Motu Timepiece's display readout not in English...?

[Steve Fogal]

Hi, Googled searched this issue with no luck.... I bought a used older parallel Motu MTP AV from ebay. When I power it up, the digital display looks nice & the charactors & numbers are very clear, but it dosen't appear to be in English...or, it just doesn't read anything I can understand

I did the procedure to bring it back to 'Factory Default' but that didn't change anything.

What the display reads out is out is things like....

"Wetut" "Glofel" and a bunch of dollar signs "$$$" ...ok just rechecked & here's some actual readouts from the display....
Top line...
"FEWE-WETUT" just after the last "T" it flashes between "5" & "$"followed by a "$"
Bottom line reads...
"FeweWetut$$5"
Turning a knob displays something different...
Top... "MODMFMEV$$$5"
Bottom reads... "NO$MODMFMEV" actually there's a left point arrow before that last lower one,:but my Android phone does make arrows.

Ok I admit I don't know didly, so if this is something obvious I may have egg on my face... among other things

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Have you called MOTU? It sounds like it might be in some diagnostic mode. I don't own that unit but have seen similar kinds of weirdness in that mode on other devices.

Maybe it was too close to an Ensoniq Mirage in its earlier home?

[Steve Fogal]

Hi MIDI L.C. No, not contacted Motu on THUS particular issue...though emsil tech support asking for driverswhich they did point me to the same driver I found...which I'm not having luck with. I also emailed them with another question, no reply ...yet..? I didn't want to flood them with too many questions at one time.

I'm not familiar with the Ensoniq nor get what you mean by that comment. Was that a joke or are those things known to fry other devices?

If it's some kind of diagnostic or other mode, I'd 'think' a Factory Default attempt would bring it out...?At 1st I was wondering if somehow someone put.another language on it...

[MIDI Life Crisis]

It was a joke. The Mirage had a 2 digit readout that was crazy to figure out sometimes.

This sounds like a job for MOTU tech. Call if you're in the States.

[Steve Fogal]

Thanks again for the suggestions..Until someone comes along here that has experienced these strange displays...I DID email MOTU tech support to ask if it's in some kind of diagnostic mode like you mentioned, and asked if it might be a battery issue. Though according to Motu's battery check procedure (put it on something 'other than' set up page 1...turn off for 30 seconds, turn back on...if set up page 1 comes on instead of the page selected, then change the battery). When I turned it back on, it remembered the page I had selected ok.

Been searching the internet to see if anyone has mentioned the same issue again some more...can't find anything still.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Maybe a firmware or software update?

http://www.motu.com/newsitems/software- ... u-hardware

[Steve Fogal]

Thanks MIDI L.C.!

I actually downloaded & saved that newer universal driver yesterday, though didn't install it because #1, it requires Win XP service pack 3 and I only have service pack 2 installed on my older DAW machine currently. #2 I can't remember if my Aardvark Q10's & Aark 24 cards drivers run on service pack 3...?

As for a Firmware update, I don't know much about those, or how to. I haven't searched for any yet, but I think I will. Though I did email MOTU asking about a possible firmware.

By the way, last night I finally got the driver installed that MOTU tech support directed me to for the MTP AV Parallel Timepiece on the 2nd day of fooling around...I was even about to route inputs to outputs with Clockworks. So now I know the used unit I got works... but the front panel readout.on the unit is still whacked with the strange charactors, which make it impossible to navigate from the unit itself.

After I turned off the computer last night, just after I was still able to route the Ins/Outs so the battery must still be ok.

[Steve Fogal]

Continuing on for archive purposes if nothing else...

Dave @MOTU tech support said that the "junk" I'm seeing on the display indicates an internal problem with the unit. He suggested resetting it (back to factory default) by powering on & pressing the panic button & if that doesn't clear it up (and it did not) then it would need to be sent into MOTU for a flat fee of $99.95. I don't know if he meant $99.95 just to 'look' at it, or to fix whatevers wrong with it
I also tested voltage in & voltage out of it's transformer..120 V AC in & 4.4 V DC out. No visually blown components. I'm no electronics expert, but I'm thinking maybe it's an IC chip or it's multiproccssor I can't imagine it's the LCD itself because all the charactors are perfectly readable upon changing the display by turning the front knobs.
I wish MOTU would have offered an explanation of some common issue, or typical component that would display these particular set of charactors, because if it's say, just one of the plug-in IC chips that fail & cause these funny words, I can change that myself if they sold me one.

Regarding any kind of 'Firmware' update, Dave @ MOTU said there is none available for a parallel Timepiece, there is only a firmware for the original USB models to make them work with Intel better.