starting up after a year

[creepingdth]

I need help.  What am I forgetting to do?  I had my LOR working last year at Christmas.  Now I'm trying to get my Halloween show going and nothing is happening.  I switched SD cards and also tried my Christmas SD card too and nothing.  Is there something I"m forgetting to do?  I did try deleting everything off the SD card and put the time and show back on the card and still nothing.  At a loss.

[Don]

Which director are you using? Mini-Director or Showtime Director?

 

Both have a status light that can give you some idea of what's going on.

[creepingdth]

i figured it out, thanks

[Orville]

Possible Causes for an SD Card NOT to be read by a Director unit

 

1. SD Card IS NOT supported by the Director.

 

2. SD Card contacts are worn down and now too short.

 

3. Contacts in the Director may be worn down and can't contact the SD Card, which SD Card may also have worn contacts, so neither are making any type of connection to each other.

 

4. Contacts only in the Director may be worn or need to be cleaned.  {Make sure Director is disconnected from any power source, use a swab dipped into denatured alcohol on the contacts, dry with a clean dry swab.  {Rub gently as not to damage the fingers/contacts of the SD Card connector.}

 

5. Contacts on SD Card may need to be cleaned. {You can use a pencil eraser to clean the SD cards contacts, be gentle, as the contacts could be lifted and damaged during this process!}

 

6. You didn't actually write a show to the SD Card. {simplest mistake made}.

 

You may also need to get a new SD Card.  I used 2 different ones last year, each SD card was 2GB, but this year those two cards won't read by my Director, I use the older DC-MP3 Showtime Director. 

 

I don't know why, they work fine for loading the shows on from all my computers, including my laptop, but when inserted into the Director, it now refuses to read, load and start the show sequences.  

 

I get a flashing RED light which denotes the unit CAN NOT find any shows on the card, yet I know they are there!  

 

Firmware is up to date for that unit, and nothing has changed over the last year and I use these SD Cards all year long for testing, but all of a sudden the Director no longer likes them, very odd, since they still function in all the computers, just not the Director.

 

All I can figure is maybe the contacts in the Director or on the SD Card are worn to the point they aren't making contact in the Director, I can use the original 512MB card and it still works fine, and this card is 3 years old, the 2GB cards are just a little over a year old, but they were probably used a lot more than the 512MB card. 

Edited October 1, 2013 by Orville