Pulsar 2 + 2 Pulsar STDM Problems

richseebs · Post by **richseebs** » Sat May 12, 2007 4:57 am

hi there, I cleaned the contacts today and nothing changed, now i have tried each card individually and when i start scope with either of the pulsar 1, I get an error code 0001...

Might this be because the first generation cards are not compatible with sfp4 or is it really looking now like i have bought broken cards?

Am going to try again my original pulsar 2 just to check if something hasnt gone corrupt with the installation...

richard

Post by **garyb** » Sat May 12, 2007 9:45 am

1st gen cards definitely work.....

richseebs · Post by **richseebs** » Sat May 12, 2007 10:05 am

hi again,
well i worked out why the pulsar 1's would not work individually and gave the error code 0001 - it was because the cards didn't have the right allkeys file to use sfp4, even if i imported the pulsar 2 allkeys it didnt work because the pulsar 2 was not installed in the PC.

i have now done a clean install and put 3.1c on the PC and yes both the pulsar 1 cards work individually. If i try 2x Pulsar 1 cards under sfp 3.c then again i get the blinking sample rate....

so do you all think it would be safe to assume that if all cards work individually and i have tried 2xpulsar 1(i.e.same generation) under 3.1c then it must be a broken cable? perhaps the previous owner has sold them thinking the cards were broken when it was just the cable?

if the cards work individually is there any reason why they would not work together (i.e. could this in any way be related to my motherboard choice or can the bit of these cards that makes them work together break and not the rest of the card?

so i may be off to buy a new cable if there are no more bright ideas out there. i think i have tried everything now.

comments anyone??

richard

Post by **garyb** » Sat May 12, 2007 2:49 pm

the cable sounds like a good guess.

if one card has a 4.0 license, all should work if they're in the same computer with a proper s/tdm cable properly connected.

CarvinGuitarFreak · Post by **CarvinGuitarFreak** » Wed May 16, 2007 3:21 pm

Hi richseebs,

I had the same sort of problems with my 2xPII and 1xLuna. The problem was with the cable, it was completely bent out of shape. That made it pop out of card when the PC was back on its feet. I ended up making my own, its easy and I'm all thumbs when it comes to electronics stuff.

CGF

richseebs · Post by **richseebs** » Mon May 21, 2007 12:55 am

hi yes - i have ordered a new cable from an online shop and am currently awaiting delivery...so i am going to try this out - it looks like a different kind of cable to the one that i was sent previously so I am hopeful that this will fix my problem.

richard

BuDDaH · Post by **BuDDaH** » Fri May 25, 2007 4:34 am

Hi richseebs,

I've got a Pulsar II and one Pulsar I and have the exact same problem. Driving me nuts!
Have tried alcohol, contact spray and even copper cleaner.

Already have ordered 2 new STDM cables but this hasn't soved the problem...

Please let me know what happens on your side.

Will continue experimenting myself.

I've been browsing through the forum and have seen a lot of similar symptoms. Really wondering what the underlying cause is.

richseebs · Post by **richseebs** » Wed Jun 27, 2007 1:38 am

hi buddah and all,
it was my motherboard...
i kind of knew i have not been running the best motherboard on the planet (asrock p4i45PE) but i didn't know it was so weak that you can't sync 3 pulsar cards, even with nothing else loaded.

I got a 2nd hand Intel 865GLC motherboard on ebay for £12.50 and everything seems to be workng fine, even with the original cable. I haven't tested in any great depth yet but no sync dropouts, sample rate stays at 44.1 even with 7 masterverbs loaded. I would guess it is fixed.

So anyone having problems with multi cards (indeed any problems - i used to have lots of other crashing problems too) check your motherboard choice and go for intel (intel motherboard, not just chipset). I did read a lot on the forums about how the 865 chipsets are a good choice for scope.

cheers,
richard

BuDDaH · Post by **BuDDaH** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 1:15 pm

Just wanted to let everybody know that in my case (after doing some intensive searches on the forum) it appears to have been bad connection of the I/O board to the main PCI card of my Pulsar 2.

Have detached and reattached the board; tightened the screws and I've had a steady samplerate for the past couple of weeks.

Hooray!

BuDDaH