d8b Forum

I wonder if this issue has been covered, but I haven't run across it yet. The issue I am having is that I need to power up the d8b anywhere from 5 to 15 times to get it to work properly. I believe it is a clocking issue but can not be sure. I am using a drawmer M-Clock for my master clock, and all other digital pcs. in the studio are not having any issues. I have tried a second apogee card but results are the same. Everything loads fine, but different channels have noise on them. If I eliminate the wordclock and use the internal clock there are no issues. To receive wordclock though I have to keep doing a restart until the mixer comes up properly. No one enjoys restarting the d8b over and over. Once it does come up without issue it works fine. I have reseated the cables inside since my mixer did the common lock-up issue due to expansion and contraction. This is something different though and if anyone has experienced this it would be greatly appreciated to hear your thoughts. I do enjoy the D8b when it works properly and would like to keep it running for some time to come. Thanks to all who have created and operate and to those who input there knowledge on this site.
Brad Martens

Don't turn the external word clock on until after the d8b has finished booting. If it sees the external word clock at boot, it's more likely to glitch.

Thanks for the info Bill, I do leave the clock off until it is fully booted and still have this issue every time I start-up. The only time this glitch doesn't happen is if I have it working, then shut down, and for some reason need to start back up within say an hour of shutting down.

I am reading that the Mclock WC output impedance is 33ohms. It makes me wonder if that could be an issue. The d8b is looking for a 75ohm signal. I have no idea if the ohm difference could cause this but I would be tempted to try a different master clock if you can borrow one and see how you fair.

Are you seeing an alternating blinking "?" and"*" in the upper right corner of the VFD when it fails to fire up properly?

Thanks for the reply Crash. Yes I am seeing the blinking ? and * in the right hand corner when it fails. It does it less frequently as I keep restarting it, becoming not continuous flashing but still popping in and out until I finally get it to stop and work properly. It is almost as though the d8b needs to warm up to work properly, though I doubt this is what is wrong.

I think your issue is not the d8b, but something to do with your clock source. The flashing question mark/asterick is an indication that the d8b is not seeing any clock signal. I am still baffled by the 33 ohm output of the Drawmer, though I don't know that could cause your issues or not. I bet if you had a different source, your issue would go away. Have you tried different ports on the Drawmer? Have you tried a different bnc cable between the console and the clock? These are just things I would try if I were in your shoes.

Not sure if you have looked about here but there is some good info. here to try as well:

http://www.sonido-7.com/d8b/wordclock.html

I might also try seeing what happens with just the clock and d8b running minus all other digital gear. Could be termination maybe?

I use a Symetrix Lucid GenX master clock. I happen to find that on my rig, powering up the clock before booting the D8B has been the most consistent way I've gotten everything to fire up, trouble free. But that's my rig.

So I'm going to suggest that Brad try it with the WC powered first and see what happens. Couldn't hurt.

Brad, do you see noise on the channels *before* you start the clock, while the ?/* is still flashing? If so, then something is definitely unhappy with the boot sequence and this isn't just a clocking problem.

If the above is true (or if it isn't, for that matter), try creating a new Startup session and replacing the existing one with it. Sometimes, that can be a bit corrupt and cause the d8b to have boot problems.

Bill, I do see noise on various different channels but not until I connect the wordclock, if I run the d8b in internal clock mode it works properly, that is until I switch between that and a different clock source.
Crash, the only other clock source available to me are my HDRS which have produced the same result. I will try new bnc cables to see if there is an improvement.
Frank, I have tried it with the masterclock on but still get the same results.
Thanks to all.