MOTU Traveler mk2 and power supply

[marcodassi]

Re: MOTU Traveler mk2 and power supply

Well, at last it seems some XP drivers gone mad... but I can't understand why it has been working for so long without problems... at this point, I think there's something really critical on the board, and a 0.000001% variation in the firewire protocol make the device goin' mad.

Tapping all the chips in the FW zone does nothing, btw. Thank you to tell me that reflowing does nothing, I was about to put the damn thing in my oven

When used offline, there's no strange behaviour at all...

BTW, now that everything is open, I'll change all the big caps for better ones, and upgrade some I/O with better opamps (something like black lion mod), just to be on the safe side and improve the audio quality (I really hate when companies like MOTU put in some really sh*#!!! components just to save $0.0001!!!!)

Thank you!

[Th3_uN1Qu3]

Re: MOTU Traveler mk2 and power supply

Yeah the opamps suck. At least they aren't 4558s... The mike preamps aren't stellar either, i was expecting better for the price point.

I like what it does, but i don't like how it's built. I'm in need of some studio tools as well (need to record two mikes), but if i can find an USB ADC chip that comes supplied with drivers or works with Windows ones, i'd rather build a card myself than buy one. Or grab a Creative external and mod the opamps as the converters in those are quite nice.

I tested the one i fixed on two laptops with Windows 7 btw. On a VIA PCMCIA firewire card connected to an XP laptop, it would hardlock the laptop when any sound reproduction was attempted. I guess VIA controllers suck.

As for the reflow, i only did local reflow with a hot air gun so i can't tell about anything else. But at the number of caps on that thing, it will be a PITA to remove them all, put it into the oven, put em back in.

[marcodassi]

Re: MOTU Traveler mk2 and power supply

Well, after a long experimentation & googling on a lot of forums, this is what I discover:

- DON'T USE LATEST DRIVERS!!! They will f*** up everything (speaking of FW connection)! I've restored the (best) 3.6.7.4 and now everything is perfect! No more flashing LEDs and no more audio scratches / hiss / out of sync issues!

So, I've returned to the drivers of (about) 2 years ago and also restored the original XP SP3 firewire drivers (I was using an alternative, thesycon, but don't work anymore with the old drivers! btw it wasn't the thesycon that mess up the thing, 'cause I've already tried to restore MS drivers). It wasn't the hardware, just the F***** MOTU DRIVERS!!!

Surely, next audio module will be NOT a MOTU, anymore... PC support SUCKS!

And, I agree 100% that the built is very approximative (see the LCD mount), the quality of a lot of components is quite bad (capacitors near the regulators), etc.. I was thinking of a USB ADC too... I've already done some Neve 1073 replicas a project for the future, maybe

And, one last thing: my trusty ESR meter has found that about 50% of the SMD 22uF/16V are BAD! For example, the one that decouple the clock generator power measure over 7 Ohms!! It should be 1.5 at maximum! (see panasonic datasheets)... and I think this is the motive that the card sometimes goes berzerk! Sum the bad drivers and you've got the picture.

Oh well, at least the bug is in the viewfinder now. Let's kill it!

[toastygoodness]

Re: MOTU Traveler mk2 and power supply

try an echo audiofire in the future, they have probably the best drivers for PC.

[marcodassi]

Re: MOTU Traveler mk2 and power supply

Hello toasty

Well, I'm using MOTU h/w from 15 years at last... and they wasn't so bad about PC (even if people says that they're Mac-oriented) - they've messed up things since CueMix *FX*... hope they read some forums, get the picture and roll back the kernel to the working version! Anyway, for the moment. everything still OK with old drivers... no more glitches and erratic LEDs...

Now that the stuff is all opened up on my lab table, I'm goin' to replace all the s**tty caps and especially the super-s**tty opamps... very curious about the "new" sound a lot of people has found with the "Black Lion Mod"... I'll keep you informed

BTW, thanks for the suggestion!

Ciao from Italy

[Th3_uN1Qu3]

Re: MOTU Traveler mk2 and power supply

Ah yeah, i had forgotten to post the "after" pics. Here: http://img808.*************/g/sn850435.jpg/

[marcodassi]

Re: MOTU Traveler mk2 and power supply

Nice SMD rework, Th3_uN1Qu3! I'm thinking about buying a hot air gun... that doesn't break my poor wallet!

BTW, I'm taking a lot of measures on the original Traveler (before capacitor / opamp modding) with a HP3325A generator and SpectraPLUS software for graphing. ... in short, the (input) opamps are quiet, but they're TERRIBLE on slew rate and overshoot! That's probably why the sound is lamented as "muddier" by a lot of users... btw, I've found not much differences between mic channels and line in channels... they sucks the same (so the PGA2500 is doing a good work!)

Wanna laugh a little? Short-circuit channel 1 input (the mic), put the gain to +53, take note of noise floor level (using a DAW or SpectraPLUS), then INSERT the pad... et voilà, another 10 dB of noise for your pleasure! Damnnnnn......

[Th3_uN1Qu3]

Re: MOTU Traveler mk2 and power supply

Well i paid $100 for my hot air station (ZD-939B), it ain't got any fancy features like LCD temperature display and whatnot, but it does the job.

This is the first time i hear of a pad that adds in more noise. Something's fishy in there. Anyway it's hissy enough at +53dB on its own. I really was expecting better.

[marcodassi]

Re: MOTU Traveler mk2 and power supply

Oh, that's seems a decent price for such a useful tool! Thanks!

I've attached some photos (output) and hardcopies (inputs) of the original Traveler... just to laugh

yeah, first time for me too... that I see a pad that raises noise... but... look at the hardcopies... it's real! There's really something wrong in the analog part... s***! I really HATE when manufacturers try to squeeze 0.01 cent gain and mess up everything!

Continuing measuring...

PS I've used a HP3325A synthesizer and a HP1980B scope

[Th3_uN1Qu3]

Re: MOTU Traveler mk2 and power supply

I'll take a look at the pics later, they're quite slow to load as you know. Anyway... GOOD NEWS!!!

The owner just called. It behaved erratically on his laptop as well, but on the main studio computer with the drivers that came with it when he bought it, IT WORKS LIKE A DREAM!!! Yay. So the hardware is fine. Edit: Darn, that squarewave is UGLY.

And don't worry, my scope is older than yours. Older than me actually and made in the former USSR. Capabilties are similar, mine's up to 150 Meg (at least that's what the seller told me, but that 200MHz sine he input to it did look kinda cramped), but no fancy text display or anything like it. And on the .02 and .2 volt scales it needs a smack on the side before the trace stabilizes.

[marcodassi]

Re: MOTU Traveler mk2 and power supply

yeah, square wave is really disappointing... btw, let's see after mods... probably next week (I have other urgent things to do before...)

I tell you, your customer should use the "MOTU FireWire and USB Audio Driver 3.6.7.4" and NO NEWER ONES!!! The newer ones make weird stuff happens (glitches, clicks, out-of-sync, "christmas" LEDs, etc.). I've found them on a CakeWalk forum (if I remember well!)

LOL! I've bought a lot of used HP stuff on eBay... about all of them coming from US Army... so they were constantly calibrated and checked! In fact, everything works OK. My only regret is that this scope isn't digital, so triggering on digital stuff (I do a lot of embedded projects) is almost impossible. I rent a digital Tektronix when I need to do such stuff.