A friend of mine has been so kind to spill some beer on the edge of my Analog Keys. Fortunately, it affected only TRK knobs 2 and 3. The unit works like charm, but TRK 2 and 3 buttons stick when not powered up. When the machine is on, appearently the heat allows the liquid to soften and the buttons respond much better.
I still donāt like the fact that there might be a problem lurking inside the Keys. So i carefully took it apart.
I removed the top cap from the TRK button, but the rest seems like solid block.
is there a way to extract the white push knobs from their black casings? So i can clean the inside? Does anyone know why the black casings have these little shapes on the sides? If i cannot remove the button or the casing, can you recommend spraying something around the white button to dissolve the greese/dirt?
Thanks in advance.
BTW: the most obvious thing was to contact Elektron Support, which i did. They were not helpful AT ALL, not answering my questions properly and kind of leaving me in the dark. So i hope you guys can help me out.
I donāt think the white part of the button will extract from the black āchassisā
The caps should be removable, as youāve already established, these are just friction fits
I can only suggest doing a search of the general internet for best practice for finding a good safe āliquidā product for cleaning - iād imagine that patient application in small doses with lots of button pressing will flush out and circulate the cleaner ā¦ but choose wisely and you can at least be assured that it is likely an easy part to desolder (by competent person) & swap out if you canāt quite clean it through
Thanks Avantronica. I hope someone on this forum has tried cleaning agents before. I can imagine doing a lot of harm using the wrong kind of cleaner. And ordering two new knobs and solder them into place is not such a bad idea. Though iād like to try the cleaner firstā¦ Thanks again!
absolutely, you could research the right kind of alcohol, contact cleaners and distilled waters etc and the right ways to apply the right (very small) amounts - iād be very confident of a successful clen out unless those switch assemblies are very āsealedā internally - soldering really ought to be a last resort - you may not get much joy from air blasting as a cleaning (or rinsing) effect as those switches look like thereās not much on offer in the way of āways inā
have you searched, this must have been done countless times on this forum or elektron-users
Yeah i searchedā¦ Most sticky buttons topics concern the BEHAVIOUR of sticky buttons, instead of ACTUAL sticky buttons. Countless pictures of opened up Elektron machines, but not one that discusses repairing/fixing/cleaning a trig or button. I think Elektron users donāt drink beer?
About the cleansingā¦ there is some space between the knob and the enclosure. You can wobble it. As is with all Elektron machines. You can wobble the knob and allow for a tiny bit of space to open up. Just enough i think to purposely spill a drop of cleansing fluid.
For now i tried water. Seems the most innocent cleaner of them all. Just put my finger in a glass of water, an carefully letting a single drop of water through the edge between the knob and black enclosure. Push up and down 20 times, it sure works. Question is for how long. Iāll let it dry for 24 hours, and check if the buttons have improved.
My friend has electronic repair service and has already repaired some elektron gear (AR after champagne bath, OT, other musical gear). He said that the most easiest and effective (home) solution is a simple water. Just remove battery (if AK has one), wash the board carefully and then dry it with hair dryer. Also it would be a good idea to wipe board with isopropyl alcohol (but it is not necessary).
WD-40 actually leaves very nasty petrol residue. It was always a running joke amongst we military aircraft staff that WD-40 is to be left in your garage at home at all times and never near sensitive electronic circuitry.
Although I have not had to expel beer or such sticky liquids from any instruments, I have used upon advice of very competent electronic tech locally to only use DEOXIT and compressed air afterward and repeat as necessary. (same stuff military grade utilizes for a reason). Comes in a small spray can as well as very wee bottles.
Remember that less is always best and most important of allā¦never have liquids around your gear by yourself or others in periphery. That means if performing, no body comes near with any bottle or cupsā¦ever.
Not really keen on the suggested āwater methodāā¦especially since a very small amount of water left in right place could do even yet more damage by effectively making a circuit path nexus unintended.
Hi, that user hasnāt posted since 2017, it will probably be difficult to get an answer from them. If you spilled something sticky on RYTM and the encoder is dragging, the options are to take apart the synth and clean it up inside (wash the pcb if you have to), wait for it to dry, verify results are satisfactory, then reassemble.
or
Take apart, clean, desolder the fouled encoders, solder new encoders in place, verify everything works, then reassemble.
Thatās how you fix the problem.
If you need a guide on disassembling the RYTM try this video for reference:
If you donāt feel comfortable taking apart your RYTM and or you donāt have any experience soldering, you can contact an independent local electronics repair person or Elektronās user care to schedule a service appointment.
Be advised that paying other people to work on electronics can be costly if the work is time consuming and especially if you donāt acquire and provide them with the correct parts to perform the repair. Elektron will have the correct parts on hand, any independent service person will need to order them.
If it sounds like youāre comfortable opening and cleaning the device, there is already some advice in this thread and you can find more on google, or this forum.
Hi Shigginpit !
Thanks for your answer. Iām sorry i misexpressed my problem. I got a Analog Rytm MK1 and the problem is on some push button. Theyāre not sticky but to use some of them i need to press it several time. Idk know why i just think the buttons are dirty inside and i donāt know how to clean them.
Been searching on so much forum and didnāt find a solution
Hi, ok so the push buttons and not the pad section, is that correct?
Iād start by (at a minimum) removing the button caps, then using a can of compressed air, blow on the button assembly and try to actuate the button a little as you do that, pressing it up and down to make sure the air flows through it.
If this doesnāt resolve the issue, anything else will be more invasive and require disassembly but you can probably try the compressed air without taking it fully apart.
Fortunately, it affected only TRK knobs 2 and 3. The unit works like charm, but TRK 2 and 3 buttons stick when not powered up. When the machine is on, appearently the heat allows the liquid to soften and the buttons respond much better.
