Dodgy Frog

[mark_s]

I suppose the answer to this is already moot, as Stage Electrics have/are/will be replacing the desk in the very near future, but for future reference it might prove handy, sooo.....

 

The drama department just bought a Fat Frog to replace their GSX. They've had it for a while now, and it has been working fine, except that last Tuesday it restarted for no reason. Twice :) . Being a day before the AS-level exams, it panicked a few people, but Stage Electrics came out and had a look, and said that there was nothing wrong with it. Again, it has worked fine, up until today. It restarted of its own accord again at the end of a year 10 dress rehearsal for an exam next Thursday. Thankfully it did so after the performance finished, so the performance itself wasn't affected. But then it restarted again....and again...and again, pretty much constantly. It was unplugged and plugged back in, at which point the LCD displays started 'pulsing'; the backlighting for the displays looked as if it was being faded up and down constantly. At this the desk was unplugged and left unplugged, and the next performance happened with the house lights up.

 

I'm just curious as to the possible causes of this; whether it's something that might be relatively easy to fix (like a dodgy PSU), or whether it's a sign of something far more serious. Also, is there a user-accessible diagnostic log on the Frog range like on the GSX/etc? I had a look through the manual and couldn't find anything so I guess not...?

[Stuart91]

I found that our Fat Frog restarted itself when I plugged a gooseneck lamp in. It was an old lamp that had been lying around our workshop and I foolishly assumed that it would work since it was on an XLR connector. Instead the desk crashed, restarted, then crashed again as soon as it got to the point where the lamp is activated.

 

Doesn't sound like this is too closely related to your problems but it might be worth running without goosenecks (assuming you have them) and seeing if the situation improves.

[lightjocky]

from previous expernence check the plug or kettle lead to the psu box it may just be loose used frog for 4 years now never had that problem apart from something being loose

 

lightjocky

[mark_s]

I found that our Fat Frog restarted itself when I plugged a gooseneck lamp in.

 

We did have a gooseneck lamp in, and removed it after the teacher suggested it (while discussing how it wouldn't be the gooseneck, ironically enough). Unfortunately, we powered the desk back up and it persisted :(

 

from previous expernence check the plug or kettle lead to the psu box it may just be loose used frog for 4 years now never had that problem apart from something being loose

 

lightjocky

 

We checked everything to make sure it was connected properly, but it's possible we overlooked the PSU. I know for a fact everything going into the board itself was checked, but I'm not too sure about the PSU.

 

Thanks for the advice so far :)

[Dj Dunc]

Weve had the same problem. We bought a brand new XLR light for our frog desk, which worked well, but it began to restart and pulse, and eventually, it wouldnt start up at all with the lamp in

[Ben Langfeld]

Weve had the same problem. We bought a brand new XLR light for our frog desk, which worked well, but it began to restart and pulse, and eventually, it wouldnt start up at all with the lamp in

 

I'm pretty sure that this is because most/all of the cheap lamps use the gooseneck and so the shell of the XLR. I suspect this may be the source of the problem, like on the Yamaha MG series desks.

[Brian]

This topics on the Zero88 support forum might help...

 

here