Multiple Luna Z-Link Power Problem

absolut · Post by **absolut** » Mon Jun 10, 2002 10:34 am

OK, so I finally got two Luna II card's installed along with two of the 2496 i/o boxes. I have my luna cards connected w/ the STDM cable and if I boot the computer and run the Luna OS without the STDM cable it gives me an error message saying the cards are not connected properly.

The problem is that for some reason, only one of the boxes is supplied with power. First I thought it might have been the z-link cable or port. But after switching 2496 boxes from the different backs of my cards, I ruled that out. Thinking it might be the card itself, I removed the card that was working leaving the one that wasn't. When I ran Luna, however, the breakout box worked perfectly.

Upon plugging both cards back in, the same thing happened. I'm running Win XP and Luna 3.1.

Anybody have a clue what the problem is or do you think it's a compatibility issue between the new OS/driver and XP?

Thanks so much,

Todd

marcuspocus · Post by **marcuspocus** » Mon Jun 10, 2002 10:44 am

Power supply?

What powersupply you got? 300watts 350?

2 iobox need at least + 2 luna + one big agp + 2 hd need minimum 350watts power supply. If not, you'll get erratic pci behavior.

absolut · Post by **absolut** » Mon Jun 10, 2002 10:45 am

Oh yeah... i also wanted to mention that Luna IS recognizing all 6 DSPs and is appears to be using them correctly.

Todd

absolut · Post by **absolut** » Mon Jun 10, 2002 10:47 am

I'm using a 300 Watt power supply, and have:
-two video cards (one agp, one pci)
-two luna II w/ i/o boxes
-one cd-r
-floppy drive
-and one HD

todd

I'll try using just one monitor/video card. But the power light on the box never turns on even for a second.

todd

subhuman · Post by **subhuman** » Mon Jun 10, 2002 10:50 am

edit: What I was thinking about was actually the Luna Expansion board, which requires it's own power.

You of course, must use an STDM connector between boards, or they cannot be used together. So sounds like you have that right.

[ This Message was edited by: subhuman on 2002-06-10 11:56 ]

absolut · Post by **absolut** » Mon Jun 10, 2002 11:01 am

edit:
Hmmmmm...

Well the expansion board probably needs power because it's not even hooked up to the PCI interface/bus (it's a dummy card)...

So it would then make sense that the second card should supply its own power to the i/o box... right?

Maybe I need to increase the power being fed to my PCI bus through the bios?!?

keep the comments rolling, i appreciate it,

Todd

ps-just checked the manual and it doesn't say anythign about special requirements for two boards and two i/o boxes

[ This Message was edited by: absolut on 2002-06-10 12:11 ]

subhuman · Post by **subhuman** » Mon Jun 10, 2002 11:12 am

Sorry about that, I was actually thinking of the Zlink Expansion board. It requires a small power connector just like the one powering your 3.5" drive - standard. If you don't see one on your Luna (it may not be there), then call support, it might not actually be possible to power both boxes in this way. I *do* know it is supported via tha Zlink Expansion plate for the Luna, and in that documentation, it mentions the need for extra power due to the PCI bus not providing enough power for 2 boxes.

Hope that helps, let us know what you find.

absolut · Post by **absolut** » Tue Jun 11, 2002 6:09 am

Well, I don't think it has to do with the power from the PCI bus. I took out my only PCI card that isn't a creamware card, and power was not restored to the second break out box.

Anybody have any further suggestions?

Thanks,

todd

mscream · Post by **mscream** » Tue Jun 11, 2002 7:07 am

Hi,

The Luna-Box consumes not that much power, but two of them exceed the power that is guaranteed for *every* single PCI-Slot. But in your case the two boxes get power from two different cards / slots, so no problem.

Regarding your problem. The power LED on the Luna-Box is not a simple power indicator, it is switched on only after a successfull initialisation of the Luna-Box. This initialisation is performed when you load the first module ( source or dest ) for this box. In your default project the modules for the second box might be missing.

To see if the box gets any power you can connect the zLink cable while the PC is running. All LEDs will flash red when the cable is inserted.

Markus

subhuman · Post by **subhuman** » Tue Jun 11, 2002 8:12 am

I forgot about that: the LunaBox doesn't power on until there are corresponding ZLINK modules in your project. Thanks mscream, I bet that will fix it!

absolut · Post by **absolut** » Tue Jun 11, 2002 8:18 am

When I plug the z-link chord in, the LEDs do flash red.

I noticed what you were saying about the power LED only turning on when a module is loaded before, which brings me on to a new question...

In the Luna OS when I go to load new hardware I/O's there are 4 options for Z-link:
Luna Z-Link A Dest
Luna Z-Link A Source
Luna Z-Link B Dest
Luna Z-Link B Source

I'm assuming that the "Luna Z-Link B" indicates the second Luna Box correct?

If I attempt to load a second Luna Z-Link A while I have one going already it gives me an error saying there is already an instance running.

I will try loading the Luna Z-Link B module again in the OS tonight just in case I've changed something since I tried that last.

Thanks again for everyone's help...

Todd

ps-i got a nord lead 3 yesterday! I'm dying to use it w/ my second break-out-box because I already have my first one full

[ This Message was edited by: absolut on 2002-06-11 09:27 ]

mscream · Post by **mscream** » Tue Jun 11, 2002 8:58 am

Hi,

No the
Luna Z-Link B Dest
Luna Z-Link B Source
Modules are for the Z-Link port on the Luna ADAT Expansion.

If you have two Luna cards, you must load the
Luna Z-Link A Dest
Luna Z-Link A Source
twice.

The only thing I can imagine causing your error message when trying this is that one of your cards is a powersampler or electra, there are separate modules for this cards.

Are you able to load two Luna Analog Source / Dest ?

Markus

absolut · Post by **absolut** » Tue Jun 11, 2002 9:28 am

Hmmmm...
Both cards are definitely bare-bones Lunas and not elektras or powersamplers.

I don't know about loading the Analog Luna I/Os. I will give it a shot tonight.

The error message that occurs when I try to load two Z-Link As is actually quite odd. It gives me an error message I mentioned above and every time I hit "OK" it pops up again. I eventually have to use the task manager to end Luna and then restart it.

Sounds like the answer to my problem might be more difficult than I had anticipated. I'll try some things out tonight and post again this evening.

Todd

Tony B · Post by **Tony B** » Tue Jun 11, 2002 10:31 am

How about connecting the analogue Dest and Source of both cards to the Mixer then the Z Links.

absolut · Post by **absolut** » Wed Jun 12, 2002 2:12 pm

OK, so I managed to fix the problem...

I again tried to load up the Luna Z-Link A Dest and Source and it gave me the same error message as usual and necessitates you to end the luna task.

I noticed that it was attempting to load Luna Z-Link A Dest 1 rather than Luna Z-Link A Dest 2 like it should. I then loaded up an old project and found that I had left a Luna Z-link A Source 2 open and that it activated my second box! However, I still didn't have the Dest 2, so I had to keep cracking.

To fix the problem, I loaded up the PS (powersampler) Z-Link Dest A and although it gives me errors stating that it cannot find the appropriate hardware, it loads and work perfectly. Note, my cards ARE Lunas.... not Powersamplers or Elektras (not that there really is a difference).

So anyways, I guess the moral of the story is, if you have problems loading your second or third Luna Box, try loading up either the PS or the Elektra boxes from the menu.

Thanks to everyone for your help!

Todd