Technical data

ASTi DACS: Operation & Maintenance Manual (Version 4, Rev. B.1) www.asti-usa.com

Diagnostic Tools in the Model Builder Software

The Model Builder software has several display screens which indicate the state of the system.

These screens can be useful for troubleshooting. For an in depth explanation of the screens, see

the Model Builder reference manual. The following explanations are intended for the use of trou-

bleshooters.

Model Builder DSP Timing Window: From the main menu, go to “Waveform DSPs”. Then go

to “Times”. The following screen should pop up:

Figure 6: DSP TIMING WINDOW

This screen shows the activity of all the waveform synthesizers, TDM cards, and waveform accel-

erators. The list of DSPs will contain one entry for each such card in the system.

If there is a blank line in the middle of the list, the rotary switch setting on the corresponding card

may be incorrect.

The Master

Timer should be incrementing. If not, the jumper settings of the one or more of the

DSP cards may be wrong. One of the cards should be jumpered as a “Master,” and the rest should

be “Slaves.” If there is no master or more than one master, this timer will not be incrementing and

the system will not work. Additionally, poor contact quality between the card and backplane could

inhibit proper operation.

The Frame Counter

should be incrementing for each card listed. If it is not, there may be a prob-

lem with the card, or the jumper settings may be incorrect. The frame counter will also stop if an

attempt is made to load a model which doesn’t exist or has an error in the ﬁle. To start it up again,

either load an existing model or clear the model using the “New” entry in the Model Conﬁgura-

tion Menu.

The Ov

errun counter should be zero or blank. If a very large model is being run, and this counter

is incrementing, then the card cannot keep up with the processing demands put on it, and the

sound may not come out correctly.

If Global Channels are being used (see the reference manual for an explanation of global chan-

nels), the Com OK counter

should be incrementing and the ComFail Counter should be zero. If

the ComFail is not zero, the ribbon cable connecting the cards may not be installed properly, or

may be loose or damaged.

If global channels are not being used, the Com OK counter will not be shown.