Ultralite MK3 Randomly shutting down

[PDimitri]

Hello all- for 3 months I used an utlralite mk3 with a Macbook Pro (El Capitain) using ableton live to run live playback. I started noticing more and more between soundcheck and the set the interface would turn off, and I had all the power supplies/connections taped to every input very securely. It never happened in the middle of a song (there were occasional dropouts that I think were CPU related but never found out).. but I'm constantly afraid of it happening in the middle of the song.

Is this some kind of hardware error or is it possible the cable or firewire/power supply ports on either the interface/macbook are worn? I have more touring coming up in large venues and I don't want to leave anything to chance.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

It's difficult to troubleshoot without hands on or detailed info. I can tell you that hot swapping (connecting or disconnecting) ANY FireWire device while ANY device in the chain is still powered on can fry any and all the connected ports. It's happened to me several times before it was revealed that hot swapping FW can be detrimental for any connected FW device.

That may be useless information for you, but it is something you should be aware of.

[PDimitri]

It's difficult to troubleshoot without hands on or detailed info. I can tell you that hot swapping (connecting or disconnecting) ANY FireWire device while ANY device in the chain is still powered on can fry any and all the connected ports. It's happened to me several times before it was revealed that hot swapping FW can be detrimental for any connected FW device.

That may be useless information for you, but it is something you should be aware of.

Can you explain what you mean in simpler terms? I'm a bit of a layman and want to make sure I fully understand.

Are these sorts of issues I'm having potential symptoms of "fried ports"? Or will that render the interface unuseable altogether? Either way- how would I repair it? Thanks again in advance.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

No problem. It's late and I'm a little wiped out...

In particular, if you are getting the device powered from the FW port, and the port is damaged, it can present intermittent power issues. In my case, I had been unplugging an M-Audio FW Audio device while powered by the Mac (a G5 many years ago). It not only destroyed the port it was connected to but also the port on the mac and the port on a connected FW hard drive.

This may not be the case and I would definitely call MOTU or start a tech link. Ionly offer the information since it is a fairly common cause for failure of this kind on FireWire devices.

Here's one example:

http://lowendmac.com/misc/03/0421.html

Also, just search (google, bing, etc) for firewire device hotswap and you'll see a ton of (conflicting) results.

M-Audio used to have a warning on their site, then they were bought (and then sold) by Avid (AKA Pro Tools) and since then the warning seems to have been removed.

[PDimitri]

No problem. It's late and I'm a little wiped out...

In particular, if you are getting the device powered from the FW port, and the port is damaged, it can present intermittent power issues. In my case, I had been unplugging an M-Audio FW Audio device while powered by the Mac (a G5 many years ago). It not only destroyed the port it was connected to but also the port on the mac and the port on a connected FW hard drive.

This may not be the case and I would definitely call MOTU or start a tech link. Ionly offer the information since it is a fairly common cause for failure of this kind on FireWire devices.

Here's one example:

http://lowendmac.com/misc/03/0421.html

Also, just search (google, bing, etc) for firewire device hotswap and you'll see a ton of (conflicting) results.

M-Audio used to have a warning on their site, then they were bought (and then sold) by Avid (AKA Pro Tools) and since then the warning seems to have been removed.

I appreciate your patience - I'll call motu first thing in the morning.

Hypothetically lets assume that this is the problem - am I correct in assuming I can sidestep this by using USB and powering through a regular power supply? I'm just looking for the cheapest easiest solution to make sure I have reliable playback for my touring.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

If that is the case and nothing else has been fried (which it probably hasn't been) then yes. FWIW, I NEVER rely on buss power (USB or FW). It's never as robust as a dedicated power supply, especially if there are multiple items on the buss(es). If i put my MOTU Track 16 on a FW port for power (for example) I always get pops and clicks. Plug in the external power supply and they're history (mostly). That should be an easy thing to try on your own. Just make sure the voltages and clarity of the power supply matches.

[mikehalloran]

Hypothetically lets assume that this is the problem - am I correct in assuming I can sidestep this by using USB and powering through a regular power supply? I'm just looking for the cheapest easiest solution to make sure I have reliable playback for my touring.

This is the first thing to try. It has worked for others. Of course, test thoroughly and try to make it misbehave—no one likes surprises on the road.

Intel supports USB and never has Firewire. The Apple FW solutions are a kludge—the full spec hasn't been supported since the PPC Macs.

As far as FW hot-swapping, don't — even though the spec says you can. A stray spark can take out your motherboard, your interface or both. Have both devices connected before powering up and don't disconnect till they are powered down. You can turn your interface off and on while connected, that's not an issue.

Some builds of MOTU Audio Setup.app have caused system conflicts if left on for an extended period of time. If it comes on automatically and you don't need to adjust your settings, consider unchecking the box that tells it to do so. Otherwise, quit MOTU Audio Setup.app after you make your adjustments—it's not needed for any other use.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

I like surprises on the road butt only in my hotel room.

[HCMarkus]

+1 on using a power supply for your MOTU unit.

Also, consider taking a line conditioner/UPS (Cyberpower/APS) on the road to protect your digital gear. I like the pure sine wave variants for use with today's power supplies.

[PDimitri]

Hypothetically lets assume that this is the problem - am I correct in assuming I can sidestep this by using USB and powering through a regular power supply? I'm just looking for the cheapest easiest solution to make sure I have reliable playback for my touring.

This is the first thing to try. It has worked for others. Of course, test thoroughly and try to make it misbehave—no one likes surprises on the road.

Intel supports USB and never has Firewire. The Apple FW solutions are a kludge—the full spec hasn't been supported since the PPC Macs.

As far as FW hot-swapping, don't — even though the spec says you can. A stray spark can take out your motherboard, your interface or both. Have both devices connected before powering up and don't disconnect till they are powered down. You can turn your interface off and on while connected, that's not an issue.

Some builds of MOTU Audio Setup.app have caused system conflicts if left on for an extended period of time. If it comes on automatically and you don't need to adjust your settings, consider unchecking the box that tells it to do so. Otherwise, quit MOTU Audio Setup.app after you make your adjustments—it's not needed for any other use.

It's been a couple months but I know I tried using the power supply on tour a lot and I can't recall if I did or didn't have the same problems. It's also hard for me to tell if there occasional intermittent skipping was CPU related or hardware related.

Unfortunately with hotswapping, I'm dealing with other bands, stagehands, etc, and I always try to get to my rig first but people may bump into it, power down the entire stage, etc. before I can even touch it so "hot swapping" is completely out of my control.

Thanks for the reply.

[HCMarkus]

Unfortunately with hotswapping, I'm dealing with other bands, stagehands, etc, and I always try to get to my rig first but people may bump into it, power down the entire stage, etc. before I can even touch it so "hot swapping" is completely out of my control.

Another reason to consider my recommendation for your own UPS!

[MIDI Life Crisis]

...your own UPS!

Essential!