[whitehousejamie]

Hi all.

I have posted this on the Avo forum but thought I would try here too.

Today I've taken an Azure on the road for the first time. It's been perfect in the warehouse during testing over the last few weeks however today I have had major problems. Thankfully I've got an alternative controller to get me by for the show.

Firstly the desk failed to boot, and I had to reset it. It then runs for about 10 minutes and then doesn't not respond to any commands. Also, following the third or fourth reset it lost the patch.

The event is generator powered (although it's a very high spec genny and seems to be outputting correctly). I have changed all supply cabling to rule that out. I have also opened the desk up to make sure everything is tight and secure.

Any ideas before I get it sent to Avo?

Many thanks

Jamie

[mjdj]

This sounds simmilar to a problem I've had with several Azure's. Still not sure to this day what the exact problem is but if you open it up and unplug the disk drive it seams to stabilise it.

[niclights]

Worth a try. However it does sound rather like a power supply/under voltage problem and given it was fine for a few weeks in the warehouse but not on site... I think I'd be checking on a landline before sending to Avo. If this is somehow related to the generator then the simplest solution is a UPS.

[Qaddac4]

Company I work for, had this desk in Avo for major service because it was behaving badly. They change power supply and some other parts. Desk came back month ago and since then it is getting worse...

This Saturday during rehearsals it lost patch twice and several times it mixed pallets (for eg. press "iris wide", got yellow and prism on some fixtures as an extra bonus )

During gig it stopped responding to any of program buttons 4 times (had to reset it in the middle of the gig) 3 times was with A-list headliner on stage...

My life has been shorten significantly because of amount of stress that this desk gave me...

Bin it if you can....

[thomas90]

Have run an Azure in our smallest venue for a few years now. It can be very temperamental. You might have a software problem if it keeps having freezing you out? Can you update the software on it or return it to a previous stable?

[whitehousejamie]

Thanks for the replies. Having run the desk all day today running multiple shapes etc it seems to be fine, so it looks like it could have been a power issue.

One thing I have just noticed though is when you switch from 'Program' to 'Operate' it only allows you to play back the memories on the page selected when switching modes. I.e. if page A is selected when switching modes, it will only play the memories on that page, even when you select B, C, D etc. I have to go back to 'Program' where all pages / memories work as normal. Any ideas?

Thanks

UPDATE.....

Further to the previous post, after further investigation it seems to only be playbacks 1-10 (faders and bottom row of playback buttons) that are affected and seem to be stuck. The remainder of the playback buttons work correctly on the various 'pages'.

Thanks

This post has been edited by whitehousejamie: 07 June 2011 - 08:07 PM

[dosxuk]

whitehousejamie, on 07 June 2011 - 08:04 PM, said:

One thing I have just noticed though is when you switch from 'Program' to 'Operate' it only allows you to play back the memories on the page selected when switching modes. I.e. if page A is selected when switching modes, it will only play the memories on that page, even when you select B, C, D etc. I have to go back to 'Program' where all pages / memories work as normal. Any ideas?

Thanks

UPDATE.....

Further to the previous post, after further investigation it seems to only be playbacks 1-10 (faders and bottom row of playback buttons) that are affected and seem to be stuck. The remainder of the playback buttons work correctly on the various 'pages'.

Thanks

Press (I think) [SHIFT] (down by the wheels) when changing pages. This will then change page of the playback faders rather than the buttons.

[whitehousejamie]

Thanks for the suggestion, however this does not seem to work. I believe the shift is just for switching to the second page of atributes for fixtures that use a lot of channels.

Just to confirm I have also reloaded the latest software which hasn't had any effect.

[dosxuk]

whitehousejamie, on 07 June 2011 - 09:50 PM, said:

Thanks for the suggestion, however this does not seem to work. I believe the shift is just for switching to the second page of atributes for fixtures that use a lot of channels.

Just to confirm I have also reloaded the latest software which hasn't had any effect.

See the second post on this page: http://www.avolitess...php?p=1267#1267

It also says press the shift key (I know it's one of the buttons round there because I've used it myself, with the latest software), but if that's not working, it also lists the User Setting to disable the option which splits the faders and buttons (which I wasn't aware of existing).

[whitehousejamie]

Bingo.

You're a star, thank you.

Jamie

[whitehousejamie]

He again.

It seems to be working fine now, however what I did find strange is that it forgets the 'combined' setting in the preferences menu when going back into program mode and changing pages.

Thanks

J

[whitehousejamie]

Back to the drawing board I think.

Used it on another show and it froze 3 or 4 times. This was a different venue with decent power. All cables have been checked. Clock freezes, chases stop running, however sliders still work and shapes continue to work.

Unless it's the optosplitter sending a dodgy current back down the DMX line to the desk, I think I need to get it sent to Avo.

[whitehousejamie]

Looks like it's definitely a fault within the console. Still freezes with monitor and DMX output disconnected.

[timsabre]

Get Avo to have a look... I had a Pearl 2000 like this once, I eventually concluded it didn't like damp air - it was fine in the warehouse or outside on a nice sunny afternoon, but as the evening went on and it got cooler and damper it did all sorts of weird stuff including locking up. A bit of time with a hairdryer or a parcan on its insides used to get it going again. I believe it was due to dirt on the circuit board attracting moisture but never did really get it properly fixed.

[whitehousejamie]

Just a quick update to this.

I still have the issue with the console, which I have now discovered can be cured by leaving the gooseneck lamp disconnected (it's not the lamp itself at fault, as I have purchased and tested a new replacement).

Without the lamp plugged in, the meter reads around 13.5v across the lamp connector block, and around 12.5v with the lamp plugged in.

With no lamp, and the board running with a steady 13.5v, the console will operate complex chases for days and days without a single stutter. Plug the lamp in, and it will freeze usually within 10-30 minutes, even with a contant 12.5v going into the board.

The desk went back to Avolites recently who installed the very latest software, but this was before I discovered the above temporary cure.

The mytery continues.

Jamie