828MKII will not boot up!! Big problem (once again)

[seemebreakthis]

Writing to warn others to stay away from MOTU whenever possible (read my story below). And I also have a question.

My 2nd MOTU 828MKII is starting to go crazy after merely 2 years of use. The 1st one was defective when it arrived and I had to spend an extra $230USD right only the week after the the original purchase (paid USD$730 for the unit at that time) to swap it for a replacement unit. Waited for 3 weeks then the 2nd unit arrived.

Ok, this 828MKII behaved well for 2 years, and now all of a sudden it will not 'boot up' anymore, at least not after about 100 hundred times switching it off then back on. The display will either be totally blank, or it will freeze after 'MOTU 828mkii' and 'Cuemix DSP' starts displaying. Sometimes only the top row 'MOTU 828mkii' would be displayed, then nothing happens.

The lights would randomly light up each time I tried powering it on. Sometimes none at all, sometimes one vertical row, sometimes just scattered throughout.

After about a least a hundred times powering it off and on again (each time getting a slightly different display before it freezes), it finally shows 'v1.01' on the panel and then wala, things went back to normal. I DARE NOT SWITCH THIS THING OFF AGAIN for now until I finish my next song.

I may be unforutnate if it only happened once to me, but.... two defective units!!! It only goes to show how poor MOTU's product quality is.

Here comes the question: This really seems to me that a bad quality capacitor inside may have dried up. Anyone here had any experience opening up an 828mkii to replace capacitors susceptible to quality issues? I don't want anymore of my hard earned money to go to MOTU again.

Again, if you are not yet an owner of a MOTU hardware device, i strongly recommend against ever getting one.

[James Steele]

Sorry you're having problems. My MOTU hardware has always worked well for me and I've had it for much longer. You blanket posted in both OS categories so I'll have to guess which on to delete.

[Ary]

Hi, I have the same problem. My 828mkII must be booted 10 - 50 times before it really turns on.
What do you think; Is it healthy to leave the power on for a week?

[seemebreakthis]

Yeah if you try doing a search on 828MKII and boot, you will find that we are not alone. Seems like there is a real quality issue with 828MKII.

Just to let you all know the facts, I raised a techsupport ticket about a week ago, and the status as of now is still 'unread'.

My device has now been on for over a week. I am ordering a TC Electronic Studio Konnekt 48 and when it arrives, I will switch off the 828MKII (probably for good).

[seemebreakthis]

Sorry to revive a really old thread. But I finally have a solution.

Refer to this post: https://www.gearslutz.com/board/6454918-post16.html, specifically the part where he mentioned the capacitor inside the unit that required replacement.

I did exactly that, and the MOTU is now once again working (not that I need it anymore though).

You have to do some soldering (or find someone to do it for you), and you do have to get the appropriate replacement capacitors. But it works.

[mikehalloran]

Sorry to revive a really old thread. But I finally have a solution.

Refer to this post: https://www.gearslutz.com/board/6454918-post16.html, specifically the part where he mentioned the capacitor inside the unit that required replacement.

I did exactly that, and the MOTU is now once again working (not that I need it anymore though).

You have to do some soldering (or find someone to do it for you), and you do have to get the appropriate replacement capacitors. But it works.

There are a number of 828mkII users still around including me. We've known that there have been issues with the power supply for some users—and a potential issue for those of us still using ours.

This is the first time I've seen a specific fix. Thanks for posting that link.

There are other reports that the FW input socket or the display screen can go bad. These and the caps can be found at a large supply house like Mouser.

Since I only use mine for tracking (and I rarely track), mine will probably last another ten years. One never knows and it could go down tomorrow. I hate having to replace a perfectly good piece of gear just because a serviceable part went bad, ya know?