Problems with timecode
Does anyone know why sometimes timecode goes crazy ant starts spinning the track at like twice the speed? Happened to me during a gig a few times and it bugs me so bad… and how to keep timecode circles smooth? Bought fresh timecode vinyl but i still get faded and uneven circles. All this happens using audio 8 dj with traktor 2.
Thanks
How old are your needles? How are your rca connectors/wires? How do the contacts look inside your tone arm? What’s your counterweight set at? Tone arm height?
Give us some more info than “my circles are messed up” and we can help.
happens with another set of needles (no more than one year old ortofon concordes) aswell, and on another turntables, sometimes it comes up as right or left channel is missing, then if you wiggle the cables you can get it right, its either all the turntable wires are really bad or theres something wrong with my setup, havent seen smooth circle since maybe 1 year ago. seems like its getting worse and worse over time, and on different setups
Sounds like your RCA terminations coming out of your decks. How’s your soldering skills? My right tt right channel has a terrible connection, and will require chopping the end off and re-soldering a new connector. If I wiggle it, the signal comes back. Sounds like that’s the issue.
Are your tt rcas connected to the deck, or do they plug in and are removable? Also, are you using the RCAs that came with the A8? Or different ones? I can try and help you troubleshoot.
Wiggling which cables makes the circle go ok?
Never have soldered anything, but I think I could do it. RCA’s of my decks are connected to the inside of the deck, so i can’t just change it. And I’m not using cables that came with the A8 anymore, because they’re dead long time… The problem is at the soundcard end of cable most of the times… But just like I said this happens at clubs, and various clubs, maybe they’re not looking after their TT’s that much… Mine TT’s are also being rented and are staying at the club.
The speed problem is for me new to MK2 timecode records, and only happened at gigs - where I have to deal with my mate’s really dusty records leaving stuff on my styli, although to be fair the first time it happened was a spot of junk on the record (probably landed there during the party). The only time it ever happened at home was right after that gig and the record was still soiled 
However rare, that glitch has been acknowledged by NI. It’s supposedly been looked into and partly alleviated in 2.5x, which my experience invalidates so far.
I don’t play out with timecode at the moment but if you’re on the new records then I suggest you peruse this NI forum http://www.native-instruments.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=322 and get a hold of their test build (after upgrading to 2.6 of course since it’s the 2.6 executable with timecode tweaks specific to mk2 decoder) and see if that helps.
Scope degrading over time, well, ortofons do chew up your records faster and depending on how often you play “not older than a year” might still be too old for your needles.
As for clubs not looking after their TTs… that’s all too common unfortunately. All the more baffling when the decks are the club’s property and the managers are vinyl lovers… 