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Thread: Numark DDS 80 Help

  1. #1

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    Default Numark DDS 80 Help

    I am using a Numark DDS80. I had a surprise party (Big Birthday) a couple of weeks ago, I set up expecting to DJ for someone elses Birthday but it turned out to be for me. My other half (who always does gigs with me) and young lad used my gear to play the music. On the night the DDS started loading up really slowly to the decks, I have no idea what they did, it was fine before this. The day after I did a restore and also downloaded the latest firmware from Numark and updated it.

    I set up a gig yesterday and had real issues. Firstly, everyh time I switched the controller part on, the screen stayed blank, this went on for about 20 mins, eventually it started to come on, half the screen at first and eventually after turning on and off, the whole screen. Next issue was I couldnt theb get the controller to detect any hard drives, either the built in one or my back up caddy drives. I even swapped to new cables, still nothing. Was about to give up 30 mins later, switched off and on again and the drive was detected and loaded up. The rest of the night it worked as normal. Have got it out again today, screen loaded up ok but still having issues getting it to recognise hard drives. The built in one is not detected at all, but if I connect a caddy hard drive into the usb slot on the build in hard drive unit, it detects that. If I connect to the 2 USB on the rear of the controller nothing happens, not convinced the USB inputs on the controller are working as they should. Have tried another restore and reloading firmware again, swapping cables etc but no luck. Any ideas

  2. #2

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    I don't know what the removable drive caddies look like on that machine but if they're anything like the ones my former employer used to put in their CCTV recorders they're probably a bit shonky by now. What I'd probably suggest is removing the drive holders & reseating them a couple of times after giving the connectors a squirt of contact cleaner (not wd40!).

    It's also possible your issues are being caused by the numark's power supply getting on a bit. It's likely a cheapish fix if that's the case. Capacitors inside start to dry out & lose their ability to store electrical charge - this can make supply voltages sag. Intermittent operation is usually an early sign of this. It costs pennies to buy new components but fitting them is usually an hour's work at least. Speak to your friendly neighbourhood electronic repair shop & ask them to look at the voltage rails.

    If it's not iffy electrical contacts or a waning PSU I'm afraid it's very likely to be very bad news indeed.

  3. #3
    Dinosaur Excalibur's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nakatomi View Post
    I don't know what the removable drive caddies look like on that machine but if they're anything like the ones my former employer used to put in their CCTV recorders they're probably a bit shonky by now. What I'd probably suggest is removing the drive holders & reseating them a couple of times after giving the connectors a squirt of contact cleaner (not wd40!).

    It's also possible your issues are being caused by the numark's power supply getting on a bit. It's likely a cheapish fix if that's the case. Capacitors inside start to dry out & lose their ability to store electrical charge - this can make supply voltages sag. Intermittent operation is usually an early sign of this. It costs pennies to buy new components but fitting them is usually an hour's work at least. Speak to your friendly neighbourhood electronic repair shop & ask them to look at the voltage rails.

    If it's not iffy electrical contacts or a waning PSU I'm afraid it's very likely to be very bad news indeed.
    The connectors are not wonderful, Denon used to recommend jamming theirs in with foam rubber, cos they went slack. The Numark is that one with a locking key.

    As to power supplies, the drive unit is internal ( cos you plug 240v into it ) I can't remember about the head unit, I'll have a look. I used mine last night.

    Derek, have a search on the forum for DDS Drive. Most of what comes up will be unconnected, but there may be something which helps. I remember with frustration being involved with many of the fruitless attempts to have swappable drives that could be updated on the home PC and replaced in the gig rack.
    Excalibur. Older than the average DJ.

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  4. #4

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    Ugh I just looked & those caddies look very similar to ones we had loads of bother with a few dayjobs ago.

    As for the power supply - it's probably the one inside the main unit that's beginning to get wobbly. Unreliability is more than likely caused by the power supply going bad. The other options are bad/cracked solder joints somewhere inside the main unit or controller - or an actual chip gone wobbly. In the latter scenario you're probably looking at having to scrap it. I'd almost put money on the problem being power supply related though if it's not something up with the HDD caddy. I doubt you can even still buy caddies for IDE hard disks these days. You could, at a push possibly replace it with a SATA hard drive & appropriate caddy with a SATA to IDE converter but you'd be at the mercy of the gods of compatability. Been there, got that T-shirt.

    Ok just grabbed the manual & had a quick read. Oh the head unit thingy connects to the drive unit over USB & has its own little DC power supply too! Obviously try a different USB cable if you have one & verify the USB sockets on both units are okay somehow. If you have a spare DC PSU for the player, try that too.
    Last edited by Nakatomi; 24-10-2021 at 02:46 PM.

  5. #5
    Dinosaur Excalibur's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nakatomi View Post

    Ok just grabbed the manual & had a quick read. Oh the head unit thingy connects to the drive unit over USB & has its own little DC power supply too! Obviously try a different USB cable if you have one & verify the USB sockets on both units are okay somehow. If you have a spare DC PSU for the player, try that too.
    Justin, drive unit has a 240v lead, as I said. Head unit, can't remember, but would expect a wall wart. Will look later
    Excalibur. Older than the average DJ.

    www.excaliburmobiledisco.co.uk

  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by Excalibur View Post
    Justin, drive unit has a 240v lead, as I said. Head unit, can't remember, but would expect a wall wart. Will look later
    I was referring to the power supply inside the unit. See also, the voltage conversion circuitry inside the controller thingy, though that's much less likely to age prematurely

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