I just bought a small mixer model number XENYX 802.

It doesnt have an on/of switch.
I have literally searched all over this unit and cannot find a way of switching it on or off other than pulling the power chord straight out.

Am I missing something here??

Nick the confused.

No. No switch.

No Don is right they don't put one on, funny but not very safe, go away on hoilday and there's a fault and the house might not be there when you get back, only suggestion is make up a supply lead with an inline switch near to the back of the mixer and then turn it off when you are finsihed, mine the blue power LED light the room up look like an intruder alarm is on! German engineering is it!

Lots of electronics no longer come with a power switch. The best option is to plug this stuff into a surge protector, which provides you with some protection from surges, and has an on/off switch and indicator lamp. The other option is to install an inexpensive, inline power switch.

Gary

Worries of the small power unit causing a fire are unwarranted.

Check the power unit for the UL, CSA, etc. listing.

The supplies are designed with internal fusing such that the worst-case scenario would simply result in a nonworking wallwart when you returned home from that vacation.

FWIW -- I have a Behringer Eurorack UB-802 here that also has no Power Switch. It has been turned on and running continually for going on five years. Of course, my entire studio chain runs from a UPS and Power Conditioner here.

I also have Mic Preamps in the studio that I NEVER turn off, preferring to keep them at operating temperature at all times so that whenever I wish to use them, I don't have to suffer through the thermal noise of tube or solid state circuit warmup. A common practice, actually, that is also used with equipments that must be kept at a calibrated point as well.

Temperature cycling and the resulting expansion/contraction involved, can often be the creator of circuit problems. Leaving units that draw very small amounts of power, such as that little Berry mixer, turned on all the time may just contribute to a longer mean lifetime before failure for the unit, provided you have properly "massaged" AC power available.


--Mac

I have 4 Behringer 9024's for YEARS and none of those have an on/off switch.

I can't remember the exact details but there is information in the manual as to why they don't need a switch and it has something to do with load protection.

Wish everything else in my Studio was the same actually.

There a reason (several, really) why things need power switches. Firstly, a power switch allows YOU to choose the order that things get powered on. Imagine if everyone took Behringer's cost cutting measure (there's really no other way to look at it) and failed to provide power switches. Everything comes on at the same time, usually putting a nice pop through your speakers, and a nice sag in the power voltage.

And, in case no-one noticed, there's a movement to try to cut our dependence on fossil fuels and nuclear power. Turning off what doesn't absolutely need to be on all the time saves energy (and you money), and, in the end, you are STILL going to have to switch it off SOMEWHERE... All Behringer are doing is making you pay for a separate switch, rather than, like just about every other make of mixer (including budget ones), including one so YOU have the option what to switch off.

So now, when you look at the price of a Behringer mixer, factor in the cost of a power strip as well...

What's next? Maybe drop volume controls on our arrangers? I mean, we got a fader on our mixers, don't we?

Hi Diki.

Your just assuming they remove the switch which is not the case at all. There is an automatic switch inside and there is a cross bar system in place that also prevents popping of the speakers and overload.

The Switch sounds like some sort of magnet relay and there is a second or so delay from the time you supply power before the internal switch kicks in and before my 9024's power up.

It's a really good system and something that's very popular in Recording Studio's. Many Rack Mountable Power Conditioners offer this very same function. You just plug into them and leave everything you own switched on. When you switch on the Rack Strip, it then powers up everything in one go.

Very cool feature that eliminates the risk of a surge when powering up lots of things at the same time.

Regards
James

The good ones power up sequentially, James. You get to choose in what order. Most people buying Behringer mixers won't spring for one of those. So you still have to have two strips to choose when you want the Behringer to power up independently from all the other gear on that strip (what, you going to get a strip JUST for the Behringer? ).

And, let's face it, most people don't leave their home studios powered up all the time, and no 'pro' studio, with pre's that need to be warmed up etc., are going to use a budget Behringer...

It's a cost cutting approach, no matter what spin they want to put on it. Just about every mixer OTHER than Behringer (other than mega consoles) include a power switch. I suppose they are ALL wrong, aren't they..?

[This message has been edited by Diki (edited 02-28-2010).]

Diki hit the nail on the head. It's simply a cost-cutting measure--nothing more.

And, anything electrical can develop a short circuit--anything. If it's plugged into an electrical outlet, and does not have an on/off switch, not only is it vulnerable to a power surge, but as Diki stated you cannot select the sequence the equipment is turned on or off, which in some instances, could cause serious damage to other equipment.

What I find really interesting is that when your TV is turned off by remote control it's not really off. Instead, it's in a standby mode. It still draws power and over a year's time that can amount to a significant increase in your electric bill.

Install an inline switch, or use a surge protector--it's a lot safer and less expensive.

Cheers,

Gary

Guys..... I'll say it again only I'll be very blunt.

IT DOES NOT NEED ONE...!!!! It has it's own one internally. When you plug it in, the power DOES NOT rush to anything other than the internal switch. This system functions better than a switch at protecting your investment and it costs more to implement.

If you don't like it, that's your own problem. Technology waits for no man.

James

[This message has been edited by Irishacts (edited 02-28-2010).]

James,

What you are saying is you must unplug it to turn it off. That means the entire time it is plugged into an outlet it is on. Nothing mysterious about that, and that's pretty much the same as any electrical device works, particularly those with low voltage circuitry. However, unless it is operated with a remote ON/OFF device, something that sends a signal to a system that fires the on/off relay, it is always on when it is plugged in, thereby making it susceptible to electrical failure when you least expect. This isn't rocket science--it's basic electronics 101. Don't take my word for it. Google search information about homes that burned to the ground because of an electronic device that was left turned on.

