[peterm2Participant]

I myself hardly ever use the Meters option because I find it cluttered: 32 channels at the same time in a small screen. I would find it more useful if you could see the input levels per (for example) 8 channels: larger and more detailed. And the channels in the same order as the currently active fader bank. That way you can see at a glance, for example, whether all your vocals have the same volume. Now you really have to look closely.

[peterm2Participant]

+1 !!!

[peterm2Participant]

+1 I also like this feature!

[peterm2Participant]

Thanks for your quick response and additions!

If the firmware process would only take a little longer with a cascade setup, then there would be no problem. However, in my experience, the devices simply stop working until they are manually disconnected and reconnected one-by-one. Even after waiting for a few hours (!), the devices do not start up automatically.

If this problem only happened with an actual firmware update of the mixing console, then it wouldn’t be a big problem. In practice, we have now had a number of times that the expanders lost their firmware because the power supply was switched on and off too quickly. That does make it more annoying.

Would it work more stable if the second DX168 were connected to a second SLink port on the mixing console?

[peterm2Participant]

I think I know what the problem is. I experienced it myself a number of times before I realized what was happening.

If a DX168 receives power for a short time, and then no more, the device goes into a reset mode. The next time it boots up, the unit will get the latest firmware from the SQ mixing console. This works fine, unless 2 devices are connected (cascade mode). Then they won’t start up again.

The solution is simple, but clumsy. You remove the power cable from both devices. You disconnect the link cable between both devices. Now you give the first device power again. You wait until it is ‘ready’ (firmware synchronized with mixing desk again). Then reconnect the link cable and start up the second device. Then it works again.

A not really practical way of working! I’d like to see a solution to this problem, as our DX168s are in a hard-to-reach place, and it can also cause stress for some sound engineers. The problem may not occur if both devices are connected to a separate SLink port, I’m not sure. In that case I might consider buying the SLink expansion card, or connecting them via a DX-Hub. But actually, this behavior should not occur (devices that no longer turn on) and it wouldn’t be so nice to have to make an extra investment for that.

Best,
Peter

[Author]

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