Used MD: Battery Low + Sticky knobs

Elektron Gear Machinedrum
#1

Long story short: bought a machinedrum uw mk2 on craigslist, didn’t come with a power supply, ordered one and found out it works.

However, I ran into this problem where it states “Battery Low” on start. After doing some research, I learned opening the MD up and changing the battery would do the trick, but I’ve heard some of the mk2s have the battery soldered into (hopefully mine isn’t bc I have no experience soldering).

I’ve ordered a torx and the battery today but meanwhile I was wondering if it was ok to continue use the MD with the “Battery Low” status?

Also the big wheel knob and the upper right knobs are a bit sticky due to age.
Any recommendations on how/where to get this fixed?

All this aside, the MD sounds amazing.
I’m excited to use it more but want to clean it up as much as possible.

Please advise and thanks in advance!

#2

Lots of subjects about this already - just use the search.

Good luck with the MachineDrum.

If you use it with the “low battery warning”, the worst that can happen is that you loose your patterns/projects.

Cheers

Thomas

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#3

Be careful when replacing the battery - take photos/notes of where everything goes, it’s quite complex in there!

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#4

It’s not tbh, it’s actually pretty easy to change out the battery (if it’s not soldered that is).
Just make sure your torx is magnetized otherwise placing the screws back is a nightmare.

I’d try cleaning under the knobs with a cotton swab, probably dust, dirt and grime gathered where the shaft meets the body.

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#5

Darn it. Wish I read this before I ordered the torx. Mine is not magnetized.

I did try cleaning the knobs by pulling out the knobs (without opening the MD yet), and yes there was a lot of dust. However the stickyness was there after cleaning it with cotton swabs and a tiny bit of alcohol. Is there any product that I should be using for this?

#6

I’ve used stuff called “contact cleaner” in the past. It cleaned out some dusty faders on a very old peavey mixer. I of course unplugged the mixer (for a few days actually) then cleaned it, then let it sit for a few days to ensure drying. Definitely do your research though, the mixer was not that important at all so I wasn’t worried about messing it up, more of an experiment.

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#7

Oh no sorry to hear that, try to remove the faceplate to really get in there and scrub that muck away.
If that don’t work maybe try that contact cleaner/contact oil Master mentioned. But I’d imagine you’d have to open the encoder itself to use that stuff properly.

#8

I’ll have to open the faceplate anyway to check the battery so maybe I’ll try to clean it more then. Thanks for the tip guys!

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#9

Adding video for archive.

Battery low screen: https://imgur.com/a/YCROGA6
Sticky knobs: https://imgur.com/a/XuhbZHj