Re: [FFADO-user] [I'm a user and need support] QJACKCTL not showing interface options

SourceForge Headquarters 1320 Columbia Street Suite 310 San Diego, CA 92101 +1 (858) 422-6466

Hi Marc

On Wed, Mar 29, 2017 at 10:31:57PM +0000, Marc Cayouette wrote:
> I have greatly improved my ">" skills in the last two days so am able to
> also included the lsdttmp and dmesg files as requested.
> :
>
> [    1.033636] firewire_ohci 0000:03:00.0: overriding IsoXmitIntMask
> [    1.104856] firewire_ohci 0000:03:00.0: added OHCI v1.10 device as card
> 0, 4 IR + 4 IT contexts, quirks 0x10
> [    1.624826] firewire_core 0000:03:00.0: created device fw0: GUID
> 001b8d10000046fb, S400

Thanks for providing this.  The dmesg output shows that while your firewire
card is seen by the system, the FA-66 is not.

> Today, I have ordered a new firewire interface as well as a new wire just
> as a precaution.

Obtaining a new firewire interface is not a bad idea since the JMicron-based
cards have given trouble before (they can be problematic in all operating
systems for audio work, not just Linux).  Obviously with a new card and
fresh cable you will effectively eliminate everything except the FA-66.
If things work with the new hardware then it's problem solved.  If not then
the FA-66 would be the prime suspect.

Hopefully your new firewire card is based on one of the known good chipsets
outlined on our website.  In short, Texas Instruments and LSI (formerly
known as Agere) are good, as are some later VIAs.  Other controllers might
be ok given the low channel count of the FA-66, especially if you're not
after particularly low latencies.  Anyway, let's see how things pan out.

> I am starting to fear that the FA-66 could be the culprit.  The "blue"
> light on the unit is indicating power however I has no way to test it (of
> which I am aware).

Given that most of its functionality is provided through firewire there is
limited testing you can do without firewire connectivity.

One further issue that's worth looking at is the power supply to the FA-66? 
If you are relying on bus power it would be a very good idea to try using
the FA-66's separate power supply instead.  Bus power is sometimes not of
sufficient quantity or quality to reliably power these interfaces.

Regards
  jonathan