PlanetZ forums - scopeusers.com

I recently got one on ebay and I have a couple of quick questions if anyone can help out would be much appreciated.

1. I am not planning on needing it right away, in fact it could be a few years.

-Would storing it in a box in my closet degrade the longevity of it's working condition or would it be better to have it set up and apply pwr and run a signal thru it every once in a while?

2. This is the PWR supply it came with. I am assuming it is not the original.

-are the specs on this pwr supply ok?

-would it be better to get a new one from Ferrofish?

3. For Z-Link - which cable? 400 or 800?

Production date is 2006 so this is almost 10 years old. Looks to be in great condition though so hopefully it will last me many years to come.

Thanks for the help


Dan

A16 needs AC not DC and the power adaptor you have doesn't specify if it's an AC.
I wouldn't connect it. Get one from ferrofish or buy one with matching specs.

ZLink cable is just a FireWire cable.
As long as the connections fit them your ok.

This is how mine looks (for the german power supply system).
I got a used A16 Ultra as well, so I don't know for sure if it's the original power adapter.

After buying it, I only switched it on a few times and then I didn't use it for some months.
When turning it on again after that, nothing happened. It didn't power up anymore so I had to send it to Ferrofish for repair. I'm glad they offer that service!
I don't know what caused the issue but Ferrofish said they know that problem.

THe power supply you have looks fine. AC power supplies are just a transformer, all the power filtering is done inside the A16. So any basic transformer/power supply will do as long as it provides enough current/amps, which yours does (the spec for the current is in the A16 manual).

The "~" indicates 12V AC voltage. If the symbol was a bar over a dotted line, it would be DC. On an AC supply, there is no need for "+" or "-" indicators.

you only need 1.5 amps. thats plenty

1. no, it probably doesn't matter if it sits, as long as it's dry. caps can dry out over the years, but that's not so likely and powering it wouldn't make any difference. why not connect it though? it will probably be useful sooner than later.

2. yes, that is a correct supply. another one is just good to have, since it's the part most likely to fail. i wouldn't stress over it. also, a 1.5 amp is big enough, but i wouldn't put one with less than 2 amps on it if you want it to always function correctly. there's a reason that every unit shipped with a 2.5amp.

3. you need a 6 conductor standard cable with two 6-pin Male IEEE 1394 connectors.

awesome! thanks for the help everyone!



One other quick question on power supplies. Will using a standard surge protector switch to power up your devices "spike" or wear down the pwr supplies?

While 1.5A is enough (that's what came with my A16 U originally) it will run a bit hot and may die sooner than later. The more amps, the cooler the xformer will run.

Cheers,

-Tom

yayajohn,

It's best to keep everything on all the time. Devices usually die when powered on. Look at light bulbs. They always burn out only when turning them on. Of course if you wanna save power, this is not a good idea. My main rig is hooked up to an UPS. All my 3 keyboards always on + the computer.

-Tom

yeah I can't really leave everything on as I am gone for long periods of time. Also it's a crowded room and heat is def an issue.
Do they make "soft" switch pwr strips?
Power conditioner maybe? Those appear more for preventing external surges though.
What do the big studios use? I can't imagine the engineer going around to each piece of gear to switch it on everytime.

it's not a big deal. i use power strips with switches all the time.

ok that's reassuring. Thanks gary!

I started using better power bars. Got an old design APC 6 outlet for 20 bucks at my local computer shop. But all my other stuff is hooked up to a cheap 20+ year old power bar

-Tom