The great Breaker tripping Midi Keyboard Mystery

[MusicalGlenn2022]

Hi folks

After 4 years I am still baffled as to my Midi keybaord issues.

To explain: Moved into a house almost five years ago. Playing away, no troubles, happy days. About seven months in, Using the keyboard in Pro Tools, Ableton, Reaper,or Studio One would trip the power for the sockets upstairs. No cookers or Microwaves on this circuit, A TV, A desk lamp, PC, Monitors and Speakers. Had new circuit breaker installed, no change. Put in better power unit into my PC, (Dell Inspiron Gaming Tower, I5 processor, 40 GB Ram (Upgraded for media work), never found the cause.

Fast forward to just over a year ago. New house, a full year no problems. Then suddenly, back to the power trips. Got a Novation launchKey for better quality Midi keyboard, it trips the circuit. Last night, opened a new Nektar impact out of its box with a new midi cable. Got 2 lovely hours of making music. Started up again today, with the Nektar. USB device not recognized, The device you plugged in has malfunctioned....

Tried the same keyboard on a laptop, same result. Tried the Novation, lots of flashing lights on the keyboard which was better but my Studio One interface went beserk with sections flashing. Tried the Novation on the PC, Lights came on again but it wouldn't play notes and then CLICK! power gone again, only now it was the master socket breaker. Everything plugged in in the house gone.

Another weird bit is, when I Do get to play a keyboard using my laptop unplged, there's no sign of any trouble aside from only having 3 hours of power.

The chances of two houses having wiring/power issues suddenly are slim. I think it's four different keyboards over the years now. New cables.Going into a PC repair shop to have all the usb ports tested. But here's the thing. I've tripped power now on my Dell Inspiron 15 3000 laptop, The Dell Inspiron PC, My wives Asus laptop and another Dell PC.

I can find no mention of this problem across the internet but maybe, just maybe, somebody here has heard of simmiliar issues?


Glenn

 

[happyrat1]

What's your utility company like? Reliable or lots of dodgy strung up wires?

 

[happyrat1]

Pick up a $10 ground fault detector at Home Depot and check the outlets in your home.

Some DIY installations a dangerously miswired.

You may have a hot ground lead somewhere.

 

[Nova2277]

The power load that your music gear generates is vey low so i would look at what else is on that circuit that you may not be away of.
If you have a heavy gauge extension chord plug in a powerebar with all your gear connected to it, then plug it into a different branch circuit.
if it trips on the new circuit then one of the connected devices is causing it

 

[Biggles]

I certainly would not plug any electronic device into your mains without having a conditioner/surge arrester in the circuit.

I suspect the Utility company have a very poor system in your locale.

 

[happyrat1]

@Nova2277 is correct. Check for what else is loading the circuit, ie Refrigerator, AC, Heater Blower, Space Heater, anything that draws a lot of startup amps.

BUT!!! Before you do anything, buy a Ground Fault Detector at your local hardware store and test all your outlets.

Most people don't realize that the Ground shield around your USB ports is directly connected to Earth Ground thru the third pin on the outlet.

If dangerous voltages are floating around it can do a lot worse than fry a breaker.

 

[SilverfoxUK]

Hi folks

After 4 years I am still baffled as to my Midi keybaord issues.

To explain: Moved into a house almost five years ago. Playing away, no troubles, happy days. About seven months in, Using the keyboard in Pro Tools, Ableton, Reaper,or Studio One would trip the power for the sockets upstairs. No cookers or Microwaves on this circuit, A TV, A desk lamp, PC, Monitors and Speakers. Had new circuit breaker installed, no change. Put in better power unit into my PC, (Dell Inspiron Gaming Tower, I5 processor, 40 GB Ram (Upgraded for media work), never found the cause.

Fast forward to just over a year ago. New house, a full year no problems. Then suddenly, back to the power trips. Got a Novation launchKey for better quality Midi keyboard, it trips the circuit. Last night, opened a new Nektar impact out of its box with a new midi cable. Got 2 lovely hours of making music. Started up again today, with the Nektar. USB device not recognized, The device you plugged in has malfunctioned....

Tried the same keyboard on a laptop, same result. Tried the Novation, lots of flashing lights on the keyboard which was better but my Studio One interface went beserk with sections flashing. Tried the Novation on the PC, Lights came on again but it wouldn't play notes and then CLICK! power gone again, only now it was the master socket breaker. Everything plugged in in the house gone.

Another weird bit is, when I Do get to play a keyboard using my laptop unplged, there's no sign of any trouble aside from only having 3 hours of power.

The chances of two houses having wiring/power issues suddenly are slim. I think it's four different keyboards over the years now. New cables.Going into a PC repair shop to have all the usb ports tested. But here's the thing. I've tripped power now on my Dell Inspiron 15 3000 laptop, The Dell Inspiron PC, My wives Asus laptop and another Dell PC.

I can find no mention of this problem across the internet but maybe, just maybe, somebody here has heard of simmiliar issues?


Glenn

There are a few possibilities here. Most of the gear you have listed will have some form of capacitor network on the front end of the power supply, a filter as it were. Filter maybe but an RCD will see this as leakage.

