• Registered: 2009-05-27
  • Posts: 29

Topic: Lindy Cable made no difference

I bought the Lindy FW cable to try and fix the prob with my MBP. I tried to upgrade the software but all I seem to get is error reading. Im at my wits end with this and think I might sell my FW 800 as Im starting to believe its a piece of crap. And the support service from RME is minimal.Anybody got any ideas?

  • Knut
  • Knut
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  • Registered: 2007-04-06
  • Posts: 1,618

Re: Lindy Cable made no difference

I?am sorry, but the Lindy usually works very well. Have you tried another Firewire hub, like an external HD? You should also try the FF800 on a current MBP 2009 or a PC to see it?s not defective.

best regards
Knut

  • From: Germany
  • Registered: 2007-04-10
  • Posts: 9,774

Re: Lindy Cable made no difference

The cable will not help with performance issues (which are usually the cause of dropouts etc.), it just solves the FW chipset issue which makes the FF disconnect whenever a software initiates playback.

Please mind that the FW transfer errors and clicks etc. indicate a problem with performance. The FF is not the cause, rather the victim of these issues.

Regards
Daniel Fuchs
RME

Regards
Daniel Fuchs
RME

RME Support's Website

  • Registered: 2009-05-27
  • Posts: 29

Re: Lindy Cable made no difference

Hi Knut
I did a clean reinstall and and tried to install latest upgrade. All l kept getting was error.What it does is display the mixer for a second then it disappears. I havent been able to try it with another MBP or pc but l see no reason why itd be defective.

  • Knut
  • Knut
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  • Registered: 2007-04-06
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Re: Lindy Cable made no difference

If the Fireface is not defective - positive check on another system - it?s the common FireWire connection error. There is no other fix for the non working Macbook FireWire chipset than an active FireWire repeater. If the Lindy cable (this cable) does not work you should try another FireWire repeater, like an external HD. 

Otherwise I see no solution for your problem - besides exchange it somehow to a Fireface UC.

best regards
Knut

  • Registered: 2009-05-27
  • Posts: 29

Re: Lindy Cable made no difference

CanI try it via a non FW HD.I only got high speed USB HD.This is so frustrating. It worked perfectly with my G4

  • Knut
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  • Registered: 2007-04-06
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Re: Lindy Cable made no difference

CanI try it via a non FW HD.I only got high speed USB HD.

No, sorry. The FireWire repeater chipset inside an external HD or the Lindy repeater cable fixes the signal incompatibility of the crippled Macbook chipset.

It worked perfectly with my G4

Yes, the older Apple hardware used a working FireWire chipset. The 2007-2009 Macbooks include an incompatible FireWire chipset - cheaper than the previous Texas Instruments chip. But you always get what you paid for. The chipset manufacturer fixed the problem in a new revision and the 2009 work again as expected.

best regards
Knut

  • From: Gothenburg, Sweden
  • Registered: 2007-05-01
  • Posts: 441

Re: Lindy Cable made no difference

Hi,

correction I have MBP (Early 2008) with TI firewire chipset

regards S-EH

  • Knut
  • Knut
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Re: Lindy Cable made no difference

Congratulation! You are one of the few.

best regards
Knut

  • From: Gothenburg, Sweden
  • Registered: 2007-05-01
  • Posts: 441

Re: Lindy Cable made no difference

maybe but I'm not alone lol

regards S-EH

11 Reply by Timur Born (edited by Timur 2010-01-15 00:20:50)

  • Registered: 2008-01-01
  • Posts: 3,025

Re: Lindy Cable made no difference

The new Imacs 21" also use a TI chipset, I will se the 27" ones in a few days. But to be frank the LSI chipset really seems to deliver good performence either with Lindy cable (rev. 6) or without (rev. 7).

When I compared my rev. 6 onboard Firewire with a TI based FW400 ExpressCard the card used about 2-5% more CPU. Unfortunately I missed to compare lowest possible buffer settings back then. But like all ExpressCards the whole thing was a bit flackey and would freeze sometimes when removing the card.

Concerning the repeater hub thing. If the Lindy cable with the inbuild repeater does not work then there's something wrong going on. Maybe the cable is broken or something. You can also try a HD drive, but with my Oxford based cases I found that only the FW800 port worked as bridge while the FW400 port still needed the Lindy cable in front in order to make the Fireface work.

One connection that worked as well was connecting the FF400 to a Motu Ultralite (as repeater). The Motu didn't even have to be turned on. smile

  • Registered: 2009-05-27
  • Posts: 29

Re: Lindy Cable made no difference

Still no luck.Am still getting the same squeaks and cutouts as I did before. The Lindy cable is brand new. Whenever I switch on the FF. Within a few nanoseconds the mixer window disappears and whenever I scroll up to the menu,it repeats the disappearance.I havent tried it with a HD as I am a bit averse to spending more money on this. I have installed Snow leopard by the way.Would this affect anything? Any alternative ideas?