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Do I need an external sync ?

Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2013 12:23 pm
by 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

Re: Do I need an external sync ?

Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2013 1:19 pm
by 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?

Re: Do I need an external sync ?

Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2013 1:53 pm
by 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 :-?

Re: Do I need an external sync ?

Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2013 2:19 pm
by 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.

Re: Do I need an external sync ?

Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2013 2:28 pm
by 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 :-?

Re: Do I need an external sync ?

Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2013 2:36 pm
by garyb
yes, that is strange.

Re: Do I need an external sync ?

Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2013 3:28 pm
by 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 ? :roll:
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 :x

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...

Re: Do I need an external sync ?

Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2013 4:14 pm
by dante
guppy wrote: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.

Re: Do I need an external sync ?

Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2013 4:24 pm
by guppy
Yes, that's true that should be the first thing to do.
I'm going to buy one!
Thanks for this remember !

Re: Do I need an external sync ?

Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 8:23 pm
by 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 :P
Thanks for your advices !

Re: Do I need an external sync ?

Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 6:26 pm
by 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 :)

Re: Do I need an external sync ?

Posted: Fri Oct 18, 2013 9:43 am
by 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.

Re: Do I need an external sync ?

Posted: Sat Oct 19, 2013 6:13 am
by 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 :roll:

Re: Do I need an external sync ?

Posted: Sat Oct 19, 2013 7:01 am
by 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.

Re: Do I need an external sync ?

Posted: Sat Oct 19, 2013 8:34 am
by garyb
yeah, especially if the covers have been off of the connectors for a long time...

Re: Do I need an external sync ?

Posted: Sat Oct 19, 2013 11:28 am
by guppy
Ok, i'm going to do that !
Thanks !

Re: Do I need an external sync ?

Posted: Sat Oct 19, 2013 11:47 pm
by garyb
just be careful with liquids!
water can lead to corrosion if it goes where you don't want it to....

Re: Do I need an external sync ?

Posted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 12:13 am
by 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 :roll:
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 :evil:
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 !