Emax

On Sunday, September 9, 2001, at 07:02 AM, smop@... wrote:

> --- In emax@y..., Scott Ruda <scottr@e...> wrote:
>> [...]
>> I have the "Soundmemorysize Error" with 5mb rackmount Emax II
> after a
>>> move.
>>
>> You've answered your own question. You moved it ;-)

> I meant specifically..
> and when trying to reseat it and it still is not working..
> (is it just dust between the contacts ?)
>
>
Sorry, I was just joking around a bit ;-)

 From what I remember (I worked in Service when the Emax II came out), 
yes, the board is prone to pop off it's mounts sometimes when the  unit 
got shipped around, but it usually takes a pretty good bump to dislodge 
it. Hopefully your unit was not dropped really badly causing more damage 
than just popping the card off.

I remember that the hard part installing the memory card was when trying 
to get the card lined up with headers in the first place from scratch. 
You had to stick your fingers under the board and kind of feel the 
alignment of the headers on the board and how they were coming down and 
mating to the connectors on the mother board. I think in later boards 
there were holes added to the daughter card to help see the connectors 
as you seat it. There was also some kind of additional retaining that 
was added - an extra screw or a double-stick stickdown or something like 
that to give it a bit more holding power.

So the lesson was don't -fully- remove it if you don't have to, because 
the initial alignment is the key problem. If only one corner pops up, I 
think it was just a matter of pushing that corner back down as it would 
be pretty much aligned already in general. I remember also that there 
was a definitive 'click' feeling when the thing really seats all the way 
into the connectors, requiring a rather firm 'squeeze'. When you press 
down you want to press hard, but not too hard that you might crack 
something. The touch was slow and firm, not requiring a hammer or 
anything like that, but a bit more than you might normally expect.

Sometimes, like all connectors, and especially if your environment is 
yucky (like a studio where someone smokes) you may need to pull the 
board all the way off and clean the contacts by spraying some contact 
cleaner like Cramolin on the contacts. Dust per se is not a problem, it 
would be more some kind of corrosion or oxidation or oil that makes the 
electrical contact poor. Be sparing with any cleaners - don't make the 
contacts dripping wet - the cleaner does the job through chemical 
reaction without having to scrub it or make it dripping wet. I would 
only recommend this as a last resort, as it is usually not the problem, 
and to do that you have to take the daughter card all the way off, which 
is what you want to avoid if you can. It's just a matter of trial and 
error to get that last 'click' to make the good connection

Good luck,
Scott