Internal memory issue

[Abbeyman]

After a long period away from lighting (last desk was a Sirius 24!) I've just bought a Leap Frog 24/48 referred to as 'original type' I think. Outwardly it is in pretty much pristine condition so I don't think it has had a hard life and the fact it has a flight case must have helped. Serial is 0073801 02460013

 

All seems well with it except for the fact that it doesn't appear to hold a show in the internal memory when power is switched off. The internal clock time and date is also lost which makes me think the battery must need changing even though Super User- Desk Info reports the battery as being ok.

 

Am I on the right track?

 

(Slight puzzle is that fixtures programmed in by previous owner appear to be retained)

 

Knowledge base seems to indicate that its a coin cell in this desk yes/no?

 

Can approximate age of the desk be worked out from the serial?

 

Thanks

 

Andy C

[Jon Hole]

Hi Andy,

 

Certainly sounds like the battery to me.

 

All the infromation you should need is here: http://zero88.com/support/index.php?/Knowledgebase/Article/View/546/31/replacement-battery-information

[kgallen]

Hi Andy,

 

Welcome to the world of Frog, you'll love it!

 

You will need a CR2032 battery (very common, get on the High Street).

 

Place the desk on a table with the rear (the connector panel) facing you. Remove only 1 screw per side, it's the lowest screw in the curved rear metal silver side.

 

The bottom panel will want to drop down, so support it.

 

It's best to get some help as you will want to support the front panel whilst you access the PCB battery holder. You need to try to flick out the old coin cell - might need gentle help with a knife or small flat screw driver.

 

Click in the new cell.

 

Reassemble the desk, ensuring the bottom plate metal fingers are correctly located in the front of the desk, lifting the back into place and replacing the screws.

 

Power up the desk and set the time/date.

 

Make sure you're running software 10.12 (http://zero88.com/support/index.php?/de/Knowledgebase/List/Index/256/software).

 

If you want to test all of the buttons, holding F1 down as you power the desk will get you into a test mode. Flash buttons 1-14 select faders to test and Step button tests the LEDs.

 

Common fixtures are stored in flash, not battery-backed RAM, that's why they're still there.

 

Anything else - just ask on the Forum!

 

Good luck.

 

Kevin

Serial is 0073801 02460013

 

I believe this indicates your desk was the 13th LeapFrog built in week 46 of 2002.

 

I'd PM Keith with the serial number and ask him for the master lock code for that desk.

[Abbeyman]

Thanks guys for all the really helpful comments.

 

I guess the battery is hovering around the dead mark in that the next time I turned the desk on it had remembered the show but the clock had reset so I'll go shopping and replace it.

 

Saving / loading to/from floppy disk works but the fact I need to update the software made me realize I'll need to add a USB external floppy drive to the shopping list as its been a fair few years since I had a PC with that feature. I'm assuming that the internal floppy drive emulators that physically replace an old school floppy drive and use a USB stick wouldn't work with the Leap Frog desk so I'm kind of stuck with disks?

 

 

 

I'd PM Keith with the serial number and ask him for the master lock code for that desk.

 

I was wondering about the code so I'll do that.

 

Just spending an hour or so here and there checking out how to use the desk at the moment - bit of a learning curve from the Sirius and I do miss the LEDs that mimicked the outputs but having a monitor attached is great - not sure how anyone really managed using just the LCD display.

 

Andy

[kgallen]

Hi Andy,

 

You can buy a USB floppy drive for 8 quid and plug into your computer. Much less hassle and risk than trying to find a paged USB drive that fits and works in your Frog.

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/External-USB-Floppy-Drive-Black/dp/B00095KY7U (this was just the first I found on a quick Google).

 

If you want, PM me your address and I'll post you a couple of floppy's, one with 10.12 on.

 

Kevin

 

With a flat battery you might find some of your show is there but later cues have disappeared. I've had this... at a Dress Rehearsal! Get that battery changed pronto!

[Abbeyman]

Hi Andy,

 

You can buy a USB floppy drive for 8 quid and plug into your computer. Much less hassle and risk than trying to find a paged USB drive that fits and works in your Frog.

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/External-USB-Floppy-Drive-Black/dp/B00095KY7U (this was just the first I found on a quick Google).

 

If you want, PM me your address and I'll post you a couple of floppy's, one with 10.12 on.

 

Kevin

 

With a flat battery you might find some of your show is there but later cues have disappeared. I've had this... at a Dress Rehearsal! Get that battery changed pronto!

 

New battery fitted and both show memory and clock working ok now. They had the 2032 bat at my local little DIY shop and following your instructions it took me (and a second pair of hands) about 10 mins start to finish.

 

Was wondering what the life expectancy of the battery is likely to be, particularly as Super User - Desk Info was still reporting the old one as ok. Thinking it would perhaps be a good idea to put a label on the bottom panel with date battery changed for future reference.

 

A cheap USB floppy drive is on its way to me ready to transfer 10.12 from PC to desk. If I have any probs I'll let you know and take up your offer, Thanks.

 

Andy

[kgallen]

Hi Andy,

 

I've had my FatFrog since 2006 (from new) and I've changed the battery twice. The original battery fitted in the desk lasted easily 5 years maybe more. The replacement one I installed, even though it was a known brand (maybe Duracell) lasted less than 3 years before I lost my show cues as mentioned above - which was why it was a surprise as I knew the cell hadn't been in "that long".

 

The desk battery monitor doesn't work well with the coin cells presumably because of their voltage discharge profile (I think the circuit was designed for the Varta supercaps used in earlier designs). My desk always said "battery ok" even when the cell was exhausted and I'd lost memory contents.

 

The indicator for me is always that the time/date has gone bonkers, then I know I'm going to lose data the next time the desk is switched off. I'm now working on a 3 year maximum, but should probably replace after 2 years. As you say, they are dirt cheap and relatively easy to replace.

 

I've now moved on to an FLX, and since this is a new product, and new for me, we still have to work out how its battery performs... yikes!

 

Good luck!

 

Kevin

 

If you really wanted to swap the floppy for USB, then I believe this "i889900" version works in the Frogs. At your own risk though, I have no experience of them. If you search the Z88 Forum (or Blueroom Forum) you will find a fair few people who've done the conversion. The floppy drive in my FF has been faultless so I've not been tempted to change it.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/231653390847?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

Also whilst I'm here, download and have a read of the Release Notes. Lots of features have been added since the Manual. The RN's are very readable but you will have to mentally "splice" them into your brain and be aware of features that evolved over the 10.9 thru 10.12 releases and make sure you understand the latest "version" of each piece of functionality as you go through the releases. All good stuff though.

 

http://zero88.com/support/index.php?/Knowledgebase/Article/GetAttachment/56/554

 

Even if you don't want to get into tracking, I'd get familiar with things like "Grab Mode" though - that can be very useful during a show!

 

Blueroom topic on USB emulators. As Jon says in that thread, not supported by Z88!

 

http://www.blue-room.org.uk/index.php?showtopic=50532

[Jon Hole]

I've now moved on to an FLX, and since this is a new product, and new for me, we still have to work out how it's battery performs... yikes!

At least the battery in FLX is only used for the clock, not showfile information :-)

[Abbeyman]

USB floppy arrived today so put the update on disk and installed it successfully - thanks.

 

I've reached the point where I can do all the things on the Leap Frog that I used to do years ago on a non-dmx Sirius 24 which is a start. I did have a read through the release notes but first I need to grasp the whole concept of fixtures controlled by the dedicated fixture control panel rather than using the generic channels. (At present only RGBW pars to control)

 

I'll start a new thread.

 

Andy