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Is my Alien DAC broken?

post #1 of 5
6/22/10 at 9:19am
Thread Starter 

Hello All,

 

I built an alien dac last year.  It's been working great until recently.

 

I'm not sure why, but when I'm watching either justin.tv or netflix, every so often, the audio from the movie/show completely cuts out and is replaced by loud static for 5 to 30 seconds.  This happens every 5 to 15 minutes.  If I unplug the alien dac and plug it back in (to and from the usb cord), the static is removed.  I've attempted to trace the connections on the board and can't find any short or open connections.

 

I've been using the alien dac on windows 7.

 

Any hints from you guys as to what's happening?  If not, are there any other tests?

 

Thanks.


Edited by calimansi - 6/22/10 at 9:21am
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post #2 of 5
6/22/10 at 9:50am

Try making sure your other audio signals aren't being mixed, not usually a good thing.

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post #3 of 5
6/22/10 at 10:03am

joneeboi had a similar issue with a BantamDAC (same chip).  I think his answer happened to be that his laptop was stolen and he got a new one.

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post #4 of 5
6/23/10 at 7:06am
Thread Starter 

So, who wants to steal my laptop to make my alien dac work?... Kidding!

 

Out of frustration, I tried another laptop and the static went away!  I did more reading and it seems to be the amount of power the alien dac gets from the USB.  I'm thinking about purchasing a powered usb hub and using it that way.

 

Thanks again guys!

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post #5 of 5
6/24/10 at 4:12pm

maybe try something like THIS ?

Many external drives need additional power so they use a dual cable like these.

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