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Sound Devices Scorpio Error Message At Boot: Internal Board Disconnected

Strange behavior has been slowly creeping into one of the Scorpio's I work with. Long story short, it has displayed versions of the phrase "Ahhh A Cable Is Loose Somewhere, Take Me To My Maker!" Jk, a bit of context... purchased in March of 2022, this Scorpio was lovingly unboxed and has lived on a Pix base, on top of a Deploy cart, in an air conditioned studio/office building since.


Sound Devices Scorpio Error Internal Board Disconnected:

While running firmware v8.81, the recorder would randomly throw the error message below during startup. It read, "Warning Internal Board Disconnected" once every few months. Super concerning, but I'd shut down, pet the Scorpio gently, count to 10, then boot up and all's well!


Sound Devices Scorpio Internal Board Disconnected error message
Scorpio error message (firmware v8.81)

Fast forward a few months (to the present), and after a data dump (internal SSD and SD cards format), I updated firmware to the latest as of 10-25-2023 which is v9.31. After that, I suspect the problem causing the error message was still present, but maybe the verbiage written has been updated between firmware iterations? Now (since update), the message is far more consistent, and now requiring up to 4 reboots to clear the error message (dead in the water, and can not record until the message clears). On firmware v9.31, the Scorpio error reads "Warning Internal cable may be loose to Encoder board. Please contact Sound Devices."


Sound Devices Scorpio Error Message Internal Cable May Be Loose To Encoder Board
Scorpio error message (firmware v9.31)

Sound Devices tech support is world class. I was assured that the issue would be resolved, I never had doubts, was just surprised at how empathetic the person was over the phone. I really appreciate the effort there (props to you Danny!) One note that I didn't know, which seems helpful...Sound Devices gear has a 1 year warranty from the date of purchase, and then an additional year from the date of registration! Good to know!


It's a great thing, but just my luck that no one else has ever seen this error message. So beware, but don't be alarmed. Does anyone know what's causing this issue? I suspect it is actually a loose cable or connector somewhere, because after swapping Scorpios (physically moving...unplugging, driving the unit to another location), I have yet to reproduce the error! Maybe the offending connection has been reseated just enough to not throw the error? Nothing is plugged into the Scoprio now (as I'm trying to reproduce the error), but it has the same media present. Maybe it just needed a jog around the block, it's still going home to Sound Devices, so we'll see!

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