Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems MConfig recognising wrong version of G68

Hi,

I have just started trying to configure a Meridian Home Theatre from some used kit I have purchased. My DSP speakers all seem to be working fine, if I feed a digital signal directly into them. However, I have run into problem trying to use the Meridian G68 I have with them.

Looking at Duncan's (very useful) Meridian Info, my G68 appears to be a G68ADV, but the MConfig software recognises it as a G68XXV, and this is a problem, as it means I don't have any digital outputs (in the software) to connect to the DSP speakers. Interestingly, it does recognise that the DSP5500s are connected, presumably due to the comms cables that are connected. The physical G68 does have appropriate digital outputs, and I have connected these correctly to the speakers, but I can't get any sound from them using the G68.

Looking at the back of the G68, I can see that the cards have been removed at some point (there was one screw missing, and it didn't look as neat as you would expect from a factory), but I suppose that is to be expected as it's a reasonably old device now, that was designed with interchangeable cards.

I tried setting the G68 up using the front panel, rather than the software, but this still didn't get me anything out of the speakers, so in desperation I removed the cards and cleaned the contacts, but still nothing has changed. Therefore, I'm reaching out to the Meridian gurus on here for help.

Could it be an issue with the firmware? Is there a difference between G68ADV firmware and G68XXV firmware?

Alternatively, is the digital output card knackered? Although if this is the case, why is it assuming I have got balanced analogue outputs instead?

Many thanks in advance for any thoughts or suggestions that you might have.

Russell

Hi Russell,

First thing I would try is re-typing the unit - that effectively resets the unit. For guidance how to re-type, please read the manual (found in Duncan's Meridian Info).

The firmware is exactly the same for any version of G68, so unless your firmware has become corrupted, that is unlikely to be the cause of the issues.
Check when the unit is in standby that it displays all the DSP firmware - DSPCxxxxxx/DSPDxxxxxx DSPExxxxxx/DSPFxxxxxxx.
You may need to clean and reseat the two DSP cards and the FICL card.

Carefully examine the digital output card - make sure that both it's contacts are really clean and that the contacts on the socket it is connecting into are also clean.

If none of that works, then it will probably need further investigation. Drop me a PM if you need any help.

Good luck,

Steve

What you have sounds like the result of using the fetch feature of the Mconfig software. By luck sometimes it will place DSP5500 speakers in place of what really is there.
The software does not communicate through the processor and identify connected speakers.

DON'T FETCH, create a program from scratch and specify your devices appropriately. It will likely work without issue.

Thanks for the advice!

I did use 'fetch' in the software, so hopefully that might be it. If not, then hopefully a better clean might fix it.

I'll give it a go over the weekend, and hopefully I'll get it to work.

Hi Russell,

Your G68 sounds like it can't 'see' all its cards.
This is a hardware issue most likely, a faulty or disconnected card.

As Steve Suggests, retype it to any of its built-in factory types using its front panel.
That will force it to look again for its internal cards.

It's during this process the G68 decides what version it must be, based on the cards it finds.
It compares what cards it has, to what cards would be in various different factory configurations, but if it can't find a match it defaults to G68XXV.
(Must be at the bottom of the compare list!)

You need to fix this hardware for starters, so it reports G68ADV, otherwise it will never work as it should.

Remember to factory retype again after you have reseated or exchanged any cards, to get the G68 to rescan its cards and decide again what version it might be!

Rick

It is probably, as the others write here, bad contact in one or more cards. I have had the same problem several times with G68 devices.
After I cleaned the contact on the cards, it worked.

It is also important to clean the connectors on the backplane. I use a spray can of oxide clean for that.

When you insert the cards, I recommend that you insert and remove them several times.
To clean the contact surface of the cards, I use an eraser that is suitable for the purpose.

Has the G68 been subjected to a power supply failure? If this is the case, it may damage some of the cards as well.

Just to close off this thread...

Thank you very much to everyone that replied, I tried re-seating and cleaning the contacts of the cards, but unfortunately it didn't help. Therefore, I managed to buy another G68 and have got that working. It seems to have an issue on a couple of the optical digital inputs, but is otherwise fully functional, so I am now very much enjoying setting up, and listening to my Meridian system!

I'm going to keep the 'broken' G68 in case I run into any issues in the future, so that I've got some kind of source of parts.

Many thanks again.