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[eric lenasbunt]

Brain trust. Help me forward on this one, I'm a little stumped.
Recently we installed 4 Danley SH69 and 2 TH118 in a small theatre. We used a Linea MM40 (Danley 20k without the Danley name on the front), and a Xi4b for the subs (Danley 5k).
The 20k amp plugs into a 30 amp 120v outlet that the old Macrotech was plugged into for years. The 5k is plugged into 20 amp that had one of the old amps. All outlets were metered before installing and then again multiple times and always meters within normal range. No breakers have been tripped and nothing else seems out of the ordinary. However after nearly 4 hours of tuning and tweaking the new system the 20k amp just shut off and read "startup fault" when we tried to start it up.
So, in panic mode we called our local Danley Rep who rushed us his demo 20k that we frequently use. We patched it all in and everything sounded and worked fantastic. We had the first show with the new system the next day and it went great, we used the PA for 8-10hrs without incident.
  Then, yesterday while I was watching my beloved Gators get beat (another story) I got a call from the venue guy saying the replacement amp shut off and is reading startup fault. I had him hard reset/unplug from the wall but that did not help. So to get through last night we moved the mains to the sub amp and went no subs.
But seriously, something is amiss. I've had zero issues with the Linea/Danley amps and now two in one week on the same setup? The demo amp is a year or more old so not in the same manufacturer run or anything.
I feel like it has to be a power issue but we keep metering and are not finding anything, breakers aren't tripping. I don't really know what to look at next. I don't want to just keep blowing up amps. Now I'm having to work hard to assure the client that I made a good recommendation. I don't know if there is a power logging device (that isn't $5k like the Fluke ones) or some way to find out what's up.

Thanks!

[Ivan Beaver]

Brain trust. Help me forward on this one, I'm a little stumped.
Recently we installed 4 Danley SH69 and 2 TH118 in a small theatre. We used a Linea MM40 (Danley 20k without the Danley name on the front), and a Xi4b for the subs (Danley 5k).
The 20k amp plugs into a 30 amp 120v outlet that the old Macrotech was plugged into for years. The 5k is plugged into 20 amp that had one of the old amps. All outlets were metered before installing and then again multiple times and always meters within normal range. No breakers have been tripped and nothing else seems out of the ordinary. However after nearly 4 hours of tuning and tweaking the new system the 20k amp just shut off and read "startup fault" when we tried to start it up.
So, in panic mode we called our local Danley Rep who rushed us his demo 20k that we frequently use. We patched it all in and everything sounded and worked fantastic. We had the first show with the new system the next day and it went great, we used the PA for 8-10hrs without incident.
  Then, yesterday while I was watching my beloved Gators get beat (another story) I got a call from the venue guy saying the replacement amp shut off and is reading startup fault. I had him hard reset/unplug from the wall but that did not help. So to get through last night we moved the mains to the sub amp and went no subs.
But seriously, something is amiss. I've had zero issues with the Linea/Danley amps and now two in one week on the same setup? The demo amp is a year or more old so not in the same manufacturer run or anything.
I feel like it has to be a power issue but we keep metering and are not finding anything, breakers aren't tripping. I don't really know what to look at next. I don't want to just keep blowing up amps. Now I'm having to work hard to assure the client that I made a good recommendation. I don't know if there is a power logging device (that isn't $5k like the Fluke ones) or some way to find out what's up.

Thanks!

Those amps will operate over a wide range of voltages.  I think it is something like 90-260V or so.

It may or may not be a "wall power" issue.  I have seen some of the early amps that had "startup issues" when powered by a generator that had a stepped wave, rather than a sine wave.  But some firmware updates fixed that.  Again-this was a couple of years ago.

I would try them into another outlet, preferably in a different building-off of a different transformer-just in case.

If that does not work, call your linea rep about the linea amp.

You can contact  [email protected] about the Danley version of the amp.

[eric lenasbunt]

Those amps will operate over a wide range of voltages.  I think it is something like 90-260V or so.

It may or may not be a "wall power" issue.  I have seen some of the early amps that had "startup issues" when powered by a generator that had a stepped wave, rather than a sine wave.  But some firmware updates fixed that.  Again-this was a couple of years ago.

I would try them into another outlet, preferably in a different building-off of a different transformer-just in case.

If that does not work, call your linea rep about the linea amp.

You can contact  [email protected] about the Danley version of the amp.

Thanks Ivan.
The MM40 was brand new and I believe had latest firmware.
The Danley amp was Chris Benscik's, which we've used for a bunch of demo's in a bunch of locations. Never a problem. Then we had it installed here for a week and got through a whole show without issue on the DNA20k. Odd because the new Linea amp faulted in the same location. Of course it could be a coincidence, but seems like a lot of coincidence.

I'm putting a call into Linea Monday. Something odd is happening.
Up until this incident we have installed several of this series amp and have not received a call back on any of them. Now two in one location in one week, something seems off...

