IF-FW/DMMKII beta drivers for DM3200/DM4800

[John Flynn]

Hi all

Just throwing this question out there.. Has anybody any Information regarding the error message that happened out of the blue a few days ago on my DM 4800.
I heard a brief high frequency sine wave type sound for a second and my audio stopped completely with an error message stating ' A serious error occurred. All audio stopped. Contact Tascam' I am curious to know if this is likely to be a 'one off' or if it is a sign that my console is on the 'way out' for want of a better expression. On reboot the machine worked perfectly and I have run it for maybe 6 hours since this occurrence and all has been well. I have asked TascMan for the latest drivers for mavericks as mine are out of date. A member drumstruck has stated that he has experienced this issue when his mac has not even been connected. Only one drum seemed to resolve this issue by changing his FireWire card. Can the error message relate to different issues rather than just one? Any information would be very much appreciated

Thanks in advance

John Flynn

 

[cmaffia]

RedBus can correct me, but since Beta V1.31x - there's a sequence that must be followed each time sample rates are changed. This involves booting/re-booting both the DM and PC. The exact steps are in the driver's release notes. But I can tell you that -with a Win7 PC - if these steps aren't followed to the letter, problems will
quickly ensue.

CaptDan

Yes but going out of sequence doesn't crash the DM3200. At worst, it doesn't pass audio until you reboot it again.

 

[cmaffia]

I only know how to duplicate this issue. Press the power button for a hot second just as your LCD starts to glow, power off and then power back on immediately.

 

[cmaffia]

I have asked TascMan for the latest drivers for mavericks as mine are out of date.
John Flynn

TascaMan is on the Windows 7 platform and doesn't own a Mac. Jim Gravity and a few others use Macs but again, all betas are posted in the FTP site in the sticky. That's where we are all getting them from as soon as RedBus releases them. I think many issues can cause the same error message. In all honesty, even the best Tascam Engineer wouldn't be able to give you a definitive answer or point the problem down to the component level without having your machine on the bench. Another problem is your issue is intermittent which could make the diagnosis even more difficult if they can't duplicate it. I've had this happen to me several times with 2 DM3200's and ultimately they just had to replace it with a new one. This all happened technically out of warranty but it started with repairs while it was still under warranty and snowballed from there. Tascam went above and beyond with me and I am forever grateful.

 

[cmaffia]

Changing Sample rates for WDM based I/O on Windows is a circus act - the steps are in the readme file.
Changing Sample rates for ASIO based I/O should be straightforward.

Is it or did it use to be? Ever since I got my new Windows 7 64 bit DAW workstation 2 years ago I can flip to any sample rate and playback WDM audio without having to change anything else but the DM3200. I don't know why but I'm not complaining!

 

[John Flynn]

Cheers cmaffia

Little choice but to put up with it unless it goes altogether. In my experience sending a board in for repair with an intermittent fault is pointless unless the engineer knows what is causing it from his own experience. This issue does seem to happen a lot though. You would think someone could pin it down.
Will soldier on and hope the board keeps functioning

John

 

[RedBus]

Hi all

an error message stating ' A serious error occurred. All audio stopped. Contact Tascam'
John Flynn

That's the DSP chips overheating or a bad connection between their board and the main board. If you have the unit in a desk, you might need to adjust the airflow around the board. If possible, open up the top panel and make sure the small fan is still turning, and not bunged up with dust. It only needs a little airflow to keep the chips in good working condition, but if you're getting zero flow, that might be the cause.
Reseating the DSP card on its connector is also a good contact cleansing, but I don't recommend doing it on units that don't have a problem.
Shipping a unit for service flexes everything, so units often come up working fine with no repair...

RedBus.

 

[John Flynn]

Wow
At last something that makes sense... Thank you RedBus for this. My board is not set into a desk but sits on top of one. I will talk to my tech guy who could open the top panel and check out the fan. Hes a great guy for cleaning the inside of equipment and spraying crackling knobs. Hopefully he will know what a DSP card is too lol
I don't want to ship it for servicing if possible because (A) it weighs a ton, (B) There's a lot of cables connected to it etc.(C) The issue is intermittent so it might be hard to find (D) I don't know if anyone in Ireland services Tascam I didn't think the issue could be too big because it always works again on reboot.
At least now i have a place to start. Would you say it is unlikely to be a big issue then?

 

[captdan]

Is it or did it use to be? Ever since I got my new Windows 7 64 bit DAW workstation 2 years ago I can flip to any sample rate and playback WDM audio without having to change anything else but the DM3200. I don't know why but I'm not complaining!

