The new generation UltraCap LPS-1.2: USER IMPRESSIONS and QUESTIONS thread

[charlesphoto]

21 hours ago, Geoff1954 said:

Thanks Alex and John. Now if I can only get the web page to control my microRendu to open!

(When I go to http://sonicorbiter.com my microRendu is recognized. But every attempt to manage the device from that page fails because the page never loads. Over and over again it times out. I've written to Small Green Computer and hope to receive an answer. But if anyone else has had this problem and knows how to fix it, I'd appreciate the advice. Apologies as I know this is NOT related to the LPS 1.2.)

 

I’ve had this same problem, esp when changing any cables etc. Frustrating as hell. Best bet I’ve found is to power everything down from server on up, unplug their rendu entirely, and then start over. 

[Geoff1954]

Quote

Best bet I’ve found is to power everything down from server on up, unplug their rendu entirely, and then start over. 

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I tried it but it didn't work. I am using ZyXel powerline adaptors. They show green lights. The device is recognized when using them. But it cannot be configured when it is plugged into them. (It CAN be configured if the device is plugged directly into my router. But my router is in another room so that setup is impossible for the application I am trying to use.)

Does anyone know of issues with that brand of powerline adaptors? I know some folks use Eero. But Eero's customer service has told me I would need to replace all my networking equipment with theirs. That's an expense I can't afford -- and have no other need for as my home network otherwise offers excellent performance. If somehow two Eero adaptors can be added on to my home network (in place of the ZyXel I am now using) I might give that a try. Or perhaps there is another reliable brand?

[Superdad]

5 minutes ago, Geoff1954 said:

Thanks for the suggestion. I tried it but it didn't work. I am using ZyXel powerline adaptors.

 

Hi Geoff:

 

Sorry that you are having troubles with the microRendu.  I hope that Sonore is able to help.  As far as your questions about getting the microRendu to work with your networks and powerline adapters, you are more likely to find advice over in the microRendu support thread.

 

Regards,

--Alex C.

[charlesphoto]

Try unseating and reseating the SD card, with power OFF only. You don't have to take it out, just click and unckick. Power down any switches. Same with the DC cables. It can be a fickle....

[Geoff1954]

Thanks Alex. I was not aware of that thread and will read it as soon as I can. Apologies for raising this here. I know it is not the right forum. I guess I am simply frustrated. I am still waiting to receive some useful advice from Sonore.

Returning to the issue of the LPS 1.2. I bought it because I was also buying the microRendu. My first reaction was, if the microRendu won't work in my setup, I will return the LPS 1.2 also. But I confess that the more I listen to the LPS 1.2 as a power source for my ISO REGEN (that is for my system as is, without the microRendu) the harder it will be for me to part with it.

I have found that sometimes listening "too carefully" leads to my ears playing tricks on me and leaving me confused about whether an addition or change in my system really makes a difference. Yesterday I was listening "less carefully" while reading the Sunday paper, doing the crossword and then eating dinner in an adjacent room with my wife. Roon was playing random jazz choices after playing an album or two I had chosen myself. Everything sounded better. Often I found I needed to double check to see what selection was being played. Often it was a cut from an album I know well. But I had not remembered it sounding so good before the arrival of the LPS 1.2.

So I will need to think twice about returning it, even if I do return the microRendu and even if the cost of the LPS 1.2 exceeds not only the cost of the ISO REGEN it powers, but also was more than double the price of the Explorer DAC I am using.

[jdoleys]

@Geoff1954 I hope everything works out well. I also have microRendu (1.4) and sold my LPS-1 for $ 340. If, unfortunately, you want to return LPS 1.2, I'm going to get it.

[Geoff1954]

@charlesphoto I am not using an SD card. I did not understand one was required. I am primarily listening to Tidal these days.

But "fickle" is not something I want to pay for. Too much trouble. I want to listen to music not problem solve. 

[charlesphoto]

The OS is on the micro SD card. 

 

[Geoff1954]

@charlesphoto I'm not following you. (@Superdad apologies, I know now this is not the forum for this discussion but I am trying to answer Charles.) Charlesphoto perhaps you can reply to me on the thread Alex suggested: microRendu support thread

No SD card came with the microRendu. I can configure and use the microRendu so long as it is plugged directly into my router. The entire problem here is that my router is in another room. Thus my need for the powerline adaptors.

[charlesphoto]

It wouldn't work without one. It's the tiny black length of plastic protruding from one side. Maybe best to forget about what I said. Don't want to open more cans of worms. 

[JohnSwenson]

42 minutes ago, Geoff1954 said:

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I tried it but it didn't work. I am using ZyXel powerline adaptors. They show green lights. The device is recognized when using them. But it cannot be configured when it is plugged into them. (It CAN be configured if the device is plugged directly into my router. But my router is in another room so that setup is impossible for the application I am trying to use.)

