My buddy and I could replace the knobs ourselves, but I can’t believe all of the knobs went at the same time. haha.
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Hello everyone!
I have been all day trying to fix the jumping values of my OT mk1, looking on the internet for everything it can find, and trying several things.
I think I have the solution, at least for me.
@Munro, pull off knob cap off and apply one drop in the gap may improve a Little bit but it does not solve the problema.
Akai s3000 encoders are different, and here the problem is not the dirt (although I imagine that in some case it could be).
LyingDalai is right, the encoders that are used the most are the ones that start to malfunction.
In this video, when he disassembles the top of the encoder, you can see a small black ring.
That ring at the bottom has 3 contacts. When you push the encoder thousands of times with force, these contacts bend inward, and stop making good contact.
If you disassemble the top of the encoder as seen in the video, carefully remove the black ring, and push the 3 contacts up a little so that they put more pressure on the base of the encoder, the problem is solved. Take advantage to also clean the contact and be careful with excess oil.
To reassemble the upper part of the encoder, it is enough to fit it and tighten the 4 metal tabs well to hold it firmly.
I had 3 encoders that jumped continuously, and doing this works like the first day. And without having to replace them with new ones.
I hope it helps you!
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@lucassalinas , what exact type of DeOxit do you and @Munro recommend for cleaning OT MkI encoders? Caig F5 Faderlube? Another kind?
The contact cleaner that comes in a little red tube.
1-2 drops is enough
Thanks for replying, but that’s not very specific. I’m in Germany, so I need to identify the exact product that is best for Elektron encoders in whatever country someone has successfully used it, and then identify the local analogue to that product. I have seen F5 Faderlube mentioned more often than other kinds of DeOxit here because it includes a lubricant.
Lubricant will put matter in between the contacts and ruin the encoder. You need contact cleaner.
To be fair the product description of DeoxIT also reads:
DeoxIT® contact cleaner is a fast-acting de-oxidising solution that cleans, protects, lubricates and improves conductivity on all metal connectors and contacts.
I clean them with sanitary alcohol. Dirt is not the main problem here. The encoders stop making contact due to the number of times we push them inwards.
The important thing is that you return the encoder legs to their original position. Forcing them even a little out. I did this with a toothpick so as not to scratch the metal. By prying and pushing each of the 3 legs of each encoder outwards.
The legs must protrude outwards approximately 1.5mm. But don’t worry that when you mount it again they find their position. The important thing is that the legs put more pressure on the contact ring.
I hope I can help
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Thanks. I suspect that a drop or two of Faderlube might help in my case because I made my encoder much worse when I did something stupid a few days ago to it.
The encoder was jumping values (as described in this thread), so I took the cap off and noticed that it looked like some dirt had accumulated in the gaps between the encoder shaft and the panel. I didn’t do my research before taking action (and was generally ignorant about how encoders work), so I used a ~1.5mm flat-head screwdriver (for adjusting trimmers) to try to dig out those particles from the edges of the encoder shaft. This made the encoder lose a lot of sensitivity: it now takes 10 full turns to go from 0 to 127 (while all other encoders take 5-6 turns). I suspect that I removed some of the grease from the shaft in doing this.
In any case, I will definitely try adjusting the encoder legs, because the original value-skipping problem is probably due to the problem you mentioned (it is indeed the encoder I’ve pressed the most). I just hope that I can undo the damage I caused by attempting to mechanically remove the dust/dirt that I thought I saw around the shaft, and here is where Caig F5 Faderlube sounds possibly useful.
( @Olle of Elektron has specifically said the Faderlube variety is recommended for encoders and potentiometers @ Drinks And Shots all over my Dark Trinity - #12 by Olle )
This worked a charm! Thank you so much. Glad I didn’t have to send it in for repair.
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Thanks so much for this tip! I fixed 4 encoders on my OT and 1 on my A4 this way.
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I know this is old topic but I wanted to add that tonight I removed the seven encoders using the method shown in the YouTube video (4 of them were jumpy, so I did them all). It took about two hours and was frustrating, but when I plugged it back in, all the encoders were smoothly outputting values with no jumping. Hallelujah!
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This really is the best advice - the three little slivers of metal on the small black ring were flat on my dodgy encoder. I pushed them up and hey presto!
I did the encoder tab fix today on all my encoders and it worked a treat so thank you! I originally only had one or 2 a bit jumpy but most weren’t able to scroll quickly without clicking in but now it’s like new. Woohoo!
Now to find some replacement knobs. I tried cleaning with bicarb and a bit of water. It cleaned then a bit but still a little yellowed. Anywhere we can buy straight replacements? I do like the softer feel of these knobs as opposed to the common hard plastic.
Elektron will sell them to you
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Oh ok. Didn’t spot them on the site so I’ll shoot them an email. Hopefully just the knobs are available seeing I don’t need the actual encoders anymore. Will check it out. Cheers!
You have to email their support dept.
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I love u for this… It fixed my problem after a long long time it even made me not use my octatrack for more then a year the encoder replacement is such a drag to do thanks so much
This fix it takes away so much irritation I had during live gigs, No more!!! thanks to U !!! mmm I wonder if this would do the same to my MD MKI that would be a god send
Great tips, thank you everyone! I got a used OT MkI with one potentiometer jumping/getting stuck. Cleaned it out with alcohol (was very dirty and already had visible tracks grinded into the base), straightened the contacts, after which it worked incredibly well.
The feel is now less soft due to the grease missing - any tips which grease would be good? Faderlube, Deoxit etc. seem to be tricky to get in Europe. Dielectric grease maybe? Sewing machine lubricant?