Octatrack dead

[denoise]

I just wanted to turn my Octatrack on today and, nothing: no lights, no screen, no sound. The power supply is giving me the 6V it needs, so that is not the problem.

The machine is too old to have an Elektron guarantee but it seems that the eBay seller gives me 2 years.

I know I could contact Elektron first, but I just wanted to know if that happened to you and if it is something common.

[PeterHanes]

I know I could contact Elektron first, but I just wanted to know if that happened to you and if it is something common.

It’s not very common. You should not hesitate to contact the seller and, if necessary, Elektron.

I had a similar issue a while ago and there is a reasonable possibility that it will require a simple repair:

Elektron's repair service

I know that a few people have been dissatisfied with Elektron’s warranty policy on the Octatrack and I sympathize entirely with their plight, but I thought that I would use this thread to describe my experience with Elektron’s warranty service and describe what I learned about the process, in case this is useful for other people. I bought my Octatrack new from a retailer about 2 years ago, and it worked perfectly until recently. One day in late November I switched it on and found that it did n…

[denoise]

OK… I opened the Octatrack, I checked some of the solder joints with a voltage meter, i took the battery out, checked it, etc, but I couldn’t find out what was wrong.

I closed the case again, I turned it on and voila, it works again!

I have mixed feelings now, because it does work, but I don’t know if it will happen again and perhaps next time in a real important situation.

[umonox]

same happened with my car radio recently i already thought the control panel was dead. so i removed the whole radio, disconnected all the cables, removed the fuse, fuse was still ok, put fuse back in, re-connected the cables and there we go - like magic, radio worked again!

its not a good indicator though. have you checked the socket where the PSU is plugged into? sometimes dust can prevent contact to the poles.

[panelist]

It’s not uncommon for header pins and their mating sockets to become oxidized over time. “Re-seating” connectors like that is a common troubleshooting practice. You may want to open the machine back up and repeatedly reseat the connectors – this can help scrape off any oxidation that has accumulated over time.

And like @umonox mentioned, it could also be a problem with the power entry barrel. This connector too can become oxidized and prevent physical contact from being made between the PSU barrel and the jack.

[alfred]

Exactly. It’s either this or a cold soldering joint around the PSU board (rather unlikely). The only way to find out is open it up, turn it on and use a chopstick and poke around on the PSU board and wiggle the connectors.
We’re not dealing with harmful voltages here but if you feel uncomfortable doing it it’s better to send it in.