leighfromnz
Added a ferrite USB cable and a power conditioner/ups to my rig and it has run great for months. However about six weeks ago I was playing at a new venue and got the usb dropout (song still playing on screen but complete sound cutout and no control from timecodes - shutdown vdj and unplug usb cable to conectiv, plug cable back in and restart vdj and away it goes again). Happened about every ten minutes - noticed interference lines running thru the widescreen as well, so ran a long extension cable to another plug on the other side of the venue and it worked faultless for the rest of the night (another three hours).
Well this proved to me that it is something to do with power. Anyways has run great since at several different venues (including a wedding last night at a surf club in the middle of nowhere), until tonight.
Tonight I had three different occasions where it dropped out - dead silence mid song and the last time was on the final song on the night - really not a good look!! The last time, when i tried to close VDJ it came up with the recover window - not sure if that is related as that doesnt usually happen when I get the dropout.
OK so I feel I've done all I can to sort this issue and am ready to change to another sound card. Leaning toward the SL1. Anyone had any issues with usb dropouts on the Serato card - any other cards anyone can recommend? or even any other suggestions on what I might try to get the conectiv working 100% reliable? This is so intermittent and I am yet to recreate the problem at home but when it happens it is disastrous - any ideas greatly appreciated.
Well this proved to me that it is something to do with power. Anyways has run great since at several different venues (including a wedding last night at a surf club in the middle of nowhere), until tonight.
Tonight I had three different occasions where it dropped out - dead silence mid song and the last time was on the final song on the night - really not a good look!! The last time, when i tried to close VDJ it came up with the recover window - not sure if that is related as that doesnt usually happen when I get the dropout.
OK so I feel I've done all I can to sort this issue and am ready to change to another sound card. Leaning toward the SL1. Anyone had any issues with usb dropouts on the Serato card - any other cards anyone can recommend? or even any other suggestions on what I might try to get the conectiv working 100% reliable? This is so intermittent and I am yet to recreate the problem at home but when it happens it is disastrous - any ideas greatly appreciated.
Posted Sat 09 Jan 10 @ 6:43 am
Dazmax
Hi mate
Sounds like there may have been an earth loop forming between your setup and the widescreen or even a fault in the earthing of the socket in the club. Not shure what voltage system is used in your country 110/220 50/60Hz. Assume its 220 50HZ
I had a particullarly nast one at my last gig on Thursday. I am currently working in Saudi Arabia and lets just say that the electrical system out here is combined bastardization of both US and UK systems. The venue provided me with three power outlets. When i did some basic checks I found that not only were they not correctly earthed but they were being supplied from different phases of the buildings mains. I had 415V between two of the power points and no earth. I was also providing PA for a band and had to refuse to plug any of my gear in untill they sorted the issue out.
It is not unusual to find 220V supplies in buildings which have predominently 110V sockets and lights. Watch out for these as a common practice is to obtain the 220V supply by takeing a live feed between two phases of a 3 phase 110V supply. This is in my mind, leathal ,as it means that niether conductor at the socket is neutral. you end up with 110V between either socket pin and earth. Scarry stuff!!! In this situation ,if the power switch on your equipment does not switch both live and neautral you can also end up with equipment which appers to be switched off but actualy has 110V still present and ready to bite!
It is always worth doing some checks on the power sockets you are about to use in any new venue.There are all kinds of faults that can go undetected for years until something behaves strangely or some poor bugger gets killed.
You can usualy get hold of plug in power point testers that will confirm the correct wiring of a socket and indicate if a fault exists. They usualy have a set of 3 neons which, depending on which ones illuminate will give you some confidence that the socket is correctly wired. It only takes a few seconds to use these testers and they have saved my gear and possibly my life on a number of occasions.
Daz
Sounds like there may have been an earth loop forming between your setup and the widescreen or even a fault in the earthing of the socket in the club. Not shure what voltage system is used in your country 110/220 50/60Hz. Assume its 220 50HZ
I had a particullarly nast one at my last gig on Thursday. I am currently working in Saudi Arabia and lets just say that the electrical system out here is combined bastardization of both US and UK systems. The venue provided me with three power outlets. When i did some basic checks I found that not only were they not correctly earthed but they were being supplied from different phases of the buildings mains. I had 415V between two of the power points and no earth. I was also providing PA for a band and had to refuse to plug any of my gear in untill they sorted the issue out.
It is not unusual to find 220V supplies in buildings which have predominently 110V sockets and lights. Watch out for these as a common practice is to obtain the 220V supply by takeing a live feed between two phases of a 3 phase 110V supply. This is in my mind, leathal ,as it means that niether conductor at the socket is neutral. you end up with 110V between either socket pin and earth. Scarry stuff!!! In this situation ,if the power switch on your equipment does not switch both live and neautral you can also end up with equipment which appers to be switched off but actualy has 110V still present and ready to bite!
It is always worth doing some checks on the power sockets you are about to use in any new venue.There are all kinds of faults that can go undetected for years until something behaves strangely or some poor bugger gets killed.
You can usualy get hold of plug in power point testers that will confirm the correct wiring of a socket and indicate if a fault exists. They usualy have a set of 3 neons which, depending on which ones illuminate will give you some confidence that the socket is correctly wired. It only takes a few seconds to use these testers and they have saved my gear and possibly my life on a number of occasions.
Daz
Posted Sat 09 Jan 10 @ 11:41 am
Blulite
wow, it seriously would never ever have crossed my mind that there could be so many problems with just plugging in your gear. glad i read this post now.
Posted Sat 09 Jan 10 @ 2:32 pm
leighfromnz
Thanks Daz - I'll get one of those gadgets. Dont think it is a loop thing though as all my gear runs from one 10A socket. I dont spread my equipment across multiple sockets. Our power is 240V 50Hz though its not unusual to see it sagging to 220. My decks and pc are running from the UPS though so shouldnt be exposed?
Posted Sat 09 Jan 10 @ 2:44 pm
Dazmax
Hi mate
The UPS should as you say take care of any power supply sagging. And a power point tester will confirm if the earth connection is good.
You may also want to have a look at a portable/plug top type RCD (Residual Current Device) You just plug the RCD into the socket and then your gear into the RCD. If a fault develops while your playing, the RCD will remove the power from Live and Neutral. The standard minimum spec for these in the UK is that they will trip with an imbalance of no more than 30mA. Usually faster than a fuse and re settable once the fault has been cleared. If you are using a UPS the RCD should be connected at the UPS output.
Daz
The UPS should as you say take care of any power supply sagging. And a power point tester will confirm if the earth connection is good.
You may also want to have a look at a portable/plug top type RCD (Residual Current Device) You just plug the RCD into the socket and then your gear into the RCD. If a fault develops while your playing, the RCD will remove the power from Live and Neutral. The standard minimum spec for these in the UK is that they will trip with an imbalance of no more than 30mA. Usually faster than a fuse and re settable once the fault has been cleared. If you are using a UPS the RCD should be connected at the UPS output.
Daz
Posted Sat 09 Jan 10 @ 2:57 pm
leighfromnz
Sorry to bump but has anyone using the serato sl1 cards experienced usb dropouts. I dont really want to shell out the bucks for another card only to find I still have the issue.
Posted Mon 11 Jan 10 @ 11:08 pm