MD Loses USB "Focus"

[macca2004]

Kit:
Megadrum 16/32/16 (From Dmitri)
VST: Superior Drummer 2.1.1 (Connected Thru from MCT via MidiYoke)
Laptop Sony Vaio with 2 gb ram.

Problem

When playing with MD, software seems to lose "focus" of USB input. MCT or SD2 don't respond to midi notes anymore but midi events appear on the screen of MD as if all is well.

This happens even if I trigger SD2 directly without MCT or MIDI Yoke in the Loop. The laptop makes no noise to say the USB has been unplugged and Megadrum still appears in Device Manager.


A temporary solution is to:
Turn Off MD
Leave Superior running
Close MCT
Turn On MD
Restart MCT

I can resume playing again but only until USB drops off again.....

I've had this problem for quite a few months and originally thought it was something installed on my laptop causing this. However when switching to my new Laptop things are the same even after unloading almost everything including wireless drivers and antivirus.

Any Ideas?

[Firelord]

Check this out.

[dmitri]

Does it happen if you run the laptop on battery and power MegaDrum over USB from the laptop?

[macca2004]

Sorry for delay replying...

Anyway switching to battery makes no difference, I still lose USB midi. I don't have a midi input to test it directly from midi ports.

Its unlikely to be software either because I switched to a different laptop, used ASIO drivers rather than the Indigo DJ I normally use. I didn't use Superior, midi ox or MCT either.

Can't remember it being like this when I first bought it...so is it possible it crept in on a firmware update sometime?

Cheers

[Firelord]

Can't remember it being like this when I first bought it...so is it possible it crept in on a firmware update sometime?

I don't think so. Did you read this topic?

[macca2004]

I read through that whole topic, its the same link that Dmitri posted..

Moving from mains power to battery of the laptop should eliminate mains power fluctuations shouldn't it? Or are you thinking more along the lines of some sort of electromagnetic interference through the air?

We don't have any power pylons or cell phone masts nearby....

Macca

[Firelord]

Moving from mains power to battery of the laptop should eliminate mains power fluctuations shouldn't it? Or are you thinking more along the lines of some sort of electromagnetic interference through the air?

I was not able to isolate the issue to the extent of a legitimate diagnosis. However, power fluctuations should not matter as much when running on battery power.

Earlier I tested this as follows: I turned my soldering station on/off multiple times and at a certain point the USB connection would get terminated.

When I conduct the same experiment now, it doesn't matter whether my laptop is running on battery or connected to the mains. That is, the USB connection remains stable.

What kind of MegaDrum hardware build do you have? Is it a Synthex board or Dmitri's two-board design?

[Firelord]

What kind of MegaDrum hardware build do you have? Is it a Synthex board or Dmitri's two-board design?

Excuse me, I missed the info in your first post.

At the moment, I have don't have any solutions to your problem except for the one described in the topic above (where I soldered a wire between USB GND and the USB jack's metal housing). However, I cannot guarantee that this will help in your case, because I cannot tell whether our H/W issues are of the same nature.