Topic: Flashing ADAT1 light on UFX+

I posted some time ago with problems getting sync between my UFX+, an Octamic, and an Audient SP880.

https://forum.rme-audio.de/viewtopic.php?id=32740

The problem went away for reasons I don't understand, i.e. after an hour or two of swapping cables and lightpipes and trying different settings it worked fine again (on the original settings).

Today the ADAT1 light on my UFX+ started blinking. The control panel give sync status as "Lock", and signals fed into the device (my Octamic) are getting into the UFX+ just fine. But it's very annoying, and I like to have my expensive equipment work perfectly.

So I began to fiddle with connections again, and then for a couple of hours I once again could not get both the Octamic and the Audient SP880 to sync. I won't go into details now, but the end result is I'm back where I started (but I don't know why). Both devices are synced, but ADAT1 keeps flashing.

(Interestingly, the control panels shows ADAT1 as "Lock" and ADAT2 as "Sync". I'm using a 12mic over MADI optical, and it shows "Sync" also.)

Why is it flashing? How can I get it to go solid again?

Thanks in advance.

2

Re: Flashing ADAT1 light on UFX+

The unit that sends a signal into ADAT1 is not fully synced to the master clock. For example if the UFX+ is set to Internal, then the unit connected to ADAT1 does not get the UFX+ clock. Because it is not connected to the UFX+ word clock or any of its digital outputs, or if so does not use them as clock source (set to Internal itself, or has a sync problem). Lock in the UFX+ Settings dialog means the source has a similar sample rate, but examining the recorded data in detail you might find small clicks or drop-outs.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

Re: Flashing ADAT1 light on UFX+

Thank you Matthias.

Can you suggest some reasons why the Octamic is not fully syncing?

I've triple-checked the dip switch settings on the Octamic, as well as the termination. I've swapped out the BNC cables and ADAT lightpipe cables. The master clock is the UFX+ Internal.

4 (edited by vanceen 2021-04-18 20:25:38)

Re: Flashing ADAT1 light on UFX+

OK, another couple of hours disconnecting and re-connecting everything, swapping BNC cable, lightpipe, T's, terminations.... Things sometimes work and sometimes don't with no clear pattern. Sometimes one ADAT syncs, sometimes the other. Sometimes neither. I finally got both ADAT lights on the UFX+ to come on for a few minutes, then ADAT1 went out again.

I really need some help here. I would be happy to provide all the details, but I would like to know that some one is going to respond before I take the time to do that.

Is this the wrong place for this question? Is there another resource I should be talking to? (I've read all the relevant manuals over and over trying to solve this.)

5 (edited by waedi 2021-04-18 21:22:09)

Re: Flashing ADAT1 light on UFX+

The UFX is your main interface and the clock-mode is set to internal. That is probably not good.
Set the clock-mode to optical in.
The Octamic has no adat input, therefor it needs to clock internal.
The first switch from left side can be down (is not relevant). The second switch must be up, clock internal.
Then connect the toslink cable from Octamic adat output to the adat input1 on the UFX.
Please try it.
The UFX has Auto Sync and takes incoming digital signal automatically for sync.
This is why it makes no sense to connect the Octamic with BNC cable to the UFX for giving wordclock to the Octamic as the UFX takes the clock from the Octamic adat.

M1-Sonoma, Madiface Pro, Digiface USB, Babyface silver and blue

Re: Flashing ADAT1 light on UFX+

Much appreciated, waedi. I'll try that tomorrow.

7

Re: Flashing ADAT1 light on UFX+

waedi wrote:

The UFX is your main interface and the clock-mode is set to internal. That is probably not good.

It is the best way to use it.

waedi wrote:

Set the clock-mode to optical in. The Octamic has no adat input, therefor it needs to clock internal..

Nonsense. The customer uses word clock to sync the OctaMic II to the UFX+.

waedi wrote:

The first switch from left side can be down (is not relevant). The second switch must be up, clock internal.
Then connect the toslink cable from Octamic adat output to the adat input1 on the UFX. Please try it..

Turning the whole clocking scheme upside down will give usage limitations (no longer follow clock of the ccomputer interface) and will not solve the basic problem. Something is wrong here. It might be a simple defective cable, or a defective unit, but in the long run this needs to be found.

First I would like to see a pic which shows the DIP switch settings of the OctaMic II. And I would like to know if the issue comes up when the Audient is not part of the setup.

waedi wrote:

The UFX has Auto Sync and takes incoming digital signal automatically for sync.
This is why it makes no sense to connect the Octamic with BNC cable to the UFX for giving wordclock to the Octamic as the UFX takes the clock from the Octamic adat.

That is completely misleading BS. Did you even read what you wrote here?

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

8

Re: Flashing ADAT1 light on UFX+

vanceen wrote:

OK, another couple of hours disconnecting and re-connecting everything, swapping BNC cable, lightpipe, T's, terminations.... Things sometimes work and sometimes don't with no clear pattern. Sometimes one ADAT syncs, sometimes the other. Sometimes neither. I finally got both ADAT lights on the UFX+ to come on for a few minutes, then ADAT1 went out again.

