Bricked Octatrack ? pls help

Elektron Gear Octatrack
#1

Hi there everyone… Im new here… Have had an Octrack couple of months now, and have run into an unhappy problem. I bought it second hand (3years old / supposedly very well taken care of and not used a whole lot).

Now Im jamming around, when suddenly the whole thing bricks on me. Sequencer stops playing, display switches off, and only the 6x recording lights and the card status light switch on.

So I switch off, switch on, and in a few moments, the same thing happens.

i have tried a factory reset, and have tried a different project too, but the same thing keeps happening!

Does anybody know what the problem could be?

I feel like Im gonna have to send it for repair (if repairable), but would like to find out as much as I can before I have to do that.

Anyway, many thanks for any tips or advice.
dave

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#2

I can’t quite remember what state it went into, but when the CF card faults out the OT doesn’t boot up correctly.

If you have another card, try that maybe?

If you hold down the function key when powering on you’ll get to the startup menu, do that first and see if it reports anything.

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#3

Nope, I dont have another card, but good point, I will try and get one. It does boot up correctly, and functions correctly… for a while. I just left it up and running, not touching it at all, popped out for a cigarette, came back in, and it defaulted to the picture I poste when I got back. P.s. - I have never done anything with the card since I got it a few months back.

#4

If it’s the original elektron card that comes with it, errr, it’s garbage. Mine just died one day for no reason, lots of instances of it over the years.

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#5

Just found on the forum, tht it seems to be a failwd capacitator, so i will get in touch with elektron :frowning: oh well.

#6

There’s also a test mode that you should take a look at.

2 Likes
#7

The CF card is a more reliable lead IMO.
“Failed capacitor” is a very rare occurrence of problem here (I don’t remind having read it once) while CF card is well known point of failure.

Get yourself a 64GB so that you never have to remove it.
Mine is a 64GB Sandisk Extreme iirc.

7 Likes
#8

…yup…first, get a decent cf card…then report back…

always be gentle with the card insert slot…never force it in…take care for a totally straight angle when inserting…

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#9

Could it also be a dying battery?

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#10

Hurhurhur…

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#11

:point_up:this is the first think I would look at.

What does test mode report, @daev79anglan? I’ve had some CF card issues in the past and there was never any ambiguity in the test results

(Edited for clarity. Weird phone autocorrect:))

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#12

I will check it when i get back from work. And thank you - everyone for your feedback! Will check it out later

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#13

I sent Elektron a detailed email of the problem including photo of bricked unit, and serial number info…
… and have just gotten an email from Elektron, stating that I will need to send in the Octa for repairs. They didnt give details on whats wrong with it though.

#14

Have you first tried a new CF card?

#15

Yeah, I’d 100% try a new card first. There is a massive fail rate on the cards that come with the OT, like massive and when it goes, it just doesn’t work.

#16

tbh I didnt. dont have a spare one, and really pushed for time sorting out last minute xmas stuff and family holiday. It seems a reasonable try, but Christian from Elektron was pretty straightforward with his answer - that it needs to be repaired. No mention about testing a different card. So I imagine that with the details I gave him, they know what the problem is.

Bricking happened yesterday. Today we sorted out DHL and tmrw its being picked up. So Im kinda happy that it will be in good hands and will get sorted out properly.

#17

Really is it that massive the failures? I mean, I have honestly never even touched the card, and am pretty careful with the whole machine. For now I am pretty satisfied that so far the customer service is excellent.

#18

I will for sure get a new card when the machine comes back. Preferably the 64gb one.

#19

I don’t think it’s the card, I think it’s the capacitor. Exact same thing happened to me, if I’d leave it alone for a few hours it would work for a bit, then brick. Pretty much exactly 2 years ago.

Sent it in to Elektron, quick turnaround considering the holidays, no problems since.

1 Like
#20

My Octa is behaving in exactly the same way as the dudes one in the “failed capacitor” thread… and is the same year of make…

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