Enttec DMX USB Pro: Intermittently stops working? (Power?)

[Rytz]

Greetings:

I've only been using Freestyler for about a week now. Still learning my way around the sequences / cues etc. but I'm getting there. Definitely an awesome program. My interface is a Enttec DMX USB Pro.

This weekend was my first time have everything hooked up at the same time. I'm running Freestyler on an HP laptop that's roughly ~2GHZ and has 4 gig of RAM. The laptop is a few years old but the system is leaned out and runs efficiently - I only run the stuff I need, especially during my shows.

My problem: during different parts of my show, my Enttec DMX USB Pro would stop working completely - the LED completely turning off. The only way I was able to get it back on was by re-plugging it into the computer. Even if I restarted Freestyler (without unplugging), it still would not come back on, so I don't think it was related to Freestyler in any way.

If I had to make my best guess, I would say my issue is related to the laptop not being able to give enough power to the Enttec PRO. I have 2 other devices running off of USB: an external Sound Blaster sound card and an external hard drive. At one point my sound card crashed as well (while the Enttec USB stayed on), but I think it was probably the same issue (that time the sound card lost power instead of the Enttec USB).

Do these DMX / USB interfaces generally require a lot of USB power? I've run 3/4 devices many times on this laptop but perhaps this type of device just has a much higher constant demand. The Enttec manual does state that there may be problems without enough power to the device, but that would happen with just about any USB device.

I have a powered USB hub that I'm going to do some testing with tomorrow so I'll report back my findings. Any insight on my issue would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks and awesome program!

[Hambone]

The Pro follows USB specs and draws less than 500 milliamps of power. In light of the fact that you also had problems with other USB devices on that laptop, it sounds like you are experiencing supply-side issues in the laptop itself. First thing I would try is to see if you can pin down whether it's a specific port, or if it happens on any USB port on the laptop. Another possibility is to replace the power supply - HP "intelligent" laptop supplies with the pin in the middle are notorious for failing in weird and hard-to-diagnose ways. Also, make sure your system is getting adequate ventilation and that any fans are clean - an overheating laptop can behave erratically. If those suggestions don't help, it's likely that you've got a problem with the laptop's motherboard, for which you'll have to take it to an HP service center to get it fixed. Hope that helps!