power suply upgrade? display card iupgrade? SATA cable upgrade?

Hi Paul,

I'm sorry for the difficulties in contacting us. Our general mailbox, service <at> etcconnect <dot> com should be a prime way for you to reach us. We try very hard to answer every email; I'm sorry that this wasn't your experience.

Broadly speaking:

- There have been hardware improvements to Ion over the years. We have introduced engineering changes to improve the performance of the console. This doesn't mean that any components in an earlier console are bad, just that we have introduced improvements over the course of the product. 

- When hardware issues arise, there are some engineering improvements that we will do to the console regardless of age. These include changing how the hard drive is grounded and the SATA cable. If the console were to come in for a general check-up, we would likely make these changes at this point anyway. 

- The motherboard that is currently in production has integrated graphics, and does not use a video card (which uses the DVI splitter). A video card change only happens when the motherboard is replaced. 

As  part of a repair, we can upgrade the motherboard to the newer version if requested. Note that there will be additional cost -- a channel upgrade and a motherboard upgrade could all be priced out through an ETC dealer. 

For your instance, if you aren't seeing any issues with the console, then it does not need to be sent in. Certainly, it would be fine to send it in for a check-up, and we could take care of any engineering changes at the same time. This would be taken care of through an authorized service center or back to Middleton at the factory -- all of these options can be arranged through a dealer.

Let me know if there are any questions; feel free to email me directly at hh <at> etcconnect <dot> com if you'd prefer.

Thanks!

Hans

so I was wondering if the motherboards ETC uses on the eos/ ion are off the shelf motherboards or made spicificly for this aolication for ETC?

Hi Lane,

ETC chooses industrial, long-life motherboards from a variety of vendors, often with custom settings or configurations. As a part of our purchasing, we also procure service stock for these units, so that we can continue to repair consoles after their components are no longer made. In nearly all cases, if you are ordering spare parts, we recommend purchasing the parts from us. Especially with motherboards, parts ordered from us will be compatible and will be correctly configured. 

Thanks!

Hans

You can determine the operating system version by pressing the About screen.  

The current version is 2.1. 

It's a very easy upgrade, you navigate to the Downloads page on the ETC website, fill in the form info and you will get a file to download.  Make sure you select the Console version, not the Off-Line Editor, unless you want that.  The file will download as a WinZip, you extract it on the PC/Mac and will get an executable file that you transfer to a USB drive.  Having installed that USB on the USB drive slot, boot the console.  When the Ion is booting, interrupt the boot process (press the button that has the countdown), navigate to the Update section.  The console will have recognized the USB drive and will prompt you to start the installation.  It's all painless from there.  

Besides a ton of improvements to the operating system over the assorted versions, having the latest OS makes it easier for ETC tech. support to help you with problems, so it's recommended to keep the console up-to-date.

As to hardware, there's nothing to update.  As Hans has indicated, unless the console has exhibited problems, they don't routinely do swap out of hardware. The only change would be to order (free) the new keycaps (if you have the old model), that has the Shift key and which improves the user interaction.  The keycap order is also done on the ETC website and is as well, an easy upgrade.   

As to "channel" upgrades ?, the console has 10,000 "Console Channels" which is the maximum available throughout the Eos family line.  Possibly you are thinking about DMX addresses, which can be upgraded as needed to expand the number of addresses available.  But do you need to ?.  The basic model Ion has 1024 DMX addresses and unless you are running a big rig with a lot of LED's and/or moving lights, you may have plenty already.  

thank you Hans-

I understand that this is a industrial motherboard and the reasons behind it, I was just thinking of building a "hot rod" console-  impress the nerds-