1 Topic by hungaristan (edited by hungaristan 2011-01-06 09:49:41)

  • Registered: 2010-03-17
  • Posts: 3

Topic: ff800 WC - SyncCheck state stability

Hi,

although I read all the relevant sections of the ff800 manual, it's still not clear to me (yes, I am THAT thick) whether it's normal if the WC state displayed in SyncCheck occasionally goes off from "Sync" and changes to "Lock" for a fraction of a second.

The FF is set to AutoSync and is word clocked to an Antelope Audio Isochrone OCX (definitely not a toy...) through a very short cable.

I've been using this setup for a while, but never heard any problem before, which is why I didn't notice the blinking LED on the FF front panel behind me...

Does this thing need any further investigation?

Thanks for any input.

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2 Reply by MC

  • MC
  • MC
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  • From: Germany/Thailand
  • Registered: 2007-04-06
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Re: ff800 WC - SyncCheck state stability

Did you terminate the WC input of the FF?

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

MC's Website

3 Reply by panatrope (edited by panatrope 2011-01-06 10:32:02)

  • From: Melbourne, Australia
  • Registered: 2007-05-16
  • Posts: 495

Re: ff800 WC - SyncCheck state stability

I note hungaristan said the cable was "very short", therefore it seems unlikely that, at WC frequencies, reflections will be an issue.   Lack of termination does mean the WC signal may be 6dB higher than expected.

Does this imply that the FF800 (and possibly the FF400) may react adversely to 6dB higher than expected WC signal levels?

De gustibus - et sonus - non est disputandum

4 Reply by MC

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Re: ff800 WC - SyncCheck state stability

It doesn't matter how long or short the cable is. Ringing can occur with any cable length, so termination must be tried.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

MC's Website

5 Reply by hungaristan (edited by hungaristan 2011-01-07 05:32:54)

  • Registered: 2010-03-17
  • Posts: 3

Re: ff800 WC - SyncCheck state stability

MC wrote:

Did you terminate the WC input of the FF?

Oops... I bought my first FF800 about  5 years ago and bought others later on. I've been using them ever since on stage and in the studio without any problems and in most cases they were WCed, too. My ignorance is a living proof of their excellence: during all these years I didn't even notice the termination switch on the back panel; typical install-and-forget gear. Of course, you were right and termination resolved the problem. It's never too late to learn.

PS: I guess cable length has something to do with the fact that I haven't encountered with this issue before, when I used longer cables than the 1ft one in my new setup.

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6 Reply by hungaristan (edited by hungaristan 2011-01-20 01:45:41)

  • Registered: 2010-03-17
  • Posts: 3

Re: ff800 WC - SyncCheck state stability

My happiness didn't last for too long sad At first it seemed that termination solved the issue, but after a while the problem reappeared. So, I had to do what I wanted to avoid in the first place by writing here before doing anything: I had to dig deep in the back of the flightcase of my live setup and the studio rack and replace the studio unit with the live one. The problem persisted. I also tried different cables earlier, which made no difference either, so the problem must be caused by the Isochrone OCX. Not nice.

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