesse can establish a connection to the Colorociter. It is possible to use a different port if you need to for security reasons. Changing the setting is easy on the Colorociter but more involved within Color Finesse. For details on this see the Knowledge Base article Configuring Color Finesse and the Colorociter for Alternate Network Ports.

Once you believe you have a good network connection to the Colorociter, you can test it using the Network Utility application found in /Applications/Utilities. Start the application, then choose Ping at the top of the Network Utility window. Enter the IP address of the Colorociter as the network address to ping, select “Send only 10 pings,” then click Ping. You should see something like:

Ping has started ...

PING 192.168.1.43 (192.168.1.43): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 192.168.1.43: icmp_seq=0 ttl=46 time=0.372 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.43: icmp_seq=0 ttl=46 time=0.237 ms

This shows that your computer and the Colorociter are able to exchange data over the network connection. If instead it pauses at “Ping has started ...” and eventually times out, then that indicates that communication with the Colorociter failed for some reason; double check the IP address and subnet mask settings as that is the most common issue.

Once you have been able to successfully ping the Colorociter, you should now be able to restart Color Finesse and have a successful connection to the Colorociter established. During this process you will see each of the indicators on the Colorociter light up briefly, indicating that communication is properly occurring between Color Finesse and the Colorociter.

Related Documents

Colorociter CS-1 Colorist’s Control Surface User’s Guide