VCI 100 line faders sending random midi
VCI 100 line faders sending random midi Posted on: 12.11.2009 by Lynelle Mattheus Anyone else encounter this problem?My VCI 100 line faders will randomly send a midi value of 0 to Traktor, which mutes the deck. It will happen even if nothing is playing, and even if I'm not touching the VCI. It's obviously very frustrating. My retailer told me to contact Vestax, and Vestax told me to return the product to the retailer. Either way, I believe my warranty may be void because I applied the DJTT overlay. I've adopted a temporary work around by removing the line faders from the midi mapping. I just use the gain control to adjust volume. Obviously I need to fix this. I have read several threads on replacing line faders. Wondering if anyone can advise as to whether this may fix my problem. Or could the issue run deeper? Anyone ever encounter this problem? Thanks in advance.... | |
| Mechelle Duncil 12.11.2009 | Yeah mate I don |
| Mechelle Duncil 12.11.2009 | Yeah mate I don |
| Mechelle Duncil 12.11.2009 | Yeah mate I don |
| Mechelle Duncil 12.11.2009 | Yeah mate I don |
| Mechelle Duncil 12.11.2009 | Yeah mate I don |
| Mechelle Duncil 12.11.2009 | Yeah mate I don |
| Mechelle Duncil 12.11.2009 | Yeah mate I don |
| Mechelle Duncil 12.11.2009 | Yeah mate I don |
| Lynelle Mattheus 12.11.2009 | Anyone else encounter this problem? My VCI 100 line faders will randomly send a midi value of 0 to Traktor, which mutes the deck. It will happen even if nothing is playing, and even if I'm not touching the VCI. It's obviously very frustrating. My retailer told me to contact Vestax, and Vestax told me to return the product to the retailer. Either way, I believe my warranty may be void because I applied the DJTT overlay. I've adopted a temporary work around by removing the line faders from the midi mapping. I just use the gain control to adjust volume. Obviously I need to fix this. I have read several threads on replacing line faders. Wondering if anyone can advise as to whether this may fix my problem. Or could the issue run deeper? Anyone ever encounter this problem? Thanks in advance.... |
| Lynelle Mattheus 29.01.2010 | Thought I'd just follow up in case anyone else encounters a similar problem. Brought the unit in to the warranty repair shop when I was driving through San Antonio earlier this month. After a couple weeks, they looked at it and decided the line faders needed to be replaced. They're ordering new ones. If I had known, I probably would have just ordered the faders and installed them myself because Avalanche Audio is taking about a month to fix this thing and ship it back to me. It makes sense too, because I am experiencing a similar problem with one of the pots on my Oxygen8 now, sending random midi signals. At least now I know what to do about it! Cheers. |
| Xavier Emanuels 16.11.2009 | If you look in the FAQ on the general community there is a thread about VCI-100 line faders |
| Johnny Achziger 14.11.2009 | That's good to hear that it looks like they are going to take care of you... I had a strong feeling that the overlay wouldn't void the warranty, just like putting a sticker on it... cosmetic only... yea keep us up on what they find if they tell you what they found... it may even be something simple as a bad connector or a bad crimp on one of the wires.. vestax, pioneer, crown and like all the other well known vendors are usually willing to work with customers. As long as you don't yell down their necks about how bad their products are, and work with the call center support technician they are always willing to work with you. |
| Lynelle Mattheus 12.11.2009 | Update: Vestax finally emailed me back and told me to contact their US distributor: American Music & Sound 5304 Derry Avenue #C Agoura Hills, CA 91301 phone: 1-800-431-2609 fax: 818-597-0411 I explained the problem, and the American Music & Sound tech support guy sounded just as confused as I was. He said a repair would be covered by the warranty. They pointed me to a service center an hour away from Austin, TX, where I live. The place is called Avalanche ProAudio Services and its in Universal City, TX. Told me to mail or drive it there. American Music & Sound will pay for repairs and return shipping only. They said the overlay will not affect the warranty. Upon reflection, not sure why I was concerned about that. Looks like I'll have to live without my VCI for a while. Hopefully not too long. I'll keep this thread updated with latest developments in case anyone else finds themselves in this situation. |