 

There are a couple of requirements for this process to work:

 

1) the computer you use to connect to sonicorbiter.com must have an IP address that is on the same subnet as the IP address assigned to the microRendu.

 

2) the computer must be able to talk directly to the microRendu

 

3) there must be an external internet connection on the LAN you are using

 

Since the initial connection to sonicorbiter.com works, and it sees the microRendu then #3 seems to work, so your problem is most likely #1 or #2.

 

If the computer is setup to get an IP address from the router, it most likely IS already on the same subnet as the microRendu, but there are some situations where this may not happen.

 

The most likely scenario to cause #1 or #2 is the computer and microRendu are connected o the router in different ways, for example if the microRendu is wired into the LAN and the computer is connected with WiFi. Some routers are setup to not allow a computer on WiFi to directly talk to another computer, either on WiFi or wired into the LAN. They can all talk to the internet, but not directly to each other. In addition some routers are setup so a device on a wired connection gets an IP address on a different subnet than a device on WiFi.

 

You are going to have to do a little sleuthing on this, first check if the subnets are the same. An IP address has a form of:

192.168.1.98, in this case the subnet is the second number from the right, in this case a "1", Thus 192.168.1.25 and 192.168.1.117 are on the same subnet, but 192.168.0.35 and 192.168.1.89 are on different subnets.

 

For the microRendu you can find the IP address from the sonicorbiter.com page, it will list the address for the microRendu. How to get it for your computer depends on the computer and its OS. If you don't know how to get it, you can search the web and find directions on how to find it.

 

One way to test if this is in fact what is going on, is to make sure both the computer and the microRendu are both connected to the network in the same way (wired) and at the same place. Since you are talking about powerline adapters I presume you are connecting the microRendu through one of these, so try connecting the computer to the powerline adapter as well. If it only has one Ethernet jack, stick a cheap switch into it and connect both the computer and microRendu into that switch. If #1 or #2 is the problem, that SHOULD fix it. If your computer only has WiFi that will be a problem. If you have SOME computer with an Ethernet jack try using that instead, if it works, then you definitely have a #1 or #2 problem.

 

If it is a WiFi only computer problem then you need to determine if it the computer and microRendu are on the same subnet or not. I different then you need to see if you can configure the router to use the same subnet for WiFi and wired connections, if they have the same subnet, then you need to see if the router can be configured to allow WiFi devices to talk directly to wired devices.

 

Note that none of this is a broken microRendu in any way, it is the configuration of he network that is preventing the computer from talking to the microRendu. Most residential routers are setup so this is not a problem, but some are not. Even the ones that don't allow this out of the box CAN be setup differently so this works.

 

So first try the tests in this post (find out what subnets the computer and the microRendu are using) and see if a wired connection on both computer and microRendu to the same switch works. This should at least point you in the right direction.

 

John S.

 

 

[Geoff1954]

@JohnSwenson thanks VERY much! I am trying to understand your reply and do the testing you suggested.

I never thought there was anything wrong with the microRendu. But I asked before I bought one if it would work with powerline adaptors because I always knew a wired ethernet connection directly to my router would not be possible.

Andrew at Sonore has suggested that the problem may be my Airport Extreme (used in conjunction with an Xfinity-provided modem). He says there are many known issues with streaming using that piece of equipment. But...I have been streaming using Roon and Tidal, in the other room with a wireless setup for months with my network based on this modem/router connection.

Let me see what your suggested tests show. Thanks again!

 

[kissov]

Just hooked up my meter, my microRendu (upgraded) and ISO are drawing 700 miliamps from the LPS 1.2. I thought it would be more.

[Geoff1954]

@JohnSwenson Success!

Long story short, the powerline adaptors were not talking to one another. They were "working" but not communicating. A brief call to ZyXel tech support solved the problem. (A reset of both ZyXel devices was needed.)

Again, many thanks to you and to others who tried to help me.

 

[jdoleys]

"

3) there must be an external internet connection on the LAN you are using"

 

This no is necessary.

[jdoleys]

@Superdad What is the approximate delivery time for orders made now from LPS 1.2?

[Superdad]

31 minutes ago, jdoleys said:

@Superdad What is the approximate delivery time for orders made now from LPS 1.2?

We still have about 30 units left in stock (from the second 250 unit run), so orders placed now will ship this Friday (would be sooner but we somehow ran out of the 27-inch 16awg coax DC cable that is included with every unit).

More boards and cases are on order, so even once these last 30 are sold we will be back in stock by the end of May.

[Superdad]

2 hours ago, kissov said:

Just hooked up my meter, my microRendu (upgraded) and ISO are drawing 700 miliamps from the LPS 1.2. I thought it would be more.

 

Was that with or without a DAC connected to the output of the ISO REGEN?  I suspect that is with a DAC that is contributing at least 150mA to what you are measuring as whatever 5VBUS load is on the USB output of the ISO REGEN gets added into the overall load.

 

BTW, the meter itself adds about 10~20mA of load. Of course that is almost nothing.  

