Machinedrum key failure?

Elektron Gear Machinedrum
#1

Hello all.

My MDUW MKII one day started booting to an all-black/all-pixel screen. I booted to test mode and when I hit steps 1, 2, 3, 4, they all do funny things, while everything else responds on the top LED’s as it should, including knobs.

step 1 - causes screen to go blank
step 2 - causes screen to fill completely
step 3 - causes many lights to active, almost all steps
step 4 - barely registers as a slight at the top, very faint compared with step 5 that responds normally.

Obviously some kind of repair is needed. A lot of times I’ve seen these as connection failures or that they just can be ‘replugged’ and work again. I had that on my MnM twice, very strange.

Suggestions?

#3

So the OTHER buttons and knobs all register an instrument light. Steps 5-16, all the transport, direction buttons, etc. The knobs register lighting of these LEDS too. Every button and knob responds like I would expected EXCEPT steps 1-4, so I’m wondering if those buttons are maybe dirty or if they share a line that shorted ?

#6

If I’ve ever ran test mode on my MD it’s been too far back for me to remember. Sorry I couldn’t be of assistance

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#7

I’ll run test mode on mine tomorrow morning if I remember!

2 Likes
#8

Here’s a full demo:

3 Likes
#10

Your MD reacts the way it should. Just ran a test mode on mine and it does exactly the same as yours and have no problem with it!

#11

Ok I see, those first 4 trigs are supposed to act differently.

So, given the test mode seems to be passing, why would I be normal booting to a screen just full of pixels? Thoughts?

#12

I booted back up to the test menu. Trigs 2-4, empty, factory and soft reset, they don’t appear to do anything. The screen blinks for a second, that’s all. Also tried function+the trig, nothing. Trig 7, exit, doesn’t do anything. So last was to try trig 5. It opened the Receive Midi screen fine. So I connected the MD straight to an interface port and used C6 to send the latest OS I downloaded off Eketron site this morning. The MD responded during the transfer like it should; series of instrument lights and then a step light illuminating after that ‘chunk’. After all the transfer finished, I briefly saw a ‘flashing image’ or similar message, then a almost blank screen with some strange pixels lit.

Here’s some pics: MD UW MKII errors - Album on Imgur

#13

A bit late, but pad 3 in test mode makes all the lights come on, including the 16 ‘sound selection’ lights activate, and pad 4 makes the Sound Selection light for channel 12 light up weakly, for some reason.

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#14

I’m sorry to have inconvenienced you for something like this. This person does not appear interested in our input.

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#15

This person does not appear interested in our input.

?? What do you mean? I asked why trig1-4 did different things. Several people have explained this and I mentioned that I didn’t understand, now I do. I’m really sorry if I was supposed to understand that, since I don’t see it mentioned in any of the actual manuals I could find. Now it’s clear, I get why those trigs do DIFFERENT things. I’m sorry.

I also listed the SUBSEQUENT troubleshooting I have done, hoping to get additional information. I am absolutely interested the collective input as I would like to get my machine working again or at least know what kind of repair it might need. Is that unreasonable?

#16

If i were you i would first try to clean and sit the internal connectors of the MD properly, as the tend to loosen with time and to generate all kind of weird behavior on the MD.

#17

Thank you. It seems like the same problem affects my Monomachine as well. I boots the OS splash screen but shows a ‘H’ in the bottom left. Test menu boots but doesn’t respond to trig presses. Has happened 3 different times on that unit, twice took to a shop that spent a couple months trying to reproduce and examine any connections that could fail.

One common theme: I use both my MD and MnM in a slant-black rack with rack ears. This has them at about a 35deg slant-back from vertical. I’m not sure if this would make any difference versus flat. Have tried alternate Elektron power supplies on both.