Metric Halo 2882 operating guide - Manual (Page 92)

Mobile I/O User’s Guide
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T HE F IRE W IRE C ABLE IS B AD
Metric Halo provides two high-quality overspec’ed FireWire cables for use
with Mobile I/O and we recommend you use them. For various reasons you
may decide to use other cables than the ones provided by Metric Halo.
Under ideal circumstances all FireWire cables will provide years of service.
However, cables will and do go bad. Cable failures can be difficult to track
down. If you are experiencing problems with connecting or bus powering
Mobile I/O you should try swapping the cable with another known-good
cable.
If the FireWire cable is not the source of the problem, check the next possi-
bility.
T HE F IRE W IRE H ARDWARE HAS BEEN D AMAGED
If all else fails, it may be that the FireWire hardware on either the Mobile I/O
or the computer has been damaged. While this is an exceptionally rare
occurrence, it is a possibility. The FireWire hardware can be damaged in the
following ways:
1. If you insert a FireWire cable into a port upside down, it will dam-
age the FireWire port and/or the connector. It is difficult to insert
the connector upside down, but it is possible to force it. Never
force a FireWire connector!
2. It requires significant pressure, but it is possible to force a FireWire
connector over a male XLR connector pin. If you do this, the con-
nector will be shorted and it will destroy the port on the other end.
Again, never force a FireWire connector.
3. Some devices that are bus-powerable and conform to the IEEE1394
standard will return power to the remote FireWire port if a power
ground fault occurs. If the remote port is protected against this situ-
ation, nothing will happen. If the device does not use bus power,
nothing will happen. But, if the device is fully compliant, uses bus
power, and the remote device is not protected and supplies a high
enough voltage on the bus, the remote device port will
self-destruct.
If the FireWire hardware on the computer has been damaged, it will not
communicate with any FireWire devices. Be sure that you are not checking
this case with a bad cable, as a bad cable can make it seem like the FireWire