Well my eBay ML/NL converter 1790 arrived on Friday, and a bit of time this weekend to do some testing.
Firstly caveat emptor, my ML/NL convertor – apparently Hardware Type F according to the web configuration – is a bit crippled as it does not have ports for Powerlink, for Line In, or for an IR sensor. When I looked again at the eBay photos that’s clear, but I had not thought such things existed so failed to look closely. I did look at the software version etc, which seems to be up to date – 1.43 or something. Not a problem for this particular problem, but it does mean I’m not going to be using it for any other exciting purposes.
After a lot of messing about with routers and IP addresses etc, I eventually got the thing connected to a web browser and was able to check it was set as V. Master. Then connected it to my Masterlink setup, turned everything on in hopefully the right order and… no change. Play button on a ML-connected link device still turns everything off. I have not done extensive testing with lots of different IR eyes and devices but have tried various sorts of turning things on and off again.
I’m still baffled and a bit disheartened at this stage. Mostly I think I’d be better off going back in time to the reliable MCL system and wiring the house and new extension for that, but it does seem a bit strange to hard-wire a new build with fairly obsolete tech. One of the attractions of ML is wiring with standard Cat 7 infrastructure which could be used for ML, PL, NL or even The Internet. Or I could go the other way to the modern world of NL and Mozart but that brings all its own issues of network configurations, audio delay, potentially vast expense and, god forbid, controlling things via a phone app. In so many ways Masterlink feels like the sweet spot but if I can’t turn a link room off without the whole system going into standby, it’s all a bit pointless.
Location: UK
Favourite Product: Beolab 3000
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