ok, my dj control steel runs fine when its plugged into the back of my desktop, but i can only get it to work sometimes on my laptop. i went out and bought a well reviewed usb hub that has power and 3a output on the power supply. the strongest i could find, still having problems. hercules, why oh why did you not at least give us a jack to provide external power to the controller?!?! my m-audio keyboard has this, but it runs fine on bus power. theres nothing wrong with the laptop. if it can power an external unpowered hard drive than it should be able to run this thing. anyone else out there experience this? it looks like i have to rig up an external power supply cord for this unit that bypasses the bus power. what a pain! any ideas?
hello,
are you sure the usb port on your laptop is not defective? if your laptop has 2 usb ports, can you try on the second one?
i have never seen a problem with my dj console rmx connected through a usb hub (i have 3 usb hubs) if the power adapter for the hub is working (the 1 time it didnt work, the power adapter of the hub was out of order) so, as dj control steel has a lower power consumption than dj console rmx, your meeting this power issues on a dj control steel is unlikely.
well its a laptop, so the usb ports dont seem to be as powerful as the rear ports on my desktop. i bought a high power usb hub and that seems to solve the problem. still needs a reboot from time to time and ive had a lockup before, but that could be anything. still would have been nice to have an external power port.
have you gotten the latest drivers from hercules? they just came out recently (5/19), and the description mentions "usb traffic optimization" as one of the improvements.
im not sure this will help, but it may be worth a try.
@dj noobee - i had the very same problem when i bought my dj console rmx. it drove me absolutely round the bend.
i am using a macbook pro (15", intel core 2 duo) and no matter which usb port you use, you get the dreaded "youre drawing too much power" message. i am also a professional computer system analyst and wrote fortran for money when it was cool.
i tested a few hubs i had around and none of them could handle the power draw of the rmx.
i did a little research into usb ports and the spec, about how much power a usb port is supposed to provide to an attached device. whether the usb port is built into a desktop, laptop or hub they should all conform to the _nominal_ values in the spec. but you have to watch out for the word "nominal"; it does not mean "at least that much", it usually means "somewhere around that number". this is a problem even when you hook your rmx or control steel to a hub because the ports only have to supply something close to what the spec requires. whether the power supply for the hub is 3a or 10a does not matter because you have to look at how much power is delivered _at the port itself_.
there are a very, very few usb hubs that give you the capability to plug in something that may draw more than what the spec requires for a usb port. i bought one from targus that no longer appears on their website; it specifically called out the fact that it could handle devices that needed more power than what the usb spec requires. cost me $100 but it makes the rmx usable.
i have been thinking that it would be possible to defenestrate a usb cable so that you can grab the power lines and attach them to an external supply.
dennis
hello dennis,
1) connect dj console rmx to macbook usb port before switching on your macbook: when your computer boots, you should experience no usb power issues.
=> it is written in dj console rmx user manual, in the part "11. frequently asked questions", that is the answer to question 9.
2) a usb port is supposed to deliver 0.5a at 5 volts, that is the standard of any powered usb hub. a dj console rmx consumes up to 0.42a at 4.25 volts, which is below the usb hub standard, so any usb hub wit a dedicated power adapter should have no problem to power a dj console rmx, unless the power adapter the hub is defective.
Hello,
Are you sure the USB port on your laptop is not defective? If your laptop has 2 USB ports, can you try on the second one?
I have NEVER seen a problem with my DJ Console Rmx connected through a USB hub (I have 3 USB hubs) if the power adapter for the hub is working (the 1 time it didn't work, the power adapter of the hub was out of order) so, as DJ Control Steel has a lower power consumption than DJ Console Rmx, your meeting this power issues on a DJ Control Steel is unlikely.
Well it's a laptop, so the usb ports don't seem to be as powerful as the rear ports on my desktop. I bought a HIGH POWER usb hub and that seems to solve the problem. Still needs a reboot from time to time and I've had a lockup before, but that could be anything. Still would have been nice to have an external power port.
Have you gotten the latest drivers from Hercules? They just came out recently (5/19), and the description mentions "USB traffic optimization" as one of the improvements.
I'm not sure this will help, but it may be worth a try.
@DJ NooBee - I had the very same problem when I bought my DJ Console RMX. It drove me absolutely 'round the bend.
I am using a Macbook Pro (15", Intel Core 2 Duo) and no matter which USB port you use, you get the dreaded "you're drawing too much power" message. I am also a professional computer system analyst and wrote FORTRAN for money when it was cool.
I tested a few hubs I had around and NONE OF THEM could handle the power draw of the RMX.
I did a little research into USB ports and the spec, about how much power a USB port is supposed to provide to an attached device. Whether the USB port is built into a desktop, laptop or hub they should all conform to the _nominal_ values in the spec. But you have to watch out for the word "nominal"; it does not mean "at least that much", it usually means "somewhere around that number". This is a problem even when you hook your RMX or Control Steel to a hub because the ports only have to supply something close to what the spec requires. Whether the power supply for the hub is 3A or 10A does not matter because you have to look at how much power is delivered _at the port itself_.
There are a very, very few USB hubs that give you the capability to plug in something that may draw more than what the spec requires for a USB port. I bought one from Targus that no longer appears on their website; it specifically called out the fact that it could handle devices that needed more power than what the USB spec requires. Cost me $100 but it makes the RMX usable.
I have been thinking that it would be possible to defenestrate a USB cable so that you can grab the power lines and attach them to an external supply.
dennis
Hello Dennis,
1) Connect DJ Console Rmx to Macbook USB port before switching on your Macbook: when your computer boots, you should experience no USB power issues.
=> It is written in DJ Console Rmx user manual, in the part "11. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS", that is the answer to question 9.
2) A USB port is supposed to deliver 0.5A at 5 volts, that is the standard of any powered USB hub. A DJ Console Rmx consumes up to 0.42A at 4.25 volts, which is below the USB hub standard, so ANY USB hub wit a dedicated power adapter should have no problem to power a DJ Console Rmx, unless the power adapter the hub is defective.
