strand600X Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Hello everyone Our Strand 300 is playing up. I have tried to re install the software but I have been told my software is too new (2.8.6). Does anyone have any older versions like 2.8.5 or earlier that they could zip to me please?I have searched on the web but the only one I can find is 2.8.6 Thanx bAz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Why would it be 'too new'...?The software version should not be determined by the hardware as it is so 2.8.6 should run just as should 2.8.5... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strand600X Posted July 11, 2011 Author Share Posted July 11, 2011 Why would it be 'too new'...?The software version should not be determined by the hardware as it is so 2.8.6 should run just as should 2.8.5... I agree with you. It's just that a trusted friend in the business (Keith Hartley at AC) has advised me that the 300 needs 2.8.5 or earlier so I listen. Cheers bAz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Well not wanting to dnigrate the advice from AC, but we have 2 Strand 300s (now in semi-retirement) and they're running the same software - it's either 2.8.6 or 2.8.7 (one as I recall was for the American market originally, the other for Europe, but can't remember which way was which). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shez Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 I think your 300s are on 2.8.6 Tony. If painful memories serve ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 I think your 300s are on 2.8.6 Tony. If painful memories serve ;)Painful??You said you got to grips with it and enjoyed working with a 'real' desk...!!:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shez Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 I did enjoy it. When it was working :P Baz, what exactly is "playing up"? Lighting desks aren't generally like PCs / macs in that they don't gradually get corrupted by more and more software being installed on them. I'm told the solid state disk inside the 300s is reaching an age where they can start to fail but that's about the only thing that's likely to cause issues. Installing a new OS won't help with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strand600X Posted July 11, 2011 Author Share Posted July 11, 2011 I did enjoy it. When it was working :P Baz, what exactly is "playing up"? Lighting desks aren't generally like PCs / macs in that they don't gradually get corrupted by more and more software being installed on them. I'm told the solid state disk inside the 300s is reaching an age where they can start to fail but that's about the only thing that's likely to cause issues. Installing a new OS won't help with that. HI Shez The "black box" is booting up and we have the correct screen on the monitor. I can also work the machine from a qwerty keyboard. Bt the "faceplate" or control panel is not active at all. No LCDs are on and no button presses work. I hope I have explained without confusing. bAz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shez Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 That sounds very much like a hardware issue rather than software. When you first press the green power button to turn on, do all the LEDs on the control panel flash briefly or is there no sign of life whatsoever? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 OK - simple question first then - have you checked and/or changed the RJ45 cable between the processor (black box) and the console itself?And made sure that you're plugging into the right RJ45 socket at the rear of the processor? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strand600X Posted July 11, 2011 Author Share Posted July 11, 2011 Hello Everyone I have changed the RJ45 cable about 4 times. There is a very quick flicker of LED's when I plug the RJ45 in but it is very brief.I have reinstalled the 2.8.6 software and been into DOS and cleaned up the desk as much as I can by getting rid of .old and .bak files. I know this should make no difference but I tried anyway.I have been working 500 and 300 desks since the mid 80's with Bill and John from the then Strand lighting. I have a fairly good idea of how these desk's work and can not think of anything else to try. bAz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 OK, fair point. :) Now, Shez will likely be back in a while and refer to the problem he had with one of our 300s that he had on hire last month - sounds a little similar.From what I recall, he ended up fixing the problem by taking apart the processor and re-seating a plug/edge connector on the motherboard. It might well be worth you carefully doing the same. As I say, Shez may well be back to point you firmly in the direction of what he had to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strand600X Posted July 11, 2011 Author Share Posted July 11, 2011 Thank You YKNOT I will look at it bAz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shez Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 The symptoms I had were slightly more severe - the desk wouldn't boot up at all. The problem was that the daughter-board containing the main CPU had lifted a little so wasn't making proper contact. The flash of LEDs is a good sign - there's at least power getting through. If you're confident poking around inside electronic kit, it would be worth having a look inside the black box and checking that nothing has come adrift. Re-seat any connections and expansion cards. Check that the RJ45 sockets in both bits of kit are intact and haven't had the connections deformed or anything like that. After that, you could do with having access to another black box and another control surface so you can work out by substitution exactly where the fault lies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IRW Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Hello Everyone I have changed the RJ45 cable about 4 times. There is a very quick flicker of LED's when I plug the RJ45 in but it is very brief.I have reinstalled the 2.8.6 software and been into DOS and cleaned up the desk as much as I can by getting rid of .old and .bak files. I know this should make no difference but I tried anyway.I have been working 500 and 300 desks since the mid 80's with Bill and John from the then Strand lighting. I have a fairly good idea of how these desk's work and can not think of anything else to try. bAz I may be stating the obvious, but have you tried doing a panel rescan? I have had problems (a couple of times) with a 300 series in the past where it doesn't respond to the panels, even though they give the initial power up flash on the LEDs, and running a panel rescan via the QWERTY keyboard shortcuts has fixed it. To find 'Panel Rescan' via the keyboard, hit Ctrl-F12 to go into report, then F5 for advanced setup, then, I think, F1 for Panel Rescan. Hope I'm not teaching you to suck eggs! Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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