Dcm 1St Time Troubleshooting; No Pc To Dcm-1 Communications; No Audio From Front Panel Monitor Speaker; Some Front Panel Leds Don't Light - QSC DCM series User Manual

Digital cinema monitor & crossover system

Table of Contents

F. DCM 1st Time Troubleshooting

1. No PC to DCM Communications

If you select Communications | Connect and the response is DCM not responding, the most

likely a problem with your RS232 connection. Check that the RS232 cable is seated properly, and

you have selected the correct COM port for your computer. Try and use another cable, or verify

the proper wiring using the pinout description in Appendix 1.

NOTE: Do not use a "null-modem" cable. These look correct but are wired different than a stan-

dard serial cable. Also, cycle the power of both the DCM and the PC and try again. Experiment to

make sure you have the correct COM setting (COM1 or COM2 are the most common settings).

ANOTHER POSSIBILITY: If you Connect as a Normal User, and you try a Get Configuration

from DCM request on a Secure unit, the software will display a "DCM Not Responding..." error

message. This is normal. To get the settings from a Secure unit, you must Connect as a Super

User. Your Super User password must match the password that you stored in the configuration

file which resides within the DCM hardware unit or the Connect function will not work.

If you do not hear any audio on the front panel speaker, make sure that the selector switches are

working properly and then set the DCM to monitor PROC - C (center). This means that the signal

that is coming in the From Processor Output connector on the rear panel of the DCM is routed

directly to the speaker amplifier and any signal should be able to be heard. Connect your cinema

processor and play a film sound source. Turn up the master volume on the DCM front panel.

If the sound is there but it is not loud enough, you will need to connect the PC Commander soft-

ware to the DCM unit and verify that the Configuration | Monitor Gain Levels settings are not

attenuated. These settings have an attenuation range of 0dB to -16 dB.

The DCM Commander software has a section that defines how many surround or subwoofer

amplifiers you are using. The front panel LEDs (and audio monitoring) will only allow selection of

the channels set in the software.

To change this setting, do the following:

1) save any settings in your PC software to a file in File | Save as...

2) connect to the DCM using the Communications | Connect command

3) get the current configuration file by selecting the Communications | Get Configuration from

DCM command

4) edit the output settings on the Configuration | General Configuration | Installed Outputs

window.

5) select Communications | Write Configuration to DCM

6) save this configuration using File | Save as..., and verify proper operation on the front panel.

Table of Contents

Troubleshooting