4 or 6-pin DV port on ADVC 100?

[keithgvp]

Hello,

After 6 or so years of use, the 4-pin DV port on the front right of my ADVC 100 has become worn, probably from frequent plugging and unplugging. On close inspection I see that the plastic insulation around the pins in the port has deteriorated. The end result is that the 4-pin input plug is not accepted, and I'm unable to use the unit.

I called Canopus support and was told that, aside from paying $240. for a new unit, I could try removing and resoldering a new 4-pin port on the card inside the unit. I had a look, but don't trust my skills for such a detailed job. The Canopus engineer also suggested getting a 4-pin FireWire PCI card to install in my G4 PowerMac, and then reversing the cable so that I would maintain the 4-to 6 pin connection, and connecting to the 6-pin port on the back of the converter.

I called OWC to see if they had something like that, and the sales agent said they didn't, and why didn't I just connect a 6-pin from the FireWire port on the G4 to the 6-pin port on the ADVC? Canopus didn't recommend that because they say the extra 2 pins carry power, and could affect the DC powered ADVC unit.

Any suggestions? Help is very much appreciated.

Thanks,

Keith

[GrassValley_BH]

Macs are unfortunately notorious for FireWire power-related "poofing" problems. Not all Macs, mind you, but I'll let you do the research on your own if you want.

Hence the recommendation not to use the 6-pin.

I'd get a 6-pin to 4-pin cable, and a 4-pin to 6-pin adapter.

[toytech]

What exactly do yo mean by"notorious for FireWire power-related "poofing" problems" ? I have a XP PC, ADVC300; are you suggesting not to use the rear iee1394 as an output for to the PC input/capture as it may damage the
firewire ports??

[GrassValley_BH]

I don't want to finger Macs in particular, but I've read elsewhere about people having trouble with Firewire drives, so it's not isolated to media converters or the ADVCs. Something about the Firewire hardware itself. I don't know if it still affects newer Macs, but that's why a lot of places recommend against hot-plugging Firewire devices.

[toytech]

So do you suggest using the 4 pin to 6 pin method of connection or 6 pin to 6pin as long as their is no hot swapping involved? Will any damage occur to the advc 300 if using 6 pin to 6 pin method of connecting the video converter to the PC, I always thought the additional 2 wires on the six pin connection was for power only, but I could be wrong.

[GrassValley_BH]

So do you suggest using the 4 pin to 6 pin method of connection or 6 pin to 6pin as long as their is no hot swapping involved? Will any damage occur to the advc 300 if using 6 pin to 6 pin method of connecting the video converter to the PC, I always thought the additional 2 wires on the six pin connection was for power only, but I could be wrong.

You are correct - the additional two wires are for 12V power.

Either method you suggest is fine - eliminate the power, or keep it always connected. An important thing to be mindful of is ground differences, which can induce voltage.

Whenever possible, keep the ADVC's power supply plugged into the same outlet, power strip or UPS as the connected devices (computer, VCR, etc), to minimize the amount of ground differential, as if one ground is higher than the other, then you have voltage there!