Remote suddenly hates cables longer than 2m

  • My Remote will no longer power on if I use anything longer than a 2m Ethernet cable.


    With longer cables, my Remote screen shows "power test," and all of the LEDs come on, then it turns off after one second. It cycles through this process several times until it gives up, after which it won't try again until I power cycle my Profiler Rack.


    What could be causing this?


    The problem began a few weeks ago. It was an unpleasant surprise while setting up at a gig. I eventually figured out that my short cable would work. I played that night with my Remote sitting upstage next to my equipment rack.


    I've since tested my Remote with five different Ethernet cables from four different manufacturers -- 2x @ 7.5m, 2x @ 4.5m, and 1x @ 2m.


    The first 7.5m cable is a brand-new Rat Sound SoundCore SuperCAT cable.


    The other 7.5m is a GLS Audio armored cable, and the two 4.5m cables are generic Ethernet patch cables from the same manufacturer. These have been my go-to cables for years. They've worked without fail every time I've pulled them out of my gig bag.


    The 2m cable is a generic Ethernet patch cord. My Remote powers on and functions normally when I use this short cable.


    I've verified all of the cables with an Ethernet mapper. All are good.


    My Profiler Rack was still running 7.1.5 until this evening when I upgraded it to 7.3.2, then 7.4.1. The problem with my Remote remains.


    I've tried using two different POE injectors from two different manufacturers. With either injector, the moment I make the data+power connection to my Remote using the 2m Ethernet cable, the injector's power LED begins blinking and my Remote does nothing. However, these are small injectors at 0.5A and probably cannot deliver enough power.


    I've tried using a Cisco SG-300-10P POE switch. It has a 62W power budget, so no worries there. When connected, my Remote will flash brightly, then dim down and sit at "Waiting for connection," which seems like a good sign However, my Profiler Rack's Ethernet port and the connected switchport never light up - perhaps it doesn't like seeing POE from the switch.


    What could have happened to make my Remote change its mind about 7.5m cables?

    Edited 5 times, last by timtrace ().

  • This morning, I checked the pins inside the Ethernet jacks on my Profiler Rack and my Remote. No bent pins.


    First, I cleaned all of the involved connections with CAIG DeoxIT and an old toothbrush or cotton swab, then left them to dry for ~15 minutes.


    Then, I re-tested my Remote four times with three different cables. I powered down my Profiler Rack between each test.

    1. Short cable. Working.
    2. Long cable #1. Not working. My Remote attempts to power on, shuts down, repeats a few times, then gives up.
    3. Long cable #2. Working, surprisingly.
    4. Long cable #2. Not working again. My Remote attempts to power on, shuts down, repeats a few times, then gives up.

    Long cable #1 is a brand new SuperCAT cable from Rat Sound. Long cable #2 is just a big-box store generic Ethernet cable. The short cable has the same pedigree.


    Support is working with me on this -- but does the community have any ideas?

    Edited once, last by timtrace ().

  • So if you dont have the original kemper cable first step is to assure that your cable meets the kemper specs:

    Until 7,5 mtr AWG24

    Until 5 mtr AWG26

    Dont use AWG28 cables

    This is excellent advice. In fact, my two 7.6m cables were AWG24. Hopefully that extra 0.1m is within tolerance ;)


    Kemper support suggested that I try a supported model of POE injector. I found a TP-Link TL-POE 150S for €14.25, and it fixed the problem right away. I'm happy with this solution because it gives me the ability to string several cables together, if I care to do so.


    HOWEVER - given that both of those 7.6m cables suddenly failed to work where they had been working for literally years prior, something must have changed inside my Profiler Rack or the Remote. I'm going to borrow a friend's Remote to see if that helps narrow down the problem. After that I may send things in to Kemper for diagnostic (and repair if necessary). I don't want to leave my backside open to being bitten.

  • HOWEVER - given that both of those 7.6m cables suddenly failed to work where they had been working for literally years prior, something must have changed inside my Profiler Rack or the Remote. I'm going to borrow a friend's Remote to see if that helps narrow down the problem. After that I may send things in to Kemper for diagnostic (and repair if necessary). I don't want to leave my backside open to being bitten.


    I have the exact same problem here. At the beginning of this year I bought a brand new Kemper Rack as my live unit. I play a toaster since 2013 and now have this in my studio and the Rack unit in our touring rig.

    From the beginning I had some issues with the power from the Rack to the Remote. I've a patchbay in my rack where I got the ethernet connection to the front. I used this 7 years with my Toaster without any problems. I also have the original remote cable in good conditions. First of all I didn't got the Rack to power on the Remote. I thought that the inner ethernet cable could have a failure, messed around a bit with it and suddenly it worked. Than we had some gigs and all went well. At our rehearsal space I use a 2m cable because I stand next to my unit.

    Last week we played an open air in front of cars and suddenly the remote won't power on again with my longer cables and also not with the original Kemper cable. I've also tried to hook it up directly from the back but nothing seems to work, except my 2m cable which was odd because I had to run off stage to switch sounds.

    Back at our rehearsal space I've checked all the connections and got the Remote boot up again with the original cable after trying several times. So I took my Remote back in my studio and tested the cables with my Toaster. Every cable worked fine with it.

    I've also got a power injector here which solved the problem instantly but there is definitely some kind of difference between the units. I know the cable specs and my backup cable should have the same specs as the original Kemper one but also the original Remote cable did not work with my Rack unit.

  • Just out of curiosity ... if you go to SYSTEM menu, page 12/18, and turn down LCD Brightness and White LED Level considerably, does this make a difference? I think you can change these parameters even without the Remote being connected. Just want to know if a slightly reduced power consumption helps. :)

  • Just out of curiosity ... if you go to SYSTEM menu, page 12/18, and turn down LCD Brightness and White LED Level considerably, does this make a difference? I think you can change these parameters even without the Remote being connected. Just want to know if a slightly reduced power consumption helps.

    Ah, really interesting point, I will definitely check this out when I'm back at our rehearsal space next week. I also was wondering why it worked one day and the other day not.
    On the longer run I will install my POE injector anyway because some stages require longer cables. But I like to find out if there is a problem with the unit or if something over the years changed from the power supply side.

  • Capacitance in a cable can change due to a change in temperature. I wonder if this could be the reason you are having trouble? The original Kemper Remote cable is at the max length already, with regards to capacitance and powering the Remote.

  • Capacitance in a cable can change due to a change in temperature. I wonder if this could be the reason you are having trouble? The original Kemper Remote cable is at the max length already, with regards to capacitance and powering the Remote.

    In theory I have read about this long time ago in school but actually this is above my knowledge if this could have such an influence. ^^ But never had any issues with my Toaster on tour last year, sunny open airs, hot and sweaty indoors and so on (oh I miss this so much).