Octatrack encoder wearing off

Hi Dear Elektronauts!

I have read people having problems with the Octatrack encoders before. I have had my unit for a little bit over a year now and the F encoder seems to not always respond to pressure to change the value fast. Have anyone got a solution, like some spray or something or is it better to just contact support? It may sound silly, but Ill really miss the device if have to send it away for a while…

I know what you mean…but I believe there is not an alternative…(no spray etc…)

Is your unit under warranty?

Few weeks ago I asked for my unit (it has two encoders slowly behaving badly) and they told me to send them…otherwise, if you know how to proceed (or if you know some skilled guy) you can try to replace the encoder by yourself (way cheaper…e.g. for me shipment from/to Italy is quite money heavy). But they recommend to perform this task by a skilled person, otherwise you can end up damaging the PCB :cry:

Ugh, bet you are right about the shipping costs… Didn’t even think of that factor. Can they send encoders or can the original style be found somewhere?

I believe the unit should be under warranty. I bought it one month old from the original owner, paired with recipe.

I did replace some encoders/pots on some kit I have here, but it’s not somehting I would recommend on a 1.3K box, except if you really really know what you’re doing.

@sicijk: next time you have to ship something heavy abroad check spedire.com, it’s usually in the 15-20€ range for me

Thanks, I already know Spedire.com as well ParcelScout (if I remember correctly)
[r u form Italy?]

I would never perform the fixing by myself nor by someone who isn’t a supersuperskilled person…

@DustBrigade
you do not have to worry about shipping costs if your unit is under warranty…Elektron usually pays for it

r u form Italy?

yep :slight_smile:

I would never perform the fixing by myself nor by someone who isn’t a supersuperskilled person…

The problem is always the desoldering part. If you don’t have some proper equipment you risk destroying the solderpads or the PCB, and there goes your 1.3K piece of kit. Encoders usually have many pins, so they aren’t super easy to take out.

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I have this issue with my Octa and my Monomachine. I thought it would just be a dry or damaged solder joint and was planing to fix them myself. I wouldnt think it is a broken encoder. I will report my findings anyway, one day…

I have asked already to Support…usually this is a worn out encoder.
It happened only on my OT…and its behavior was that turned slowly goes ok, while turned faster doesn’t give correct values…

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Yeah it behaves exactly like that!

I had this problem and what i did was ordering encoders and having an experienced tech guy here soldering it.Costed me in total 15€ :wink: Just ask them to send you a bunch of extra encoders in case you need to change another in the future.Also replaced and the infinium fader cause it was making a clicky sound at hard left.That costed 60€

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FYI…

And some pictures of Duncan Theobald @ EU at work :tongue:

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Are you sure OT encoders are the same as MD’s ones?

Yes, they are the same.

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Is there any way of having a little more resistance like how the headphone knob feels? Or, when replaced are they the same wobbly knobs but just work properly

Encoders are not supposed to be wobbling, when new.
I think that because you push them a lot, encoders tend to take most of the damage of time on Elektron machines.
The wobbling thing may not be very serious (i.e. it does not prevent to make music per se) but it’s a messenger that at some point the encoder will start to have Alzeihmer and forget to send values…

I’ve just sent my OT and MM for encoders becoming loose, one of OT’s being not reliable anymore. I didn’t feel confident enough to change the encoders myself…

I almost never use the push function for quickly scrolling through parameter value as I feel as though the encoders take a pretty hard beating from this motion and it will vastly reduce their lifespan.

I can tell with my analog heat that elektron has significantly beefed up their encoders their newer products. But it’s definitely the Achilles heel of my two octatracks and I live in fear of they day they fail on me…

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Good thing is that it’s a mechanical part that seems to be replaceable, if one is skilled and gutsy enough :wink:
I do use the push encoder functionality quite a lot, when experimenting different values.
Even when jamming (e.g. closing a filter on A4) but this part could be avoided by programming a performance macro, most definitely.

There is a YouTube video out there of a guy who was adding some adhesive substance to the octatrack encoders to give them a bit more stability. Seemed like a great idea… just search “octatrack surgery” if you’re interested.

I have a few mechanically minded friends so when my OTs leave their warranty phase I’ll definitely be getting that done to them. Although even with the warranty we as the owner still eat the costs of shipping IIRC, which is usually not cheap…

Warranty is 3 years, shipping around 25€ within EU…
Not that expensive IMO if you want your unit to become like new again :slight_smile:

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I think that the warranty states that we will pay for one way and elektron will cover the other way if its within warranty. It feels fair enough for me, so that is what Ill do when I find some packing materials to protect the unit with. The only fear is that the other encoders might wear off in the near future and that I have to do it again.