As I understand it, WMD (yeah, I know - the irony makes me laugh too ) operates 'under the radar.' So, when you switch sample rates on the DM, ideally WMDrivers follow suit. But that's not the way it works in my environment, with my 2009 Win7/64 machine, and the DMFwire V1.31 (initial beta) installed on my rig. I need to physically affect the Advanced WMD Settings whenever I move from any sample rate to another.

However, the above is ONLY true for Ptools10. With my 2004 vintage Adobe Audition(tm), I can keep my DM @ 96kz, even though I'm editing 44.1kz material. Apparently, 'obsolete' applications work strangely in a Win7/64 environment.

And - as long as there are no other issues - I ain't complainin' either.

CaptDan

 

[Arjan P]

I can flip to any sample rate and playback WDM audio without having to change anything else but the DM3200.

Hey Charlie, are you sure you're using WDM drivers with Cubase? Since ASIO is the Steinberg standard and is a much better protocol AFAIK, it would seem an odd choice..

 

[Gravity Jim]

BTW: Current beta driver working great under Mac 10.9.5 over here. Spent the day shaking it down while I migrate from 3,1 to a 5,1 MacPro... Reauthorizing software, opening up old, messy project files to see how the new machine handled it, knocked out a final demo on a jingle, etc. Not a hiccup.

 

[John Flynn]

@RedBus
There is no doubt that the top of my Tascam gets seriously hot when it is running for a few hours. I have tried to hear if a fan is spinning but if it is its very quiet.
My sound proofed control room is small and insulated so its like a thermal room and the heat generated by the desk would make you want to take your shirt off after a few hours or hit the air con. Whats involved in opening up the top panel and where exactly is the fan? i assume theres no way of telling if its working without taking off the top panel?

 

[cmaffia]

@RedBus
There is no doubt that the top of my Tascam gets seriously hot when it is running for a few hours.

That's normal at least for me. DM3200 doesn't have a fan though but I do have A/C on when the room gets to a certain temperature.

Go to www.2SeeMy.com and follow the installation links for the DM. They use the DM4800 in the photos.

 

[John Flynn]

Just opened up and cleaned fan and general dust out of DM4800. Hoping for improved performance and no errors....

 

[John Flynn]

Ps thanks redbus for the info I really appreciate it. Fan cleaned up and all dust removed. Didn't try to reseat the DSP card. I will avoid this if I can. Might get a smal fan for the corner of the control room. Desk does get quite warm in there.
Will stay hopeful that the error won't return

 

[Rich]

Hey all.

New here so I apologize if this is the wrong place to ask a question. 1960's reel to reel guy trying to work the dp32 send effects...

I can't seem to select just reverb on a track without the delay and chorus coming on as well. If I select the reverb and then turn off the other two effects, the reverb turns off as well. I am sure it is me but can't seem to figure that out.

Thank you very much!
Rich

 

[Gravity Jim]

Rich, you are in the way wrong thread for anybody to see you. This thread is about driver development for the DM3200. You should start anew thread in the "2488 and DP-24/32" section of the forum.

 

[Rich]

Thank you Gravity. I will repost. I appreciate your guidance.

Rich

 

[Gravity Jim]

Okay, just to pull this thread back to Beta Driver news:

Not on any recommendation from anyone, but based solely on RedBus' offhand comment that the problem with 10.10 was going to be the signing process (and that 10.9.5, which works great with the current beta, had the same issue), I decided, entirely at my own risk, to install OSX 10.10 on my studio MacPro (after cloning my start-up drive and making a Time Machine back-up, and knowing my primary DAW and plug-ins were ready to go).

So far I have encountered no problems... The driver and control panel run fine, AMC sees the driver, it works fine with the Sound control panel, it passes audio through the DM3200 just as before, TMCompanion runs fine.

Perhaps RedBus will tell me to stop this and go back to 10.9.5, but if not, and if you are brave of heart and secure in your backups (and currently running the latest beta under 10.9.5), you might want to try this, too. Despite the usual moaning in the Echo Chamber about "transparency" eating up GPU cycles, I'm finding 10.10 to be quick, responsive, and more agile than 10.9, in addition to being beautiful to look at.

 

[captdan]

So.....uh.....is there anything RIGHT about it? (big rimshot here ).

Seriously, hat's off to another brave explorer in the treacherous virtual seas.

CaptDan