Control 24 Fader Issue

[Stylin' Audio]

Hi Jules,

I am fortunate to have access to someone (father) who is comfortable working and diagnosing at the component level. He repaired the PSU for me. It isn't that different than a computer inside, boards with ribbon cables between. The power supply comes out the back and removing the bottom cover reveals the 3 fader control boards. You can easily follow the ribbon cables from each board to the PSU where they plug in side by side. Replacing the power supply if it ends up being faulty is not that hard. The power supplies seem to be the weak point of these things.

Cheers,
CV

[Trailerman]

Thanks Colin.

I'll try and get hold of a replacement PSU from Digidesign and start there. Fingers crossed ....

Regards

Jules

[Dan.TweekStudios]

Hey trailerman, did a replacement psu solve your problem? I'm thinking about sending my psu back to Skynet for repairs once again.. my control 24 now has faders 1 - 8 completely jumping around and mixing a session is impossible. At first it was only a problem here and there, but now I can't get it to stop. I was gonna send out my psu last night but I just want to make absolute sure that its the problem. Should I send the "sub psu board" with it? I'm talking about the little board mounted on the angle brackets that the fader power connects to first before they connect to the psu. Help from anyone would be greatly appreciated as my sessions have come to a stand still!

Thanks,
dan.

[Trailerman]

Hi Dan

I haven't bitten the bullet yet, so can't really guide you.

In my case the issue disappeared briefly, and for a while I thought there's been divine intervention which would save me the 200+ quid Avid want for a PSU

Unfortunately it didn't last and is now worse than ever - the last bank of 8 faders dance around merrily when I open up the session and after I close down ProTools. Usually I can bring them back to life with extensive fiddling, bt it's not workable, and as soon as I have cleared my current backlog of work I will have to replace the PSU.

Just so I'm clear, you're saying you replaced the PSU and it has not resolved the issue of the dancing faders? This is worrying ...!

Jules

[Dan.TweekStudios]

Hey Jules,
When i had my PSU rebuilt before, it was for a completely different issue. The unit was not powering on at all and just made a clicking noise. Its a fairly common problem with these and ended up just being a capacitor "C20". I never experienced this new fader issue until after i got the rebuilt PSU back, and installed it. That is what kind of makes me think it could be the PSU. The other day i pulled the PSU out, Cleaned all of the connections, and popped the bottom panel of the control 24 to check out the fader control boards. I took a multi-meter and with the unit powered on and doing its usual fader 1-8 "dance" i tested the voltage to the various connections. Some where 0 volts, -10 volts, and 10 volts, but none had any change in voltage, or a "spike" in voltage as described in another post. I really dont know how fast my meter can detect changes in voltage though, so if its a quick spike, say under a second or two, i really dont know if it would pick it up. Ive pretty much narrowed it down to the PSU, or the fader control board for bank 1. I just dont know for sure, and i dont want to waste a week of shipping time sending out my PSU for repairs again if that wont address the problem. Im really at my whits end with this thing.. Now heres the strangest part.... I showed up to my studio for a session tonight, and just out of curiosity powered up the control 24.. Everything was fine again! After almost a week solid of the faders jumping around, its completely back to normal! I ran my session without issues, and right now its working fine. But i know this is going to happen again, and i want to get it taken care of. But im fresh out of ideas. I hope someone can give us a hand!!

Thanks,
Dan

[Trailerman]

Let's keep in touch Dan. Sounds like your current issue is pretty much identical to mine - especially now that it has mysteriously vanished. Unfortunately, I can pretty much guarantee it'll be back within a few days if it's the same issue.

I am still able to work with my C24 and because I have no available downtime I'm working through the problem unti I have a gap to get the PSU swapped, but I have to confess I'm a little nervous about replacing the PSU if it's perhaps a failing fader control board.

If I make progress, I'll post back here straight away.

Jules

[Dan.TweekStudios]

If you do end up needing to replace the PSU, i found the company that originally built them for digidesign, Skynet USA. They'll repair any product they've ever made for $40 regardless of what the problem is. I created a post the the DUC a few weeks back when i got my replacement to share the good news, and i think a few people have also used them since then. So getting the PSU repaired wouldn't be an issue, its just the down time that's the problem. Now on the other hand, I have no idea where to even start looking for a replacement fader control board or how to get it repaired. so im really hoping that's not the problem. Im gonna contact a few engineers i know that run the same machine, and see if they have ever had/solved this problem. Ill report back here with any good info!

[LSD-Studio]

so now my last 8 faders just have started doing the same frightening jig....
are there any news on this?
Is it confirmed that a faulty PSU is causing the issue?

Thanks

[crizdee]

Originally Posted by LSD-Studio

so now my last 8 faders just have started doing the same frightening jig....
are there any news on this?
Is it confirmed that a faulty PSU is causing the issue?

Thanks

Hi,

It is most likely the psu or the connection from the psu to the last bank of faders.

Giving all the contacts on the psu a good clean is where to start.

Next would be the c20 capacitor which is a 4.7 microfarad 50volts 105 degree heat range! Someone with good soldering skills and a bit of electronics knowledge could do this and it takes about an hour.

I've done this several times now and it's fixed it for long periods but it gets hot being next to the transformer and fails quite frequently.


Chris

[LSD-Studio]

Originally Posted by crizdee

Hi,

It is most likely the psu or the connection from the psu to the last bank of faders.

Giving all the contacts on the psu a good clean is where to start.

Next would be the c20 capacitor which is a 4.7 microfarad 50volts 105 degree heat range! Someone with good soldering skills and a bit of electronics knowledge could do this and it takes about an hour.

I've done this several times now and it's fixed it for long periods but it gets hot being next to the transformer and fails quite frequently.


Chris

great, thanks so much for the reply!