natjones Posted October 16, 2018 Share Posted October 16, 2018 I've been asked to look into updating our D&B D6's and D12 amps. Not coming from a sound or IT background, I just wondered if there is an alternative to spending near a grand on the recommended D&B R70 RJ45 to CAN adapter to connect a laptop running R1 to the amps? Obviously, the last thing that I want is to brick some very expensive kit, and the last thing that my production manager wants to do is spend £900 odd on a dongle. Does anyone know if it's possible to use something like either of these simple adapters? https://uk.rs-online...apters/6256243/https://uk.rs-online...apters/1238048/ Alternatively, do I need something a bit more robust like this? https://shop-visions...s-110-mini.html Has anybody managed the updates using either method? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mac.calder Posted October 16, 2018 Share Posted October 16, 2018 Why not just talk to your D&B rep (or a local rental house that stocks D&B). They will probably be willing to loan or hire one to you at a good rate if you just need it for a day or two to update firmware. Item # 1 won't work. That is literally just an adaptor, not an interface - it does no protocol conversion. Item # 2 won't work. CAN BUS is not just straight RS-232. Item # 3 ... MIGHT work, but I doubt it. For two reasons - 1, the D&B firmware software probably looks for a specific device when updating and won't perform updates unless the interface device is correct, and 2 - I have a sneaking suspicion that the D&B interface will not be a straight CAN bus->Ethernet converter that dumps the output of the bus to the ethernet port (and vice versa) but rather a CAN bus endpoint with it's own processor and API which D&B's software communicates with. Just out of interest, why do you need to update your amps? The latest firmware for D6 and D 12 is about 3 years old... So I would have thought if it was an issue, it would have been an issue for a while... That said, if you really need to update them then I would definitely be going after the d&b dealer/rep to borrow an interface. Based on the lack of updates in the last 3 years you are not going to need to do it again on those amps. All the newer D&B amps are ethernet connected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natjones Posted October 16, 2018 Author Share Posted October 16, 2018 Why not just talk to your D&B rep (or a local rental house that stocks D&B). They will probably be willing to loan or hire one to you at a good rate if you just need it for a day or two to update firmware. Item # 1 won't work. That is literally just an adaptor, not an interface - it does no protocol conversion. Item # 2 won't work. CAN BUS is not just straight RS-232. Item # 3 ... MIGHT work, but I doubt it. For two reasons - 1, the D&B firmware software probably looks for a specific device when updating and won't perform updates unless the interface device is correct, and 2 - I have a sneaking suspicion that the D&B interface will not be a straight CAN bus->Ethernet converter that dumps the output of the bus to the ethernet port (and vice versa) but rather a CAN bus endpoint with it's own processor and API which D&B's software communicates with. Just out of interest, why do you need to update your amps? I am not familiar with D&B (they are not a brand I use frequently) - but I was under the impression that the D&B amps with DSP (ie all their current range) were ethernet connected and could be updated just over a network connection. The CAN bus interface was for monitoring etc with their older amplifiers which was left on as a legacy/robustness thing in the newer ones. I told our rep that we wanted to update them, and they didn't mention a loan or hire, but well worth a shout. My PM knows one of their reps, so that might be a good route. 1 & 2 - thought that would be the case, but wanted to check anyway. The D20 that we have in one of our spaces can be networked and serviced that way, but the D6 & D12 models that we have are slightly older, and only have CAN connectors for services. They have RJ45 connectors, but these are for remote control, rather than updating firmware. I know because I tried having a poke around a few months ago and spoke to D&B tech services about it. The firmware updates are recommended by the manufacturer, but aren't 100% vital to the running of the equipment. It's more to keep it up to date to avoid compatibility issues in the future with newer kit - e.g. if we buy newer speakers for which the amps don't have a profile for optimization. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jevans Posted October 16, 2018 Share Posted October 16, 2018 I have heard of people having success with non-d&b USB-CANBUS converters - I think we've discussed it here before and the brand that comes up as most successful is Peak CAN. Not sure anyone's managed to do Ethernet to CANBUS without the official one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natjones Posted October 16, 2018 Author Share Posted October 16, 2018 I have heard of people having success with non-d&b USB-CANBUS converters - I think we've discussed it here before and the brand that comes up as most successful is Peak CAN. Not sure anyone's managed to do Ethernet to CANBUS without the official one. Thanks! Will have a look and try to search through the old threads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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