BillFitzmaurice.info

There are so many skilled people on this forum, so maybe someone have a clue on what's wrong with my DCX.
I bought it second hand 5 month ago and it's out of warranty. Though it's relatively new, rev 1.16.
A few weeks ago it died.
It looks like this (a picture of another unit):


It's quiet, no output.
I have tried twisting the ribbon cables, disconnected and reconnected them with no luck.
I have checked all PCBs for bad soldering, nothing.
Powersupply is okay.

Repair will cost me $160. Not gonna happen!

I hope you can help me.

Henrik

Photos of the board(s) please.

Look closely at all capacitors for bulging tops, leakage, etc.
Cheap gear (and not cheap gear) uses CCS for caps.
I have no end of these to repair on computer system boards.

Nordskov wrote: Repair will cost me $160. Not gonna happen!

I got mine new with full warranty for $250. $160 is definitely not worth it.

gdougherty wrote:

Nordskov wrote: Repair will cost me $160. Not gonna happen!

I got mine new with full warranty for $250. $160 is definitely not worth it.

But remember, Nordskov is in Denmark, where even cheap Behringer stuff is more expensive.

bgavin wrote:Photos of the board(s) please.

Look closely at all capacitors for bulging tops, leakage, etc.
Cheap gear (and not cheap gear) uses CCS for caps.
I have no end of these to repair on computer system boards.

The caps are okay, they were the first I checked. There is nothing on the boards looking suspect.
I will take some shots of the boards (the damned output board are attached to the back panel via the XLR's with a zillion of small screws )
What are you looking for?
The problem persist with the output board disconnected.

I have searched the internet for others having the same problem and some have suggested the DSP to be dead, but nothing conclusive.

DJPhatman wrote:

gdougherty wrote:

Nordskov wrote: Repair will cost me $160. Not gonna happen!

I got mine new with full warranty for $250. $160 is definitely not worth it.

But remember, Nordskov is in Denmark, where even cheap Behringer stuff is more expensive.

You nailed it, DJPhatman. A new DCX is $430 here
To compare a 3015LF cost $335.

I didn't get the conversion right, the repair will cost me $185

You can buy a DCX at thomann for €268.

http://www.thomann.de/dk/behringer_dcx2 ... gement.htm

Shipping is free above €200.

I think this is going to be a tough call . To me it looks like some management chip (PIC or AVR or something) has died. If you (ever) find the solution for this ( ), make sure to share it with us. Good luck

sbe wrote:You can buy a DCX at thomann for €268.

http://www.thomann.de/dk/behringer_dcx2 ... gement.htm

Shipping is free above €200.

That's cheap! Good call.


@ bgavin: Some pics (sorry about the inferior quality)

I think this is going to be a tough call

Second that.
Especially without a schematic or shop manual to outline the troubleshooting guidelines for this unit.
This would include test points with expected readings at those points laid out in logically sequence, for the analog and digital portions of the unit.
What I am guessing would happen at the "Authorized Behringer Repair Center":
They would find the bad board(s), remove them and replace with a working board,
The faulty board would be set off to the side for someone to later isolate the problem on the board and refurbish.
Generally: large manufacturers replace sub assemblies rather that fix the original bad board.

Nordskov wrote:There are so many skilled people on this forum, so maybe someone have a clue on what's wrong with my DCX.
I bought it second hand 5 month ago and it's out of warranty. Though it's relatively new, rev 1.16.
A few weeks ago it died.
It looks like this (a picture of another unit):


It's quiet, no output.
I have tried twisting the ribbon cables, disconnected and reconnected them with no luck.
I have checked all PCBs for bad soldering, nothing.
Powersupply is okay.

Repair will cost me $160. Not gonna happen!

I hope you can help me.

Henrik

Just to make sure we understand the symptoms . . are you saying everything works as far as display and menu selections and metering, it's just that there is no audio output?

If in fact all sections out the switching PS are working, perhaps (and this is somewhat of a longshot) the guilty chip is manifesting itself with a thermal signature. In other words . . see if one of the chips is inordinately hot to the touch. If it's an audio chip you might be able to fix it yourself even if it's surface mount. If it's a DSP chip, well . . . .

@ Hackomatic.
What you see on the pic is what it looks like turned ON.
From here nothing works. No writing on the LCD and no output.

@ Sidney and thijs666.
I hate to admit it, but I think you are right. I hoped it was more simple and DIY-able.
Now I have to make the decision whether to buy a new one or have the old unit repaired


Henrik

Those boards look to be populated with CCS.
The only way to know for sure, is pull each one and measure with an ESR meter.
If you are going to do that, recap them with Rubycons or Panasonic FMs.

Those boards look very easy to service.

A completely dead processor is indicative of bad power, or something that keeps it from booting.
You can check your basic voltages easy enough. If the PSU itself has bad caps, that will hold down the rest of the rig.

Please try and get me one good closeup of a typical cap, so I can identify make and specs.

The caps are from xunda, value: 10 and 47 uF, 25V, 85 degrees C.
All caps are looking good. Those in PSU too.

I have asked advise in a thread on DIYAudio.com and is getting different responses; dead DSP, missing clock etc.

As you noticed there is a thread about it that is 78 pages long. A lot of other discussion/info on it since 2003. You can probably get some insight or leads on common issues.
There is an article by Jan Didden posted on the AudioXpress site. Most of this, and the on-line discussion is "poogeing" however, not troubleshooting.
I could not find a complete diagram.
Mr Didden's comments on the quality of the parts ( including caps ) are worth the read.

The unit may have some, or all of the P.S function, and the digital part is comatose.

EDIT:
I would unplug and check the integrity of the ribbon connectors very carefully. I have had ribbon connector that literally came apart.

Did this fail while it was running, or did you turn it on and find it like this?