Broken 896HD firewire question

[TerraMortim]

I've got a MOTU 896HD as my primary studio sound card. Anyway, after a while, as you know, firewire 400 plugs can wear down a bit and can be accidentally plugged in backwards. Well, unfortunately a few drinks don't go well with hot swapping firewire devices and now the firewire is blown in my MOTU. It turns on just fine, and I'd imagine it works otherwise, it's just the firewire that doesn't work.

What my question is: I've had it for a while so it's way out of warrantee. Is this something that I could have fixed locally, or would it be something that I'd absolutely have to send it to MOTU to fix? Has anyone had experience with that sort of thing? How much should I expect it to cost? I'd imagine it would cost a load to have MOTU fix it, and plus it would probably take a long time to ship it back and forth.

Any suggestions of how I can best get it back up and running so I can get back to recording some tunes?

 

[cyrano]

I've never seen a Motu internally. But...

Most FW ports are protected with a schottky diode. If the polarity on the plug is reversed, these fail and will almost always form a short circuit. Replacing these isn't easy, but it's about the only smd component I replace. Everyting else smd is just to hard for me.

 

[TerraMortim]

I've never seen a Motu internally. But...

Most FW ports are protected with a schottky diode. If the polarity on the plug is reversed, these fail and will almost always form a short circuit. Replacing these isn't easy, but it's about the only smd component I replace. Everyting else smd is just to hard for me.

Do you know how much I should expect to pay someone to fix it? Where might I find someone who might be able to fix it?

 

[RandyW]

I have a 828MKII that died shortly after warranty.
I sent it back and they tried to repair for around $100.
It had the same firewire problem, dead port.
They fixed the FW problem but they
screwed up something else. They told me to return it
and they would swap for another refurbished unit.
So that should be your best option.
I didn't bother returning mine because they really don't
sound that great to begin with.

 

[TerraMortim]

I have a 828MKII that died shortly after warranty.
I sent it back and they tried to repair for around $100.
It had the same firewire problem, dead port.
They fixed the FW problem but they
screwed up something else. They told me to return it
and they would swap for another refurbished unit.
So that should be your best option.
I didn't bother returning mine because they really don't
sound that great to begin with.

Hmm maybe just sending it in would be best $100 is less than I feared. It's a little beat up from road wear (I've got to get a road ready rack case), so I'm not sure if they'd go for refurbished. It does work though just mostly cosmetic damage, one knob is missing and one channel is a bit funky (which might just be an issue of dirt in the electronics-as can happen).

 

[cyrano]

Do you know how much I should expect to pay someone to fix it? Where might I find someone who might be able to fix it?

Price is not the problem. Finding an exact replacement for the diode is. I usually take one from some other dead equipment. So, I'd guess you'd better start with the manufacturer's service first.