M-Audio Fast track Pro wont power up

[Slobrain]

Hey Folks,

I just acquired a M-Audio fast track pro that wont power up and was wanting to see if anyone has any experience with these? I've tried a power supply and a usb cable, still no power up.

Thanks

[The Dude]

It's not uncommon for those USB interfaces to have trouble powering from many PC USB outs. They will draw more current than many computers are capable of delivering. If you or a friend have access to one, try a powered USB hub. As far as the power supply, make sure it's the right one (polarity, current rating, voltage, AC or DC, etc.). Measure the power supply output and make sure it works. Check the DC or AC input jack on the Fast Track and make sure it doesn't have cracked solder joints. Many devices have a protection diode across the power input to prevent overvoltage and/or wrong polarity voltage from entering the device. Check to see that there isn't a shorted diode across the power input. That's all I have without a schematic and good luck getting one.

[Slobrain]

Thanks for the info Dude, tried all that and thinking now I might need to tear it down and see if something is bad on the board. It was a freebie so I can pretty much dig into it. I read some reviews on this thing and its got some good reviews on recording and some bad reviews about the drivers being crappy depending on what OS your using. I guess I need to see if I can find a schematic.

Thanks again

Slo

[Slobrain]

Well I finally opened it up and it had a burned voltage regulator. UTC LD1117AL found one on Ebay for 5 bucks. No schematic so shooting in the dark but hopefully this will get this up and running. I never dealt with a device like this so if I get it working I guess I need to find something like garage band or amplitube to see what it can do.

[g1]

Before you put the new one in, check for any low resistance at the regulator output pad (with old one removed).

[Slobrain]

Just checked an its open pin one, pin 2 has 4.3k and pin 3 has 3.3k The issue is that I don't see a pin configuration for LD1117AL so I don't know what the pin configuration for this is. I guess I need to do some internet searching. No schematic for the M-Audio... That sort of stinks since I'm cheap and didn't want to order one. Like I Said this was a freebie...

[The Dude]

http://www.protostack.com/download/LD1117_A.pdf

[Slobrain]

Thanks Dude

[Slobrain]

Well dang... Got the regulator in and got it installed and unit powers up but the regulator gets hot quick, looked over the board and DANG these components are just too small for my eyes, finally seen chip U22 with a bubble. Not sure what it is since I have no schematic but I guess its part of the power supply. I don't even think I could unsolder this thing its so small. Whoever made electronics parts so small had to know old guys eyes can't see this stuff...

Anyone have a schematic for a M-Audio fast track pro?

[Jazz P Bass]

If you are interested, there are available a wide range of computer/usb 'microscopes'.

Target : Expect More. Pay Less.

[Gnobuddy]

I don't even think I could unsolder this thing its so small. Whoever made electronics parts so small had to know old guys eyes can't see this stuff...

"No user serviceable parts inside".

Driven by fashion (Apple and their obsession with thinness, for example), assembled by robots, and headed for the recycling bin as soon as it stops working.

I have an old Zoom RT223 drum machine that failed while it was stored safely in a box for the last three years - it won't power up. I doubt I'll be able to fix it. And haven't yet plucked up the decisiveness to take it to the electronics recycling centre.

-Gnobuddy

[Mick Bailey]

Quite a few years ago I found I was turning too many jobs away because they were SMD. I got a cheap binocular microscope, a few other tools and some Chip Quik and practiced on some scrap boards. Later on I got a better microscope and some better general bench lighting and magnification. The greatest difficulty I have is if I don't have a schematic some of the gear is so complex and the tracks/vias so obscured that I can't economically dedicate enough time to work out the circuit on a cheap piece of gear.

Much of the low-end stuff is sold on a warranty-replace basis. No repairs done by the manufacturer/importer/distributor/retailer. How can it be economical for anyone other than a hobbyist to fix this gear?

[Enzo]

The more skill you get, the wider the range of stuff you discover you can service.

Low end anything is no-service/replace. WHo will pay my $60 bench minimum to repair their $40 practice amp? But no one discards $1000 guitar heads, $3000 synthesizers, $10,000 mix boards. I actually remember one day I was tearing into a multi-thousand dollar unit with complete confidence, and realized what I was doing. I realized I was at home on a certain level of my career.

Every new field that opens up requires new tools and new learning. A transistor guy who wants to learn tubes? He has to get parts with voltage ratings, test gear that handle 500v, and what are these "tubes" anyway? Digital? Whadaya mean the voltage is only a range? Tube guys discovering solid state? Whadaya mean the transistors come in two polarities? My Weller gun isn't good enough for transistors???

[Gnobuddy]

Low end anything is no-service/replace. Who will pay my $60 bench minimum to repair their $40 practice amp?

When the Super Champ XD came out some years ago, it typically sold at around $300 (I think list price was considerably higher). This model had a tendency for the DSP board to fail, leaving you with a dead amp. Fender policy was exactly as you described, "not serviceable, replaceable under warranty, otherwise SOL".

The irony was that the DSP chip sat on it's own separate small PCB, about the size of a playing-card, held in place by four screws, and connected by a push-on ribbon cable. If FMIC was willing to sell replacement boards, it would be a ten-minute service job to replace a dead board, including the time it took too take the back off the amp and find your missing Phillips screwdriver.

Its not just $40 items that are "not serviceable" any more. Now there are $400 PCs and inkjet printers and microwave ovens, all "not serviceable".

Incidentally, last time I checked, about one-third of the worlds population still lives on less than $2 a day. $400 is a lot of money to most people on the planet, even those in relatively wealthy countries. Almost half of all American workers make less than $15 an hour, for instance (https://www.thenation.com/article/al...an-15-an-hour/), and $400 items are hardly disposable when you're making $15 an hour.

A transistor guy who wants to learn tubes? He has to get parts with voltage ratings, test gear that handle 500v, and what are these "tubes" anyway?

That was me just a few years ago.

And you missed the part where transistor-guy gets the heeby-jeebies just thinking about having to work on 450V DC circuitry!

Whadaya mean the transistors come in two polarities?

That's one of my favourite things about transistors. So many fascinating circuit topologies only become possible when you have complimentary parts!

-Gnobuddy