"the "EXT" light on the ALpha blinks and the two just don't see each other."

I think that means that you are trying to run the Alphalink as External.  You want it to be the master in your rig IMO (best to have you highest-quality AD/DA as your master clock).

I run my main Alphalink MADI AX as master at 44.1K, slave the second Alphalink AX over BNC WordClock, and "tee off" into the HDSP MADI card - and let it sync to Wordclock as well.  Works well over here (Alphalink #1 is the master)...

Double check the Alphalink's Wordclock settings - I recall I have to make a change on mine - but it's been a while since I set it up and I literally haven't had to think about it once since then.  The Alphalink's settings config are somewhat cryptic...

The hdsp should sync to adat also on the first 8 channels. (mine does with my adi8, a FW1804 and a 1212m, so 3 ports used, ADI is master) and adat does have lower jitter then wordclock (although that is irrelevant when the ssl is master), wordclock is easier to distribute and universal, but not better (it runs at a lower clock then adat and needs to be up-sampled). RME guarantees the best jitter suppression on adat.

There is no reason the ssl shouldn´t be able to be master over adat. Have you tried selecting any off all 3 adat ports as master in the rme pannel and see if that helps? If the problem is alwasy with adat 1 there is something wrong there at either the rme side or the ssl. If you swap cables (so for example adat ssl1 to rme 2) and it remains at adat 1 it´s the rme, if it switches with switching the cables it´s the ssl. Dit you try all adat outs of the ssl separately?

Ok, here some results:

SSL as master now works via ADAT, no problems, no glitches, the feedback loops were a I/O setting in pro tools

So I can actually use the SSL as master via ADAT.

But the word clock.. no way to make the two see each other with the BNC cable.

SSL says I have to set the Alpha to "internal" so use WC as master, which I did, set the RME as autosync in "Clock mode"
set word clock in "pref sync ref" but the sync check still shows "no lock" in the word clock line, while adat is still "lock"

Auto Sync Ref tho' always show ADAT no matter what.. I sense there is a setting in the Alpha to make it send the clock thru BNC
which should be by default (as the manual says) but obviously is not.. and as Randyman mentioned before..

Problem is, the "cryptic" menu/binarylights of the Alpha are seriously hard to read and set.. I cannot for the life of me find how to set it in the Alpha
If someone knows.. it'd be much appreciated, it seems stupid to have the BNC cable sitting on the floor because of this

thanks

That's the point, I checked the RME manual to make sure the I was connecting it right, it doesn't light up, so I assume the SSL is not sending any clock signal
which would make sense for the "no lock" in the word clock line of the setting panel

It seems like it, Alpha's setting is not exactly intuitive to read..

Anyway I know SSL doesn't need termination,
and the RME has the jumper on the board (which to be honest I don't really know if I should move it or not to terminate it.. <-- hold on: it might be the problem??)

Impedance is 75ohm cable, brand new, but I'll change it today just to make sure

Yes the adat works, but still.. I'm also planning on getting another Alpha soon, it might be a good idea to find a way to set the WC up

I read another 3d here on the board, and I read someone had luck syncing the two setting the WC out to 2FS even if it was running at 44.100..
well I figured out the menu and later on today Ima try that, and see how that goes.

The strangest thing is the RME light is dead when I connect the Alpha which (according to SSL support) always send a valid WC signal from the BNC unless is set as slave..

I'll also try to set the RME as master and send the WC to see if the Alpha receive it

Try setting the RME card to Internal clock, and connect WC out to WC in (loopback) on the 9652 card. If the green LED lights up (& WC in shows Sync in settings) then you know the cable is good and the 9652 is operating as expected.

It would go to WC automatically (if selected in pref. sync ref, like in your attached picture) and SyncCheck would show either lock or sync if there was a signal.

OK stupid question but are you 100% sure you used the SSL WC output and the RME input? Is there a way to reset the SSL to default settings?

SSL customer service's last mail called it faulty, damn..

I think I have to send it back and have it replaced

This is the last mail from SSL:

You cannot do a loopback test on the Alpha-Link's WordClock connections. This is because if you set it to lock to incoming clock (EXT), it will wait for a valid clock before transmitting a synced signal. Chicken and egg...

It may be a valid test for the RME card, though I don't know how... well, I guess their control software can analyze the incoming clock and display its status, even while the card uses its own generator.

The only way to prove a fault on the Alpha-Link is to feed WordClock to another, "known to work" device.

Other than this, we'll know it is faulty if a replacement Alpha-Link solves the problem

Problem is there is no light on the SSL as in the RME that shows if there's a signal coming or not, so the only way to test it is to connect the SSL out to RME, set the RME as slave and the Alpha to "INT", this way it should send the WC and the light on the RME should light up, but it doesn't.

Other way is to connect the RME out to SSL in and set the RME as master (I'm going thru this just in case I'm missing something stupid..), the RME panel should show the WC lock in both cases, but instead it shows no lock.

It really seems like the Alpha BNC is dead, which is very, very strange

When I connect the BNC and set the Alpha to "INT" and the RME panel to sync to Word Clock, it keeps getting the WC from the ADAT, and no light on the RME is popping up.
At some point I even unplugged all the 3 ADAT connections, and I had ONLY the BNC cable connecting the two (9652 and Alpha) and nothing changed.

