I e-mailed the following text to Rocketfish support person Xavier who suggested tests to me. From it you will see that my problem no longer needs a further solution. But it shows that my Rocketfish HDMI switch hardware, or conceivably software, is now defective: my channel 2 in the switch fails to show the video but channel 3 succeeds, so something is wrong in the switch with channel 2. Please let me know if you want me to do anything to help you understand what went wrong; otherwise, I'm content with the solution leaving one channel defective but my video available to me. Perhaps you could close this issue in the Best Buy forum.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Dear Xavier,
Trial A
--------
I tried what you recommended. I am puzzled, though.
How can
2/ While unplugged, tap and hold the power symbol located on the product itself for 30 seconds
have any effect
when the power is disconnected? There was certainly
no visible evidence that anything happened while
I held the power symbol.
With the power cable disconnected from the HDMI switch
there were no lights on the switch that were lit.
And no lights became lit, bright or dim, or blinked,
or anything visible at all. Please
explain to me what step 2 is supposed to cause.
In any case, performing all your steps resulted
in no change: still No Signal at the monitor.
Trial B
-------
I did not do step 4. The reason is that there is
another piece of hardware in the HDMI signal that
I didn't tell you about which makes 4 hard to interpret.
The signal path which fails is actually
[signal path 1] Laptop -> KVM switch -> HDMI switch -> monitor
If I instead plug the KVM output into the monitor
[signal path 2] Laptop -> KVM switch -> monitor
that is, remove the HDMI switch from the signal path,
then everything works fine at all resolutions
including 3840x2160, the one that fails
with signal path 1.
Trial C
-------
I tried
5/ Unplug all HDMI cables
6/ Press and hold power button for 30 secondsusing
7/ Remove power (DC) cable from switch for 30 seconds
then reconnect it; switch powers up (without
my touching power switch)
8/ Press and hold power switch for 30 seconds.
Switch powers off of course; looks like it
completes its power off in about 3 seconds,
since all the lights are off by then.
9/ Press and hold power switch for 30 seconds.
Looks like it completes its power up in 1 second.
10/ Reconnect signal path 1.using
But the monitor still shows No Signal.
it
Trial D
-------
I wondered if one of the four channels within
the switch might be damaged. So far, I had
tried signal path 1 using only HDMI switch
channel 2, so starting with signal path 2
to show that
the computer and KVM switch and monitor were
correctly displaying 3840x2160, I tried
11/ Disconnect all HDMI cables
12/ Connect the HDMI switch into the signal
again (signal path 1) but connecting the
KVM HDMI output to switch channel 3 instead
of switch channel 2.
[signal path 3] Laptop -> KVM switch -> HDMI switch ch 3 -> monitor
Now it is working! It took about 16 seconds for the
monitor display to appear but it has been
displaying correctly now for 15 minutes or so.
This makes me remember that even switch channel 2
used to work when I first plugged in the switch.
I couldn't reproduce this to make sure so I
did not mention it before but now I'm pretty
sure of my memory: channel 2 used to work and it
no longer does. When ch 2 started failing the
display would go black briefly then come on again.
The black periods got longer and longer and finally
the display never came on at all. This makes
me worry that channel 3 might fail in the future.
For now I am up and running and don't want to take
the switch back to Best Buy, although if you tell
me to return it I will do so; perhaps you want to
find out why channel 2 will not display 1920x1080
but not 3840x2160. If you want me to return the
hardware and exchange it for a new one please let
me know. I'd be happy to go to the trouble in order
to help you find out what the problem really is.
If you are going to hunt for the problem with
my switch channel 2, don't forget that signal
path 1 using channel 2, which fails for Ubuntu
Linux 3840x2160, works perfectly for Windows 10
3840x2160.
I hate puzzles like this where I don't have the
schematic for the HDMI switch and have no way of
figuring out what failed. So any help I can give
I will be happy to give.
For what it's worth, I have been leaving the
HDMI switch always powered up, 24/7/365. I am
going to start powering it down (pressing the
power symbol on the HDMI switch) whenever I'm
not using it, in case it lengthens the life of
channel 3.
Carey {
removed per forum guidelines}________________________________________________________
On 2/5/20 2:18 PM, Rocketfishproducts Support wrote:
Dear Carey,
Thank you for contacting Rocketfish Products. My name is Xavier and it is a pleasure for me assisting you today with your RF-G501 Switch.
I know this is really important for you so rest assured I am going to do everything in my hands to help you to solve the issue with the resolution. However, it could be just a simple glitch with a quick fix. To address the issue accurately please try the following steps :
1/ Unplug the unit from the power and the HDMI cables
2/ While unplugged, tap and hold the power symbol located on the product itself for 30 seconds
3/ Once time is up, please plug the unit back to the power outlet
4/ Switch the HDMI ends and connect your devices and give it a try
Please keep me posted on the outcome of the steps provided above, to help you with further assistance if necessary. I look forward to your reply. In the meantime, I created a case ID for you [removed per forum guidelines}.
Best Regards,
Xavier
Rocketfish Products | https://www.rocketfishproducts.com/pdp/RF-G1501/5055100
Original Message Follows: ------------------------
Site : www.rocketfishproducts.com
Customer E-mail : {removed per forum guidelines}
Customer Name : Carey {removed per forum guidelines}
Phone Number :{removed per forum guidelines}
Model Number : RF-G1501
Product Category: Home Theater & Accessories
Product Subcategory: A/V Cables & Connectors
Problem Description or Question: HDMI switch works flawlessly EXCEPT one situation: 1. Dell 7568-15 laptop 2. Ubuntu Linux 18.04 OS 3. 3840x1920 resolution at 100% out HDMI port 3. Rocketfish RF-G1501 HDMI switch 4. AOC monitor. In this configuration display is black or sometimes No Signal. Additionally, 1. If I bypass the Rocketfish HDMI switch the problem disappears: works fine. 2. If I run Windows 10 with the same configuration and including the HDMI switch the problem disappears, so the problem is not computer hardware and not the monitor. I do not know enough about Linux, or Ubuntu, to be sure whether there is a graphics driver somewhere that solves this problem. I have posted an askubuntu.com question looking for one but have got no answers. Please help so I can get full benefit from your otherwise fine product. I can only use 1920x1080 as it is, 1/4 the screen real estate I ought to have. I'm a 50-year computer programmer so I can happily carry out any tests or instructions you can provide.
Steps Already Taken: N/A
Additional Products: N/A
Connecting Cables: N/A
Operating System: N/A
Additional Software: N/A
Product Or Part Name: N/A
Date Purchased: N/A
Customer PIN: N/A
John-BBY
