Total loss of sound

Dra

About 45 mins into a gig I lost all sound. Like someone pulled a cable. Still had output at the board's meters. I looked at the screen on the 260 and it was blank (all white). I killed the amps. Then powered down the 260 and right back on. Normal screen came back up and all was well the rest of the night.
Anyone ever experience this? Anyone have thoughts on what could cause this? Software? Hardware? Reset needed?

DRA

Gadget

Sounds like a power issue to me...digital devices can only fall to a certain level then they shut down.. analog amps will \"brown\" out and blow drivers... but won't shut down...Put a meter on the voltage you are getting...

G

Dennis

Power hiccups are why lots of folks run digital consoles and processors on UPS battery backup units. Yeah, I know it's another piece of equipment to haul around but having your rig roll over and die on you 45 minutes into the gig had to be embarassing....

Dennis

Dra

Been in this gym many times and used \"heavy\" amps. This time \"light\" PLX2's. Never had an issue like this, but that doesn't mean that power wasn't an issue this time.
Ooops, wait a minute. This is only the 2nd time using the 260, all other times was with a DRA (on a UPS, of coarse). So technically, I'm 1 for 2 in this room.

DRA

Dra

Embarassing, nah. It was only down mabye 30 seconds and I made (up) an announcement when it was back working. 5th - 8th graders are too stupid to know anything but what you tell them.

DRA

Dra

Assuming that it was an under voltage issue, shouldn't it have re-booted when the voltage returned to an acceptable level? Or doesn't it work that way.


DRA

Dennis

Although I do own a 260, I am not an expert of its inner workings. I believe the whole issue depends on the length of time the hiccup deprives the unit of power. If we are talking about tenths of a second, I have seen other digital stuff attempt to recover without rebooting and sometimes become \"confused\", at which point I had to reboot before continuing.

Dennis

ernstaudio

Hello,

I just had the same thing happen to my system last night. About 45 minutes into a gig, the PA goes silent, I look at the amps to see if I had lost power and all is OK, then I go to the Driverack and the display is garbled. I shut down the amps, reset the 260 by powering it off and back on and it was fine. Voltage is not an issue as I use a Furman voltage regulator that keeps the voltage at FOH constant. That does not mean that there wasn't a hiccup in the power BUT i was using a Yamaha O1v96 and a Mac G5 computer at FOH and they never showed any problems. I may invest in a UPS in the near future. I have used this configuration at this venue every month for the last 3 years and in a bunch of other venues and I have never seen this happen before.

Dennis

Dra, Don

Were you guys using Driveware to control the 260 when it crashed? I'm just looking for something common here. What version Driveware? What version firmware?

Dennis

Gadget

Ok,

I am at a loss for this issue.. not in the last 7 years have I had any issues like this posted here...My own experience with 2 DR260's and near constant 5 day a week beatings in smoke filled bars and hot outdoor concerts have never elicited this phenomenon.. I am wondering if perhaps voltage glitches have caused software glitches that are reset when the power is cycled????

I have invited Mike from Tech services to visit this thread, and offer thoughts...

I have to wonder if instantaneous spike peaks or voltage drops might not confuse the converters? Or perhaps the root program?

I doubt a voltage regulator or voltage clamping device without makeup voltage...like a UPS could catch, and condition all the possible voltage tags that could happen...My father worked in power generation, and my brother works in distribution and grid systems and I have to tell you solar storms, terrestrial storms and the like present quite a challenge to the power generation industry, especially in distribution and regulation...

Gadget

ernstaudio

Gadget,

To add to the settings in which it was used, I use the software to set it up at each gig, but after I get it where I want it, I close the software. I have a graphic EQ in line that I use to correct for feedback (if needed). I will leave it hooked up to the computer com port, however. I mostly use the PA with a Midas Venice or a Crest XRM. This gig was only the second time I used the 01v96 with the PA. I don't see how that could be an issue though.

Dra

I was not using driveware (at all) on this gig.
Just to differenciate, I did NOT have a garbled screen. Mine was completely void of any characters, just white.
I upgraded software and \"service pack\" about a year ago. 2.4?
I think I am going to bring mine in and put on the same circuit as my frig and leave it for a couple of days.

DRA

Dr. J

Dra -- Over the weekend we had a situation where we lost all FOH sound. Apparently, when the little square button (RTA Input) on the front of the DriveRack gets pushed -- you lose sound instantly. It was accidently pushed by our sound guy's knee when he bumped the rack. Just another thought.....

Dra

I wish that were the case. I prefer human error over equipment malfunction anyday.

DRA

Dra

Happened again, before the gig started. Different room, 1 less amp drawing from source this time. Not even sending signal into it this time. I was \"NEXT PG\"ing through the I/O section.

Gadget, did you ever hear from Mike?

DRA

Gadget

Yes...
Hi Gary,

He can try a hard reset and then reload his programs from
DriveWare. However, this sounds like it is more possibly a hardware
related issue - may possibly be a relay issue. I would recommend he get
the unit serviced if the reset doesn't solve the problem.

Thanks.


Best regards,
Michael Hunter
Sorry...

G

Dra

Unit was sent in for repair to DBX. They did actually find a problem, although a small one. Charged me less than the shop min rate and had it back to me in less time than they thought.
Great work by Mike and the boys in Sandy.

(This was over 2 years ago. All is still well)

DRA