Do I need an external sync ?

[guppy]

Hello
I've more and more sync problem between my scope card and my octopre mk2 adat (sound stop during 2sec), it seems it can't sync well with 48khz, but it can sync 99.9% with 44khz (very small interruptions, 1 every 10mn).
The distance between them is 10m adat (but in this case, distance doesn't matter, and I tried 1m adat connection with the a16 at 48khz, which leads to the same symptoms with 48khz).
Do you think it is common thing, and do I simply need an external wordclock to work with 48khz ?
It happens with all adat from my 2 cards...
As the cards seems to work well, could it be from the computer or power supply if it's not coming from the sync itself ?
I don't know what to think about that. I allready had this kind of sync problem, but it wasn't persistent, but It's worst now
Thanks

[garyb]

if it's with all ADAT ports, then it's probably a cable or the Octapre.

you have the Octapre set for master(internal) and Scope set to ADAT slave(the Scope ADAT port that the Octapre is connected to), right?

[guppy]

I don't think it's coming from the octopre because I've tested the a16 with 1m adat and it was the same.
The octopre is not master as I don't use it all the time, but only with a drum (its adat output is used for live sonorisation).
The a16 with zlink is working perfectly

[garyb]

the Octapre MUST be master and Scope MUST be slave! how else can the card and pre sync if the Octapre isn't master? the Octapre only has an ADAT output, right?

there is no way that all the ADAT i/os are bad.

[guppy]

No, the octopre mk2 has adat inputs and outputs, and they're linked to the computer for synchronization.
I don't understand why it's working with 44khz and not with 48khz

[garyb]

yes, that is strange.

[guppy]

The computer seems to be ok, but I was wondering if it could be the power supply or the motherboard which don't give enough power to the pci slot for adat... , because despite of the fact that the problem seems to be on the octopre side, i've tested adat with the a16, and the problem occurs too...zlink side is ok, and it has its own power with floppy power supply cable on it...maybe pci power supply for adat could be so weak ?
If you remember, it started months ago, and I thought it was adat lenght which was too high(15m), but it's now 10m, and more, the problem occurs with the a16 too with 1m adat during tests...But it was just some small interruptions at this time. Now, It's always and impracticable with 48khz on the adat side.
It drives me crazy

Edit:I thought it was better with 48khz on octopre after some hours , but it's just a little better, don't think it's significant...

[dante]

No, the octopre mk2 has adat inputs and outputs, and they're linked to the computer for synchronization.
I don't understand why it's working with 44khz and not with 48khz

try cleaning out the ADAT ports with compressed air.

[guppy]

Yes, that's true that should be the first thing to do.
I'm going to buy one!
Thanks for this remember !

[guppy]

Hello !
I've bought a compressed air can and applied it to the adat port, and it's much better !
I got 1 small interruptions during hours with 48khz by now, and I'm sure it should be perfect with a second pass !
I'll test it more tomorrow, hope it will be as stable as today
I'll be very surprised to have some interruptions tomorrow, but it was so simple that I can't realize that's ok now
Thanks for your advices !

[guppy]

Well , it's much better, but far from perfect with 48khz.... and works pretty well with 44khz
I'm going to think again about it and make some tests, but that's still a mystery

[garyb]

using bnc workclock may help. you need a clock/distributor and a bnc connection from the clock directly to each device. you cannot chain wordclock from device to device. the least expensive clock distributor is probably the ART Syncgen.

[guppy]

That's strange that even with 1m adat and a16 ultra, it can't sync well too...make me think that it's deeper than I hoped

[djmicron]

i had a similar problem, it was the dirty adat connector and cleaning it with compressed air sometimes is not enough, i used a brush soaked in water, then compressed air and it solved the problem.

[garyb]

yeah, especially if the covers have been off of the connectors for a long time...

[guppy]

Ok, i'm going to do that !
Thanks !

[garyb]

just be careful with liquids!
water can lead to corrosion if it goes where you don't want it to....

[guppy]

Hello!
I've just finished all my tests, and it seems it comes from the computer itself (as usual with this p7p55d, I already got freezes with when scope is open more than 15/16hours, but I could work before this adat problems appeared...)
I've cleaned the adat port with air and tried to wash them a little, but nothing changed.
I've tested 2 other pulsar2 cards and another scope card (exactly as my original 3 card setup) I've just bought for testing, but it continues to stop during playback on ADAT (maybe less than before, but the problem is always there).
As I've tested with new 10m Mutek adat cables and other cards, the last solution is the computer again...I've never seen that before
I've no more ideas to solve it completly, and even if it's more usable now, I think I'm going to buy a complete z87 motherboard configuration very soon... It's a shame, because I don't really need more CPU power to work (and money to spend), the I7 I got was already so powerful
So the last option is to think about changing my motherboard (and power supply ?)
I hope those experiences can help somebody one day, but it seems i'm so alone with this problem
That's really weird...
The good thing is that I've now 2 pulsar2 cards more, and so all the cards I own seem to be ok. (I've sold the second scope card for money back....I shouldn't have done that !!!)
Thanks again for all your advices !