iank99

Sean - if you decide to open the case yourself - be aware of the earth/shield wire between the bottom tray and the front panel boards, it can be a pain maneouvering stuff if you don't release it (it's on cross head screws) - that screw you find when you put the case back together? It's the screw from the shield wire... (Yes - did it at least once... )

Not really - a lot of their kit, whilst designed in the USA is still farmed out to China for engineering design and manufacture so it's still a bit random about which DMX transceiver they use and whether or not that transceiver understands/ignores RDM. The price "premium" happens because the hardware is imported in to the UK, unpacked & checked, then run for 24 hours (certainly the Pro kit used to be) before being repacked ready for distribution. Many of the other companies importing rely on this testing to be done in China and so literally ship from container to final distirbutor/end user.

If you have a couple of hours to spend - try Phantom ZerOS... It gives a decent emulation on your PC Screen of what the software looks like for the FLX so you could play with it and get a feel for it.. https://eatonfilesharing.app.box.com/v/ZerOS/folder/42009315015 That might help you with your decision

Eric, As far as I can remember from having seen the Jester as it was originally released (and demo'd to me by a very new to Zero88 Peter Kirkup!) - the Jester has always had 999 memories but inserts and chases are added from the top end of the internal memory so in effect insert memory 0.1 uses the space for memory number 999 and chase 1 step 1 would then occupy the space for memory 998 and so on. There's been no major hardware upgrade for the Jester since launch either so it would be perfectly possible to update an older model with the new software - the changes in the software have been mostly to clean up the way submaster memory handling and channel faders in wide mode happened. It's possible that the desk you originally saw had lots of long chases programmed and this would drag down the available scene memories. The manual has always been a difficult thing to read (which was the bane of my life as I handed over installs with Jesters) and has "suffered" from being further down the "To do" list than the exciting software and console developments. I've also found that once users understand the difference between Record & playback modes and use the desk for a few shows - they don't need the manual, the updates made by Jon & co have made it a more intuitive desk to use. If you do need a show with lots of cues & chases (and I've only met one user who did) then it is possible to save first half of a show to a USB stick then reload the second half from a second stick (two sticks labelled saves a lot of confusion compared to saving both parts on the same stick!). If you really do need lots of memory then you should be looking to use a ZerOS desk - either Solution or FLX which will allow far more complex programming than you'll achieve with a Jester.

No it didn't - I bet he keeps a few on his hard drive for such occasions

Windows 7 will want to be copying the files from its NTFS system with the attendant security information and flags and so will be issuing the warning because FAT filesystems doesn't carry that data (from memory they use an 8 bit field to set read/write permissions) whereas NTFS uses a a larger file header). It's a warning issued so that in a corporate environment - file security and ownership is maintained across several users - for you and your FLX, it's not an issue and you can ignore the prompt.

Of course - ultimately it might be the simplest reason - the mainboard has failed and is un-repairable, this is one of the reasons that the Solution range & ZerOS was designed... It may have been listed on eBay by a user who obtained it via a car boot sale or it was being scrapped and it looked too good to throw away but it was in fact already dead. To be honest - this is one of the reasons I recommend folks stay away from Fat Frogs on eBay unless the seller can show they're working and will boot in to the software. That the desk isn't entering FP test (there isn't any POST available apart from this) would suggest a fundamental problem - it might be worth trying to swap our the memory SIMM but don't use a larger module - it simply won't be recognised - but the issue is going to be finding a suitable SIMM. I've just had a look in the service info for the desk and can't see a spec for the SIMM's but from my memory something like 4MB rings a bell but I can't remember a speed - Keith might have some notes about this. You might be lucky if you have an old computer about the place or you could take your chance with eBay to source one but I have a feeling that this might not end well

It is looking good but my vote would be firmly against any service data being available even for older legacy products. From my experience (and not just my vested interest) it can do more damage than help when folks talk to a friend who says "Owh it will be the resistors...It always is.." or something similar and Fred Muggins sets to with a soldering iron (that he last used to burn his name on his wood tool handles) and causes yet more damage because he lifts tracks, bridges tracks and so on. Yes - there are folks who are sufficiently technically adept that I would trust to let loose with circuit diagrams & a soldering iron and I have no issues with letting them have service information if they can't get hold of the guys at Zero but they shouldn't be available to everyone who Googles.

Here you go - see if this helps... If the front panel is responding e.g. the cursor keys and mode select buttons - then try getting in to Super User and resetting the desk - this will hopefully get it back and working for you. If the front panel isn't responding then there is likely to be a more fundamental problem with the processor board or the front board and you'll need to get a Zero88 Approved Technician to look at it for you.

