A16 doesn't respond to optical i/o

[otbaby]

got a bit of a prob,my A16 doesnt seem to be responding to or outputting any signal,I fed the optical i/o back on itself to check optical i/o on the pulsar card,that works fine I can transmit and receive,but when I connect my A16 to the pulsar it doesn't seem to recognise the pulsar or transmit sync data,I checked for sync on the sample rate page...nothing no response as master or slave ?????
I checked the dip switches....fine in right position...????
I'd really appreciate a solution,then I can do some music !!!!!
thanx all
otbaby

[spacef]

mixed up cables ?

[otbaby]

no cables are connected right and have bought 3 new optical cables just in case,I figured it might be a software prob with the a16 so I did a hidden function reboot,thats hold down both buttons to get to the hidden functions,I got into a hidden menu but unfortunately its grid based !!!!! anyway I advanced the grid through 2 steps and rebooted.....voila !!!! instant sync connection !!!! locked up in both direction,however the output seems very low even at 0dbfs input via optical I'm only getting -30-40db back thru optical,barely lighting the tree !!! and to top it off all the input lights are flickering even with no signal present ??? no jacks plugged in just digital silence from the pulsars optical outs ?????

any suggestions ??

[spacef]

the a16 uses no software. it just converts audio using the signal (audio+sync) present on the adat lightpipes.
i try to detail may be someone can do the rest if something is missing.
May be you find here something to help.

first make sure you connect the cables right:
- adat hardware of soundcard : one have red light the other does not. same on the a16 but reversed.
- connect the 2 adat cable to soundcard (if you use 4 cables, do it pair by pair (adat a, then adat b etc).
- the light is seen at the cable extermity which is not yet connected to a16.
- the cable lighting red must be connected to the a16 input which has no light
- the cable wich has no light , must be connected to the a16 input which had light

After that:
- the settings on the a16 must match the setting of scope samplerate settings.
- for example if the A16 is the "master" and smaplertae is 44.1, then
- samplerate settings in scope must be set to "Slave" and samplrate should be 44.1 (generally scope finds the right settings itself if you start scope after the a16).
- if the samplerate settings of scope become "blank": it means that sync doesn't pass through. If all seems fine, it should mean that sync passes through.

Master / slave: it happens that wrong synch setting work, but it can produce clicks. this is often because both units are master or slave. changing this on one unit allows to solve this problem.

Sound quality:
- there are various gain switches at the back of the a16. Sound must not distort.
- the in and outs are LINE level: if you plug a microphone or guitar, you must use an adequate preamplifier.

Otherwise than that i do not really know.

I hope it helps.

[otbaby]

tried all that,right connections etc,can get sync now but the signal led's flicker.....
if you turn off the a16 and boot up with the samplerate button pressed in you get the software revision(rom) readout,if you boot up with the samplerate and sync button pressed in this leads to a new screen which I'm guessing sets the a16's internal parameters,dont have access to a diagnostics manual so your guess is as good as mine what the grid stands for ????
otbaby

[braincell]

Did you read my post on my sync problem?

[astroman]

I'm afraid he's talking about an A16 ultra, so that would be rather pointless

cheers, Tom

[otbaby]

you are right tom it is an a16 ultra,sorry new to creamware....
do you have any idea of whats causing this prob ???

[astroman]

well, your box is really different from it's plain, straight forward predecessor... but the powersupply is always a good guess in troubleshooting.
Sometimes it's just the direction how it's plugged in to make it capture noise - if noise pollutes the clock circuitry it might even prevent digital gear from functioning at all (unlikely though).
You could try another wallwart, which should supply sufficient current, the 'A' or ampere spec
There have been units reported that obviously had internal power supply problems, but those failed only partially (8 channels working, 8 not).
I have only the old A16, not the 'ultra' - so I have few ideas about what's inside.

cheers, Tom

[otbaby]

thankyou tom,
I managed to find a 2500ma 12V AC supply that seems to work I've ditched the other one as it started to fail,so I guessed that it was straining the powersupply,the new one should give me an extra 1000ma in reserve,I'm assuming that they designed the power distribution with some tolerance to cope with oversupply,I don't know what kind of electricity supply you get,but I've been witness to the electricity companies oversupplying by at least 100V on three phase,and as uk 240V supply is just one tap off a 3Phase supply that could equate to at least 20-30V oversupply...it's cheaper to shunt a higher voltage across the network.......less current involved.......next on the list is a good power conditioner,at least the A16 is working now !!!!!

many thanks
otbaby

[astroman]

to be honest Braincell was the first to point to the PSU

Did you read my post on my sync problem?

I actually didn't expect it in the first place as your box is relatively new.
My A16 is from 97 and I just bought 150 caps to overhaul it... someday...

cheers, Tom

[garyb]

2.5 amp is the right size. 1.5 is small.....