TOPIC:

I just purchased two miniDSP PWR-ICE-250 plate amplifiers and installed them into a pair of subwoofer boxes, each with a pair of 4 Ohm 12" woofers. The plugin PWR-ICE2-2x2 plugin is installed on myMacBookPro (MBP). The MBP and amps are wired ethernet to a D-Link switch, which in turn is wired to my Apple Airport TimeCapsule (router and wireless access point). All my network devices use DHCP (as far as I know...). The MBP reaches the internet through the network.

Since these are new to me, I have no idea what to expect on power up of the amps other than what is in the on-line user's manual. I expected to see network activity lights on the amps and the D-Link switch, and to see both amps listed in the network tree of the plugin on the MBP. When powered up, the only sign of life on each amp is the amber indicator light behind the power switch. No LED's on, no devices found by the plugin, no devices listed as Mismatch Plugin. There was no printed Quick Start Guide in the box, so I am at a loss as to how to troubleshoot or what to expect.

I would be suspicious of dead-on-arrival board failure, but how could this happen to two boards? So I am likely doing something wrong - hopefully simple, as I would like to get on with this project.

I submitted an email to support (Case #31205) and patiently await their response. After searching this forum, my problem appears unique so I am making this post to see if there are suggestions.

Charlie

PS: Admin, my apologies for having posted this same topic in the UMIC Questions forum by mistake. Gosh, if a guy can't post in the right forum, how can he get a dsp plate amp to work? ;0(

@ Charlie

It would sound like a networking issue here. units most likely not getting an IP.
Have a trial to simplify the setup maybe with a direct connection and power up the unit with the cable pluggedin (i.e. DHCP is checked at power up, if no server, defaults to AUTOIP).

DevTeam

Devteam, thank you for your post. I was at a loss as to knowing whether the unit was dead or simply in need of network connection. I received an email response to my inquiry which may help. I have copied that response below in case it may be helpful to others (it really should be in the manual ):

————-
When you see through the gap of the case, can you see some blue light blinking? (There is a blue led on the top blue pcb inside PWR-ICE which should blink after powered up, you should see some blue light blinking even without open the case.)

If not, the unit may not working.

If blue led is blinking, try the following:

1. Connect PWR-ICE directly to PC with an Ethernet cable to see if it can be discovered?

2. Make sure firewall is not turned on in PC which could block the device discovery package send to PC.

3. Try with another Ethernet cable to see if it can work?

4. Try the following steps to update firmware:

a. Power off PWR-ICE2

b Use a pin or pencil to press-and-hold the reset hole button on the metal plate and apply power, after the unit is powered, release the reset button. The green led on the Ethernet port should be blinking.

c. Set the PC to have a fixed IP of 192.168.1.11, subnet mask: 255.255.0.0, no dhcp used.

d. Upgrade the firmware using tftp, the ip address should be: 192.168.1.10

e. Reboot the PWR-ICE2 by power-cycling it.

——————
I have already tried 1 and 3 to no avail. When returning home tomorrow night, I hope to get it working, or at least look for blinking blue lights, to determine if the units are faulty. It seems unlikely that both units would be faulty. I also note that my situation seems to be rare.

Referring to above, where do I look for flashing blue light to determine if amp is working?

With power on, I see no blue LED's. I presume I return these amps to the seller (Madisound)? Very weird that I have two amps and neither is working.

Charlie

The blue light would be between the two boards perpendicular to the plate (on the top of the lower board).

One of the two top LEDs next to the Ethernet jack should also be on.

Maybe just check that the three-wire cable from the amp board to the DSP board is seated properly at both ends.

john.reekie,

Thank you for your post! It led me to find my foolish mistake and all is now working well. Yes the cable between boards is sound, but in following that I realized that I had mis-read the input voltage setting. Once set correctly both units are now working and are found by the plugin on my MacBookPro.

It is also helpful to know that one of the input selection lights illuminates on power up.

I have to say that I have been getting helpful emails from devteam support, as well. It just seemed impossible that two of these boards could have been faulty from the factory...

Now the fun begins, as I measure and integrate these new subwoofers into my system.

Charlie

Oh, good. You changed the voltage switches? I looked at those when I took out the fuse of one (just to see if the amber light went off) but never thought that might be the issue. I guess the power supply in the amp just shuts down if the incoming AC is out of range.

Anyway, another mystery solved! Have fun