It was time to dust off that DL1608 after 4 years of rest. Since I kept updating the iPad 3 I ended updating the firmware to V4.6.2 first. No issues all went smooth as it should be, including the progress indicators. This would be the last use of the iPad 3 for this mixer, goodbye 30 pins. My main use is actually Audiotools which still works under V9.x.x. After checking the basics all seemed functional.
On with the MF5.1 install using an iPad (2018) wireless. The original router, a Netgear WNDR3700V2 mounted where the iPad would dock. I used the 2.4G and it auto-picked channel 2, not my choice or Netgear’s brightest choice but it worked in my environment. Power sequencing was always critical and the router was first and after a good minute or two the mixer was brought on line. Then the iPad was connected to the router and MF5.1 was started. All was well and the usual firmware question came up. Update I did and it proceeded as expected first file 1 of 2 and then file 2 of 2. At about 34% in the progress bar for file 2 nothing further. Well I did remember something in the prior release notes about correcting the install progress notification so I waited for what seemed forever. Next thing I knew MF 5.1 popped up, so much for the bug fix install, this needs work. Others have reported a “glitch” and subsequent reload of firmware to correct the problems on a DL32. None of this should be the case since part of any firmware load should include a verification cycle. Is someone at Mackie taking shortcuts? Now that the firmware is installed and the basics seem to be OK it was time to add what this version was all about, Android, Windows and Mac (Mac is out of this since I don’t have one).
The simplest way to test this was in fact to switch the DL1608 to my main network where all the computers and tabs were already connected to. This required a cable to my switch and the DL1608, a 100 ft cable was handy. Well not so simple I had to shut down the old Netgear router so it would detect the new router also a Netgear a Nighthawk R7900. A power cycle or two convinced the DL too finally to switch IP although I’m sure that my Nighthawk sent one initially. The Nighthawk has been running for several years 24/7/375 without a problem. The initial tab was the same iPad that was used for the firmware upgrade on the old router. Next up was the Windows 7 unit. I had already installed MF5.1 and it ran the demo just fine. Network behaved just fine and the MF5.1 ran just fine. This is a wired unit. The Unit is a 23” HP 1920x1080 screen resolution powered by an i7 3.4G-3.8G with 4 hyper-threaded cores, speed is by no means an issue here since it uses 5-7%CPU time. As Torsten already pointed out the Windows scaling is screwed up. Why does Mackie have to follow Behringers screw-up? The 23” display shows a max of 13 channels plus main and selection bar. The minimum is 6 channels plus Main and selector bar. This doesn’t change even with a resolution on the Surface Pro of 2736x1824. This definitely needs work! You may have noticed the minimum windows OS is W10 by Mackie
, yeah. I also decided to run 2 copies on this machine which is working fine. Moving right along next was the Lenovo Tab 2 no surprises there. Later I found the RTA, meters and faders disappearing and the only way to restore it was a reload of the App. This is under Android 6 and needs attention. Next was a Samsung S6 no surprises on the basics and no RTA problem so far (15hrs as I type this report on my W7 while running 2 MF’s). Both Androids are on 5G WiFi as is the iPad. Next finally the approved W10 on a Lenovo Laptop Flex 3 without any basic problems other than the display issue. This also is running two copies of MF 5.1. The RTA is solid so far. Also on 5G WiFi. Next up was another Lenovo All-in-One running W10 but only one copy just in case. This unit is also wired. All units so far have RTA turned on to get some traffic going on the network.
Now for the problem units. As Torsten has already encountered with the Surface Pro 4 I had the same problem with the Surface Pro 7. A question for my Mackie service call. The other is a Dell Laptop that I tried both wired and wireless without DL1608 being detected. Some of the suggestions were to power cycle the router , not in a million years! Yes, all are on the same network. Last but not least the problem with 32 bit Android that I will need a link for. Stay tune, in my opinion MF 5.1.0 not ready for prime time. Maybe MF5.1.1.
Cheers
