Hello all,

I'm the proud new owner of a Sony dps-v77. Much of the information I found on the V77 was from this site via a google search, so first thanks for all the great info.

Now on to my problem ...

Ok, so it arrived today, couldn't wait to see what it's capable of. Hooked her up and all was not so well .. I don't think anyway. Now the seller informed me it needed a new battery but that for the time being I could still use it, just not save any patches to memory. The first thing I get is a "battery low" message, no biggie, I knew this to be the case. So I'm surfing through the presets and I notice not much sound being produced, I had to set all the effects levels on my mixer at least 3/4 to hear anything. I'm hearing the patches and they are doing what they are supposed to but the effected signal simply isn't loud enough. I checked all the cables etc, I checked the trouble shooting section of the manual and made sure it was set up internally correctly. I'm liking what I hear, just not hearing enough of it.

Ok, then it happened. While attempting to switch from bank A to B, the bank/patch LCD flickered and went blank. The main display was fine. All of a sudden no signal was registering on the input meters. I tried turning it on and off several times, letting it sit for a while etc, but still nothing. It powers up fine, the bank/patch LCD (and main LSD) come back on, I'm able to surf through all the patches in both banks, able to go into all the edit, system etc modes, but still it won't register any input signal and thus produce any sound of it's own. I checked and re-checked the system set up and made sure it was set up properly, but nothing. I also tried several times to restore it to the factory settings by holding down save and enter during power up. I read out here that "Initialized" should appear on the screen, but it just powers up normally.

Any idea? The "low battery" should have nothing to do with getting a signal, right? I opened it up and there is a housing/holder for the battery so it's a simple switch and I was going to grab a battery tomorrow, but I suspect this is not the problem, it should still register a signal. The funny thing is after the seller shipped it he sent me an email saying "if there are any problems let me know" ... I thought it somewhat strange, but passed it off as just being a responsible seller.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

Yes the battery is usually the problem.

Change the battery.

Its pretty easy.

You can buy it at radio shack.

If you do a search on this you will find alot of information.

Good luck.

Thank you for the fast response. I'll get the battery tomorrow and report back. For what it's worth I just went in and tried it again and while switching banks the LSD went blank again and unlike before none of the edit modes worked this time. Dang, I sure hope it's the battery. Thanks again.

It worked. I'm surprised it won't register an input signal without the battery. I thought the battery was just for the user memory? Still a little confused about that, but I put the new battery in, pressed save and enter and powered it up .. "Initialized" .. and she's up and running again!

Thanks for the help.

thumbsup

Sorry, manomanoman!

Been there, done that....

You DEFINITELY need a battery or it won't work right. In addition, you will have to do a factory reset, which is a special combination of some front panel keys while pressing power. I figured it out for myself by trial and error as I lost the manual and at this point I can't remember the trick anymore! Hope you have the manual.

BK

Thanks for responding, Bob. On the advice of thrillfactor I got a new battery and she's up and running again. Unlike so many of you here, I know very little about all this stuff, I'm a songwriter first, forced to do most of my own demos as I've grown weary of the often (not always) generic sounding Nashville demos I've had done for years. I must say though, from a very unqualified persons opinion this Sony V77 sure sounds nice! I'm loving it and so easy to operate.

If you ever have to do a reset, I believe you hold the "save" and "enter" button at the same time upon power up. That is what I seem to remember on all of the DPS units.

Having the same problem with a M7 right now: Battery low message and nothing is working: no sound, no backlight, no metering.....

Time to find a battery...

And once you get that battery, enjoy! I had a lot of fun with one of those, doing some sound effects design back in the mid-late 90's. Nightwatch, Supercop, The Long Kiss Goodnight, Spawn, all have treatments that I did with that box.

That´s cool! Looking forward to have it up & running.

Ouch, I replaced the battery but all the problems remain.

Any ideas?

Anybody have a manual for the DPS V-77?