[Jean-Pierre Coetzee]

Thanks Ivan.
The MM40 was brand new and I believe had latest firmware.
The Danley amp was Chris Benscik's, which we've used for a bunch of demo's in a bunch of locations. Never a problem. Then we had it installed here for a week and got through a whole show without issue on the DNA20k. Odd because the new Linea amp faulted in the same location. Of course it could be a coincidence, but seems like a lot of coincidence.

I'm putting a call into Linea Monday. Something odd is happening.
Up until this incident we have installed several of this series amp and have not received a call back on any of them. Now two in one location in one week, something seems off...

Check all wiring downstream of the amp as well, maybe something came loose? Maybe even a loose terminal on a speaker connector?

[eric lenasbunt]

Check all wiring downstream of the amp as well, maybe something came loose? Maybe even a loose terminal on a speaker connector?

That would cause the amp to go into "startup fault" and not recover?? That seems odd. We did check wiring. Also, when we moved the wiring down to the other amp it fired right up and worked fine.

[Jean-Pierre Coetzee]

That would cause the amp to go into "startup fault" and not recover?? That seems odd. We did check wiring. Also, when we moved the wiring down to the other amp it fired right up and worked fine.

I was just offering a suggestion since this is venue specific and quite a few people have said that the incoming power supply is probably not at fault, really have no experience with the gear. Was just thinking the problem occurred while in use so could be a shorting connector/cable downstream that causes the amp to completely freak out for some or another reason, possibly even within a cabinet, sometimes things happen to the best.

[Stephen Swaffer]

Perhaps silly questions-

I assume the amps removed from service still read "start up" fault when used elsewhere?  Also, I assume the receptacle was metered after the fault?

I'm wondering if something in the circuit is heating up and causing a bad connection in the circuit when hot?  Or even something mechanical in the receptacle that unplugging and plugging back in somehow resets?

[Matthew Knischewsky]

Perhaps silly questions-

I assume the amps removed from service still read "start up" fault when used elsewhere?  Also, I assume the receptacle was metered after the fault?

I'm wondering if something in the circuit is heating up and causing a bad connection in the circuit when hot?  Or even something mechanical in the receptacle that unplugging and plugging back in somehow resets?

I was thinking something along these lines as well. If the receptacle has been there "for years" there's a chance there could be a loose connection, even if metering does not indicate anything is specifically wrong. The cheap and cheerful way to load test the circuits would be to plug in some heaters or par cans and wait around and see what happens. Note the line voltage before, at the beginning of the test, then after a period of time like 30 minutes to an hour. I wouldn't go too far away during the test if you suspect the circuit, having a fire extinguisher handy is never a bad idea.

Better yet, have an electrician or qualified person open up the panel and receptacles and check for loose connections, signs of over heating. Make sure any junction boxes are checked out as well.

[Bob Leonard]

eric,
Can you get it to the point where you can upgrade to the latest firmware and try again? Preferably from another power source.

[Josh Millward]

Brain trust. Help me forward on this one, I'm a little stumped.
Recently we installed 4 Danley SH69 and 2 TH118 in a small theatre. We used a Linea MM40 (Danley 20k without the Danley name on the front), and a Xi4b for the subs (Danley 5k).
The 20k amp plugs into a 30 amp 120v outlet that the old Macrotech was plugged into for years. The 5k is plugged into 20 amp that had one of the old amps. All outlets were metered before installing and then again multiple times and always meters within normal range. No breakers have been tripped and nothing else seems out of the ordinary. However after nearly 4 hours of tuning and tweaking the new system the 20k amp just shut off and read "startup fault" when we tried to start it up.
So, in panic mode we called our local Danley Rep who rushed us his demo 20k that we frequently use. We patched it all in and everything sounded and worked fantastic. We had the first show with the new system the next day and it went great, we used the PA for 8-10hrs without incident.
  Then, yesterday while I was watching my beloved Gators get beat (another story) I got a call from the venue guy saying the replacement amp shut off and is reading startup fault. I had him hard reset/unplug from the wall but that did not help. So to get through last night we moved the mains to the sub amp and went no subs.
But seriously, something is amiss. I've had zero issues with the Linea/Danley amps and now two in one week on the same setup? The demo amp is a year or more old so not in the same manufacturer run or anything.
I feel like it has to be a power issue but we keep metering and are not finding anything, breakers aren't tripping. I don't really know what to look at next. I don't want to just keep blowing up amps. Now I'm having to work hard to assure the client that I made a good recommendation. I don't know if there is a power logging device (that isn't $5k like the Fluke ones) or some way to find out what's up.

Thanks!

Eric,

Call me about the Danley amplifier, my friend!

You have my number... and my email... and, well, all that stuff. ;-)

I would highly recommend getting the diagnostics out of the amplifier and sending them to me for a look at what is going on.

Thanks!
Josh

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