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powering mk4-1

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Topic starter

since a few years i have a hercules mk4-1. i have never been happy with it cause of the electrical unstabbility.

in september a friend is going to marry and i definitly need a reliable mixer that evening (i decided to stop using the controller for audience after 2 performances with only shutdowns of the controller every time someone switched a light on or off)

today i bought a powered hub, i hope that solves the problem, but: my laptop does not see the midi info from the controller. it plays music, so the connection is okay.

that decided me to open the unit and make an external power supply myself. please, can you provide me the schematics, so i can solve the problem myself?

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Hello,

1) If the laptop does not see the MIDI info from the controller, it is very likely your controller is on another MIDI channel than the MIDI channel expected by your DJ software, so you can check your MIDI channel is on channel 1.

2) As DJ Console Mk4 is powered by the USB bus power of your computer, if the controller shut down simply when someone simply switches on the lights in your house, it means the power drops in your computer USB port, so I suppose you have a terrible power installation in your house, and I am not convinced a USB hub with a power adapter can protect your equipment from a so bad power installation.
If you exaggerate and if it is not just switching on lights, but switching on heavy power consuming devices as fog machines or vacuum cleaners, then I am more confortable with your power installation.
But except if you have a very bad power connection (for example connecting light spots on a multiple socket where you also connect the computer, which makes that automatically the spots cause drops in the power supply of the computer), or if you have a very bad electric device (some old fog machines are very bad for the power supply), then I am afraid the biggest problem is in you power installation.

I would rather suggest using a laptop (whose battery will compensate the drops in the power supply and protect the USB bus power) or installing a UPS before the computer to protect it from your power installation.

3) This is a forum area
- you don't complete your profile, you don't precise your DJ software, your computer model , brand, type, configuration, or your driver version, the technical help you can get here is limited by this lack ofr information,
- you don't use the forum as a social network: you don't just write Hello, so most visitors will not answer,
I would suggest you call the technical support instead , here, I suppose they can help you, they can ask you the questions needed to solve your problem.

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Topic starter

Thanks for your answer. The MIDIchannel is on 1, that's not the problem. If the problem is a terrible power instalation, then we have to replace it at my home, at a radio station and 2 discotheques....... I think something else is terrible in this......

It seems to be a power issue, the advice to use an external hub is very common, which seems to confirm my experiences with this controller.

Please, can you answer my question with providing the schematics in stead of complaining that I did not say hello? I am an electronic engineer.

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Topic starter

I have meassured the output of my Packard Bell laptop: 5.02 Volt unloaded

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Hello,

1) I really suggest you call the technical support here.
Schematics are not an open source information, so the user community has not this information, you need to contact Hercules for it, and the first contact in Hercules is the technical support.

2) I suppose you have read this very common advice to protect Windows laptops from dropping the power on the USB bus.
Disable Windows preset made to save energy on the USB.
This preset is set on by default, and it may cause crackling in the sound, or go up to disconnecting the DJ controller from the computer.

  • Right-click on My computer > Properties > Device Manager > Universal Serial Bus controllers,
  • Right-click on the first line "USB Root Hub" and click "Properties"
  • Go to the tab "Power Management", and uncheck the box "Allow computer to turn off this device to save energy"

  • Click "OK" and close the dialog box
  • Repeat the same operation on each line called USB Root Hub or USB hub.

3) Power drops on USB bus powered devices are generally solved with
- the proper USB bus power setting in Windows /a reset in Mac System Management Controller,
- moving the controller to another USB port if there is a weakly powered USB port,
- controlling other USB devices connected at the same moment,
- avoid connecting 2 USB audio interfaces or 1 USB audio interface + 1 webcam on a single Translation Translator (single TT) USB hub, a multi-TT hub is needed,
- uninstall drivers interfering with audio (as some drivers from Logitech webcams with microphone),
- a USB hub which has a power adapter.

I wonder why you need schematics as the USB bus power is a standard: 5v in 0.5A VCC on pin 1, ground on pin 4, but as DJ Console Mk4 is not self powered, 5v VCC must be connected to the host. And if you really believe that switching a light on or off causes a shutdown in a USB bus powered controller, but at the same time you don't believe it means you have not a terrible power installation, I wish you good luck.

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Topic starter

Thanks for your assistence to finally solve this problem.

I have made a power supply 5.7 Volt and connected them on the USB-cable (as you suggested also). It is running stabel now for 52 hrs nonstop, something which was unthinkable till now. The headphone output is much less noisy. It is clear to me that the unit is to sensitive for low voltage.

I would love to fix the problem. Please, provide me the schematics so I do not need the extra power supply anymore and do not need to explain everybody why the cable + supply.

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Hello,

I don't work in Hercules so I have no schematics.
Please contact the technical support to ask them the schematics.

1) I suggest you reduce the power supply to 5 volts as 5.7 volts is over USB specifications (I understand you measured 5.02v unloaded on your laptop, but I guess it sometimes drops below 4.6v or 4.5v in operations, otherwhise your DJ Console Mk4 would not disconnect), so 5.7v may warm up and damage components.

2) If your headphones output was noisy and is less noisy, in case you use high impedance headphones (as 600 ohms), I suggest you try headphones with a lowr impedance (below 100 ohms).