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Topic: Power supply issues??

Hi,

We have had some nasty power supply issues here in Europe:

With he latest batches of NOINs we had shipped in, the power supplies where too weak (with 230Volts wall supply) to even boot up the NION with some cards in it, so we replaced the power supplies with more powerfull ones.
This is a standard operation for us that we always do with new NIONs, since the default power supply is simply too weak to power a couple of input cards with phantom power, causing the unit to reboot now and then.
(quite funny that a 10k euro device uses a 2 euro power suplly which is sold for 300 Euro's eh?).
Now we experienced some funny stuff going on, with the default PSU as with the 200 Euro's costing very professional server PSU's we put in:
the units sometimes switch themselves off and won't go on again for a couple of ours, after that they're fine again.
We monitored the PSU lines of one of the funny units for a couple of weeks and it seems that sometimes the motherboard of the NION sends back a +5Volt spike to the PSU, this happens randomly, somtimes once a week and sometimes more often.
This causes ALL PSU's to go in some sort of protection mode, switching themselves of and not willing to switch on for a couple of ours. Has anyone experienced this problem too? does anyone have a solution for this?

Please don't tell me to contact tech support, I did this last time on your advice and could really not be helped there and I'm sure that they can't help me on this issue either.

Thanks,

Kees

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Re: Power supply issues??

Hi Kees-

I find it interesting that you have been having so much trouble with the power supplies in the NIONs. As far as I know, here in the USA there has not been problems with the power supplies for the NIONs. The EMACS power supplies have been very robust and have worked well.

Ampco_Kees wrote:

With he latest batches of NOINs we had shipped in, the power supplies where too weak (with 230Volts wall supply) to even boot up the NION with some cards in it, so we replaced the power supplies with more powerfull ones.

I find this comment very curious. Are you saying that with cards installed in your NION, it would not turn on?
Does it turn on without the cards in it?
What is the make and model number of the power supplies that you have been putting in your NIONs?
Did this help your problem?

Ampco_Kees wrote:

This is a standard operation for us that we always do with new NIONs, since the default power supply is simply too weak to power a couple of input cards with phantom power, causing the unit to reboot now and then.

The default power supply for the NION is more than capable to provide plenty of power. If you are running out of phantom power, I highly recommend that you check the current required by your microphones. The NION can provide up to 80mA at 48VDC from each NIO-8ml II card. That is 10mA per microphone. A typical microphone should be between 3-5mA, however with everyone putting LED's and logic circuits in their microphones, I have seen mics that require more, but I have never seen more than 10mA required.
What microphones are you using?

Ampco_Kees wrote:

(quite funny that a 10k euro device uses a 2 euro power suplly which is sold for 300 Euro's eh?).

Really? You know where I can buy these power supplies for 2 euros?
I definitely need to know where you can do this! All the places I have been looking to buy these power supplies all want between $70-$80 (US Dollars) (today, 8 December 2008, this is the equivalent of about 56 euros) for this exact same power supply!
http://www.rackmountnet.com/Power-Suppl … P2U-6300P/
http://www.buypowergear.com/detail.aspx?ID=4808

Ampco_Kees wrote:

Now we experienced some funny stuff going on, with the default PSU as with the 200 Euro's costing very professional server PSU's we put in:

So let me see if I understand you correctly:
1. You were having a problem and somehow decided that it had to do with the power supply.
2. You put in a different power supply.
3. You continued to have the same problem.
If this is the case, I would have to say I don't think whatever problem you are experiencing has anything to do with the power supply.

Ampco_Kees wrote:

the units sometimes switch themselves off and won't go on again for a couple of ours, after that they're fine again.
We monitored the PSU lines of one of the funny units for a couple of weeks and it seems that sometimes the motherboard of the NION sends back a +5Volt spike to the PSU, this happens randomly, somtimes once a week and sometimes more often.
This causes ALL PSU's to go in some sort of protection mode, switching themselves of and not willing to switch on for a couple of ours. Has anyone experienced this problem too? does anyone have a solution for this?

Interesting...
Could it be that this is the NION telling the power supply to shut off or restart, and not some "magical random event"???
There is a "Watchdog Timer" in the NION and its job is to monitor the system. If something is not working correctly, it may tell the unit to shutdown or restart. The answer to this is NOT to try to disable the Watchdog Timer function, but rather it should be to have the system function correctly so the Watchdog Timer can monitor everything.
Without looking at your project file and understanding exactly how your unit is being used, I am hard pressed to call what you are experiencing a hardware problem. This is because time and time again I have found that when people are complaining of hardware problems it is usually their project file that is killing the NION. The NION hardware is working correctly and doing exactly what it is supposed to do, but when you try to make it do too much, it will restart. This sounds like your problem. So, on to your last comment...

Ampco_Kees wrote:

Please don't tell me to contact tech support, I did this last time on your advice and could really not be helped there and I'm sure that they can't help me on this issue either.

Well, Kees, I think you SHOULD contact tech support. Obviously you have a problem and it needs to be taken care of. I know this isn't what you want to hear, but it really is what you should do. Please feel free to send me a private message indicating with whom you have spoken of this issue and what the outcome was. I will be glad to assist you in getting to the bottom of your real issues. Whatever these issues are, I highly doubt that they are based on the NION hardware.

Please include the following in the message you send:
1. Your name
2. Email, telephone, and any other contact information that I need to get in touch with you
3. Your location
4. The MediaMatrix tech support office you contacted previously and with whom you spoke
5. The jobsite location, are you working onsite at the installation or are you working in your office's assembly area?
6. Be prepared to send your project file
7. Be prepared to send the "Remote Log" from the NION(s) in question
8. Be prepared to send a one line diagram for the audio system showing how the NION is connected, also send any other drawings related to network topology, hardware layout, and hardware interconnection

This information will greatly assist me in helping you.

Thank you Kees!

-Josh

Josh Millward
Burnt Orange Studios

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Re: Power supply issues??

If the NION won't work with four cards installed, you might be interested in reading this: http://downloads.peavey.com/mm/Nware/Te … Supply.pdf

Do not assume the board in your NION is rev D just because the front panel says so. You must look at the silkscreened print on the motherboard to verify board revision.

The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing. -Socrates

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Re: Power supply issues??

JoshM wrote:

The EMACS power supplies have been very robust and have worked well.

Wow, I didn't even know it was a power supply too, I've only been using the text editor feature!! wink

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Re: Power supply issues??

jvalenzuela wrote:
JoshM wrote:

The EMACS power supplies have been very robust and have worked well.

Wow, I didn't even know it was a power supply too, I've only been using the text editor feature!! wink

LOL!

Very nice Jason!

Josh Millward
Burnt Orange Studios