Author Topic: DL32R channels not working - Performing surgery today...  (Read 17512 times)

JohnMHoyt

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Re: DL32R channels not working - Performing surgery today...
« Reply #15 on: December 04, 2017, 02:22:40 PM »
Just had a fella call me who found me through this forum.  He'd driving up from GA for me to look at his mixer that has lost several outputs.   
I may have just found a new source of income! hahaha
Well, if that is what is wrong with it (I say there's a 90% chance).

Mackie DL32R in/out repair - cheap - call today! bahaha

JohnMHoyt

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Re: DL32R channels not working - Performing surgery today...
« Reply #16 on: December 04, 2017, 10:07:38 PM »
Mark drove in with his DL32R in a big rack...  I helped him remove it from the rack and popped it open.
Unplugged each of the cables and plugged them back in a couple times.

It's now working.  His has been losing channels for over a year. He thought it was due to some voltage differential until he found this thread but he was nervous about opening it up.

I ain't scared!  He's good to go for a while.

We talked about hot glue, but in looking at it, I worried that hot glue could somehow be conductive, and besides, they had not worked themselves loose at all.
His were tight against the sockets - not seeing how hot glue would help.

I didn't want to put deoxit on there either since it's not mine.   

But, there ya go.   15 minutes and a sore wrist from unscrewing and screwing.   Guess I need an electric screwdriver!

WK154

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Re: DL32R channels not working - Performing surgery today...
« Reply #17 on: December 05, 2017, 09:16:09 PM »
If the cables stay put then why not try  No-OX-ID to keep it from oxidizing? Just apply with a flat blade screwdriver at the female end, but after removing most of the oxidation. Also the 3M cables are prone to relaxation and may need to be squeezed (small vice) after some time. The connector came from the telecom development main difference being stranded instead of solid core wire. Hot glue is definitely non-conductive and you apply it to tie the two plastic connectors together.
When in doubt KISS

tgath

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Re: DL32R channels not working - Performing surgery today...
« Reply #18 on: January 23, 2018, 01:46:07 PM »
Thank you for this info HotAsAPepper... I have had similar issues with my DL1608 a did a similar procedure to correct it and it worked... for a while. On my specific mixer the problem is on the Aux bus. All of them the same. My band mates do not appreciate the loss of their monitors during the show. Believe me. I constantly reassure them that Mackie is quality stuff ...and they roll their eyes.  I did take the opportunity to sign and date the PC board's metal shield while I had it apart as you said above.  I appreciate your post as it validates my (perceived) insanity... :-)  This week I bought a DL32R thinking it would alleviate the issue. Oh boy, here we go again...

JohnMHoyt

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Re: DL32R channels not working - Performing surgery today...
« Reply #19 on: February 22, 2018, 05:15:27 PM »
Thank you for this info HotAsAPepper...

Lost an input at the last gig...     Now to plan a time to take it apart and this time, I may try de-oxit on it.

If I can scrape together some $$, I'm going to buy another DL32r and move this one to my studio and have it as a spare...

Rick Scofield

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Re: DL32R channels not working - Performing surgery today...
« Reply #20 on: January 05, 2019, 07:37:03 PM »
A bit of a zombie thread, but does anyone have video of this ribbon cable reseating procedure?  I’ve done it once, but I’m not sure what I did was actually reseating anything, as I didn’t fully remove the connectors. I just wiggled them, and since they didn’t easily come off the board, I didn’t want to force them, so I pushed them back on/in/down whatever until I was worried I’d break something.

Seemed to work, but now months later I’ve lost another input channel and need to go in again. Want to be sure I’m doing it right and not just creating more headache than curing.

Thanks!
-Rick

dpdan

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Re: DL32R channels not working - Performing surgery today...
« Reply #21 on: January 05, 2019, 08:55:51 PM »
I am not posting this for the sake of taking sides with Mackie, but,,,....
knowing a little bit about marketing and profit margin,,, Mackie certainly did not choose to use this brand of ribbon connectors for the DL32R because they knew they would fail.

Then there are some folks who may think that Mackie knew that they would have a short life, but a life that is long ENOUGH to last a little past the warranty period.
I know I am guilty of that negative but logical opinion.

If Mackie spec'd to the manufacturer to use Brand X connecters, then the fault would not be the "cheap" connectors, but in fact Mackie's fault for not doing enough research on those connectors to determine their quality. In my humble opinion, Mackie did not have a couple of years to waste to determine if these connectors would eventually become intermittent.
Regardless, we all know that we live in a "throw away" world, and "things" today are just not worth being repaired when the hourly repair tech rate is considered.

