I’ve seen many people say that the OT’s compact flash slot is prone to breaking if you remove and re-insert the CF card regularly, but I haven’t heard much about it for a few years now. Was the problem fixed with the MkII, or are the MkII units just not old enough to exhibit symptoms yet?
Nothing has changed. The pins stick out. If you don’t get the card in properly then force it in, the pins will bend and break.
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I think that breaking if the card is removed “regularly” would be an exaggeration, based on what people have reported on the forum.
The fuss originally came because one notable user has to have the whole board replaced when pins on the connector were broken. Since then, Elektron has said that they are able to instead repair/replace the CF mechanism without replacing the whole board.
Because the OT can connect to a computer as a USB storage device, there’s rarely any actual need to eject or insert the CF card.
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Very good point, Peter. I think if anyone is really concerned about bending pins (all CF card readers have this potential issue), the Octatrack can support a 64GB card, which is big enough to store a full library of music.
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Ive had my OT 5 years. I have never taken the flash card out. Why would you?
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I have had Octatrack since launch, never connected it to a PC, always remove the card and put it in card reader, because no computer in studio, never had a single issue. The CF slot is no more fragile than any other CF slot, so if you are used to handling CF or are just able to take care when inserting then you will not have any issues.
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I’ve only had my OT for a few weeks but have already been scared by this. I picked the OT and put it down rather roughly (sorry OT!)–the CF was inserted and grazed my desk. Thankfully nothing happened and it still works as intended. That has made me very nervous to travel with the CF inserted, though. But the only other solution is to eject the CF, travel with it empty, and then insert it back in. I wish I didn’t have to worry about that. It’s otherwise a very sturdy machine.
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I might be wrong, but isn’t the problem that pins get bent when inserting the CF card? I don’t think you are going to do any harm bumping a card that’s already fully inserted.
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Thanks everyone, this forum is so helpful 
If it’s just the usual CF fragility it sounds like I don’t have to worry about it. I take the CF card in and out of my MPC all the time and haven’t had any issues there.
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You don’t have to worry about that.
I keep having to push it back in because something always somehow hits that spring loaded plunger, have to push it back down, push card back in
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Has anyone ever fixed or replaced a broken CF slot?
…it’s the only pretty obvious fragile mechanical part of that whole device…
because of it’s given nature how it worx…it’s a standard CV CARD READER SLOT…
the only replaceable, external mass memory solution out there, that could offer that much storage and write and read speed when ot was born…
therefor cv cards need a lot of free outstanding pins for accessing…and hell yes, if ur clumsy or not smart enough to see how THIS needs to be handled, ur connections won’t last too long…
no dedicated ot problem…it’s the nature of the overall cv card technic…
i got two ot’s in use since ages…mk1 one…where the plug out button is always standing out when the card is inserted…and a mk2, where the plug out button has a two stage status…once card is inserted u can push that plug out botton again so that it’s not standing out anymore…push it again and it’s coming out again to be ready to be pushed to relase the card…
no big deal if u push it and the card leaves the pin connectors…cause it’s still right in fron of them…just push the card that little way backin…all fine…
trouble is only if ur not sliding in correctly at the start…
so tricky part is to put the card in in absolute straight angle…to catch the sliding tracks…
then it’s sliding easily all the way in til it reaches the pins…from here u feel some tracktion…thats normal…but if it’s not just reasonable tracktion but more like a full stop…go back…u did’nt hit the right angle and ur missing the slot…never force it in…otherwise ur pins will bend…
…seems i am aware of the natural way how to handle a cv card reader…like pretty much most others too…
never had an issue…
but, well…obviously not everybody can see the obvious…
handle with care, feel and a little patience…and all will be fine…
it’s no floppy disk…64 gig of additional ram need no daily in and out routines…
i know people that did it just ONCE and scrub on that same one heavily ever since…
never go for cheap cards…pick once a truly fast and pro one…
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Rightio … so has anyone ever fixed or replaced a CF slot?
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Are you asking whether a user has had their OT repaired, or whether someone has performed the repair themselves?
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both and or either
Elektron does repairs. Presumably a camera repair workshop would have applicable experience.
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Thank you.
Sorry - I just assumed we were all talking about the same issue.
In my case, the CF card reader is absolutely fine.
Its the spring pin lever part that broke.
The card goes in fine and stays in fine - but when you go to push the lever/spring, the card doesn’t spring out. It needs to be pulled out manually. The spring part can just be held still while taking the card in and out.
The reason I bring this up - is that I just sold my OT MKII and the buyer wants to send it back under the assumption that it is damaged or could lend itself to further damage. At first glance - he is right.
I would argue, it is actually better/safer for that spring part to be redundant - so you can push card in and out safely without any of the bits sticking out and causing the issue others have experienced.
I am either looking at trying to solve the issue for him by finding replacement parts or even doing it myself. Rather than having to issue a refund and going through all that again… Reverb have taken their cut - PayPal have taken their cut … and I have already re-purchased something else with the money made from the OT sale.
Any suggestions?
Any suggestions welcome 
I guess my questions would be was it broken before sending? Did you list that as a fault in the device in your listening?
Assuming it was broken before you sent it and you didn’t list it as a fault I would try to politely offer them a discount off the sale price, perhaps get a quote from elektron on the repair cost? Warranty does transfer on elektrons so it is possibly still covered? Either way give them a discount for inconveniences and the money for factory repairs or if covered just the inconvenience discount?
You could try to convince them to let you attempt the repair but I’m not sure if they would be exactly happy to send you the OT for an unknown amount of time for a user repair of quality unknown from their perspective… my guess is they would just want the money back at that point.
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