d8b Forum

I'm in need of help from the learned collection again please!

I've had my d8b for a little over 2 years and have had various issues with it resulting in many replacement caps, replaced transformer, etc. etc. Having recently got it back from it's latest repair, it's failed on me again within a matter of weeks. Meter bridge alight, no fader communication, desk console not responsive. So, I took the decision to buy another d8b - logic being, find one that works and keep the old one for spares.... I love the desk and when running properly it gives me everything I need which I'd be unable to afford with a modern equivalent.

So far so good. I've just picked up a very tidy desk having given it a thorough test. Everything seems to work fine - it's running V3 (my old desk was 5.1). The new desk is a year or 2 newer than my old one - it has the new mother board. It came with 3 FX cards which I'm awaiting the license keys for so in the meantime, I thought I'd create a hybrid: new desk with my original FX cards and original 5.1 OS (i.e. disk swap in the CPU).

This initially looked promising but when booted up, I'm asked for a verification code. I had the 5.1 code but it appears to be applicable only for the old CPU. So first question:

Is the 5.1 code specific to a CPU and if so, how do I get a code which will work with the new CPU?

Second question/issue is perplexing... I appeared to have a number of "stuck" faders when continuing in demo mode in 5.1. I tried rebooting a couple of times and observed the same thing again (some faders held down). I also had this from time to time on the old desk. So, I powered off and swapped back to the V3 disk, fired up and low and behold all faders work and behave as they should. This leads me to question whether my 5.1 install is actually corrupt. Unfortunately, I never had the 5.1 install disks (have V3 disks only) so I'm not able to try a fresh install to see if it remedies this. So second question:

Is the 5.1 software available anywhere and what is the best route to get it onto the CPU (both have orginal 3.5" floppies)

Last question...

As it looks like I'm going to have to stick with V3 for a while, what is the safest route to initiate the FX cards?

At the moment, the console recognises all 4 cards during boot up but none are accessable from within the software GUI. I halted at the "Initialise Plugins" option for fear of screwing up what is currently a working system. I have the license keys for each of the FX cards so just need to understnad the best route to get them running without risking failure.


As always, any help will be greatly appreciated.


Thanks,
Martin

Hi Martin;

5.1 OS download locate in the "DATABASE" Tab at the top of this page. Go to the "Home" tab you will find the OS downloads on the right side.

Hopefully your stuck faders are a OS glitch which will be rectified with a reinstall.

I replied to your PM.

Cheers
Bruce

The 5.1 codes are are for individual units and are no longer available from Mackie, check out the "Crack" thread to rectify this.

Try calibrating the faders if that problem arises again, sometimes it works.

Phil

Thanks Bruce and Phil.

So, I'm now very puzzled....

I tried connecting the old CPU (with my original 5.1 install) to the new desk - it didn't work and that appears to be as expected per Phil's message (required auth code for newly recognised ESN). So, I then connected my old desk exactly as I had been using it (with the exception of no AIO card in 17-24 plus I had the 2 UFX and 1 MFX cards in it that came with the "new desk). Low and behold, it started up with no issues! required no auth code (as would be expected), all faders are working fine and the meter bridge is quiet. If I dodn't know different, I'd believe I've got a perfectly functional desk...

So I'm going to let it run for a while (when it started playing up most recently, it began around an hour into the session but then reached the point the console was unresponsive on boot up).

The other question in my mind is the BFC (Big Frickin Connector???) on the back of the console. On the new desk, this is a nice snug fit, the threads feel positve and the final turn feels like a "lock" or positive ident. On my original desk (which currently appears to be OK), it feels quite sloppy and doesn't have the "lock" on final turn. I've had this fully checked in one of the repairs I had done and reportedly all is fine. I'm now starting to wonder if, under it's own weight (which is not insignificant), the console problems might have been caused by a momentary power loss across the connector.

I'll see how things run for a while and investigate this further if the desk does indeed appear to be behaving again.

I may now actually be an owner of 2 fully functional d8B's....


Cheers,
Martin

It's looking good, but what you need to remember is that these units are very temprimental, they can work perfectly, but can create all sorts of problems the next time you boot up, some people have no problems at all

I have two d8b's the one BFC has a click at the end of the turn, the other doesn't so that's nothing to go by, a loose connection might have issues though, but it's actually what's going on inside with the connector pins that count, just make sure that the cable is supported securely, especially if everything is working ok!

Fingers crossed for you

Phil

Thanks Phil,

I definitely understand temperamental!!

Supporting the cable is a good call, I haven't made any real effort to do this in the past so it's quite possible there has been some level of tension across the connecor. Will definitely address this now though and continue testing before getting everything re-instated into the studio.

Cheers,
Martin

I'm now starting to wonder if, under it's own weight (which is not insignificant), the console problems might have been caused by a momentary power loss across the connector.

This is quite possible, in my experience. On occasion, I've had wanky boot-ups where metering disappears (but the GUI metering works). This is has been solved every time by reseating the BFC and jiggling the BFC's cable near the connector. The cable is strain-relieved at the connector with a tiewrap secured to the Omnirax workstation that holds the D8B....so it doesn't happen often...but when it does, a reseating and jiggle is the fix. Sometimes all that is needed is simply jiggling the cable.

I mention this because, I've found that 95% of the problems I've had with the console, over the years, always comes back to that BFC. I'm guessing that even though there is a strain relief in place, that one pin or another loses contact due to tarnishing or something, and the jiggling is enough to reestablish contact.

Thanks Frank,

So far today, it's run without issue twice. I'm getting close now to convincing myself to reinstate the old desk back in-place, fully connected but this time set-up with decent support for the heavy console cable (i.e. deliberatly keeping a little pressure toward the desk rather than let it sit where it wants).

If this goes to plan, I then have a "spare" d8b which I can spend some time to upgrade and setup with a fresh install of 5.1. Not the cheapest insurance policy I know but certainly a lot cheaper than chopping in the d8b for a near equivalent modern desk (which is definitely not on the horizon).

Just hope the wife doesn't follow this forum as right now, she's convinced the "new" desk was the answer to my problems....


Thanks again to everyone who's got back to me on my latest debacle. If there's anything I can do to help anyone else out, I'm more than happy to. If anyone in the UK needs work doing (cap replacement, trouble shooting, power supply, etc. etc.) let me know - there's a top bloke located in Devizes who's got to know the insides of the d8b quite intimitely over the last couple of years!!

Cheers,
Martin

Hi Martin;

Glad you are up and running.

When you are ready to upgrade your second desk to 5.1, let us know and we can help with the Hacked version.

The BFC has been a source of problems and as Phil and Frank have pointed out, supporting it so it is connected with little or no strain helps. I also support the cables on the I/O cards. I am using AES/EBU cards (sadly) and have found they too need to be held up/

Cheers and Merry Christmas
Bruce

Thanks Bruce.

Strain relief seems so obvious to me now. I've a good amount of cables passsing through the back of the desk console I built. Over time, they all end up in tension to a greater or lesser degree. Will definitely remedy this for all cables and remain positive.

Will definitely be upgrading to 5.1 on the "new" desk so you've probably not heard the last from me yet!!

Thanks again and have a great Christmas.

Cheers,
Martin