Another issue could be that the supply is floating. Had this with a supply to a Sony TV. It had a small switch mode power supply, the small black plastic box thing, with just the live and neutral in, no earth. The frame of the TV would float at over 100V with regard to earth. Not enough current to drop you onto the ground but certainly a friendly tingling sensation! It sounds as though you may have something similar going on. Try and separate things because it maybe you have a particularly bad actor. The clue you give is the laptop being unplugged and things work.

 

[MusicalGlenn2022]

The power load that your music gear generates is vey low so i would look at what else is on that circuit that you may not be away of.
If you have a heavy gauge extension chord plug in a powerebar with all your gear connected to it, then plug it into a different branch circuit.
if it trips on the new circuit then one of the connected devices is causing it

Hi there

Thanks for responding.

I've bought a socket tester and every socket in both bedrooms on the upstairs sockets (wall mains and extension socket boards) circuit check out fine. I also bought a power meter and did a check on how many amps everything was using. The Latop takes less than .5 Amps, The PC is the same. Table Lamps, Studio Speakers, Monitors, take a tiny amount. The Circuit breaker has a 20 Amp limit and the total electricity used comes nowhere near that. My wife has a heating amp for reptiles in tanks which runs for 15 minutes, from 8 am to 8 pm. It heats every four hours for 15 minutes at 800KW.

I blamed the keyboard until I got another one and another one and just last week, a brand new Nektar GX Impact 61. I DID notice that both my Nektar and Novation Keyboads stop working and the USB device not recognized thing comes up. Found out that Windows updates didn't include USB driver updates. I've read outdated drivers with new interfaces can wreck havoc, including electric surges.. So, Unistalled them, scanned for hardware changes after restarting the PC. It got the keyboard working again on the laptop. Have to test the PC with a keyboard now. Device Manager still says the drivers from 2006 which surely can't be right? 19 years old?


I could plug external hard drives and DVD drives etc into my PC and never have an issue. But sticking in a keyboard via USB gives me about ten minutes of studio time before I hear that CLICK sound and the rooms plunged into darkness.

 

[happyrat1]

What version of Windoze are you running?

Is your motherboard firmware up to date?

 

[Old No7]

Circuit breakers can "wear out" from too many trips -- which you've obviously had; and once they get to that point, I'm told they trip way too easily. If it were me, I'd be installing a new one; and if an electrician does it the install, I'd see what they say about upping the coverage to 25 amps too.

Signs of a worn-out circuit breaker:
* Tripping: The breaker trips frequently, especially when using new appliances
* Visible damage: The breaker is burned, corroded, or rusty
* Won't reset: The breaker won't stay reset, even after resetting it
* Hot: The breaker is hot to the touch
* Burning smell: The breaker smells like it's burning
* Flickering lights: Lights flicker or dim, especially when other devices are in use

Next time it trips for sure, just don't reset it -- see if it feels hot to the touch.

But I'd be changing it out ASAP.

Old No7

 

[happyrat1]

But he said the problem repeated itself at two separate addresses. That would eliminate the breaker if true.

The chances of two houses having wiring/power issues suddenly are slim. I think it's four different keyboards over the years now. New cables.Going into a PC repair shop to have all the usb ports tested. But here's the thing. I've tripped power now on my Dell Inspiron 15 3000 laptop, The Dell Inspiron PC, My wives Asus laptop and another Dell PC.

I can find no mention of this problem across the internet but maybe, just maybe, somebody here has heard of simmiliar issues?

 

[MusicalGlenn2022]

Hello again folks.

I downloaded a diagnostic tool called HWMonitor which gives read outs on how many volts are going through all the different components in a computer plus the temperature of things like the core processors. According to my dell laptop dual core 8 gig ram, core 1 is running at at least 100 degrees celcius or 212 F. Nice big red warning with the 100.


So, can an overheated cpu become something that a circuit breaker would sense and trip? As I said, two houses both fine for 7 months, and a year respectively. Could it be as simple as dustt and clogged up fans failing to cool components? Not to mention two hairy dogs and a cat who produce hair balls you wouldn't believe. Vacuuming once a week is mandatory.

Perhaps a visit to a PC repair shop for a deep clean of of the desktop, if that's something that is even done? My wife blames the keyboards as the trips always seem to happen once I start playing for a while. But 4 keyboards in?

I got the Nektar Impact 61 key replaced wth a new one in the box because the USB port on the keyboard was broken. This new one now doesn't play the G2 note. The Novation Launchkkey 61 with all it's lovely faders and knobs and functions, isn't recognized by the computer.

I've uninstalled all USB ports drivers and got the latest versions.

I had an electrician in here a few weeks back and he said although the hosue is 70 years old, he could see that the wirings been completely re-done in recent years. Checked every socket with a socket tester, all good.

 

[MusicalGlenn2022]

What version of Windoze are you running?

Is your motherboard firmware up to date?

Windows 11 and I will check out the firmware

 

[MusicalGlenn2022]

Windows 11 and I will check out the firmware

Bios vesion 2.1.0 10/05/2019

 

[happyrat1]

So the computer is at least 6 years old? You said it was a homebrew? You swapped power supplies?