Cheers,

Gary

That's what the internal fusing in the power supply is for. Behringer doesn't make those power supplies, they are OEM, supplied by power supply mfrs who get the UL/CSA etc. certification for them. They wouldn't be certified as compliant if they could cause a fire due to an internal short. The certification comes from testing.



Like I said, I have a small Berry miser here that is used for keyboard mixing that has run 24/7 for at least five years. If I have to make a connect or do something else that would create the speaker damaging POP -- I simply roll the Master Fader on the mixer all the way off and then make the connect.



Inside sets like that there is a *separate* very small transformer/power supply circuit for that purpose. While it does draw power, it is minimal, plus it is not like the actual larger transformer and supply is operative all the time, it isn't. That larger supply is physically disconnected from the AC mains via electromagnetic relay contacts, which does the exact same thing as a manual power switch.

Even if Behringer did install a power switch on the mixer itself, it could only disconnect the low voltage DC supplied by the separate power supply. It would not be able to turn the power supply off nor disconnect it from 5he AC mains.

It is, however, very likely that the cost factor does come into play here. After all, it is the consumer who drives prices ever downward via buying habits.

At any rate, I wouldn't be overly concerned about the lack of a power switch on such an economical little mixer. And I'm not.


--Mac

Hi Gary.
Don't mind me tonight. I'm burnt out here from programming and not my usual self.



Yeah, it's always on while plugged in.

So too is the Transformer in most device that has a Switch though. The power switches are usually connected to the Outputs of the Transformers, not the inputs in order to charge the Transformer before letting the power run straight into the Electronics.

Devices that have no switches are more regulated than those with them as the system needs be charged before the internal Magnetic Switch is flipped by the capacitor.

Anyway..... it's not important enough to argue over.

Cheers from a very tired James. Sorry if I was a but snappy in my last post.

It's not a big deal, at least for me. I keep all my equipment on a surge protector, and at the end of the job, and at home before I got to bed, the surge protector is turned off. And, during electrical storms, which we have lots of during the year, the surge protectors are unplugged. Maybe I'm a bit overcautious, but having been nailed on two occasions by power surges, one that originated from a lightning strike on an underground TV cable, and blowing everything that was still plugged in, you get a bit gun-shy. And, the folks that live just two hundred yards from me had their TV short out in the middle of the night, which set their home on fire. They were not injured because the smoke detectors alerted them in time and they managed to get out of the house before the fire spread, but the overall damage took several months to repair.

Gun-Shy Gary

heres the funny part which is my big problem.

I live in an aprtment and my bedroom hosts 2 keybaords (PSRS910 and Motif XS6) my computer equipment and the Behringer mixer.

at night when i sleep i switch all my equipment off. the blue light on the behringer mixer stays on and it is VERY bright. my only option is to pull the chord out of the unit or switch off from the power at the wall socket.

you are probably having a chuckle about this but its really annoying for me!

A large blob of blue tack will do the job, but don't put it right onto the led it may over heat, make the blue tack like an igloo all around it and let the air in but not the blue light out, it you are into electronics change the led for a less bright one, break the seal and the warranty may be voided. Mine does the same I told you it looks like the intruder alarm is on maybe a good thing. This bright LED thing started in the States about 10 years back everything had to have ultra bright LEDS, even if the electronics didn't work, hell it looked impressive!

Regards


[This message has been edited by Tony Hughes (edited 02-28-2010).]

A simple permanent marker Sharpie pen will do the trick without causing it to overheat. I've done this in the past to arranger lights I didn't want distracting me onstage, or to the same 'sleeping with the lights on' issue in my old bedroom/studio days!

Here in the lightning capitol of the USA, I keep every single thing I've got on several UPS's, with the high load things (my powered speakers, mostly) on the surge output of the UPS's. I can't recommend this too highly. It's also why I really need power switches on most stuff, as I like to turn off most things if I go out for a while. Things that stay on when you don't really want them on can drain your battery if the power goes out too long, and I prefer to keep most of its' juice for the computer, which stays on most of the time.

After all, who wants to wait to boot up if you have a hankering to post at SZ in the middle of the night?

What a big deal over nothing!

I have a Sprit desk, it doesn't have an on / off switch either.
I think you will find other manufacturers skip this 'feature' too.

Luckily for us in the UK, our power outlets (sockets) have a small switch, this allows you to turn off the power if you don't need it.

Unplugging the plug from it's socket with the resulting air gap apparently has the same effect.


Why is this in the arrangers forum?

Maybe because many people play their arranger THROUGH a mixer?

And please remember, electrical standards vary all over the globe. What may not be an issue to some countries, may to others.

That is a solution in search of a problem.

LEDs emit light with little to no heat. "Cold light" is what the whole thing was about when they first were introduced.

A piece of tape over the thing would work as well as a bit of clay or other light blocking substance with little fear concerning any heat issue.

The average LED draws a maximum of 20mA of current, or 0.020 Amperes. The average LED is also a ~2V device. Today's LEDs typically draw less current than the above figure, but let's use it for a worst case scenario calculation here.

Since we are talking DC here, simple ohm's law arithmetic will give us the maximum amount of power that could possibly be turned into heat:

2V X 0.020A = 0.040 Watts

or, 40 milliWatts (mW)

Consider now the mass of the LED itself, inclusive of the leads or circuit board traces if surface mount component as well as the aluminum panel that the LED is mounted through and we have PLENTY of heat-sinking here, not likely able to raise temperature a fractional amount.

If the OP needs to turn the mixer off, use a standard switched outlet strip for your gear and turn things off and on from there, as a Master Switch. Problem solved all the way around.


--Mac

I've never had a problem with any LED I've darkened using the Magic Marker Sharpie trick... that doesn't interfere with heat dissipation anyway.

Plus you can vary the amount of darkening by applying multiple coats