Express 48/96 gremlins

Hello,

I have an Express 48/96, which has been running flawlessly for several years, just recently it has started doing very odd things. After writing cues  out put values appear to be 2-3 percentage points lower than recorded. During a show this evening the percentage levels started fluctuating up and down 5-10 percent. by the end of the show even the AB CD masters were not holding at 100 percent and random channels started to glow at as much as 30 percent.

Has anyone seen these symtoms before, and if so what can i do to resolve the problem

Thanks for any input

 

John

  • It is very possible that your Grand Master fader is getting a bit dirty or starting to fail.

    You can try a couple of things. 

    1) Vigorously slide the GM Fader up and down repeatedly to attempt to clean it up a bit.  This sometimes works, sometimes won't, but it may get you through the show.

    2) If you don't need the GM for the show, you can go into the system settings and disable the GM.  If you disable it, it will default to fully on, and you can then go about your show without worrying about the levels fluctuating.  If you need to have a GM, you can put all the channels onto a sub and make it an inhibitive submaster to keep the function of a GM.

    I personally don't care for contact cleaners in faders, as most folks have a tendency to use too much, or the wrong kind for the fader, and it ends up catching more dust, causing the problem to get worse.

    Good luck.

     

     

  • If you find that disabling the Grand Master has no effect on the problem, and if the power supply has not been disconnected (to move or store the board) in months or years, I would unplug it (while simultaneously checking the tightness of both the line and output connectors), check for corrosion, wipe external connectors with a Pink Pearl eraser, and the internal (i.e. Female) connection with a wooden toothpick (gently, once only), remove any eraser crumbs, and reinstall the power supply brick. If you have the ability to check the power supply output voltage, this would be the time to do it at well.

  • Thank you to those who have responded. After further investigation the problem is with the A Fader only  wecan run the show with out a problem using the C/D cross fade leaving A/B Clear. I will have to have the defective part replaced

     

    Again thank you

     

    John

  • John;

    Glad you were able to diagnose it. Before you go to the trouble of disassembling the console and replacing the fader, you might want to clean it first.  I recommend any cramolin based cleaner ( like what you would use to clean faders on your sound board) like DeOxit by Caig labs.

    A few squirts might well clear up the problem for a lot less time and money than a replacement.

     

     

     

     

     

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