[JohnSwenson]

1 hour ago, jdoleys said:

"

3) there must be an external internet connection on the LAN you are using"

 

This no is necessary.

Sonicorbiter.com is an external website, it is NOT hosted on the internal web server. If the computer you are using to configure the microRendu does not have external internet access it cannot reach sonicorbiter.com. If you already know the IP address of the microRendu (perhaps by looking at the DHCP list in your router) you can access the internal web server and do configuration without an external internet connection, but in order to do that you have to know the IP address somehow. Sonicorbiter.com was developed as an easy way to find the IP address of your sonicorbiter based devices.

 

John S.

[kissov]

Alex,

The DAC is intergral to the Lyngdorf TDAI 2170 digital integrated amp and does'nt appear to increase the load 

[Superdad]

9 hours ago, mozes said:

The buzzing noise is from the LPS-1.2 itself. It is the same buzzing noise with the supplied SMPS or with my other 5Amp LPS at 19V. I will measure the voltage output when the light shows green. I don’t think there is any issue with the LPS-1.2 as I have tried 3 LPS-1.2s and they all have the same issue but they all work fine on my other components.

 

I'm sorry Moussa, but I can not even fathom what sort of mechanical "buzzing" you are hearing.  I have had hundreds of LPS-1.2 units on my desk--in my extremely quiet studio--and not a single one buzzes, even with a full 1.1A load on it.  If I press my ear to the case I can just barely hear a very faint "tick" when the unit alternates between ultracap banks.

So we really would like to know more about what you are hearing with your LPS-1.2 units!

[mozes]

35 minutes ago, Superdad said:

 

I'm sorry Moussa, but I can not even fathom what sort of mechanical "buzzing" you are hearing.  I have had hundreds of LPS-1.2 units on my desk--in my extremely quiet studio--and not a single one buzzes, even with a full 1.1A load on it.  If I press my ear to the case I can just barely hear a very faint "tick" when the unit alternates between ultracap banks.

So we really would like to know more about what you are hearing with your LPS-1.2 units!

Alex,

What I am experiencing is very odd. The 3 LPS-1.2 units I have buzz ONLY when connected to the SOTM tX-USBultra. They all work fine without any buzzing noise on all of my other gear. What I don’t understand is that the LPS-1 work without any issues so it is not a current issue. I suspect that there is something to do with the LT3045 boards that the tX--USBexp card don’t like. I made an

experiment today with a lithium battery and when I added the LT3045 to the DC cable, I heard the same buzzing noise coming from the LT3045 board and the tX-USBexp card didn’t power as well. I ordered the voltmeter you recommended from Amazon so I can measure the voltage and report back. 

So to make it very clear, there is absolutely no issue with the LPS-1.2, it seems that it is a compatibility issue with the tX-USBexp card. I am using now my LPS-1s so I fine for now, but I would like to understand what the issue is. 

[jdoleys]

1 hour ago, JohnSwenson said:

Sonicorbiter.com é um site externo, não é hospedado no servidor web interno. Se o computador que você está usando para configurar o microRendu não tiver acesso à Internet externo, ele não poderá acessar o site sonicorbiter.com. Se você já conhece o endereço IP do microRendu (talvez observando a lista de DHCP no seu roteador), você pode acessar o servidor web interno e fazer a configuração sem uma conexão de internet externa, mas para isso você precisa saber o IP endereço de alguma forma. Sonicorbiter.com foi desenvolvido como uma maneira fácil de encontrar o endereço IP de seus dispositivos baseados em sonicorbiter.

 

John S.

Yes. I know my rendu ip adress always (software android). Never uses sonicOrbiter.com. tks to better explain

[Superdad]

5 minutes ago, mozes said:

I made an experiment today with a lithium battery and when I added the LT3045 to the DC cable, I heard the same buzzing noise coming from the LT3045 board and the tX-USBexp card didn’t power as well. ..

 

So to make it very clear, there is absolutely no issue with the LPS-1.2, it seems that it is a compatibility issue with the tX-USBexp card. I am using now my LPS-1s so I fine for now, but I would like to understand what the issue is. 

 

Okay, that is weird.  You mention both the tX-USBultra and the tX-USBexp.  One is a big external box, the other is a PCIe USB card that goes in a computer slot.  Which one causes the issue?

 

Also, in your experiment with battery, is the LT3045 you added inline one of Alexey's (LDOVER) DIY PCBs?  

And I assume that when you get the "buzzing" result with the UpTone LPS-1.2s you are not using the LDOVER boards in line after the LPS-1.2--correct?

And with the battery>LT3045 PCB experiment, do you hear the buzzing from the LT3045s themselves or from the 10uF caps on the output?

 

[Superdad]

No offense to Geoff, Jdoleys, or John Swenson, but all those posts about microRendu troubleshooting are going to disappear from this thread in a day or two.    Glad Geoff got it sorted though...

--Alex C.