I have changed the battery in my CDC four and now it won’t work with the stage rack. What’s wrong?

There is a small battery in the CDC four which supports the control parameters when mains power is removed, this battery needs replacing roughly every 12 months ( FAQ: How do I replace the back-up battery in a CDC four). When the battery is replaced it is necessary to “power cycle” the CDC four twice to re-establish a set of default parameters.

It has been noted that sometimes after doing this the CDC four will no longer communicate with a stage rack (this issue does not happen with the later CDC four:m version of the console). This communication issue is a result of the CDC four incorrectly resetting itself to use “Legacy MegaCOMMS mode” due to a memory corruption.

The quickest and easiest way to clear this problem is to do a firmware update, either via a Net Update or using a USB Memory Stick. This will clear the corruption of the Legacy parameter and restore communications to the stage rack.

If for any reason you do not want to do a firmware upgrade then another way to clear the problem would be:

  • In SYSTEM screen select System Clock Synch
  • Turn the Adjust encoder clockwise two clicks
  • CDC four will present a dialog box saying Reboot (MC33) Legacy
  • Select the OK box and press the Enter button
  • The CDC four will reboot
  • Repeat the process, this time click the Adjust encoder once in the anti-clockwise direction the dialog box will say Reboot (MC55) Stnd.
  • The CDC four will again reboot

You should now find that communications with the stage box will be restored.