So, I say all that to say this.... Y'all are not alone. I too have had to remove the lid of my DL32R and re-seat the ribbon cables, once in four years, and it is not hard to do.

When I consider how many years, and how many events my DL32R has completed flawlessly, the very occasional disappointment of a bad connection is something I have chosen to accept. That is not an excuse, it is just how I have decided to deal with the issue. There is no such brand of audio gear that is made in this country or elsewhere that is free of some type of eventual failure.
As WK mentioned earlier, gold plated connections are the best, but if Mackie used the most expensive, and most reliable components to build these mixers, they would not sell for a few grand. Even Digico consoles have major issues, so Mackie is not alone here either.

Just my opinion, and we all know about those :)
« Last Edit: January 13, 2019, 06:51:58 AM by dpdan »

thedrums

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Re: DL32R channels not working - Performing surgery today...
« Reply #22 on: January 06, 2019, 11:39:28 PM »
Good information to know in case I ever have the situation come up. I had a similar situation with some outboard gear that required ribbon connection cleaning. I applied some Caig DeOxIT and no more problem.

WK154

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Re: DL32R channels not working - Performing surgery today...
« Reply #23 on: January 07, 2019, 05:52:50 PM »
If the cables stay put then why not try  No-OX-ID to keep it from oxidizing? Just apply with a flat blade screwdriver at the female end, but after removing most of the oxidation. Also the 3M cables are prone to relaxation and may need to be squeezed (small vice) after some time. The connector came from the telecom development main difference being stranded instead of solid core wire. Hot glue is definitely non-conductive and you apply it to tie the two plastic connectors together.


After a closer look at the pics I noticed the connections aren't the 3M type but individually crimped type single row connector. This is not nearly as good as the original (lacking a gas tight contact). There are many more reliable ways to provide the connections and they don't add any large costs to the product, some are even less expensive. Dan, China has plenty of gold so not to worry  :).  We all know that description of the problem is usually not too accurate and diagnosing the real problem can be a challenge. Unless I had a failed connection under a microscope I would only be guessing at the cause and subsequent solution.
When in doubt KISS

dpdan

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Re: DL32R channels not working - Performing surgery today...
« Reply #24 on: January 08, 2019, 09:10:41 AM »
they got more gold than me :) but who doesn't  :)

Rick Scofield

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Re: DL32R channels not working - Performing surgery today...
« Reply #25 on: January 11, 2019, 06:58:43 PM »
Can anyone describe in detail the method used to “pry” or remove the ribbon connection in order to re-seat it? I need to perform this again, but don’t want to cause damage. Do the cable connectors come “up” off the circuit board, or pull back parallel?
Thanks!

WK154

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Re: DL32R channels not working - Performing surgery today...
« Reply #26 on: January 13, 2019, 12:05:03 AM »
I think the direction should be obvious so pry with the help of a flat-blade screwdriver (carefully) or nylon prying tool to remove cable. Be careful NOT to use the cable to pull it off. The connectors on the grey ones for input are of the crimp type and can easily be pulled out of the connector pin. Then I would use a Q tip to sparingly apply the following:
  https://www.sanchem.com/docs/NO-OX-ID%20A-Special%20Electrical%20Grade.pdf
to the single row male pins. If possible before this procedure corrosion removal would be best. Since I have neither the DL32R or a defective set of connectors to examine the assumption is that (SF) salt air is the cause. It could however be vibration wear with eventual corrosion  which would also require a restraint mechanism on the cable especially on the long ones. If on the other hand the corrosion is at the crimp then extracting the female socket and soldering the connection would solve the problem. I would however simply replace it with a treated cable before going to that trouble.
Yes Mackie could have done that at initial assembly time but the repair business or better yet the replacement business is lucrative as long as it get them past the Warranty period  ;D . Right Dan.

More detail here:   http://www.planetz.com/mackie-dl32r-mixer-channel-repair/
« Last Edit: January 13, 2019, 12:57:39 AM by WK154 »
When in doubt KISS

dpdan

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Re: DL32R channels not working - Performing surgery today...
« Reply #27 on: January 13, 2019, 06:41:30 AM »
bookem Danno  :)

MrDOS

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Re: DL32R channels not working - Performing surgery today...
« Reply #28 on: May 27, 2019, 11:41:42 PM »
A good bit of time has passed and it doesn't appear that anyone has posted a video.

What are days off for?  :)

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pbuchta

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Re: DL32R channels not working - Performing surgery today...
« Reply #29 on: June 18, 2019, 05:23:52 PM »

I wish there was a more permanent way to fix this connectivity problem with those ribbon cables.

Have Mackie send you the manufacturer's part number. Replace the cables first. It may be the connectors on the board, but start with the cables.

Pete