| Mechelle Duncil 12.11.2009 | Yeah mate I don |
| Lynelle Mattheus 12.11.2009 | alien2k, Good point, and thanks for chiming in. It's also a somewhat troubling point that you make, because yes, both faders are acting the same way. And they usually act that way simultaneously. The faders will both drop to 0 and even when I try to drag a fader back up to, say 75% volume, the fader in Traktor appears as if it is fighting to drop back down to zero. It's like it is flashing back and forth between 75% and zero. And they usually end up again at zero. It's very frustrating. For the record, all other controls on the VCI 100 function perfectly. I wish I knew more about the circuitry of the device. |
| Mechelle Duncil 12.11.2009 | Are both line faders acting the same? If that is the case it would be very strange... and probably the faders are not the problem and there is another issue affecting both faders. I am not saying that faders are not a posibility but it would be very strange that both have the same issue, unless both suffer some hit or liquid spill. If it is only one try to switch them and see if you can reproduce the issue on the other side. Then you know that the fader got issues. |
| Lynelle Mattheus 13.11.2009 | Thanks for your help djtimmy. To answer your question, the pots feel smooth. However, they do send wonky messages when I press them down. I will have to double check about the "wiggliness" when I get home today and see what happens in Midi OX. I PRAY it is just the faders because those I can replace. If it's an issue with something on a PCI board, I'll have no choice but to ship the VCI back. djtimmy, you also raise a great point about the overlay. I didn't open the device to apply it, so it shouldn't void the warranty. I hope they see it that way |
| Johnny Achziger 13.11.2009 | It sound like to me that the linear pots may have issues with the contacts (wipers) going open... which would cause flaky midi messages how do they feel, do they move smoothly, gritty , does it feel like they have a lot of play (Wiggle) in them?. in midi-ox watch the values when you wiggle the fader knob or slightly put pressure on the knob and see if you see random midi messages... if so its the faders Technically the overlay shouldn't void the warranty... you never open the unit only removed the overlay plates... which that have custom plates for other software. If you have done the firmware upgrade, you have to open the back and unscrew one of the pcb to access the icsp port if they want to be sticklers that technically would void the warranty being not done by a qualified Vestax service technician... |
| Lynelle Mattheus 12.11.2009 | Thanks for the reply dan. I appreciate it. Yes, I monitored the midi signal from the VCI using a software monitoring program (May have been Midi OX, I can't remember). It is indeed the VCI. Just sends these random signals out of nowhere. I have not updated the VCI bios. I haven't purchased the upgrader for VCI SE but I imagine the issue is hardware related. I will take off the back of the unit and examine for bugs/frayed wires. That's a great idea. As far as returning the unit, I'm trying to determine whether it might be better just to pick up a line fader and replacing one of them to test it out. I guess it might not be the line fader itself. But the problem can also be triggered by me banging the table (even though it occurs when no music is playing and I'm not touching it), so it makes me believe it might be crappy faders? I really don't know. I wonder if anyone has encountered this before. The VCI was a B-Stock unit purchased off eBay from Unique Squared. Still came with a one-year warranty. Of course they are telling me to send the unit to Vestax, and Vestax is telling me to send the unit the U.S. distributor. |
| Branden Wentler 12.11.2009 | Sorry to hear that man. I would first determine if the problem is the VCI or something wacky going on in Traktor. Try using Midi Ox ( google it) when Traktor is not open to determine the VCI is in fact sending an errant signal. If not you may have some wierd tsi bug. If you have updated the VCI's bios perhaps there is a short somewhere in the unit. open it back up and double check your connections and look for exposed wire or an actual bug trying to take over your sets. As far as the overlay goes you should be able to remove it after exhausting all possibilities and need to return the VCI. dan |
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