It looks very nice Jon - I'm only sad to say that I'm not likely to sell any for you but I shall definitely add it to my list of things to recommend

You discovered my USP... I rescued an Alcora off eBay the other week - it arrived in a poor state as someone had tried to fix it but all the bits were there - only two faders failed. I now have a nice 12/24 channel Go button slave desk to loan for repairs - just one button slightly melted due to carelessness with my soldering iron There seems to be lots of Alcora/Elara on eBay just now - silly money being asked for some too

That'll be £99 one then - I asked if they knew whether it had been serviced & had the neg output cards fitted and they didn't know but offered me a 14day money back warranty. It would have been handy as slave stock but limited without the neg kit - the one card I did have, I ended up fitting to CTS's demux before I left

I've never had to scrap one! It's one of the sturdiest bits of kit after the BetaPack 1. If the battery has put on it's winter jacket and it's spread to the PCB - ensure you clean as much of the corrosion as you can, I repaired one unit and then 18 months later got it back because corrosion had spread under the solder resists. If the track looks really bad - it might be worth severing it and linking with some hookup wire.

Go in to Super User and reset the desk - the product code is "hard coded" in the flash memory and usually a reset forces it to be re-read and defaults set that should get rid of the message. The product code tells the mainboard which Jester variant chassis it's sat in... The product code isn't read at each power up to save time and save all the internal data for the desk being rewritten.

I agree with Kevin - I would check the initial format of the floppy disc itself. The make of the USB floppy won't generally have an impact as they tend to be a generic slimline drive with a USB/IDE adaptor - so if that's working i.e. you can read & write files from your PC then it's going to be the floppy itself. The diskettes need to be MSDOS formatted - so FAT and nothing more or the Mambo won't recognise the disk. The other thing to try - just in case - is format the disc on the Mambo (there's an option in Super User) and then swap it to your USB Drive - it might be that your Mambo's drive is slightiy out of alignment.

Keith will be along in a minute I'm sure but as posted elsewhere - the fuse size is 20mm for all models. The Alphpack Mark 1 didn't have 32mm fuses as the holders wouldn't physically fit the PCB layout. The discrepancy has crept in on the datasheet from when they were re-done when Cooper Industries bought Zero88 and unified/branded all the product spec sheets.

The main concern over the last few years seems to have been that labelling is profuse, simple and meaningful so that folks using the rig are aware it's 3 phase and probably of mixed code with conductor colours (of course - try explaining 3 phase to an english teacher in a 6th form college). At that point (the reasoning seems to be) your obligation as a "venue" is discharged along with the fact that only "suitably skilled" people are permitted to do complicated stuff like plugging in extension cables and that the installation is essentially safe to use. The old wiring regs which placed the emphasis on separation appear to come from a time when it acknowledged that some numpty would come along one day and try to kill himself by electricity whereas nowadays they might read your labelling and decide not to bother. Personally, it's still at the back of my mind to design separation in to rigs - stuff does happen to the best of us and the second corollary to Murhpy's Law says that it will be that me it happens to most likely. You can design a lot of "stupid" out of your installation that labelling won't correct - just have in the back of your mind that it might not be you or one of the 'experienced' folk trying to use the kit.

It is sad news indeed and I'd like to add my condolences to his family and his "family" at Zero88. I only met Paul very briefly once at a PLASA show and I do know that all his Zero88 family got on with him very well and they will be reeling from this in the same way Paul's family must be. Sad days

Gustav The issue sounds sadly as though the spike has travelled along the mains earth through the PSU and on to the mainboard of your Frog and whilst there is protection for ordinary "noise" - it won't withstand a spike of the magnitude a lightning strike is likely to induce. Sad to say - your Frog is likely not able to be repaired - the main board was discontinued many years ago in favour of the board used in the Solution series and Zero don't have the spares or means to effect repairs to the mainboard. To be sure that this is the case - you need to get your Frog to a Zero88 authorised repair centre who will be able to check this but from your description it sounds to me as though its likely to be terminal

Zero88 part: 5480100 10amp single Pole Breaker - most dealers should be able to order them

"Part" cues on the Illusion have always been a bit buggy (which is a PiTA as I used them a lot on Geniuspro) and cause a lot of swearing to get them running. They seemed especially mardy when trying to edit them which is probably the issue your seeing, so I tend not to use more than a couple of "parts" and cheat with auto follow on cues. There seems to be no rhyme nor reason to it except I think the original programmer couldn't get his head round double linked lists (which I think would be the way to implement a cue list and parts) - in my head, I'm going to write a new version of Illusion OS which will breathe life back in to the desk (I'm also going to win the lottery and live in Nevada but hey!)

I can't think of anything pithy to say - I'm laughing too much Jon.

Wise words Kevin... You seem to be getting the idea at last

It might be a faulty triac card - they're grouped in 4's but I'm surprised the other two channels on the card don't stop working too. It might be worth getting someone who knows what they're looking at to pop the cover and check the traics are tight in their terminal blocks and clipped down to the chassis - possibly try swapping one of the triacs to see if that makes the issue go away. It would also be worth checking to see what happens under manual control from the Chilli FP once the rack is up and running (and has been driving something for an hour) to see whether it's "loss" of a DMX signal causing the issue or a processor issue.

Chris - you've strayed a little way from "home" - the Obey 70 is a Chauvet controller and not Zero88. I've just had a quick look at the webpage for the Obey and there's no means that I can see of saving shows from it or loading shows to it. If you really need that functionality then perhaps something like MagicQ would help but it only runs under Windows so you'd need something like Bootcamp on your iMac to load and run it.