VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

georgethetech · Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 3:00 pm Post subject:

I've seen many a 9202 with cut or seized fans that are still kickin'. It's all about ventilation, so as long as it has room on all sides to breath, it should be OK. I just don't recommend it as a matter of course, is all...

Bish, I learned something about the coils, pretty interesting stuff. Back in my remote broadcast engineering days Veteran's stadium in Philadelphia had stereo "equalized lines" all the way back to WYSP, which we used as a backup for the ISDN feed (since they didn't sound quite as good). Talk about ancient tech!
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Charles Nove · Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 4:31 am Post subject:

kgenus · Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 9:06 am Post subject: Something to keep in mind.

Bish,

If you buy a used Zephyr, call the manufacturer and 1) find out when last the unit was serviced (firmware updates cost a minimal fee) and 2) question their support department about parts replacement. In 2009, during a conversation about my unit, the Telos tech, after a lengthy conversation about the Cleveland jazz scene, candidly told me they were not fabricating new parts for the Zephyr series, that he had pulled parts for my unit from an older used unit in the stock pile they kept.

These things are like routers, they last until something internally heats up, warps and cracks.... Also, the menus suck. I have half a mind to buy a USB 232 connect and write a front end to set the thing up.

Kevin
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Bish · Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 10:30 am Post subject:

Thanks for the info Kevin. I'm waiting until Monday when they tell me go/no-go on the ISDN line. Once I get the go ahead, I'll probably check the available Prima LT units. Of course, a Zephyr at the right price will still be tempting.

I was interested in your comments about the menu system and RS232. In a previous life I was always implementing the RS232 supervisory/control port on Cisco routers and running them on a simple terminal a Hobo Tounge

on a Windoze laptop. Funnily enough I still have that old laptop with an RS232 DB9 connection. I'd never even thought about connecting them... it was a bit of a "Duh!" moment for me there Smile

Cheers
Peter
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JTVG · Backstage Pass Joined: 21 Jun 2007 Posts: 433

If your room lacks AC and your room temp gets over 75 or 80 in the summer, I'd stay away from the classic black Zephyr. Those are known to overheat easily in a hot room, even with the fan running. When they do, your signal cuts in and out intermittently.
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Bish · Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 9:51 am Post subject:

I'm not too worried about the heat in my studio/office. I'm one of the legion of basement dwellers, and in the summer, it's the coolest place in the house. I do have air-con down here, but I can't remember the last time I needed to use it.

Update... Monday got me to the Verizon local installation supervisor who, to their credit, took complete ownership of the problem. They called me back this morning as promised with news of the re-route (now only about a 2,000 ft copper run from the network access point). Network card install this week and commissioning on Friday. Well, that's the plan, anyway Smile

Now for a codec...
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Bish · Posted: Sat May 05, 2012 1:03 pm Post subject:

Well... of course, the Verizon guy turned up at four on Friday, smiling sweetly, telling me again that there was "good news, bad news"... The good news is that the ISDN card is installed at the local distribution point and there's only about 2,000 feet of copper twix that and me. There is nothing getting in the way of this working (he said)... the bad news is that they haven't configured it yet , and it won't be working until Monday at the earliest. I still think it's running relatively smoothly considering the horror stories I've heard. The eternal optimist, eh?

And now... the really good news... I just picked up a Musicam Prima 110 for $500 Smile

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Philip Banks · Posted: Sat May 05, 2012 1:29 pm Post subject:

When you get the Prima up and running you can explain it to me as I have one as a "stunt codec". It's all connected but so far I've not managed to get it to do anything largely due to a lack of patience and tech knowledge on my part.

Bish · Posted: Sat May 05, 2012 2:13 pm Post subject:

I noticed you picked one up the other day (even cheaper than mine!)... I assumed it was as a back-up to your AudioTX. There seems to be no rhyme nor reason to some of these prices... at the moment, there's a UK dealer trying to sell the same model, used, for £1,895 ($3,000)... I think the new equivalent comes in at $3,400 ... bon chance with that, eh?

Once I'm hooked up and have done some local tests, assuming all is well, I'll note all my setting and we can try to get them speaking to each other. Depending on the line install and the shipping of the unit, it should be about a week or so

Confidence is high... it's only technology, and it can be beaten into submission.
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georgethetech · Posted: Sat May 05, 2012 11:46 pm Post subject:

Should you want to get to the bottom of it fast, call my ISDN expert Dave Immer at digifon.com, the expert on Musicam hardware. HINT: Find "speed dial" preset that puts it in Zephyr mode.
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Dan-O · The Gates of Troy Joined: 17 Jan 2005 Posts: 1638

Bish · Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 11:48 am Post subject:

I really don't mean this to be a blog, but I've got to vent! The line was installed today (late, but no matter) and according to the engineer, all tests OK. I saw him make the calls from his test unit around the loop from one SPID to the other. No errors... all good. One last thing to sort out before the codec arrives... the long distance plan. My Verizon contact had put in the PIC of 222 for MCI as I requested, so all I have to do is call MCI and get a rate plan attached to the service (or get gouged at over a buck a minute without a plan). Simple enough, eh? People had said MCI was the way to go and as they are all part of the Verizon family now, it should be easy.

Following is a rough list of calls. At least half a dozen or so have been left out where they were simply me not getting a straight answer to the "Do you know what ISDN is?" question, and (their) hang-ups when it got too complicated for them. Rich is my go-to guy in Verizon... he knows what's what and has orchestrated the whole thing.

1) Call Rich - confirm that line is in. Thank him and confirm that PIC is set to 222. He does not have a specific contact number for MCI LD.
2) Call MCI LD - "we don't do ISDN"
3) Call MCI again - You'll have to call Verizon about ISDN LD. We can't supply LD on a new Verizon installation. Here's the number you want in Verizon.
4) Call Verizon - What's your account number? It's a new account, I have the order number and the SPIDS. - Sorry, you're in NY ... Here's the number of Verizon NY.
5) Call Verizon NY - Nice chat with someone who actually knew Rich and ISDN, but... you really need MCI for this. Well, actually you need Verizon Business, which is the new name for what Verizon took over from MCI... it has nothing to do with Verizon per se. Here's the number of exactly who you want...
6) Call Verizon Business - Should be no problem (Yay!) Let me put you through to someone who knows about this stuff...
7) (answering machine) Hi... this is Rich...
8) Aaaaargh!!! Rich, please change my PIC to 333 - I'm going with Sprint. Life is to short for this.

I'm probably going with TeleChoice, they re-sell Sprint for $15 per month minimum spend with $0.08 per minute. I spoke to them yesterday and they know exactly what they're talking about. I'm just waiting for the PIC change to be confirmed.

Vent mode /off
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heyguido · Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 12:18 pm Post subject:

Breathe, Bish.... You're almost there....
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georgethetech · Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 10:41 pm Post subject:

That's nothing... I spent a full hour on the phone with multiple Verizon departments with the sole reason to find out of the SPIDS my client was given were correct. Turned out my hunch was right and the 2nd one was wrong...
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