I really need some help here. I would be happy to provide all the details, but I would like to know that some one is going to respond before I take the time to do that.

Is this the wrong place for this question? Is there another resource I should be talking to? (I've read all the relevant manuals over and over trying to solve this.)

Complicated setups are sometimes easier to solve talking to our supporters directly (phone etc). Saves you many days and posts back and forth.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

Re: Flashing ADAT1 light on UFX+

MC wrote:

That is completely misleading BS. Did you even read what you wrote here?

I'm sorry, I got it from the UFX user manual that the UFX has auto sync, is that not true ?
And when two devices try to sync each other it will not work, is that not true ?
I agree, the telephone support would be the better solve for this.

M1-Sonoma, Madiface Pro, Digiface USB, Babyface silver and blue

Re: Flashing ADAT1 light on UFX+

MC wrote:
vanceen wrote:

OK, another couple of hours disconnecting and re-connecting everything, swapping BNC cable, lightpipe, T's, terminations.... Things sometimes work and sometimes don't with no clear pattern. Sometimes one ADAT syncs, sometimes the other. Sometimes neither. I finally got both ADAT lights on the UFX+ to come on for a few minutes, then ADAT1 went out again.

I really need some help here. I would be happy to provide all the details, but I would like to know that some one is going to respond before I take the time to do that.

Is this the wrong place for this question? Is there another resource I should be talking to? (I've read all the relevant manuals over and over trying to solve this.)

Complicated setups are sometimes easier to solve talking to our supporters directly (phone etc). Saves you many days and posts back and forth.

OK, thanks. For me, in the US, would that be Jeff Peterson at Synthax?

Re: Flashing ADAT1 light on UFX+

vanceen wrote:

OK, thanks. For me, in the US, would that be Jeff Petersen at Synthax?

Yup...

That said, try with only the Octamic connected, both as master and slave... Does that work?

Regards
Daniel Fuchs
RME

Regards
Daniel Fuchs
RME

Re: Flashing ADAT1 light on UFX+

Thanks, Daniel. That's one of the first things I tried. I hooked up each ADAT separately and even pulled out an old Behringer.

The results were inconclusive. Sometimes the Octamic syncs, sometimes it doesn't. The same was true for the other ADATs. Sometimes I hooked them all up and they worked for days or even weeks, and then the problems come back.

In the original post, I mentioned that the Octamic and the Audient all worked fine with the UFX+ for over a year. That setup was using the UFX+ Internal as the clock source, word clock out of the UFX+ to a T-connector on the Octamic (not terminated, set to WC, external sync, 48kHz), the other side of the T connected to the Audient word clock in (terminated).

But then, after about a year, one or the other of the ADAT lights started blinking and then sometimes going out with loss of connection from the ADAT in question.

My fear is that something's wrong with the UFX+, and all of this seems consistent with that diagnosis to my non-expert view.

Re: Flashing ADAT1 light on UFX+

OK, I just tried it again. Nothing else connected, just the Octamic. Lightpipe cables from ADAT 1 or ADAT 2 of the UFX+, word clock from the Out on the UFX+ to the Octamic via BNC, the Octamic terminated.

If the toslink cable is connected to ADAT 2, the light is steady and syncing is fine.

If the toslink cable is connected to ADAT 1, it shows a steady light for about twenty seconds and starts flashing. The control panel indicates "Lock" for ADAT 1, not "Sync". The Octamic passes a signal to the UFX+.

Re: Flashing ADAT1 light on UFX+

I tried to use the Octamic as the clock. It will sync, but only at 44.1 kHz.

The Audient works fine when plugged in by itself.

When I go back to the original setup (UFX+ word clock to T on unterminated Octamic, second BNC cable from the T to terminated Audient) all the lights come on solid for about fifteen seconds. Then ADAT 1 (Octamic) starts to flash. After about ten more seconds the ADAT 2 light (Audient) goes out.

I have a message in to Synthax, but I thought I would post this here.

I don't know if it's relevant or not, but my 12mic is simply connected by MADI optical to the UFX+, and it always works fine. It's set to MADI Optical as the Master, and the control panels shows "MADI Optical Sync".

15

Re: Flashing ADAT1 light on UFX+

Post 13 is a strong indicator that the TOSLINK input of ADAT1 is faulty. I wonder if you can produce the same error when you plug a simple loopback, ADAT1 out to ADAT1 in. That would be a perfect indication, but is less likely, as such an ideal clock loop might not show the error.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

Re: Flashing ADAT1 light on UFX+

Thanks, Matthias. At Jeff Petersen's suggestion, I tried the loop for both inputs/outputs, and it synced fine.

I think you are right, though. When I connected the Octamic together with an old Behringer ADAT I have, I found that ADAT 1 kept blinking no matter which device was plugged into it.