Device manager
Part 3 — Reference.
Project ribbon tab → Device manager
16.1 What it is for
The Device manager is where your project learns what hardware exists. Everything else depends on it: you cannot place a device on a plan, wire it, or upload anything meaningful until the units are here with the right addresses.
16.2 The three-level tree
CU3-08M level 1 — central unit
├── Internal-Master/BUS1 level 2 — bus master modules
├── Internal-Master/BUS2
├── GSM3-01M
├── Astronomical-Module
└── MI3-02M/BUS
├── GSB3-40 (addr 01) level 3 — peripheral units
└── SA3-02M (addr 02)Level 1 — central units
The CU, with its EBM bus interface. Up to 20 system modules may connect to EBM.
Level 2 — modules
Three kinds:
Internal — part of the CU
Internal-Master/BUS1, Internal-Master/BUS2, Internal-RF-Master
External bus masters
MI3-02M/BUS, MI3-02M-INELS2/BUS, EMDC-64M/DALI-DMX, GSM3-01M
Virtual
Astronomical-Module, EZS-Module, HC-Circuit-Module, Regulators-Module
Limits: 16 modules each for MI3-02M/BUS, MI3-02M-INELS2/BUS and EMDC-64M/DALI-DMX; 3 GSM3-01M; one of each other module type per bus line.
Level 3 — peripheral units
The real devices. 32 per BUS line, and 32 for RF — though some RF devices occupy more than one RF address. For EMDC-64M, up to 20 virtual DALI-DMX units each.
16.3 The toolbar
Five buttons, each enabled only when the right thing is selected:
New master
no central unit exists yet
the central unit
Change master
the central unit is selected
swaps the CU for another type
New slave
the central unit is selected
a bus master module
New unit
a module is selected
a peripheral unit
Remove unit
a removable item is selected
—
Each opens a Units window listing what can legally go in that position.
A greyed-out button is a selection problem, not a fault. New unit needs a module selected, not the CU. This is the most common early stumbling block.
New unit also greys out when the bus is full, the address limit is reached, or the current limit is reached — see §16.5.
Change master verifies compatibility. If any module in the tree is incompatible with the new CU type, iDM3 warns you and the change does not happen.
16.4 Parameters and the other panels
Selecting anything in the tree fills the right-hand panel. Four tabs:
Parameters
Every unit has:
Address
Hexadecimal, unique across the whole system. iDM3 enforces uniqueness.
Description
Your name for it. Use it.
Plus whatever that unit type offers. Parameters are set in three ways: a tick box, a numeric field (its valid range shown in square brackets underneath), or a dropdown.
Internal master addresses cannot be changed — they are fixed in hardware.
MI3-02M and MI3-02M/iNELS2 appear as two halves. The module represents the first half; the second half carries a parameter whose hex address is the one on the device casing plus one.
UserData
Per-unit user data, used by regulators among other things.
Connects
Which project objects this device is connected to.
Monitoring
Live values from the central unit for this device, when connected.
16.5 The limit bars
Bar graphs at the bottom right, depending on what is selected:
Modules limit
modules connected to the CU's EBM bus
Units limit
units on the selected bus line
Address limit
address space used
Current source
electrical load on the bus, against what the BPS3 separator supplies
Watch Current source on real installations. Running out of bus current is a design problem that shows up as intermittent faults, not as a clean error. Plan power before you plan devices.
16.6 The other tools
Search structure
Filters a large tree. Shows "Please wait..." while working.
Export
Marks devices for iNELS 3 export. Select all for export, Select all for export and use description, Unselect all for export.
Set read only (TRUE) / Unset read only (FALSE)
Controls whether external systems may write to a device.
ReMap unit
Moves a device's assignments to another device.
Load extern project
Pulls in structure from another project.
ExternAdd
Adds an external device.
ReMap unit
Replaces one device with another everywhere it is used — every wire, group and condition follows. Use it when a unit is swapped for a different type, or an address changes.
Select the device, click ReMap unit.
ReMapping object: shows what you are moving.
Pick the target in the device tree — the prompt reads "Please select object from device tree that will be used to remap devices."
Maps to: shows the destination. Show used only filters to devices already in use.
ReMap is far safer than deleting and re-adding. Deleting a device silently removes every wire that used it.
16.7 Practical advice
Describe every unit as you add it
A hex address tells you nothing in six months
Match addresses to the hardware exactly
The commonest reason a finished project does nothing
Add modules before units
The tree only grows downward
Watch Current source early
Bus power is a design constraint, not an afterthought
Use ReMap, never delete-and-re-add
Deleting takes the wires with it