Hi there

I have a Frontier Designs Tranzport but cannot get it to work. I've read all the available threads here which I got through searching and have received no validation email from the Frontier Designs support forum after registering. 

I'm using Sonar 7 Producer Edition. This is what I've done so far:

1. I installed the latest Tranzport software (version 1.5.0) which is available from the Frontier Designs website. 
2. I installed the Sonar Plugin during installation of the afore-mentioned software
3. Rebooted.
4. Plugged in my Tranzport and installed the 2 sets of Drivers once my new hardware was detected.
5. Rebooted.
6. Plugged in my Tranzport and made sure its icon was on the system tray and that it was set to Native.
7. Opened Sonar and went to Options>>>Midi Devices and enabled the Tranzport for Inputs and Outputs.
8. In Sonar, I Went to Options>>>Control Surfaces and selected the Tranzport for In Port and Out Port. This confirmed in the Connected Surfaces list.
9. Closed Sonar and started it up again.

Although I get the green Link LED on the Tranzport remote unit and also on the USB Base unit, I get no meaningful interaction with Sonar, except for MIDI track levels peaking whenever I press any of the buttons on my Tranzport. I've tried it with my MultifaceII deselected in the MIDI Devices too.

My Tranzport has its first character blinking on the display screen and that's about it. Half of the time I try it, the LEDs on the Tranzport's buttons light momentarily as I press them. This isn't always the case though. The batteries are definitely working due to the screen lighting up.

Can anyone hazard a guess as to what's going wrong here? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Edited to add: I'm using Win XP 32-bit using the 64-bit Double Precision Engine in Sonar - just in case it's relevant.

Kindest Regards

Zipps

I was considering buying a Tranzport, I emailed sonar support and they told me they were experiencing problems getting it to work with Sonar.  So now I am considering an Alphatrack.  I will watch this thread to see if you get it working.

works great with 8.5.2...

Thank you to the pair of you for looking in here.

I've made a little progress but not out of the woods yet.

It appears I never carried out the first step properly in the adding 'Control Surfaces' dialogue by choosing 'Frontier Tranzport' as the 'Controller Surface'. Mine was left as an ACT Controller with me only adding the Tranzport to the 'Input Port' and 'Output Port'. Therefore, my steps outlined in first post are amended to  read as an instruction:


8. In Sonar, go to Options>>>Control Surfaces and click the little yellow + button/icon to add a surface and select 'Frontier Tranzport' as the 'Controller Surface' and then select 'Tranzport' for 'In Port' and 'Out Port'. Ensure this is confirmed in the 'Connected Controller/Surfaces' list before clicking 'Close'.


With the above change in setup, I am now able to move through the tracks of my project and mute/arm/solo/play/record/stop/rewind/forward and use the wheel to move through the timeline.

My only issue now is that the Tranzport's screen is blank and remains so.

I've no idea what's going on. At least I'm now able to do what I primarily require the unit for - this being Remote interaction with Sonar. It sure would be nice to see something on the unit's display though.

Funnily enough, the top row of characters look like greyed out blocks. However, earlier today I had the first character blinking darker than the rest - kinda like a type cursor would flash.

Any ideas? Dud unit? I hope not as I bought it a month ago and never had time to test it at the time. I've squat chance of a refund.


Regards

Zipps

Any ideas? Dud unit?

It might be, unfortunately. My works fine. I'd try changing the battery, or at least you should check its level using the Battery button. It's possible to see something on the display even with a very low level (mine's at one * right now, for example), but it's still worth changing it just to eliminate that as the possible problem.

-Susan

Hi Susan

Thanks for that.

I'm afraid I can't check the battery level. My buttons do not make any difference to the screen.

I'm going to have to wait until I get more batteries. I just tried putting in some rechargables. I always have 5 or 6 ready fully charged for my camera. They were AA size just like the brand new Duracells which came with the unit. They are also the same chemical type. However, the rechargables were fractionally larger in girth than the Duracells and struggled to fit in the battery compartment and were very difficult to prize out when I went to remove them. Very odd indeed. Anyway...the rechargables did not work at all and didn't even light the screen.

I'll try the new batteries. If that doesn't work then it's back to the drawing board. I think my unit goes theough its hardware test (as detailed in the manual) but does not display the things on the screen.

I'm also going to email Frontier Designs support.


Thanks again Susan. Much appreciated.

Zipps

There is a process (TranzportApplet.exe) that has to be running. If it's running, there will be an icon in the Notification Area (the right-hand part of the task bar where the time of day is displayed). If it's not there, you need to add it to your startup items via the Startup tab of the msconfig utility.

BTW, there are no problems that I know of with Tranzport and SONAR. I've used mine with versions 5, 6, 7 and 8 without issues.

If it's running, there will be an icon in the Notification Area (the right-hand part of the task bar where the time of day is displayed).

Right, but Zipps said in #6 of his first post that the icon was there.

-Susan

Uh, yeh. I just re-read the post. Sounds like the unit's LCD may be broken. However, low batteries can cause the LCD to dim to the point that it's unreadable. If the Tranzport's been sitting unused for a long time the battery terminals may be corroded. The first thing I'd do is pull the batteries, gently clean the terminals with a very fine-grit sandpaper and then install new batteries.