Hell Night at the Arena (Cologne Germany)

Radley said:
a-wall
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Just for your general fund of knowledge it's AWOL - an acronym that stands for Absent With Out Leave - a military term describing the precarious legal status of someone who's gone off without permission to do so. This should shed some light on the deeper meaning of the name of the group AWOLnation...
 
chucma said:
I think the FASLINK cable is the solution to the underlying problem; which is that ethernet cables themselves are generally unreliable (even expensive ones). Having said that, I hope it's definitely the cable that is the fault, and not something more expensive.
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It's NOt ethernet cables that are unreliable at all.. it's the RJ45 connectors on both cable and device socket ends. They were NEVER intended for frequent connect/disconnect use, but for single/infrequent connections.

Think about how they are used on your work/home PC/laptop! Single connection that REMAINS connected for extended periods of time.

Problems occur when the connection binds or torques in the socket. This can result in one (or more) of the pins in the RJ45 connecting to an adjacent pin. This can cause all kinds of woes with the device - especially if one of those pins carries voltage.

To be clear this is NOT a FAS problem.. it's a flaw in the RJ45 design - since its being used in an unintended manner. I first encountered this W-A-Y back when I played a Line6 Flextone-3 and used the L6 (CAT5 run) footswitch.
I researched it extensively...
 
s0c9 said:
It's NOt ethernet cables that are unreliable at all.. it's the RJ45 connectors on both cable and device socket ends. They were NEVER intended for frequent connect/disconnect use, but for single/infrequent connections.

Think about how they are used on your work/home PC/laptop! Single connection that REMAINS connected for extended periods of time.

Problems occur when the connection binds or torques in the socket. This can result in one (or more) of the pins in the RJ45 connecting to an adjacent pin. This can cause all kinds of woes with the device - especially if one of those pins carries voltage.

To be clear this is NOT a FAS problem.. it's a flaw in the RJ45 design - since its being used in an unintended manner. I first encountered this W-A-Y back when I played a Line6 Flextone-3 and used the L6 (CAT5 run) footswitch.
I researched it extensively...
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I could have been more specific, but I didn't want to. You are correct, it's the RJ45 connector that is not suitable for this type of use; however that is part of the Ethernet cable package.

Either way, you and I are both making the same point here, Fractal developed FASLINK to solve the issue with the older RJ45 connector (Ethernet cable) being unreliable.

Personally i I don't think RJ45s are even up to the job they were intended for. At my office I struggle to find even one that still has that little plastic clip on it! :geek
 
chucma said:
I could have been more specific, but I didn't want to. You are correct, it's the RJ45 connector that is not suitable for this type of use; however that is part of the Ethernet cable package.
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Yes, and yes, but again the RJ45 is mostly fine if you connect it and leave it alone - and don't twist, turn or pull the connections/CAT5.

And agreed... FASLINK is the way to go.
 
chucma said:
I could have been more specific, but I didn't want to. You are correct, it's the RJ45 connector that is not suitable for this type of use; however that is part of the Ethernet cable package.

Either way, you and I are both making the same point here, Fractal developed FASLINK to solve the issue with the older RJ45 connector (Ethernet cable) being unreliable.

Personally i I don't think RJ45s are even up to the job they were intended for. At my office I struggle to find even one that still has that little plastic clip on it! :geek
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So true. None of my ethernet cables at home stil have the clip. And I plugged/unplugged them only like 3 times.

Then again, that's what they invented Ethercon for.

Good thing I have a Mark II MFC with the ethercon jack. My Axe is Mark I, though. But at least as a rack unit it's far away from the ground so nobody can accidentally step on it.
 
chucma said:
I could have been more specific, but I didn't want to. You are correct, it's the RJ45 connector that is not suitable for this type of use; however that is part of the Ethernet cable package.

Either way, you and I are both making the same point here, Fractal developed FASLINK to solve the issue with the older RJ45 connector (Ethernet cable) being unreliable.

Personally i I don't think RJ45s are even up to the job they were intended for. At my office I struggle to find even one that still has that little plastic clip on it! :geek
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Exactly. We were getting a lot of units back with bent pins, cracked housings, etc. The cables themselves are also very fragile. The whole CAT-5 thing, whether EtherCon or not, is just not rugged enough. So we developed FASLINK. It solves all the problems with MIDI and CAT-5, works over much longer distances and uses XLR cables which most people have in abundance.
 
Yes, love the XlR Faslink. It was the only reason I upgraded to an XL when they became available. There is always an XLR at a gig :)
 
My Mk1 MFC and Mk 1 AXE FX II - have been exhibiting these same issues of late - but both my units have only ever been plugged in once - I have an offboard switch panel and a Neutrik Ethercon lead block connector - both of which are perfect - but lately I have been having huge issues with either an initial unresponsiveness from the MFC (where you have to stomp on a few switches before anything wakes up and works) - or mid gig you switch to one preset (say from 9 to 4) and it cycles through loads of others and you end up on preset 113 !!!

I sometimes wonder if my MFC Extender switch (the 4 button type) - has anything to do with it??/
 
I almost bought an MFC (plus a couple EV-1s) with my recent Ultra to XL+ upgrade. Stories like this were the biggest reason I didn't. I love my 2 new babies, but I do feel limited without the MFC (using an UNO chipped FCB1010).

After reading thread after thread, my instinct says this sounds similar to an issue I had with my Mackie 24*8 mixer. It came down to out of spec ribbon cables connectors. IIRC, they had a semi-recall, and sold the new rev cables for those out of warranty. Any chance there's something similar with the MFC?
 
Considering getting Faslink for my MkI's (Axe-FX II and MFC). Currntly using a FAS13 (Fractal Audio) on my pedal board to connect to my MFC. Going direct into Axe-FX.

I can see the benefits of XLR vs. Ethercon for the main cable/conection and the Faslink's for strain relief at the Axe & MFC. But with ethercon still going into Axe-FX and MFC would the benefits be that great? (no being critical-trying to decide to go with or not).

I'm also using a 2U rackbag for my Axe-FX so not sure how I would attach Faslink at that end.

Any advice/feedback?
 
FractalAudio said:
Exactly. It solves all the problems with MIDI and CAT-5
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What are the problems with MIDI ? I use it and have never had the slightest problem personally, I like it it's robust for all applications, I run 12meters without problem.. Does it struggle on longer distances? That would be good to know.
 
Phil emptiness.be said:
What are the problems with MIDI ? I use it and have never had the slightest problem personally, I like it it's robust for all applications, I run 12meters without problem.. Does it struggle on longer distances? That would be good to know.
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There are several issues:
- Phantom power. To send phantom power you need a 7-pin cable. These are rare and expensive.
- Bidirectional communications. You need a "true" 5-pin cable (or 7-pin) cable. Many MIDI cables only have three pins wired and they don't reveal this.
- Distance. The MIDI spec specifies the maximum length as 50 feet.
- Fragility and power handling. The wires inside a MIDI cable are quite thin. This limits the amount of current that can be supplied in phantom power applications and also renders the cables subject to damage.

XLR Cables on the other hand are cheap, plentiful and have thicker wires allowing for long distance communications, higher phantom power currents and resistance to damage.
 
FractalAudio said:
- Fragility and power handling. The wires inside a MIDI cable are quite thin. This limits the amount of current that can be supplied in phantom power applications and also renders the cables subject to damage.
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FYI for people making their own 7 pin MIDI cables you can use Mogami W3172 which has some nice thick 22AWG conductors that will carry a reasonable current for the power pins. It's also a nice quality cable that doesn't get twisted up. I've had mine for years and it hasn't let me down.
 
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