HELP Flex-5000A FireWire, new used setup.

TheQuietWon

I'm reposting my support ticket info.....

I am setting up the flex-5000A for some one and I have tried it on 2 laptops before they got a desktop. before that they used a FW to USB Passive adapter (@#$-Sony) on a third laptop prier to polling me in on this. the unit was used in grate condition and came with a PCI FW card (no PCI on Laptop :_( , had to order a desktop ). after testing on an older laptop with FW, I tested on one of my laptops with FW. then i found the page on "Verifying Firewire Card Compatibility with the FLEX FireWire {FW} Driver" booth laptops did not pass ( one was identified as not compatible and the other had a unknown TI chip ) nether detected a device and He ordered a desktop at that time. I did test a third my known good 4-6 FW cable. in the mean time I loaded the test on my Good FW tablet and was it was identified as not compatible also so i did not test that one further.

then the desktop ( W10,1903 for now WinUpdates ) arrived SW load fine and the FW chip was identified as "Compatible, no known issues". and again the device was not detected and no audio device drivers get loaded in sys hardware manager or on connect.

PowerSDR v2.7.2 direct download from this site and i have clean installed that to test v2.8.0 from ke9ns.com/flexpage.html and back again on both systems.

and i did test with v1.18.6. for firmware. nope. and with "1394_OHCI_LegacyDriver_x64.msi".

then I found "Troubleshooting Firewire Connectivity Issues"

I see a blue light, but cant see a green one. x.x.x.x.x. no wait I CAN SEE A GREEN ONE :-) !!!!!

and no "upside down cables" in ports.

I need to test with a third my known good 6-6 FW cable and device yet. i have used persons boards, many ext-drives, firewire networking and iLink Cams.

lets see was that T.M.I. or did I miss something?

Mark Winiarski, 301-331-3870, EST/any.

oh and i don't have a Call Sign yet...., His Call Sign is WQ0J.

----

"FlexRadio is currently .....
Now let's get started addressing your issue.

You have submitted a HelpDesk support ticket for an issue with PowerSDR or a hardware problem with one of the FLEX Series SDRs (FLEX-1500, FLEX-3000 and FLEX-5000). Before we start, I need to properly set your expectations. Please note that both PowerSDR and the FLEX Series SDRs, in regards to their product lifecycle status are designated as out of production (OOP) products. When products are designated as OOP, the level of service and technical support provided for troubleshooting operational and connectivity issues including hardware repair services are reduced accordingly.

For OOP products, only HelpDesk email communication is provided - there is no phone or remote access support is available. HelpDesk support will be limited to FlexRadio systems products only and will not include third-party hardware and software integration issues. Those issues should be addressed using the Community for user-based assistance.

Hardware Service for OOP products is significantly limited due to parts availability and there is no guarantee that the product can be repaired. In addition, the lead time for repairs could exceed 8 weeks depending on Service workloads.

We regret that we can no longer provide the high levels of service once provided for these products, but these changes in support levels are a consequence of the near end of life for a discontinued product line.

So, let's address your issue.

Since you have done the troubleshooting steps outlined in the HelpDesk article Troubleshooting Firewire Connectivity Issues, it is still possible that you have an incompatibility with the Firewire card and your PC, even when the firewire card test indicates the card is compatible. We suspect there are bus timing issues that are not able to handle the high isochronous data throughput between the PC and the FLEX-5000 and that is what is causing the problem. The only thing I can recommend is that you send the radio into our Legacy Service Center and have them either (a) verify the radio is working properly or (b) uncover an issue and resolve it.

If you choose to send in the radio, I will go ahead and start the process of getting your product serviced by issuing you an RMA (return merchandise authorization) number to facilitate the return of your product to an authorized service center for service or repair.

RMA Instructions:
"
----

oh the FW card+cable was included and was working for the prevues owner, i will ask more tonight.

and "using the KE9NS software" neither software sees anything other than "demo".

i will pass this info on and continue testing and ask the prevues owner tonight.

----

"As I indicated, the incompatibility is between the firewire card and the PC. The Firewire card may be OK and it is the PC that is causing the incompatibility. If the radio and PC are not communicating, it will not matter what software you are using to connect to the radio; neither will work."

----

I Found a firewire drive and I was able to confirm that the FireWire card is functioning with generic hard drives. Still no luck with the radio. I'm installing a clean install of Windows 7 32-bit SP1 for testing.

Same result as if the radios isn't plugged in at all, no device detection / drivers need to be installed dialogue.

I do have a “PCI serial port” and “PCI simple communications controller” drivers missing and generic graphics. edit: fixed diver.

Although I did Just find this article in the community "USB to 1394 adapters can damage your radio or PC!".

If that's the case what is the repair? Considering FireWire uses 48v I would've assumed the circuits would have been protected from 5v?

I tested the adapter pinout. see photo.

----

"Just because a Firewire card can connect to low throughput, low channel device like a hard drive, that is no indication that the firewire adapter can handle 10 channels of 192-bit isochronous data that the FLEX-5000 uses.

It is impossible to estimate the cost of any radio repair without first having the radio checked out by the service team. The minimum charge is $99/hr for one hour. If the issue is not too extensive, it can usually be repaired in that hour.

What the service department can do is if there is a problem fix it or if there isn't a problem, verify that the radio is a known good quantity and that the problems are with the PC and Firewire adapter. Right now, you do not have solid evidence that either one is good,"

----

yes a low throughput drive, but is shows in device manager and the 5000a is not.

so are the two Flex FireWire ports pass-through? ( for data not power as that is not connected internally ) my drive shows up on the card but in pass-through with external Power nope.

TheQuietWon

photos in sync link https://ln2.sync.com/dl/09c4cf4f0/shwtwvwf-ue9e3nvy-ujn8gdbv-35ypvth7
can i post photos in this community?

:# :s :/ :o

edit: oh the prevues owner says it needs something maybe called "VCom"? for it communicate.