MICRO MODULAR USERS: My second DEAD Micro Modular

deadmicro

Hi there to everyone on the forum!

About a month ago, my second Nord Micro Modular died inexplicably. All I know for sure is, one day the unit worked perfectly fine. The next day, it didn't. The unit will not turn on, the display shows nothing, and the internal components do not get warm to the touch. The AC adapter works according to my multi-meter, so the unit is definitely broken. The same thing happened once before, within 6 months of purchase.

The first time this happened, it was also a mystery, but the unit was still under warranty. I sent it to a company in Florida, along with a copy of my receipt. About a month and a half later, I received a working Micro, paying only to ship the item for service.

Now, several years later, the same damn thing happened again. I looked over at the unit and it appeared to be off. I checked it and the damn thing won't turn on, just like last time! This time the unit is well out of warranty. So what's going on here? How can this happen TWICE, exactly the same way?

The only thing I can't eliminate as a cause this time is a power surge. We did have a power outage not long before I noticed the unit had stopped functioning. I use CyberPower, APC, and Belkin surge suppression and UPS units in my studio. The units are all new and upgraded from the first time, so I doubt it's the fault of my power equipment. Neither Micro has ever been plugged directly into an outlet in its life. Much of the time neither were even plugged in at all! They never exhibited signs of ground loop, were never bumped, dropped, kicked, spilled on, etc. They got first class treatment, and had easy lives. If it was a power surge, then it seems to me the Micro Modular is one SENSITIVE device! Out of all the electronics I have, I've never lost a thing to a power outage.

My prediction is, if I pay to have this thing fixed, it is going to cost me as much for the repair as just going on eBay and buying a working one. I feel ripped off and cheated by Clavia. But if this is Clavia's fault, then there have to be other cases of this. Searching Google, I found no other mentions of "non-functioning", "damaged", "dead", "broken", etc. units.

I don't know what to do with this Micro Modular now other than put it away in my closet so I don't have to look at it any more. Crying or Very sad

I can't throw it out, and it's probably not worth paying to have it repaired.

A word of advice to other Nord Micro Modular users out there:

BEWARE OF POWER SURGES: IF IT'S NOT IN USE, UNPLUG IT.

Also, back up your patches on a regular basis. Better safe than sorry.

v-un-v

v-un-v · Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 4:45 am Post subject:

oh yes,

to electro-music.com deaddy Very Happy

elektro80 · Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 6:11 am Post subject:

Trivia: Whenever a piece of pro audio gear dies, I always try to figure out why it died.
Did you ever get a specific answer re what was wrong with that micro?

X-Electric

deadmicro · Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 8:07 am Post subject:

ian-s

deadmicro · Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 4:05 pm Post subject:

They fixed the old one by doing the following:

1) Remove the old board
2) Replace with new / refurbished / reconditioned board
3) Change the serial number sticker to match the replacement board

In other words, I got the same chassis back with new guts, a few new scratches, and a new SN.

v-un-v · Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 4:43 pm Post subject:

jksuperstar · Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 9:28 pm Post subject:

I'll buy it for cheap if you decide to abandoned it!

Have you tried:
1) A substitute power supply? Find one with the same connector, polarity (center = +?), voltage, and power or amp rating (or higher).

2) Opening the device? Most debugging could be done easily by sight...If something looks or smells blackened, burnt, popped, etc, again, it 's probably the problem.

deadmicro · Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 4:13 pm Post subject:

I did open the sucker both times this happened, and in neither case did anything smell burnt. I know that fried smell quite well.

HOWEVER, I just checked the power supply again with a multimeter, and I noticed that the PSU is putting out 13V! On the label it says 9V!

Could someone please check their AC adapter with a multimeter and see what yours is outputting?

If mine is overvolting and its not incorrect labeling, this could be the damn reason why both units failed. A defective power supply from day one, and warranty service that isn't worth a damn.

X-Electric · Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 5:03 pm Post subject:

blue hell · Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 5:29 pm Post subject:

When no current flows those wall warts always have way too much output voltage, nothing to worry about.

When you want to try and fix it you should measure some stuff in the micro itself. Probably a power regulator died. Unfortunately I've never seen the micro's private parts ... so erm here it stops for me.

X-Electric · Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 6:07 pm Post subject:

blue hell · Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 6:16 pm Post subject:

Ah that's the spirit Very Happy

Such voltages seem OK to me, a bit high on the input seems not really too bad, there is only one DSP to feed and the regulator should be able to do that probably with up to 25 V on it's input.

Besides when too high an input voltage would be the problem the regulator would simply run hot, to then go into thermal shutdwn top awake again after a cool down etc. That is .. as long as it's not over 40 Volt or so.

Or you might get some terrible hum like noise due to a capacitor having had over voltage. Hmm,maybe not necesarrily so, for the capacitor case.

X-Electric · Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 7:16 pm Post subject:

I recommend doing same thing to you deadmicro. If there's no voltage on output of the regulator, then there's no power in circuit at all, and I guess that would be good news, concerning the replacement cost of course when only this part got hurt. When there's no voltage on input - maybe just the power input socket got damaged. Anyway it's a good starting point to diagnose the unit that is not powering on at all.

elektro80 · Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 8:09 pm Post subject:

deadmicro · Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 8:45 pm Post subject:

Thank you all for the help and the excellent ideas. Especially you, X-Electric for the test results and the images.

I tried the same test X-Electric did. With the original power supply I got LOW voltages that were below X-Electric's measurements:

7.6V on the far left lead
4.9V on the right lead

The funniest part is I dug through all the AC adapters I have and found one:

YAMAHA PA-3 (don't ask me where this came from! Shocked

) 10VDC, 700mA, + tip = about 12V with the multimeter

I don't know what else to say other than WOW. There is justice after all. It's a shame I didn't do this in the first place. But, who cares now. It works, my unsaved patches aren't lost, and the world is beautiful again. This is the best possible news. No doubt I will be celebrating tonight.

It's a weird one though. The problem was obviously the power supply. It gives enough voltage to the multimeter to give a reading above its specifications, but when it comes time to actually supply power, it's not up the task. It bothers me that I was so sure this thing was dead again. I don't know. I guess its just bad memories from the first time.

So now I've got to track down a replacement power supply. In the meantime, I can use this Yamaha PA-3 that I swear I've never seen before until now. surprise