Could someone say something encouraging about the Enttec Pro

[tjobrien21]

Hi all,

I'm having a lot of trouble with my Enttec USB Pro - could someone please say something encouraging about them? Mine acts awful, locks up whenever there's RFI in the area. For instance, last night, someone plugged in a fan, there was a pop through the PA - and my darn controller locked up yet again. I thought this was the electrically isolated pro version, etc etc etc, yet it's the most temperamental piece of gear I have.

I've tried using powered USB hub, different cables; heck, I've tried everything I can think of. Tech support isn't helping much either, I'm getting standard vague canned answers.

So, please tell me you have one, how reliable it is, how this doesn't happen with yours, etc. I'm fine to buy a new one, if it'll work better than the one I have. Or should I replace it with something else? I've GOT to have reliability, I'm doing lighting for bands and people who pay me for it, and I can't have hardware malfunctions like those happening.

[wardomon]

So sorry to hear of your troubles. Mine works really well on an 8 year old laptop. I've had it for 6 months and never had a problem. When asked, it's what I recommend.

On the other hand, I've got a GLP max that has a "Twitchy" gobo channel...

[JTR]

Keep in mind that the wonderful "isolation" the enttec boasts of is electrical isolation between the enttec pro and the DMX devices downstream. It is there for safety in case some bozo spills his or her coffee on a mains powered fixture and send the mains voltage back toward the enttec. It is there to stop you getting fried and protect the equipment.

The fact that you here a popping in the amp when the fan is plugged in is pretty much telling you that the mains power is dirty and this needs to be addressed at the front end.

Have you tried any of those wonderful mains filters? what about a UPS? I picked up a great APC brand for about $100 bucks so years ago. Would not be without it.

Running the unit off a laptop could also help as laptops give a degree of isolation on the power supply.

[tjobrien21]

Thanks folks. I do use a laptop, and I understand the isolation is more for gear protection than anything else. Main reason I was asking about other folks experiences, is that dirty power is a fact of life - bars, clubs, and pubs are often wired poorly or wrong and dirty power is normal power in these places. Neon signs, refrigeration devices, and whatever else are all creating noise and crud on the line.

The thing that gets me, is that nothing ELSE on my system has these issues. None of the light fixtures wig out, the laptop stays running stable... The only thing that loses its cookies is the DMX controller. I might order another one just like it to see if this one is defective, since interaction with tech support so far hasn't been productive. It seems like something about this particular USB->DMX device (as in, the specific one I have) is running right at the edge, and the smallest thing pushes it over.

If I were to change to another interface instead, which would you recommend?