All the connection and the cable swapping of course have been done turning everything off before unplugging and/or plugging in cables of any sort, whether it was BNC or ADAT
I've even tried to swap BNC I/O just in case - I know crazy - the labeling was wrong.. loosing hope a bit

I didn't mess with the internal setting of the Alpha, I only today tried what I read another used did, which if I don't remember wrong was to set the WC out to 2Fs,
but I did that after studying the manual for two hours, making sure I got how to change that ok, and then put it back how it was.
Aside from that, I didn't change anything in the Alpha setting.
But with that said, I didn't see any mention of a "factory reset" in the Alpha manual, which is what I'd've tried.

I wrote the guy at the store where I bought the SSL, which is an official dealer, super nice guy and he's asking a tech friend of him @ SSL, I told him that
I really have hard time believing the unit is faulty, just the WC? I don't know, don't ask me why but I sense, just a feeling, that is an internal setting because the unit
runs perfectly otherwise, I might be wrong, but.. Anyway, I told him that before sending it back and have it replaced I'll do any test I'm suggested to do (even because the unit is already racked and PATCHED! 96 points.. I really don't look forward doing it again..)

So I think he might come back at me with something like that, some sort of factory reset or some option to try.. I really hope so

EDIT: unfortunately I don't have any other WC unit in the studio.

I (stressed I) Would certainly test it with the switch the other way, even when that would be unterminated.

lets take this picture for example, I'm not in studio right now and I can't check it

is this one in the picture terminated? Anyways, I will swap it and try regardless yes, but just out of curiosity

LOL, unterminated, look at the picture on the pcb right lower corner above germany LOL

OOPS you said that the post above, LOL about myself

Entschuldigung.....

Ok I got it now, thanks guys

Now i understand the picture above the "germany" writing

I will check out how mine is set and in any case I will swap it and try.. I won't hurt trying anyway

Just so I know what I can or can't expect (I hate having to wait tomorro to try this..) would the wrong position of the jumper cause the problem? I sense the answer is no...

you could connect it to a voltmeter in AC setting to see if there is something detected at all.

Granted that I barely know how a voltmeter looks like, I can try this one

So I set the voltmeter to AC and then touch the WC BNC out of the Alpha right?

Thanks guys

yeah I'm pretty sure it was your post that I read about it here before asking, and that's what I tried.
I checked my firmware first time I fired up the unit and it was 2.6 it should be ok, plus this one is the Madi AX so it should not be affected.

As for the test, to be honest I'm not only pretty clumsy but I also have bad luck lately so I'm a lil afraid if there's any risk to piss the unit with a short,
it's brand new and running the risk to invalidate the warranty kinda scares me..

I'm attaching here the (only) two pages of the manual that have some mention of the setting for the clock with the Madi AX,
maybe I am losing something and some of you can point out some option that i could try?

On this first page everything was "default" (the bold options) and the only thing I tried
was "LED 7 - WORDCLOCK OUTPUT AT 2Fs CLOC" instead of "Fs clock" which was the default,
so the green light was off, I turned it on. Pressed both "sample rate" and "clock" buttons to store,
waited, power cycled.
Then after noticing nothing changed, I put if back how it was.
There could be another option that I could try?

On this one the only option regarding clock is the "ext" source,
which was on "wordclock" already by default, no reason to even try to change it
but most important I was using the "INT" setting, shouldn't have affected it (at least when in Master mode)

Still waiting the SSL tech guy/my store to get back at me, most likely after the w/e..

As for right now only one Alpha, but yes I will get a second unit after summer (big project coming in..)

So wordclock phase angle you say? I will try that, jeez, I'd try anything to make it work and not to have to
take the unit out of the rack and most important have to repatch everything..

Yes, I remember reading that as well now

A lil led that shows if the unit is sending or not WC signal would have been useful now..

Should it pass WC?

It can´t hurt the alpha and if it works you know the output is working, cause it is a newly generated clock, not a literal pass-through. But if it doesn´t you are not much the wiser, could still be the rme not understanding the clock. Did you try the termination switch on the rme side?

Result of the tests..

Moving the jumper (it was terminated) made the RME not lock to itself in the loop test, nor made it see or send the WC to the alpha.

Putting the jumper back in its original place made the RME lock to itself in the loop test, but still no communication with the Alpha.

I tried to put in the Alpha setting the source for the "EXT" sync to "wordclock" and tried that way to send the WC from the RME, but still no lock, no sync.

Now a very weird thing: the RME doesn't lock to itself anymore... I always turn everything completely off before hooking and unhooking cables, not only turn off but also turn off power supply(ies) and unhook the main power, so I now cannot explain why the RME doesn't lock itself when looping it.

It might be the cable at this point? this really starts to make no sense..

What can I say? All in all I'm happy as I can be right now:

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Apparently not one, but TWO brand new cables were gone bad

Not the cable itself, the connectors..

Anyway, out of desperation I took the cables to an electric shop to have them tested and surprise: they both weren't passing

Needless to say the first 15 seconds I was livid, but then I realized that everything was gon' be solved with 10 euros,
not having to return the SSL, not to have to repatch everything.

So happy times!

Thank you all guys for the support, I really think we went thru ALL the possible clocking problem anyone can have with these two
devices

Word! so true about adat I was actually thinking the same thing when I unplugged ALL the toslink cables in one of the test lol
My paranoia about triple backing up hdd now is growing @_@

damn.. Well, it has been a hell of a journey but it was such a relief to see the green light poppin' up at last
again, thanks guys!

D