Have to start D8B aprox. 10 times

[Brad Martens]

Crash, I emailed Drawmer and they told me the reason for 33 ohms is so longer cables can be used and that devices that have poor wordclock receiving abilities can get a better signal. Non of my other digital gear is having any problem seeing the clock, and new cables has made no change. Any further suggestions would be great.

[Crash]

I am not sure where to go from here. I guess I would disconnect everything from the rig other than the console and the the Drawmer and see what that does during boot up. I have to wonder if there is some sort of issue with the card cage possibly. I seem to remember that the card cage PCB can flex slightly and with cards going in and out over the years, they can develop issues on occasion.

What else is being clocked off the Drawmer?

[Brad Martens]

I am also clocking 2 Hdrs, 2 focusrite ISA preamps, and one Panasonic preamp. I have also wondered if the card cage could be an issue. Tonight I tried something different, I let the d8b power up but did not connect the word clock for about 15 minutes. I did not have an issue doing this, it sounds silly but it seems that something needs to warm up, possibly it is a connection that expands and makes a better contact, maybe in the card cage, or perhaps a capacitor somewhere is not charging properly upon initial start-up.

[Crash]

Any daisy chains or T connections going on or is everything straight off the Drawmer?

[FrankH]

I have to wonder if there is some sort of issue with the card cage possibly. I seem to remember that the card cage PCB can flex slightly and with cards going in and out over the years, they can develop issues on occasion.

That's a good trouble-spot possibility, Crash.

Occasionally, my unit will boot with some of the FX cards missing. The only fix has been to pop 'em out, clean the contacts and then reinsert them about 10-15 time before final reseating to exercise the connection between the card and socket. This may be a thing to try with the Clock card.

I prefer the light pencil eraser technique over any sort of liquid cleaner solution. Always use a fresh eraser that has been tested on paper to pre-remove any surface dirt or hardening from the eraser before applying it to the contacts.

[Brad Martens]

I have no daisy chains or T connectors, everything is direct off the drawmer unit. For the last few nights I have been trying a new approach which has worked each time on the first start up. I turn on the mixer but I do not connect the word clock to it for about 15 minutes as apposed to right after it boots up. When I do this, it has been working normally without having to make any restarts. Any thoughts?

[Crash]

Any thoughts?

Yea...that is weird but, if it is working for ya.

[FrankH]

A thought occurred to me. If the thing is working after a warm-up period....wouldn't that suggest that heat might be expanding the card a bit?

Makes me wonder if (besides the connectors) there is a possibility that a solder joint or traceon the sync card itself might be corrupt? I guess if you pop the card out to exercise it...you could inspect it with a magnifying glass to see if there are any continuity issues. Couldn't hurt to look.

[Brad Martens]

By letting the d8b warm up, everything had been working for a week or two, but know I am getting audible clicks and pops on recorded tracks. These are not audible though until playback and not during tracking. What is the procedure for replacing the card cage and is it very difficult? I believe this may be where the issue lies.

[Crash]

By letting the d8b warm up, everything had been working for a week or two, but know I am getting audible clicks and pops on recorded tracks. These are not audible though until playback and not during tracking. What is the procedure for replacing the card cage and is it very difficult? I believe this may be where the issue lies.

As I recall, the screws that hold it in are at the corners of the cage on the back side of the console so it shouldn't be too difficult to get it out. If they are mounted from the inside, then it is not for the faint of heart. Do you have a source for the PCB attached to the card cage? That is the part that needs a going over or replacement.