[EDIT: Found it!!]

https://gearspace.com/board/531885-post12.html

Just found a PDF here:

Index of /Product Info/Sony Consumer/Manual

Send me a pm if you need the very useful "Effects Parameter Guide", as it's not in the above links. You'd have to wait until I scan it, though...

Anyone ever had a problem where one of these wouldn't start up (but the screen flickers for a minute)...tried putting a new battery in and it didn't help.

If you need a copy of the Preset Memory catalogue, I have some jpegs.

Ahh, I see they're in the aforementioned pdf manual !

regards
Lyn

Hey, old thread, but I have found one for sale for $350 - but it has the same problem as yours. Did you ever find out how it fix it?

And, is 350 a good price considering this?

Thanks,

Lou

I had it fixed at Sony, it cost about $300 per unit to fix, so even if you had $650 in it working @ 100% that's great. I personally own 6 x DPS V77's, they rock but usually have problems when first purchased because they are so old.

Wow, thanks. Now I have to think hard on the cost benefit ratio. What would they sell for in good shape? I can't find any online.

Thanks, though!

Lou

About $650-$700 in good working order. The rarer they get the more expensive they will get.

I picked one up off ebay a couple of weeks ago for £255. Mine was missing the inner and outer dual control knob, which I think are called the Operational Dial and Shuttle Control. I managed to get hold of the inner control, the Operational Dial, but not the outer one. I haven't found I've needed it yet - what does it actually do? And does anyone have any ideas on where to get one from, baring in mind Sony don't make these parts any more?

Mine is also prone to crashes a when trying to morph between presets, but seems to be ok if I set the morph time to a quick setting.

Apart from that, I'm lovin' it. The Magic Space preset is just instant Thomas Newman film score. Gorgeous.

If you need to find parts or service in the UK, contact Thear Technology Ltd
Tel: 01525 841999.

Check some of the test procedures for the crashing.

The outer control enables high-speed searching through the presets.

Lyn

I'm sure this has been answered before, but I'm not sure.. Does the DPS-V77 contain ALL presets of the individual DPS processors?

Also, is the rm-dps7 remote controller compatible with the DPS-V77?..

When was the last time you saw a rm-dps7 available for sale?.. If ever...

thrill, do you have an rm-dps7? If so, is it convenient? Just curious.

Do you guys like the DPS-F7?I had one but sold it - didn't really think it was essential. Did have some nice comp/limiter presets though.

Thanks_

I dont think that remote works with the V77, all the others do M,F,D,R 7's all have a serial ports on the back for connection to the remote. The V77 doesnt. Friend of mine has the remote and never uses it and wouldnt sell it to me either back when I had an M7 and R7...stike

Got rid of those anyway and really love the V77, the only issue is overheating, I get digital noise spikes randomly. May need to modify the top cover with vents or a small fan.

1) Different presets(more useful).

2) No ports in the back for remote also different interface than the "7"units.

3) Last time i saw a remote for sale i bought it.heh

4) Its very convenient...especially since i have 6 of the Sony "7" units.

5) The DPS-F7 had a couple of cool presets but like the D7 there is only a handfull you would actually use. The DPS-V77 is full of useful presets. Plus it has digital ports so in my studio it gets used way more than the non digital "7" units.

The outer dial is much faster than the inner dial when you're scrolling through parameter values or presets...whether you need it or not depends on how patient you are heh ...though the inner knob "clicks" and, like anything mechanical, might wear out quicker if you're never using the outer dial (it has more of a spring-loaded action).

Congrats, I love mine and could easily use more of them on mixes if I had them (I'm envious of Nathan and his slutty 6-pack...)

Michael

Okay, I've been following this thread with interest as I am getting a DPS-V77 for $200 from a buddy (I hope he is!) and it may need service - who in the USA preferebly in the SF Bay Area casn work on them?

Thanks,

Lou

Good luck finding a 'local guy' to fix this piece. It's an esoteric computer at best. Only Sony will not cause you to pull your hair out.

MMmmm. Hope against hope it works!

<L>